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Thomas CampionEnglish composer and poet
Date of Birth: 12.02.1567
Country:  Great Britain |
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Biography of Thomas Campion
Thomas Campion was an English composer and poet, known for his poetry, songs, and court masques. He adapted ancient poetic forms to the English language and wrote in both Latin and English. Campion was born in London and became an orphan at a young age. He studied at Peterhouse College in Cambridge but did not complete his degree. He then studied law at Gray's Inn but was not admitted to practice as a lawyer. Campion pursued a medical education at the University of Caen and graduated in 1605. It is believed that he worked as a physician in London until his death in 1620, possibly due to the plague. Campion was suspected of being involved in the death of poet Thomas Overbury but was eventually cleared of any wrongdoing.
His Works
Campion's early poems circulated widely in manuscript form, with some of them mistakenly attributed to Philip Sidney and included in a "pirated" edition of the sonnet sequence "Astrophil and Stella." In 1595, he published his first collection of Latin epigrams. In 1602, he published a work titled "Observations in the Art of English Poesie," in which he criticized the practice of rhyming with medieval barbarism.
His four books of songs, titled "A Booke of Ayres," were published between 1601 and 1617. These books brought Campion great fame, as did his performances as a soloist accompanying himself on the lute. The motifs of the English Renaissance resonate in Campion's works, but with a somber and contemplative tone. Traditional poetic themes and subjects receive a unique rhythmic treatment in his compositions.
