Cayton's weekly. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1916-1921, 1920-09-25

ldflIy lOf more tHdn quarter OF a century.
England's chief name in music has hither.
to been that of Henry Purcell (165S.1695),
who was great and voluminOus composer,
writing overtures songs and Incidental music
to many of the plays of Dryden, Shake.
speare, Congreve and Beaumont and Flet.
cher, many Odes on royal cantatas sonatas,
ballads, dance tunes and music generally
for the theatre. An English authority calls
Purcell ''the greatest, perhaps the only
really great musical genius England has
given the world" His opera, "Dido and
Aeneas,' had an open air performance in
Hyde Park, London, last July. Though
written before he was 20, it is usually re-
garded as one of his finest works and it's
celebrated solo in the death scene of Dido,
"When l am laid in earth, still has power
to charm the lover of melody. hTe fact that
he was buried in Westminster Abbey is
sufficient to show the high appreciation En-
glishmen of his day had Of this famous
composer Yet even Englishmen do not
claim for Purcell high place among the
great composers.
But now, if we may credit DR.. Terry, or.
ganist and director OF music in Westmin-
ster Cathedral, another English musician
whose name is scarcely known to many
music lovers today deserves not only Pur-
cell s place as the greatest Of English COM
posers and musicians but also the highest
place among the worlds masters of music.
DR.. Terry and other experts have been eX-
ploring archives and libraries for material
in regard to past musical celebrities and
works Of forgotten musical genluses, and
while doing so have come across IN old cup
boards and other out Of the way places
many forgotten works by Taverner Tye,
Nall, PnI>n nt
Whyte, Peter Philips and others, but the
greatest of all these and the greatest musi.
cal genius England has produced, in the
opinion of DR.. Terry is William BY rd. His
name is perhaps familiar to historical stu.
dents of music, but practically unknown to
the vast majority Of fairly well informed
musicians of today.
By consulting dictionary of music and
Byrd was born probably in 1888 and that
he died in 1923; that he was pupil of
Thomas Tails and that he composed the
first English madrigal and was famous
composer Of music for the virglnals, the
English equivalent of the spinet. In the
Chapel Royal Cheque Book he is referred to
as 'father of musicke,' and at least one
Englishman of his day seems to have APP
precated his greatness, as Peacham In the
"Compleat Gentleman Of 1922 says: elm
motets and musicke of pietie and devotion,
as well as for the honour Of our nation as
the merit Of the man, l preferre above all
other our Phoenix, Mr. William Byrd, whom
in that kind 1 know not whether any may
equal"
Capricious fame did not concur in that
estimate and Byrd's name seems to have
been almost forgotten except by those who
refer to Groves dictionary and other
works on the history Of music. Yet here is
what DR.. Terry, himself an accomplished
musician and good judge, is reported in
London paper as saying Of William Byrd
'The next generation will probably regard
him with the generation given to Shape
speare. In my opinion Byrd is as great in
music as is Shakespear in literature
TO discover that a composer who died
three centuries ago is entitled to be called
the Shakespeare Of music is certainly a
wonderful find and musicians will await
with more than ordinary interest the evil
dence in the shape of music scores which DR..