English musicians in the age of exploration

Description

When Drake set sail from Plymouth harbour on 15 November 1577 at the start of his epic circumnavigation of the world, he had with him on board the Pelican four professional musicians and at least one trumpeter... from the Introduction.The three epoch-making voyages of Columbus (1492), Vasco da Gama (1497 and Magellan (1519 inaugurated the Age of Exploration, the most intensive era of discovery in the history of the world. This book seeks to ascertain what part musicians played in the patterns of settlement which still determine many of the cultural and linguistic boundaries of the present-day world. The focus is on Englishmen, but account will betaken of musicians representing the other leading colonial nations of Europe-France, Spain, Portugal and Holland. This study deals with the hundreds of musicians who left their native country to serve on long-distance ships in the years between the accession of Elizabeth I and the end of the 17th century. Among the many subjects covered are musical duties at sea, musicians as ambassadors on land, musical trinkets for barter, musicians of the East India Company, musical instruments presented by the trading companies, trumpeters, drum and fife players, amateur musicians, musicians in the colonization of North America, and much more Introduction PART I: MUSICAL LIFE ON SHIPS THE MUSICIANS Chapter 1. The professional consorts Chapter 2. The trumpeters and drummers THE MUSIC Chapter 3. Music for public worship Chapter 4. Signalling and ceremonial duties Chapter 5. Amateur music-making Chapter 6. Music for entertainments PART II: THE ROLE OF MUSICIANS OVERSEAS – Exploration And Colonization In The New World Chapter 7. Initial contact Chapter 8. The formal act of conquest Chapter 9. Military occupation Chapter 10. Early settlement Chapter 11. The Growth of Colonies TRADE IN THE EAST Chapter 12. Establishing the routes Chapter 13. Permission to trade Chapter 14. The growth of the factory system PART III: REACTIONS AND ATTITUDES Chapter 15. Geographical and commercial themes in English music Chapter 16. Attitudes to non-European cultures in travelers' reports Chapter 17. An episode of acculturation: The "Hindostannie air" Index