Orlando Gibbons

English Renaissance Composer and Keyboardist

Orlando Gibbons (1583–1625) was an English composer, virginalist, and organist of the late Tudor and early Jacobean periods. He is recognized as one of the most versatile English composers of his time, and his polyphonic choral works are considered among the finest in the English church music tradition. Gibbons' career included his appointment as a full member of the Chapel Royal in 1605, where he served as an organist and composed anthems, services, and keyboard works. His compositions include a significant number of keyboard works, madrigals, motets, and a number of verse anthems which combine both solo voice parts with choral responses.