# Edward Paston

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{{Short description|English music collector (1550–1630)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
thumb|Edward Paston in the age of 78
'''Sir Edward Paston''' (1550–1630), second son of [Sir Thomas Paston](/source/Thomas_Paston), was a Catholic gentleman of [Norfolk](/source/Norfolk), a poet, and amateur musician living in the reign of [Elizabeth I](/source/Elizabeth_I_of_England).<ref name="brett">{{Cite journal|jstor = 41337105|title = Edward Paston (1550–1630): A Norfolk Gentleman and his Musical Collection|year = 1964|journal = Transactions of the Cambridge Bibliographical Society |volume=4 |issue=1|publisher=Cambridge Bibliographical Society|pages=51–69|last = Brett|first = Philip}}</ref> He is an important figure in the musical history of England, his love of music driving him to acquire and copy musical [manuscript](/source/manuscript)s from some of the most important composers of the [Renaissance](/source/Renaissance),<ref name="spring">{{cite book|last1=Spring|first1=Matthew|title=The lute in Britain : a history of the instrument and its music|date=2001|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|isbn=9780195188387|pages=259–260}}</ref> resulting in a  unique performing collection of 16th-century house music that included works by [William Byrd](/source/William_Byrd), [Thomas Tallis](/source/Thomas_Tallis), [John Taverner](/source/John_Taverner), and [Orlando di Lasso](/source/Orlando_di_Lasso). He was especially interested in Byrd, and one of his books is the largest source of [consort songs](/source/consort_song_(musical)) by that composer.<ref name="spring"/> Paston played the [lute](/source/lute), creating a wide range of vocal settings and accompanying tablatures in [partbook](/source/partbook)s that are still obtainable.<ref name="sequera_thesis"/> As a young man he travelled extensively in Spain, being influenced by the Spanish (and Italian) form of tablature, as seen in his partbooks, rather than the generally used French form.<ref name="spring"/>

It is believed that the part-books were specially prepared for him, rather than being 'commercially' acquired, in order to suit the performing requirements of his household, thus becoming material tailored to his specific needs. The broad range of music includes [motet](/source/motet)s, [madrigal](/source/madrigal)s, extracts from [masses](/source/Mass_(music)), and consort songs.

In his will, Paston relates that there are various lute books intabulated in the Italian, French, and English styles, both for solo playing and as accompaniment for singing.<ref name="spring"/><ref name="sequera_thesis">{{Cite thesis|title = House Music for Recusants in Elizabethan England: Performance Practice in the Music Collection of Edward Paston (1550–1630)|last = Sequera|first = Hector|publisher = PhD Thesis University of Birmingham Research Archive|year = 2010|url=http://etheses.bham.ac.uk/1028/}}</ref> He also mentions a chest containing sets of Latin, French, and Italian songs, from three- to eight-part versions, that are not yet printed and which he bequeaths to his son, William, until his grandson, Thomas reaches his eighteenth birthday, when they pass into his keeping. Many of these books are now housed in the [British Library](/source/British_Library) (formerly in the [British Museum](/source/British_Museum)), and the [Royal College of Music](/source/Royal_College_of_Music), London.<ref name="brett"/>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== Sources ==
* Brett, Philip (2006). ''William Byrd and His Contemporaries: Essays and a Monograph.'' University of California Press. {{ISBN|9780520932838}}
* Murray, Tessa (2014). ''Thomas Morley: Elizabethan Music Publisher.''  Boydella & Brewer Ltd. {{ISBN|9781843839606}}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite journal|last1=Taylor|first1=P.|title=Memorializing Mary Tudor: William Byrd and Edward Paston's 'Crowned with Flowers and Lilies'|journal=Music and Letters|date=28 June 2012|volume=93|issue=2|pages=170–190|doi=10.1093/ml/gcs008}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paston, Edward}}
Category:1550 births
Category:1630 deaths
Category:Lutenists
Category:Musicians from Norfolk
Edward
Category:Writers from Norfolk

{{England-poet-stub}}
{{England-musician-stub}}

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