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KATHERINE PARR-CULTIVATING AN AURA OF MUSICAL MAJESTY

By Brooke C. Little

Katherine Parr- Att. Master John, National Portrait Gallery London, 16th Cent

Katherine Parre, daughter of Sir Thomas and Lady Maude Parr, was born in 1512. Although the exact location of her birth cannot be determined, biographers believe she was born in close proximity to London. Although Katherine’s education, like other young girls of her station, was particularly centered around domestic skills, music became a poignant part of Katherine’s training. In addition to lessons in vocal music, where Katherine performed in many languages, she was also well versed in instrumental music. According to C. Fenno Hoffman, Jr., Katherine demonstrated, “….skillful playing in three instruments; viol, lute, and virginals.” The skills Katherine received in her education would have prepared her for a life at court, serving the queen in her private chambers. Maude Parr ensured that Katherine acquired the skills necessary for Katherine to make a success in the queen’s domestic sphere, much as she had done.

“Queen Elizabeth Virginals” Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 16th Cent.

Katherine Parre married Henry VIII in late 1543 in the Privy Closet at Hampton Court Palace. As queen, Katherine participated in various musical activities including dancing (which she loved), instrumental ownership, the patronizing of ensembles, and the encouragement of others to look for their own musical enjoyment. Katherine had a large household establishment, mostly overseen by women of the court. Again, one of the duties of a lady-in-waiting was to entertain the queen in her private chambers. The Lady Anne Bassett, who was in the queen’s household from 1543 to 1546, was noted as a maid-of-honor to queen Katherine. Lady Bassett was educated abroad, in France, much like Anne Boleyn, and had a broad musical education that included both vocal and instrumental training. A number of other servants of the queen’s household had musical skill including several of the gentlemen employees. Two men, Walter Erlse and Robert Cooch, were said to have been quite skilled. Robert Cooch, who was steward of the wine cellar, in particular was praised by the Bishop Parkhurst, who said that Cooch was “a very accomplished man, and well skilled in music.”

Katherine fully embraced her new role as queen by dressing the part, surrounding herself with exotic diversions and finery, and through the music and musicians she employed. As regal queenly garments were quite rare and expensive, Katherine ordered fur-lined garments that had once belonged to the deceased Katherine Howard to be brought to her from Baynard’s Castle. Katherine also kept a large retinue of parrots in her household, which she fed with hempseed. However, what may have most promoted her status were the various musical entertainments for which she called. One of the first ensembles she added to her household was a company of Venetian minstrels, the Bassano brothers. Italian musicians were very fashionable, especially during this time, and they were a particular favorite at the Tudor court. Later, she hired yet another Italian string ensemble. Katherine owned her own consort of viols played by these musicians from Milan and Venice, and she paid them eight ducats daily. Furthermore, Katherine patronized Nicholas Udall, a playwright, lyricist, and musician, who was also famous for his musical verses that accompanied the coronation celebrations of Queen Anne Boleyn. Udall wrote a play called Ralph Roister Doister, which featured a number of musical interludes and songs that accompanied the texts. Udall’s musical talents were not only supported financially through Katherine’s patronage; an account book of Katherine’s household found in the National Archives notes that Katherine later gifted Udall with a financial reward. Katherine’s support for music and musicians went well beyond simple patronage; in this particular case, it seems as though she wanted to bless Udall with honors and elevated status.

“Payments and Rewards of Catherine Parr”, National Archives-Kew.

(The note for Nicholas Udall is the third line)

There has been some recent speculation in terms of Katherine’s possible compositional collaboration with Thomas Tallis and the lyrics of the work Gaude Gloriosa dei Mater. The piece was written during the 1544 Henrican campaign against France. As Henry was away in battle, Katherine was appointed regent, and this work is thought to have been part political propaganda for the campaign as well as spiritual encouragement for Henry himself. Katherine, who studied Latin with Nicholas Udall during her time as queen, also became a published author during her reign, writing the anti-papal works Lamentations of a Sinner in 1547, Prayers and Meditations and Prayers and Psalms. The latter work was published in 1544, the year coinciding with the campaign at Bologne, and contains similar phrasing between the literary and the musical work by Tallis. The text matches that of the ninth psalm found in Katherine’s work Prayers and Psalms, called “Agaynst Ennimies”. David Skinner argues that this work was featured in an elaborate church service, to rally the troops leaving London for war, and that Katherine was responsible for helping Archbishop Cranmer plan the service. Skinner suggests that Parre was able to work with Thomas Tallis to support her husband and the campaign through an anonymous submission of the prayerful military text.

Enlarged fragment of the Gaude Gloriosa Dei Mater by Tallis, found in wall cracks of Corpus Christi College, Oxford

Gaude Gloriosa Dei Mater- Thomas Tallis performed by Alamire

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLsWeReMZak

NOTES

British National Archives-Kew, “Payments and Rewards-Catherine Parr” E 315/340, f. 18v.

Antonia Fraser, The Six Wives of Henry VIII (London: Orion Publishing, 1992), 451.

Hannah Furness, “King Henry VIII’s sixth wife collaborated with Thomas Tallis to Write Music to Rally her Husband for War”, The Telegraph, accessed June 15, 2017. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/03/12/king-henry-viiis-sixth-wife-collaborated-thomas tallis-write/.

Dakota L. Hamilton, “The Household of Queen Katherine Parr” (PhD diss., Somerville College, 1992), 124.

Fenno Hoffman, Jr., “Catherine Parr as a Woman of Letters,” Huntington Library Quarterly 23, no. 4 (1960): 353.

Brigit Katz, “Did Catherine Parr write a propaganda song for Henry VIII?” The Smithsonian, accessed September 10, 2017. http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/did-katherine-parr-write-propaganda-song-henry-viii-180962552/

Linda Porter, Katherine the Queen: The Remarkable Life of Katherine Parr, the Last Wife of Henry VIII (New York: St. Martin’s Griffin Publishing, 2010), 32-34.

Alison Weir, The Six Wives of Henry VIII (London: The Bodley Head, 1991), 314.

