Anthony Holborne (1545-1602) was a British composer of viol consort music who lived during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.  Holborne lived and worked about a century before Purcell, and wrote the earliest music on our program today.  Holborne wrote music for lute, for winds, and for the cittern, a many stringed plucked instrument which is similar to the lute. 

He was held in the highest esteem as a composer by his contemporaries. In fact, John Dowland dedicated the first song I saw my lady weepe in his Second Booke to Anthony Holborne. Among Holborne’s patrons were Sir Robert Cecil and the Countess of Pembroke, Mary Sidney.  Holborne’s Pavan “Funeralls” was written for the funeral procession of Mary Sidney in 1599.

His piece, The Night Watch, refers to one of the duties of the “city waits”. The “waits” were bands of musicians who kept night watch on the city gate, and also played music on official occasions, welcomed royal visitors by playing at the town gates, led the mayor's procession on civic occasions, and awoke townsfolk on winter mornings by playing under their windows.

Anthony Holborne arranged The Night Watch several times for different instruments: for cittern and bass viol; for bandora; for consort; and for the lute. We will perform the consort version today.  This constant rearranging of music was typical of the renaissance spirit. In 1642, Rembrandt created a painting of the same name, The Night Watch, which depicts the militia guarding a town, and including a musician.