Thomas Lupo

Lupo was one of the principal figures in the development of the viol consort repertory. In addition, he was a significant composer of sacred vocal music. He probably wrote a considerable quantity of music for the court violin ensemble, however almost none of it survives; it has been hypothesised that much of the anonymous repertory for this group is by Lupo. Most of the music for viols which Lupo wrote, for two, three, four, five, and six parts, dates from his employment in the household of Prince Charles. Many of the pieces use a contrapuntal and textural style reminiscent of the Italian madrigal, especially the pieces for five and six voices: in particular he imitated the style of Marenzio, whose works were well known in England, having made up a large part of Nicholas Yonge's 1588 Musica transalpina, which started the vogue for madrigals in England. His consort music for three and four parts is more experimental, often using combinations rare in other composers of the time, such as three basses together, or three trebles together. Some of the consort music was designed to be accompanied by organ. Specific types of instrumental compositions by Lupo include fantasias (12 for six parts, 35 for five parts, 13 for four parts, and 24 for three parts); pavanes, galliards, and Almands (allemandes). Some of the fantasias are direct transcriptions of Italian madrigals.