George Kirbye

Little is known of the details of his life, though some of his contacts can be inferred. He worked at Rushbrooke Hall near Bury St Edmunds , evidently as a tutor to the daughters of Sir Robert Jermyn. In 1598 he married Anne Saxye, afterwards moving to Bury St Edmunds. Around this time he probably made the acquaintance of John Wilbye , a much more famous madrigalist, who lived and worked only a few miles away, and whose style he sometimes approaches. In 1626 his wife died, and he is known to have been a Churchwarden during the next several years until his death.

Kirbye's most significant musical contributions were the psalm settings he wrote for East's , and show a careful attention to text setting; unlike Marenzio, however, he is restrained in his specific imagery.

Kirbye avoided the light style of Morley , which was hugely popular, and brought into the madrigal serious style of pre-madrigal English music. He is not as often sung as Morley, Weelkes or Wilbye, but neither was he as prolific; still, some of his madrigals appear in modern collections.

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George Kirbye