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Masque

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This article is about 16th- and early 17th-century court entertainments. For other uses, seeMasque (disambiguation).
Costume for a Knight, byInigo Jones:the plumed helmet, the"heroic torso"in armour and other conventions were still employed foropera seriain the 18th century.

Themasquewas a form of festivecourtlyentertainmentthat flourished in 16th- and early 17th-century Europe, though it was developed earlier inItaly,in forms including theintermedio(a public version of the masque was thepageant). A masque involved music, dancing, singing and acting, within an elaboratestage design,in which the architectural framing and costumes might be designed by a renowned architect, to present a deferential allegory flattering to the patron. Professional actors and musicians were hired for the speaking and singing parts. Masquers who did not speak or sing were often courtiers: the English queenAnne of Denmarkfrequently danced with her ladies in masques between 1603 and 1611, andHenry VIIIandCharles I of Englandperformed in the masques at their courts.[citation needed]In the tradition of masque,Louis XIV of Francedanced inballetsatVersailleswith music byJean-Baptiste Lully.[1]

Development[edit]

The masque tradition developed from the elaborate pageants and courtly shows ofducal Burgundyin the lateMiddle Ages.Masques were typically a complimentary offering to the prince among his guests and might combine pastoral settings, mythological fables, and the dramatic elements of ethical debate. There would invariably be some political and social application of the allegory. Such pageants often celebrated a birth, marriage, change of ruler or aRoyal Entryand invariably ended with a tableau of bliss and concord.

Masque imagery tended to be drawn from Classical rather than Christian sources, and the artifice was part of the Grand dance. Masque thus lent itself toManneristtreatment in the hands of master designers likeGiulio RomanoorInigo Jones.

TheNew Historians,in works like the essays of Bevington and Holbrook'sThe Politics of the Stuart Court Masque(1998),[2]have pointed out the political subtext of masques. At times, the political subtext was not far to seek:The Triumph of Peace,put on with a large amount of parliament-raised money byCharles I,caused great offence to thePuritans.Catherine de' Medici's court festivals,often even more overtly political, were among the most spectacular entertainments of her day, although the "intermezzi"of theMedicicourt inFlorencecould rival them.

Dumbshow[edit]

In English theatre tradition, adumbshowis a masque-like interlude of silentmimeusually withallegorical contentthat refers to the occasion of a play or its theme, the most famous being the dumbshow played out inHamlet(III.ii). Dumbshows might be a moving spectacle, like a procession, as inThomas Kyd'sThe Spanish Tragedy(1580s), or they might form a pictorial tableau, as one in the Shakespeare collaboration,Pericles, Prince of Tyre(III.i)—a tableau that is immediately explicated at some length by the poet-narrator,Gower.

Dumbshows were a Medieval element that continued to be popular in earlyElizabethan drama,but by the timePericles(c. 1607–08) orHamlet(c. 1600–02) were staged, they were perhaps quaintly old-fashioned: "What means this, my lord?" is Ophelia's reaction. In English masques, purely musical interludes might be accompanied by a dumbshow.

Origins[edit]

The masque has its origins in a folk tradition where masked players would unexpectedly call on a nobleman in his hall, dancing and bringing gifts on certain nights of the year, or celebrating dynastic occasions. The rustic presentation of "Pyramus and Thisbe" as a wedding entertainment in Shakespeare'sA Midsummer Night's Dreamoffers a familiar example. Spectators were invited to join in the dancing. At the end, the players would take off their masks to reveal their identities.

Court masques in England and Scotland[edit]

In England,Tudor courtmasques developed from earlierguisings,where a masked allegorical figure would appear and address the assembled company—providing a theme for the occasion—with musical accompaniment. Costumes were designed by professionals, includingNiccolo da Modena.[3]According toGeorge Cavendish,Henry VIIIcame toCardinal Wolsey'sHampton Court,by boat "in a masque with a dozen of other maskers all in garments like shepherds made of fine cloth of gold and fine crimson satin paned, and caps of the same with visors", wearing false beards, accompanied with torch bearers and drummers. Their arrival at the palace water gate was announced by cannon fire.Edward Halldescribed similar masques involving the king's disguised appearance.[4]In the playHenry VIII,byFletcherandShakespeare,the masque was recalled when Henry in shepherd's disguise meetsAnne Boleyn.[5]

Masques atElizabeth's court emphasized the concord and unity between Queen and Kingdom. A descriptive narrative of a processional masque is the masque of theSeven Deadly SinsinEdmund Spenser'sThe Faerie Queene(Book i, Canto IV). A particularly elaborate masque, performed over the course of two weeks for Queen Elizabeth, is described in the 1821 novelKenilworth,bySir Walter Scott.Queen Elizabeth was entertained at country houses during her progresses with performances like theHarefield Entertainment.[6]

In Scotland, masques were performed at court, particularly at wedding celebrations, and theroyal wardrobe provided costumes.Performers at a masque atCastle Campbelldressed as shepherds.[7]Mary, Queen of Scots,Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley,andDavid Rizziotook part in a masque in February 1566.[8]Mary attended the wedding of her servantBastian Pagez,and it was said she wore male costume for the masque, "which apparel she loved often times to be in, in dancings secretly with the King her husband, and going in masks by night through the streets".[9]James VIandAnne of Denmarkwore masque costumes to dance at weddings.[10]

After theUnion of the Crowns,at the court of James VI and I and Anne of Denmark in England, narrative elements of the masque became more significant. Plots were often on classical or allegorical themes, glorifying the royal or noble sponsor. At the end, the audience would join with the actors in a final dance.Ben Jonsonwrote a number of masques with stage design byInigo Jones.Their works are usually thought of as the most significant in the form.Samuel Danieland SirPhilip Sidneyalso wrote masques.

William Shakespeareincluded a masque-like interlude inThe Tempest,understood by modern scholars to have been heavily influenced by the masques of Ben Jonson and the stagecraft of Inigo Jones. There is also a masque sequence in hisRomeo and JulietandHenry VIII.John Milton'sComus(with music byHenry Lawes) is described as a masque, though it is generally reckoned apastoral play.

There is a detailed, humorous, and malicious (and possibly completely fictitious) account by SirJohn Haringtonin 1606 of a masque ofSolomonand Sheba atTheobalds.[11]Harington was not so much concerned with the masque itself as with the notoriously heavy drinking at the Court of King James I; "the entertainment went forward, and most of the presenters went backward, or fell down, wine did so occupy their upper chambers". As far as we can ascertain the details of the masque, theQueen of Shebawas to bring gifts to the King, representing Solomon, and was to be followed by the spirits of Faith, Hope, Charity, Victory and Peace. Unfortunately, as Harington reported, the actress playing the Queen tripped over the steps of the throne, sending her gifts flying; Hope and Faith were too drunk to speak a word, while Peace, annoyed at finding her way to the throne blocked, made good use of her symbolicolive branchesto slap anyone who was in her way.[12]

Francis Baconpaid forThe Masque of Flowersto celebrate the marriage ofRobert Carr, 1st Earl of SomersetandFrances Howard, Countess of Somerset.[13]James Hay, 1st Earl of Carlisle,was a performer and sponsor of court masques. He wrote about the tight-fitting costumes, that it was the fashion "to appear very small in the waist, I remember was drawn up from the ground by both hands whilst the tailor with all his strength buttoned on mydoublet".[14]

Reconstructions ofStuartmasques have been few and far between. Part of the problem is that only texts survive complete; there is no complete music, only fragments, so no authoritative performance can be made without interpretive invention. By the time of theEnglish Restorationin 1660, the masque was passé, but the Englishsemi-operawhich developed in the latter part of the 17th century, a form in whichJohn DrydenandHenry Purcellcollaborated, borrows some elements from the masque and further elements from the contemporary courtlyFrench operaofJean-Baptiste Lully.

In the 18th century, masques were even less frequently staged. "Rule, Britannia!"started out as part ofAlfred,a masque aboutAlfred the Greatco-written byJames ThomsonandDavid Malletwith music byThomas Arnewhich was first performed atCliveden,country house ofFrederick, Prince of Wales.Performed to celebrate the third birthday of Frederick's daughterAugusta,it remains among the best-known British patriotic songs up to the present, while the masque of which it was originally part is remembered by only specialist historians.

Legacy[edit]

The most outstandinghumanists,poets and artists of the day, in the full intensity of their creative powers, devoted themselves to producing masques; and until the Puritans closed the English theatres in 1642, the masque was the highest art form in England. But because of its ephemeral nature, not a lot of documentation related to masques remains, and much of what is said about the production and enjoyment of masques is still part speculation.

17th- and 18th-century masques[edit]

While the masque was no longer as popular as it was at its height in the 17th century, there are many later examples of the masque. During the late 17th century, English semi-operas by composers such asHenry Purcellhad masque scenes inset between the acts of the play proper. In the 18th century,William BoyceandThomas Arne,continued to utilize the masque genre mostly as an occasional piece, and the genre became increasingly associated with patriotic topics.Acis and Galatea (Handel)is another successful example. There are isolated examples throughout the first half of the 19th century.

Later masques[edit]

With the renaissance of English musical composition during the late 19th and early 20th century (the so-calledEnglish Musical Renaissance), English composers turned to the masque as a way of connecting to a genuinely English musical-dramatic form in their attempts to build a historically informed national musical style for England. Examples include those byArthur Sullivan,George Macfarren,and evenEdward Elgar,whose imperialisticThe Crown of Indiawas the central feature at the London Coliseum in 2005. Masques also became common as scenes in operettas and musical theatre works set during the Elizabethan period.

In the 20th century,Ralph Vaughan Williamswrote several masques, including his masterpiece in the genre,Job, a masque for dancingwhich premiered in 1930, although the work is closer to aballetthan a masque as it was originally understood. His designating it a masque was to indicate that the modernchoreographytypical when he wrote the piece would not be suitable. Vaughan Williams' protégéElizabeth Maconchycomposed a masque,The Birds(1967–68), an "extravaganza" afterAristophanes.

Constant Lambertalso wrote a piece he called a masque,Summer's Last Will and Testament,for orchestra, chorus and baritone. His title he took fromThomas Nash,whose masque[15]was probably first presented before theArchbishop of Canterbury,perhaps at his London seat,Lambeth Palace,in 1592.

List of notable masques[edit]

17th-century masques[edit]

18th-century masques[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^'History of the Masque Genre'
  2. ^David Bevingtonand Peter Holbrook, editors,The Politics of the Stuart Court Masque1998ISBN0-521-59436-7).
  3. ^Ian Smith, 'White Skin, Black Masks', Jeffrey Masten & Wendy Wall,Renaissance Drama 32(Evanson, 2003), p. 44.
  4. ^Janette Dillon, 'Shakespeare and the Masque',Shakespeare Survey, 60: Theatres for Shakespeare(Cambridge, 2007), pp. 68–70.
  5. ^Kevin A. Quarmby,The Disguised Ruler in Shakespeare and his Contemporaries(Ashgate, 2012), p. 198: Richard S. Sylvester & Davis P. Harding,Two Early Tudor Lives(Yale, 1962), p. 27.
  6. ^Gabriel Heaton, 'Elizabethan Entertainments in Manuscript: The Harefield Festivities and the Dynamics of Exchange', in Jayne Elisabeth Archer, Elizabeth Goldring, Sarah Knight,Progresses, Pageants, and Entertainments of Queen Elizabeth(Oxford, 2007), pp. 227-244.
  7. ^Michael Pearce, 'Maskerye Claythis for James VI and Anna of Denmark',Medieval English Theatre 43, 2021(Cambridge: D. S. Brewer, 2022), pp. 108-123doi:10.2307/j.ctv24tr7mx.9
  8. ^W. Park, 'Letter of Thomas Randolph to the Earl of Leicester, 14 February 1566',Scottish Historical Review,34:118 Part 2 (October 1955), p. 138.
  9. ^R. H. Mahon,Mary, Queen of Scots, a study of the Lennox Narrative(Cambridge, 1924), pp. 99, 130: Thomas Finlay Henderson,Mary, Queen of Scots, her environment and tragedy, a biography,2 (London, 1905), p. 659
  10. ^Michael Pearce, 'Anna of Denmark: Fashioning a Danish Court in Scotland',The Court Historian,24:2 (2019), pp. 146, 148-9doi:10.1080/14629712.2019.1626110
  11. ^Martin Butler,The Stuart Court Masque and Political Culture(Cambridge, 2008), pp. 125-7: Clare McManus, 'When is woman not a woman?',Modern Philology,105 (2008), pp. 437-74.
  12. ^Henry Harington,Nugae Antiquae,vol. 1 (London, 1804), pp. 348-351
  13. ^Martin Butler,The Stuart Court Masque and Political Culture(Cambridge, 2008), pp. 8, 77, 214.
  14. ^Lesley Lawson,Out of the Shadows: Lucy, Countess of Bedford(London, 2007), p. 55.
  15. ^It was a "comedy" when it was printed, in 1600 asA Pleasant Comedie, call'd Summers Last will and Testament,but, as a character announces, "nay, 'tis no Play neither, but a show." With Nash's stage direction"Enter Summer, leaning on Autumn's and Winter's shoulders, and attended on with a train of Satyrs and wood-Nymphs, singing:Vertumnusalso following him "we are recognizably in the world of Masque.

References[edit]

  • Burden, Michael (1994),Garrick, Arne, and the Masque of Alfred,Edwin Mellon Press.
  • Burden, Michael (1988). "A masque for politics; the masque ofAlfred".Music Review.41:21–30.
  • Hart, Vaughan(1994).Art and Magic in the Court of the Stuarts.London, Routledge.
  • Ravelhofer, Barbara, (2006),The Early Stuart Masque: Dance, Costume, and Music,Oxford University Press.
  • Sabol, Andrew J. (editor), (1959),Songs and dances from the Stuart Masque. An edition of sixty-three items of music for the English court masque from 1604 to 1641,Brown University Press.
  • Sabol, Andrew J. (editor), (1982),Four hundred songs and dances from the Stuart Masque,Brown University Press.

External links[edit]

Wikisourcehas the text of the 1905New International Encyclopediaarticle "Masque".
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