The Consort Music Wars: Jenkins v. Lawes

William Lawes and John Jenkins both had the unusual experience of working for the court of Charles I, a man with great wealth and power who loved the viol and its music. However, Lawes died at the age of 42 at the Battle of Chester during the Civil War, whereas Jenkins lived on even after the king was executed, survived that ill-fated experiment in a sort of democracy (the “Commonwealth”) as a resident musician in the house of a wealthy Catholic,...