ABSTRACT
The surviving consort music by Thomas Tomkins exceeds thirty individual items, and although this music was composed over a period of more than thirty years, he was never acknowledged by his contemporaries as an outstanding consort writer. In addition to the songs in Italian, North might well have mentioned the numerous French chansons that were used as consort music, confirming a general practice which still had its adherents in the reign of James I. Tomkins's strong preference for genuine viol music can hardly be doubted, for a mere five of his sixty or more verse anthems were provided with an alternative accompaniment for viols. The four great six-part fantasias represent a noble achievement among Tomkins's consort music; indeed they rank along with the best of the five-part pavans as music of outstanding dignity and character. Throughout the fantasia Tomkins shows an instinctive feeling for musical equilibrium, the balance between texture and structure, and the appeal of melody and polyphony.
