No . 135
The Trusty Servant
Thomas Weelkes : drunkard , notorious blasphemer , and organist of Winchester College
David Hurley ( E , 76-80 ; Co Ro 17- ) traces the complex life of a great composer :
There is a stained-glass window in the north aisle of Chichester Cathedral that shows a bearded man of around forty years of age , wearing a lilac and gold doublet , baggy blue and gold breeches , purple hose , and brown shoes adorned with flower-shaped gold buckles . He is Thomas Weelkes , who served as organist at Chichester from 1602 until his death in 1623 ; previously he had served as organist of Winchester College . This idealised image of Weelkes shows a bright-eyed man of stature , standing comfortably in the company of deans , bishops and saints , who make up the rest of the subjects of the panels in a collection of windows installed as part of the Cathedral ’ s post-war renovations in 1949 .
In reality , Weelkes was far from the paragon implied by this portrait . Judging by the reports of his behaviour at Chichester Cathedral he was probably not the easiest person to work alongside . With his undeniable talent , he might have expected to make the move to London early in his career for comfortable and well-paid employment in the Chapel Royal ; however , he never sat at the epicentre of musical life at the royal court , and he never rose to the position of fame and social favour held by the likes of Thomas Morley ( 1557 – 1602 ) and William Byrd ( c . 1540 – 1623 ).
Much of Weelkes ’ s early life remains a mystery . Even the spelling of his name is a source of confusion . On his marriage certificate , he was listed as John Wilks , although this was subsequently corrected . In searching for clues about his parentage , other spellings ( Wilkes , Weeks , Weekes , Wicks , Wycks and Wyk ) have been investigated . A Thomas Wikes serving as a chorister , is listed in Winchester Cathedral records in the mid-1580s . He may also be the Thomas Weeke , son of the Revd . John Weeke , who held the living in the parish of Twyford . Weelkes ’ s
The dedication begins ‘ My Lord , in the Cledge of Winchester , where I live , I have heard learned men say , ..’ connection with the Winchester area certainly predates his appointment as organist at Winchester College in 1598 . He dedicated his first volume of madrigals , published the year before his appointment at Winchester College , to George Philpott of Compton Place , in Twyford ’ s neighbouring village .
The details of Weelkes ’ s life become less sketchy after his arrival at the College . He is listed on the title page of his second volume of madrigals ( 1600 ) as ‘ of the College at Winchester , organist ’, and in College accounts for the 1st quarter of the financial year 1598 / 99 there is the following entry : ‘ Item pro vitro pro cubiculo Mri Weelkes xxi d ’, showing that the comfort of Master Weelkes was important to the College . His quarterly salary of 13s 4d was listed amongst the chaplains and chapel clerks ( Stipendia capellanorum et clericorum capellae ); however , by the 1601-2 accounts his stipend had been reduced to 10s , and this was listed as ‘ stipendia servientum in genere ’. The organist ’ s status had been reduced to that of a servant of the College . Why was this so ?
The answer may lie in the events of his time in Chichester . On arrival there as informator choristarum , Weelkes ’ s fortunes seemed to be on the rise . Adding up all of his stipends , he was earning £ 15 2s . 4d . per annum . He had been awarded a BMus by New College , Oxford . He had had
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