Henry Lawes

LAWES, Henry. b. Dinton, Wiltshire, 1596 (baptized 5 January); d. London, 21 October 1662. His early career was as teacher of music in the household of the Earl of Bridgewater. In 1626 he was appointed to the Chapel Royal, and in 1631 he became a musician in the King’s Musick. At the Restoration of 1660 he was reinstated to these positions, becoming additionally ‘Composer in ye Private Musick for Lutes and Voices’. He was famous in his own time, holding concerts at his house which were attended by the nobility as well as literary figures. He was buried in Westminster Abbey. Lawes composed music for masques and plays, including Milton’s* Comus (Ludlow Castle, 1634, to mark the Earl of...