# Consort of instruments

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{{Short description|16/17th-century English phrase for a musical ensemble}}
thumb|right|310px|The Smithsonian Consort of Viols
A '''consort of instruments''' was a phrase used in [England](/source/England) during the 16th and 17th centuries to indicate an [instrumental ensemble](/source/instrumental_ensemble). These could consist of the same or a variety of instruments. Consort music enjoyed considerable popularity at court and in the households of the wealthy in the [Elizabethan era](/source/Elizabethan_era), and many pieces were written for consorts by the major composers of the period. In the [Baroque](/source/Baroque_music) era, consort music was absorbed into [chamber music](/source/chamber_music).

==Definitions and forms==
The earliest documented example of the English word 'consort' in a musical sense is in George Gascoigne’s ''The Princelye Pleasures'' (1576).<ref>Warwick Edwards, "Consort", ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell (New York: Grove's Dictionaries, 2001).</ref> Only from the mid-17th century has there been a clear distinction made between a ''‘whole’, or ‘closed’ consort'', that is, all instruments of the same family (for example, a set of [viol](/source/viol)s played together) and a ''‘mixed’, or [‘broken’ consort](/source/Broken_consort)'', consisting of instruments from various families (for example viols and [lute](/source/lute)).<ref>David D. Boyden, [https://archive.today/20120717212522/http://mq.oxfordjournals.org/content/XLIII/2/220.full.pdf+html "When Is a Concerto Not a Concerto?"] (Subscription Access), ''[The Musical Quarterly](/source/The_Musical_Quarterly)'' 43, no. 2 (April 1957): 220–32 (citation on pp. 228–29); S. Sadie and Alison Latham, ''The Cambridge Music Guide'' (Cambridge University Press, 1990), p. 136; P. Holman. ''Four and Twenty Fiddlers: The Violin at the English Court, 1540–1690'' (Oxford University Press, 1996), p. 275.</ref>

Major forms of music composed for consorts included [fantasias](/source/fantasia_(music)), [cantus firmus](/source/cantus_firmus) settings (including ''[In nomines](/source/In_Nomine)''), [variations](/source/variation_(music)), dances or [ayres](/source/air_(music)), and fantasia suites.<ref>J. H. Baron, ''Chamber Music: A Research and Information Guide'', 2nd revised edition (London and New York: Routledge, 2002), p. 133. {{ISBN|0-415-93736-1}}</ref>

==Major composers==
Composers of consort music during the [Elizabethan era](/source/Elizabethan_era) include [John Dowland](/source/John_Dowland), [Anthony Holborne](/source/Anthony_Holborne), [Osbert Parsley](/source/Osbert_Parsley), and [William Byrd](/source/William_Byrd). The principal [Jacobean era](/source/Jacobean_era) composers included [Thomas Lupo](/source/Thomas_Lupo), [Orlando Gibbons](/source/Orlando_Gibbons), [John Coprario](/source/John_Coprario), and [Alfonso Ferrabosco](/source/Alfonso_Ferrabosco_the_younger). [William Lawes](/source/William_Lawes) was a principal composer during the [Caroline era](/source/Caroline_era).  Later 17th-century composers included [John Jenkins](/source/John_Jenkins_(composer)), [Christopher Simpson](/source/Christopher_Simpson_(musician)), [Matthew Locke](/source/Matthew_Locke_(composer)) and [Henry Purcell](/source/Henry_Purcell).

==Modern consorts==
In modern times, a number of ensembles have adopted the term "consort" in their names:
{{div col|colwidth=18em}}
*[Armonico Consort](/source/Armonico_Consort)
*[The Baltimore Consort](/source/The_Baltimore_Consort)
*[B-Five Recorder Consort](/source/B-Five_Recorder_Consort)
*[Catacoustic Consort](/source/Catacoustic_Consort)
*[The Consort of Musicke](/source/The_Consort_of_Musicke)
*[Dunedin Consort](/source/Dunedin_Consort)
*[Early Music Consort of London](/source/Early_Music_Consort)
*[Gaia Consort](/source/Gaia_Consort)
*[The Harp Consort](/source/The_Harp_Consort)
*[The King's Consort](/source/The_King's_Consort)
*[Leonhardt-Consort](/source/Leonhardt-Consort)
*[Locke Brass Consort](/source/Locke_Brass_Consort)
*[The Newberry Consort](/source/The_Newberry_Consort)
*[Orlando Consort](/source/Orlando_Consort)
*[The Paul Winter Consort](/source/The_Paul_Winter_Consort)
*[Quadriga Consort](/source/Quadriga_Consort)
*[Clemencic Consort](/source/Clemencic_Consort)
*[Ricercar Consort](/source/Ricercar_Consort)
*[Rose Consort of Viols](/source/Rose_Consort_of_Viols)<ref>http://www.roseconsort.co.uk/ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100528155724/http://www.roseconsort.co.uk/ |date=2010-05-28 }} Rose Consort of Viols.</ref>
*[Sherwood Consort](/source/Sherwood_Consort)
*[Southern Consort of Voices](/source/Southern_Consort_of_Voices)
*[Taverner Consort](/source/Taverner_Consort_and_Players)
*[The Tudor Consort](/source/The_Tudor_Consort)
{{div col end}}

==See also==
*[Chest of viols](/source/Chest_of_viols)

==Notes==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orPuqxoHq6o Video of consort of viols]
*Robins, Brian. "[http://www.earlymusicworld.com/id30.html The English Viol Consort in the Tudor Era]"
*[https://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=5393CEA09EF87D34 2008 Viol Extravaganza] Collection of viol consort videos (YouTube)

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Category:Early music consorts
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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Consort of instruments](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consort_of_instruments) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consort_of_instruments?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.