Knowing that Milton was a talented practical musician, we might expect him to use more technical vocabulary than other poets - but isn't that fairly standard when reading Milton's scholarly poetry? Surely his allusions to music won't be too difficult to understand - certainly nothing that a good reference book cannot shed light on. Ideas about music inform many of Milton's writings, from the early oratorical exercise De Sphaerarum Concentu ('The Music of the Spheres'), through the poem 'At a Solemn Music' and the musical passages in Comus, to the many passages describing the sorts of music heard in Heaven and Hell in Paradise Lost. Lawes, on his Airs' praises his friend's music for the ways in which it serves the needs of the lyric, unlike much contemporary English music, which frequently obscured the meaning of the words. Milton appreciated Lawes' songs because of the clarity of his word-setting. When Milton planned to tour the Continent in 1638, Lawes used his influence with the Warden of the Cinque Ports to facilitate the poet's travel to Italy. Milton's friendship with the composer Henry Lawes must also have encouraged the poet's musical interests: Lawes and Milton collaborated on the music and words of the masque commonly known as Comus in 1634. Most famously, Milton was an accomplished organist: one (unproven) tradition holds that Milton played the organ now at Tewkesbury Abbey for Oliver Cromwell. Many of the younger Milton's early biographers pay tribute to the poet's skill as a musician: 'Hee had an excellent Ear, and could bear a part both in Vocal and Instrumental Music', states one anonymous account. The musical accomplishments of John Milton the Elder had a strong influence on his son. He even contributed the words and music of 'Fair Orian' to Thomas Morley's collection of madrigals in honour of Queen Elizabeth, The Triumphs of Oriana (1601). The older Milton was one of the foremost amateur musicians of his day, and his music appeared in print alongside many of England's finest composers, including William Byrd, John Dowland and John Bull. His father had been a chorister at Christ Church Cathedral in Oxford, and although he did not become a professional musician, he continued to perform and compose music throughout his life. The importance of music in Milton's poetry comes as no surprise when we consider the home in which the young poet grew up.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |