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Tier 3 · vertical & regionalfull biography
Thomas Tomkins
Person · male · Kingdom of England · St Davids · born 1572 · died 1656 · recording since 1989
Welsh composer
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Also known as Thomas Tompkins · 托马斯·汤姆金斯
Timeline
15 events▣ Album 12◦ Birth 1† Death 1★ Debut release 1
1570s
1650s
1980s
· Debut release
Debut release: Cathedral Music
First documented Album in the MusicBrainz discography.
source: musicbrainz
1990s
· Album
Album: Choral and Organ Works (Oxford Camerata feat. cond: Jeremy Summerly)
Album
source: musicbrainz
2000s
2010s
Biography
English biography963 words · 2 sectionssource: wikipedia-en · licence CC BY-SA 4.0 · revision 1372542730
Biography
Thomas Tomkins (1572 – 9 June 1656) was a Welsh-born composer of the late Tudor and early Stuart period. In addition to being one of the prominent members of the English Madrigal School, he was a skilled composer of keyboard and consort music, and the last member of the English virginalist school.
Life
Tomkins was born in St David's in Pembrokeshire in 1572. His father, also Thomas, who had moved there in 1565 from the family home of Lostwithiel in Cornwall, was a vicar choral of St David's Cathedral and organist there. Three of Thomas junior's half-brothers, John, Giles and Robert, also became eminent musicians, but none quite attained the fame of Thomas. By 1594, but possibly as early as 1586, Thomas and his family had moved to Gloucester, where his father was employed as a minor canon at the cathedral. Thomas almost certainly studied under William Byrd for a time, for one of his songs bears the inscription: To my ancient, and much reverenced Master, William Byrd, and it may have been at this period of his career, since Byrd leased property at Longney, near Gloucester. Although documentary proof is lacking, it is also possible that Byrd was instrumental in finding young Thomas a place as chorister in the Chapel Royal. In any case, all former Chapel Royal choristers were required to be found a place at university, and in 1607 Tomkins was admitted to the degree of B.Mus. as a member of Magdalen College, Oxford.
But already in 1596 he had been appointed Organist at Worcester Cathedral. The next year, he married Alice Patrick, a widow nine years his senior, whose husband Nathaniel, who died in 1595, had been Tomkins' predecessor at Worcester. Thomas's only son, Nathaniel, was born in Worcester in 1599, where he was to spend the rest of his life and become a respected musician.
Tomkins was acquainted with Thomas Morley, also a pupil of Byrd's, for his signed copy of Morley's publication Plaine and Easie Introduction to Practicall Musicke (1597) has been preserved, together with Tomkins' many annotations; and in 1601 Morley included one of Tomkins' madrigals in his important collection The Triumphs of Oriana.
In 1612, Tomkins oversaw the construction in Worcester cathedral of a magnificent new organ by Thomas Dallam, the foremost organ-builder of the day. He continued writing verse anthems, and his collection of 28 madrigals, the Songs of 3, 4, 5 and 6 parts was finally published in 1622 with a dedicatory poem by his half-brother John Tomkins (circa 1587–1638), now organist of King's College, Cambridge (later of St Paul's and of the Chapel Royal), with whom Thomas maintained an intimate and loving relationship.
Probably by about 1603, Thomas was appointed a Gentleman Extraordinary of the Chapel Royal. This was an honorary post, but in 1621 he became a Gentleman Ordinary and organist under his friend and senior organist, Orlando Gibbons. The duties connected with this post included regular journeys between Worcester and London, which Tomkins performed until about 1639.[1]
On James I's death in March 1625 Tomkins, with other Gentlemen of the Chapel Royal, was required to attend to both the music for James's funeral and that for the coronation of Charles I. These monumental tasks proved too much for Gibbons, who died of a stroke in Canterbury, where Charles was supposed to meet his future bride, Henrietta Maria of France, placing an even greater strain on Tomkins. Because of plague, the coronation was luckily postponed until February 1626, giving Tomkins time to compose most of the eight anthems sung at the ceremony.
In 1628, Tomkins was named "Composer of [the King's] Music in ordinary" at an annual salary of £40, succeeding Alfonso Ferrabosco the younger who died in March that year. But this prestigious post, the highest honour available to an English musician, was quickly revoked on the grounds that it had been promised to Ferrabosco's son. This shabby treatment was to be only the first of a series of adversities that overtook the composer for the last fourteen years of his life. He continued, however, to perform his dual duties at Worcester and London until 1639.
Tomkins' devoted wife Alice died in 1642, the year civil war broke out. Worcester was one of the first casualties: the cathedral was desecrated, and Tomkins' organ badly damaged by the Parliamentarians. The following year, Tomkins' house near the cathedral suffered a direct hit by cannon shot, making it uninhabitable for a long period, and destroying most of his household goods and probably a number of his musical manuscripts. About this time Tomkins married his second wife Martha Browne, widow of a Worcester Cathedral lay clerk.
Further conflict and a siege in 1646 caused untold damage to the city. With the choir disbanded and the cathedral closed, Tomkins turned his genius to the composition of some of his finest keyboard and consort music; in 1647, he wrote a belated tombeau or tribute to Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford, and a further one to the memory of William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury, both of them beheaded in the 1640s, and both admired by Tomkins. Charles I was executed in 1649, and a few days later Tomkins, always a royalist, composed his superb Sad Pavan: for these distracted times. His second wife Martha died around 1653, and deprived of his living, Tomkins, now 81, was in serious financial difficulties. In 1654, his son Nathaniel married Isabella Folliott, a wealthy widow, and Thomas went to live with them in Martin Hussingtree, some four miles from Worcester. He expressed his gratitude by composing his Galliard, The Lady Folliot's in her honour. Two years later he died and was buried in the churchyard of the Church of St Michael and All Angels in Martin Hussingtree on 9 June 1656.
Discography & profile
Normalised profile
Percentiles are computed over every artist in the database, so a tier-3 artist can still sit in the 95th percentile on a single axis.
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 16 | 74.5th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 12 | 83.4th |
| Studio albums | 12 | 92.8th |
| Awards recorded | 0 | 0th |
| Timeline events | 15 | 91.2th |
| Recording span (years) | -333 | 1.3th |
| Genres | 0 | 0th |
Percentiles are computed at render time; missing values mean the artist has no data on that axis.
Discography (12 release groups · 12 studio albums)
Albums · 12
1989 · studio album
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Tracklist · 13 tracks · 1:02:43
1O Sing Unto the Lord a New Song3:572Then David Mourned3:023My Beloved Spake Unto Me4:584Above the Stars My Saviour Dwells4:095Third Service Canticles: I. Magnificat7:156Third Service Canticles: II. Nunc Dimittis3:527Glory Be to God on High5:138Almighty God, the Fountain of All Wisdom6:279When David Heard5:0410My Shepherd Is the Living Lord3:5711Sing Unto God6:5512Behold, the Hour Cometh3:5713O God, the Proud Are Risen Against Me3:571991 · studio album
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Tracklist · 11 tracks · 58:11
1Third or Great Service: Te Deum12:222Third or Great Service: Jubilate6:483Third or Great Service: Magnificat6:524Third or Great Service: Nunc Dimittis4:095Anthem: When David Heard4:276Anthem: Then David Mourned3:007Anthem: Almighty God, The Fountain Of All Wisdom5:368Anthem: Woe Is Me4:139Anthem: Be Strong And Of A Good Courage2:3410Anthem: O Sing Unto The Lord A New Song3:4411Anthem: O God, The Proud Are Risen Against Me4:261994 · studio album
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Tracklist · 15 tracks · 1:10:23
1Prelude3:172Voluntary4:323A Sad Pavan - For These Distracted Times7:574The Perpetual Round2:185Fancy4:106Ut, Mi, Re8:067Pavan - Earl Strafford4:428Galliard - Earl Strafford2:539Ground5:5110Worcester Browls1:2611Fortune My Foe10:0612The Hunting Galliard2:3313Pavan3:5214Galliard2:0515Barafostus' Dream6:35Consort Music for Viols and Voices / Keyboard Music
1995 · studio album
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Tracklist · 18 tracks · 1:05:01
1Pavan in F major3:222Almain in F major1:363In Nomine2:514Above the Stars3:525Fantasia XIV3:326Fantasia I2:057A Fancy: for Two to Play2:218Ut re mi (Hexachord Fantasia)6:469O Lord, Let Me Know Mine End5:3510Fantasia XII2:5111In Nomine II2:3312Paven and Galliard: Earl Strafford7:2113Fantasia3:3914Miserere3:0215Voluntary3:0016Pavan in A minor4:3417Galliard2:0118Thou Art My King, O God4:00Complete Keyboard Music Vol. 2
1996 · studio album
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Tracklist · 15 tracks · 1:11:44
1Prelude1:552Fancy1:533In Nomine (Version I)6:244In Nomine (Version II)5:305In Nomine5:096Voluntary3:217Pavan4:428Galliard2:519Fancy – For Viols6:5110Toy – Made At Poole Court2:2311Pavan3:4312Robin Hood6:1713Pavan5:4814Pavan6:1015Ground8:47Complete Keyboard Music Vol. 4
1997 · studio album
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Tracklist · 20 tracks · 1:13:04
1In Nomine (No. 12)3:302In Nomine (No. 9)3:313In Nomine (No. 8)5:164A Verse of Three Parts2:475Clarifica Me Pater2:516(Without Title) (No. 68)4:287Fancy5:448Miserere (No. 15)1:239Miserere (No. 14)1:3710Miserere (No. 19)1:3111Miserere (No. 20)1:2312A Short Verse2:2113Miserere (No. 17)2:0114Miserere (No. 13)1:5015Miserere (No. 18)4:2516A Short Verse for Edward Thornburgh0:5317Another Short Verse1:0718Voluntary for Mr. Archdeacon Thornburgh4:0119Offertory16:3920A Substantial Verse5:46Complete Keyboard Music Vol. 3
1997 · studio album
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Tracklist · 21 tracks · 1:08:38
1Fancy3:472Pavan Of Three Parts3:593Galliard Of Three Parts1:594Miserere3:545Pavan – Lord Canterbury4:396Ut, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La1:237Ut, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La15:568Short Pavan2:119Voluntary2:0710What If A Day3:0411The Lady Folliott's Galliard1:4312Pavan8:0213Fancy – For Two To Play2:3614Appendix: Prelude (with different ending to Vol. 1 track 1)3:3315Appendix: Ut, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La (Appendix to track 7)3:2416Appendix: Ut, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La (fragment)0:4517Appendix: Ut, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La (fragment)0:4318Appendix: Ut, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La (fragment)0:2119Appendix: Ut, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La (fragment)3:3120Appendix: Go From My Window (fragment)0:3821Appendix: Bitts Or Morcells (fragment)0:23Choral and Organ Works (Oxford Camerata feat. cond: Jeremy Summerly)
1999 · studio album
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Tracklist · 15 tracks · 1:06:56
1Great and marvellous are thy works2:332My shepherd is the living Lord3:553Magnificat (The Fifth Service)5:244Nunc dimitis (The Fifth Service): Nunc dimittis (The Fifth Service)3:025(Organ) Voluntary (in D)1:526Funeral Sentences7:577Pavan and Galliard4:428Arise, O Lord God, lift up thine hand6:099Above the stars my saviour dwells4:0910When David heard that Absalom was slain5:1811A Sad Pavan for these distracted times3:1412Then David mourned with his lamentation3:5713Behold, the hour cometh and now is4:0914Almighty God, the fountain of all wisdom6:5515O sing unto the Lord a new song3:40Barafostus Dreame: Music for Harpsichord and Virginals
2001 · studio album
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Tracklist · 19 tracks · 1:13:36
1Barafostus' Dream5:162Pavan of Three Parts4:313Galliard of Three Parts1:394Miserere1:215A Sad Pavan for These Distracted Times7:256Worcester Brawls1:197What If a Day2:458Fancy for Two to Play2:269Fancy2:2010Pavan6:4411The Lady Folliott's Galliard1:3412Fancy3:1113Toy Made at Poole Court1:4114Pavan Earl Strafford4:3915Galliard Earl Strafford2:2816Fortune My Foe7:4317Ground5:3018In Nomine4:3019Ground6:34Thomas Tomkins: These Distracted Times
2007 · studio album
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Tracklist · 17 tracks · 1:05:40
1Pavan I3:152Almighty God, the fountain of all wisdom5:243Hear my prayer, O Lord4:284The heavens declare2:565Te Deum (The Fifth Service)7:376A Fancy3:117Jubilate (The Fifth Service)5:088O Lord, how manifold1:529Pavan VII3:3710I heard a voice from heaven1:4511Magnificat (The Fifth Service)5:2412Pavan ‘for these distracted times’3:0713Nunc dimittis (The Fifth Service)2:5014Pavan VIII3:3415Remember me, O Lord2:3816When David heard3:5817My help cometh from the Lord4:56When David Heard: Sacred Choral Works
2014 · studio album
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Tracklist · 12 tracks · 1:02:23
1When David Heard That Absalom Was Slain5:282Almighty God, Which Hast Knit Together5:103Magnificat5:414Nunc dimittis2:505Almighty God, the Fountain of All Wisdom7:156A Sad Pavan for These Distracted Times3:317My Shepherd Is the Living Lord3:528Behold, I Bring You Glad Tidings3:409Voluntary in A Minor3:3210Third "Great" Service: Jubilate7:1011Clarifica me Pater2:2612Third "Great" Service: Te Deum11:482016 · studio album
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Tracklist · 17 tracks · 1:05:21
1Fantasia à 6 No. 182:332Sing unto God6:053A Fantasy3:024Thou Art My King4:365Fantasia à 3 No. 143:146Above the Stars My Saviour Dwells3:357A Substantial Verse4:238Pavan à 5 No. 63:519Magnificat & Nunc Dimittis: Magnificat5:0910Pavan à 5 No. 72:4511Magnificat & Nunc Dimittis: Nunc dimittis2:4112Alman à 41:2113O Lord, Let Me Know Mine End5:5714Voluntary for Mr. Archdeacon Thornburgh2:1515Fantasia à 6 No. 173:0516Pavan & Galliard à 6 No. 184:3117Rejoice, Rejoice and Sing6:18
Stats & PK
Percentile within all 23,672 published artists.Put Thomas Tomkins head-to-head →
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 16 | 74.5th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 12 | 83.4th |
| Studio albums | 12 | 92.8th |
| Awards recorded | 0 | 0th |
| Timeline events | 15 | 91.2th |
| Recording span (years) | -333 | 1.3th |
| Genres | 0 | 0th |
Awards & honours
Where this record comes from
aliases/urls—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/c6cafe0f-b3d0-4f11-a9b5-bbda7b113322discography—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/c6cafe0f-b3d0-4f11-a9b5-bbda7b113322core—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q968698seed-list—wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Tomkinsbiography—wikipedia-en · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Tomkins
Why this artist is in the database
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Wikidata: Q968698 · MusicBrainz: c6cafe0f-b3d0-4f11-a9b5-bbda7b113322