William Webb

(c.1600 - after 1656)

English composer. Gentleman of the Chapel Royal from some time in the 1630s through 1641. A wait, he was on fringes of the court in the 1630s. The presence of declamatory songs by Webb in early MS song books suggests, surprisingly, he was active before 1620, and that his were some of the first songs of their type to achieve popularity. He appears in fact on an equal footing with Lanier, Wilson and Henry Lawes in pre-1625 manuscript song collections, although as a song writer his reputation failed to keep pace--or rather, it took another direction, for his inclination lay in the direction of the tuneful partsong. most of his printed songs are of this type, and they are among the best of their kind.

He is often associated with two other composers of about the same age, Simon Ives and William Caesar, aliasSmegergill.





A Partial Discography of William Webb  |   English Lute Composers before 1635  |  IV M: England Through 1635 | Catches and Glees  |   Guide to English Song in the Elizabethan and Stuart Ages