Song 01

Orlando Gibbons (1583 – 1625) was an English composer, virginalist and organist of the late Tudor and early Jacobean periods. He was a leading composer in England in the early 17th century.

Between 1596 and 1598 he sang in the Choir of King's College, Cambridge, where his brother Edward Gibbons (1568–1650), eldest of the four sons of William Gibbons, was master of the choristers.

King James I appointed him a Gentleman of the Chapel Royal, where he served as an organist from at least 1615 until his death.

In 1623 he became senior organist at the Chapel Royal, with Thomas Tomkins as junior organist.

He died at age 41 in Canterbury of apoplexy, and a monument to him was built in Canterbury Cathedral.

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We lost three friends during the last months; they all had to succumb to different forms of cancer.
Another dear friend has heard she only has a short time more to live.

This hymn sums it all up; at least for me, through Orlando's musical genius and the words of J.W. Chadwick, that replaced an older text.