Weelkes's madrigals employ a number of prominent compositional features drawn from the English style. His use of chromaticism, however, demonstrates a considerable debt to Italian musical practice. In his 1600 collection Madrigals of Five and Six Parts, especially, his use of chromaticism grew to rival that of Marenzio, having studied not only Marenzio's late chromatic works, but also Monteverdi's Il terzo libro de madrigali a cinque voci by 1600. Works by Marenzio that may have influenced Weelkes include Se la mia vita (1588) and Udite lagrimosi (1594), while Monteverdi's Rimanti in pace may have likewise had an effect on the English composer's music. However, in other ways Weelkes is indebted to the influence of other English composers like Dowland and, especially, Morley. Such influences are evident in a comparison of Weelkes's O Care though wilt despatch me with Dowland's Burst forth and Morley?s Phillis, I fain would die now. Another possible influence on Weelkes's more extreme use of chromaticism could be the keyboard and church music of Peter Philips. Thus, Weelkes's daring chromaticism can be attributed to a number of sources, the most prominent of which are the late Italian madrigalists Marenzio and Monteverdi.

Works: Thomas Weelkes: Madrigals of Five and Six Parts (2-14), O Care thou wilt despatch me (3).

Sources: Monteverdi: Il terzo libro a cinque voci (2), Rimanti in pace (11); Dowland: Burst forth (3); Thomas Morley: Phillis, I fain would die now (3); Marenzio: Se la mia vita (7), Udite lagrimosi (10).

Index Classifications: 1500s, 1600s

Contributed by: Elizabeth Elmi