In Nomine IX (Fitzwilliam Virginal Book)

Several harpsichord uploads again are appearing in the hall. I'll also now reupload one of the HUGE pieces that was deleted last summer. Please enjoy Dr. John Bull's (1562/63–1628) In Nomine IX (Fitzwilliam Virginal Book) on the Harpsichord: Grimaldi Italian model (played on a single manual).

This was a continuation back then of my exploration of “In Nomine” settings for keyboard instruments, playable on both organ and harpsichord, the unique and virtuosic In Nomine IX by Dr. John Bull. (Nothing can prepare you for this extremely challenging work. It's one of the hardest things I've ever played.) Note: I used AI to help gather information and put the notes together about this piece.

A Dramatic Life Behind the Music

John Bull was more than just an extraordinary keyboard virtuoso—he was an Oxford and Cambridge doctor of music, at a time when doctoral degrees were extraordinarily rare and prestigious. Apel postulates that he was perhaps the first composer to follow an academic career. Bull’s primary teacher was John Blitheman (ca. 1525–1591), one of the most important English organists of the mid-to-late 16th century, and a key figure already featured in this In Nomine series (see the playlist). Blitheman was Master of the Children of the Chapel Royal and organist at the Chapel Royal as well as Christ Church, Oxford. He directly preceded Bull in his Chapel Royal post, and upon Blitheman’s death in 1591, Bull succeeded him as organist. According to sources like The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians and Apel, Bull was not only Blitheman’s successor but also his protégé. So, being educated as a chorister in the Chapel Royal, Bull swiftly rose through elite positions: Hereford Cathedral organist, Gentleman of the Chapel Royal, and, astonishingly, the first Public Reader in Music at Gresham College, appointed on the recommendation of Queen Elizabeth I herself.

(Please find further notes in the comment section, as we're out of room here. Thank you.)