Page:Dictionary of National Biography volume 16.djvu/334

 than in unison with them. In the accompaniments to the solo verses there is occasionally found a greater laxity as to compass and style than would have been permitted had the whole score been written for voices, and not infrequently, as in the opening of ‘Blow out the trumpet,’ something like what we should now call ‘descriptive’ music seems to be attempted.

[Compositions of Michael East, as above; Preface to the Triumphs of Oriana, first published in score by William Hawes about 1814; Preface to Rimbault's Collection of Anthems by Composers of the Madrigalian Era, published for the Musical Antiquarian Society (1845); Grove's Dict. of Music, i. 495.]  EAST (also spelt Est, Este, and Easte), THOMAS (1540?–1608?), printer and music publisher, was made a freeman of the Stationers' Company on 6 Dec. 1565. The first appearance of his name as a printer occurs in the registers of the company in 1576, when he issued Robinson's ‘Christmas Recreacons of Histories and Moralizacons aplied for our solace and consolacons.’ After this date his name is of frequent occurrence as a printer of general literature, but he does not appear as a printer of music until 1587, when an entry occurs, under date 6 Nov., of a set of part-books entitled, according to the register, ‘Bassus. Sonnettes and Songs made into musick of fyve parts. By William Burd.’ This is taken to be identical with the undated edition of Byrd's ‘Psalmes, Sonets, and Songs of Sadnes and Pietie,’ the dated edition of which appeared in 1588 [see ]. On this assumption the first word of the title would be simply a misprint for ‘Psalmes,’ but it is far more likely that the scribe wrote out the complete title of one of the part-books, including the name of the part, i.e. bass. In either case the contents of the earlier book are probably to be found in the 1588 edition, in the title of which East is described as publishing in Aldersgate Street, over against the sign of the George, and as ‘the assigne of W. Byrd.’ This last is explained by the fact that in 1585, on the death of Tallis, Byrd had acquired the monopoly of printing music by the terms of the patent granted to him and Tallis by Queen Elizabeth in 1575. In 1588 the great collection of Italian madrigals entitled ‘Musica Transalpina’ was published, and became the most important agent in promoting that admiration for the madrigal form as used by the Italians which resulted in the foundation of the splendid school of English madrigalists. The frequency with which the printer's name appears as Este, taken in connection with the fact that he was chosen to introduce the Italian compositions into England, makes it difficult to resist the conjecture that the printer was of Italian extraction, but there is of course no direct evidence that such was the case. In 1589 Byrd's ‘Songs of Sundrie Natures’ and the first book of his ‘Cantiones Sacræ’ were published by East at the sign of the Black Horse in Aldersgate Street. In the following year the same composer contributed two madrigals to Thomas Watson's ‘First Sett of Italian Madrigalls Englished,’ as he had previously done in the case of ‘Musica Transalpina,’ and in 1591 the second set of Byrd's own ‘Cantiones Sacræ’ was issued by his assignee. In 1591 East printed a new edition of the psalter of William Damon, the first issue of which had been published by John Day in 1579. This new issue of the book was published by William Swayne, who seems to have undertaken the expense of the work in consequence of the former edition not having received its due [see ]. This psalter has a special interest for musicians, in that its two parts present respectively the ancient and the modern methods of harmonising tunes for congregational use; the first section of the book gives the tune to the tenor, the second, according to modern usage, to the treble voice. It would appear that the innovation did not at once appeal to the public, for in the following year East brought out a psalter on his own account, of which he seems to have been the editor, and in which the tenor part has the tune, as in all the older psalters. The tunes were harmonised by ten eminent composers, among whom, strange to say, Byrd's name does not occur. They are Richard Allison, E. Blancks, Michael Cavendish, William Cobbold, John Douland, John Farmer, Giles Farnaby, Edmund Hooper, Edward Johnson, and George Kirbye. The title of the first edition runs: ‘The Whole Booke of Psalmes: with their wonted tunes, as they are song in Churches, composed into four parts: All which are so placed that foure may sing ech one a seueral part in this booke. Wherein the Church tunes are carefully corrected, and thereunto added other short tunes vsually song in London, and other places of this Realme. With a Table in the end of the booke of such tunes as are newly added, with the number of ech Psalme placed to the said Tune. Compiled by sondry authors who haue so laboured heerin, that the vnskilful with small practice may attaine to sing that part which is fittest for their voice.’ From this it is plain that the psalter is an early example of what musicians now call ‘score’ as distinguished from the ‘part-books,’ each of which contained a separate part, so that a whole set of books was always