Lord Salisbury's Pavan

Orlando Gibbons (1583 – 1625) was an English composer and organist of the late Tudor period. King James appointed him a Gentleman of the Chapel Royal, where he served as an organist from at least 1615 until his death in 1625. He was a leading composer in the England of his day, his obit service is commemorated every year in King's College Chapel, Cambridge.


Glenn Gould (1932 – 1982) was a Canadian pianist noted especially for his recordings of Johann Sebastian Bach, "remarkable technical proficiency, unorthodox musical philosophy, and eccentric personality and piano technique. He is one of the best known and most celebrated pianists of the twentieth century."

Gould's favorite composer was Gibbons: "Ever since my teen-age years his music has moved me more deeply than any other sound experience I can think of." Gibbons' famous Earl of Salisbury Pavan, composed in memory of Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, who died on 24 May 1612, is probably the best known and arguably finest of the Renaissance Pavans, with its slow melodic progress and stately breadth and dignity. Enjoy.