ABSTRACT
Thomas Tomkins began his professional career in music when the composing and singing of madrigals was nearly at the height of its popularity. Unfortunately for Tomkins, the historical importance of his Songs has often been stressed to the detriment of their purely musical appeal, which is very considerable. As with the madrigal books of Byrd, Weelkes, Wilbye and Ward, that of Tomkins includes music for any number of voices from three to six. Because of its sonority as well as its variety, five-part harmony still remained the prime favourite of composers during the early part of the seventeenth century, and Tomkins sets the largest group of his Songs for five voices. Together with these ten, there are six each of three-part, four-part, and six-part Songs, making a well-balanced group with adequate contrast in style and type. For Thomas, family life embraced all things, even a book of musical compositions.
