Thomas Ford

Thomas Ford

Thomas Ford is an English composer, lutenist, viol player and poet from the United Kingdom. Born around 1580 and dying in 1648, he is associated with the transition between Renaissance and Baroque styles, and his music is grouped with early music, blues, English Baroque and lute traditions.

Career

Ford is attached to the court of Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales, the son of James I, and he serves in several royal households over his career. He is musician to the household of Prince Henry from 1610 to 1612, musician to the household of Prince Charles from 1617 to 1625, and musician to Charles I from 1626 until the outbreak of the English Civil War in 1642.

He is buried in St. Margaret's, Westminster.

Works

Ford writes anthems for three to six voices, four sacred canons, 35 partsongs, six fantasias for five parts, and a small number of other pieces for viols. His sacred music includes collections from 1614 and 1620, and some of these works use a basso continuo, which is an unusual feature in English music of the period.

His most important collection is generally taken to be Musicke of Sundrie Kindes, published in London in 1607 and issued in two parts. The first book contains lute ayres, including settings for four voices with lute, orpharion or bass viol, as well as a dialogue for two voices. The second part contains dances for combinations of viols, including pavens, galiards, almaines, toies, jigges and thumpes. Many of the ayres appear in two versions: one for voice or voices and lute, and another for four equal voices.

Style

Ford's viol writing sometimes uses an effect described as a heavy pizzicato thump, produced with the first and second fingers of the left hand. He is regarded as one of the principal figures of the school that comes before Henry Lawes, alongside John Dowland.