The English Madrigal School was a time when the musical madrigal became very popular in England, mainly from 1588 to 1627. This period included the composers who created these madrigals. The English madrigals were sung without instruments, usually had a light and cheerful style, and were often based on copies or direct translations of Italian madrigals. Most of them were written for three to six voices.

Style and characteristics

The main reason people began writing madrigals in England was likely because of Alfonso Ferrabosco, who worked in Queen Elizabeth's court during the 1560s and 1570s. He wrote many madrigals, and his works became popular, inspiring other English composers to try writing them too. A major change that led to more madrigals being written in England was the growth of native poetry, especially the sonnet, which was well-suited for being set to music in the Italian style. In 1588, Nicholas Yonge published a book called Musica transalpina, which included Italian madrigals with English words. This book became very popular, and from that time, madrigal writing in England became widely practiced.

Musica transalpina was a collection of Italian madrigals, mostly by Ferrabosco and Marenzio, with English words added. These works were well-liked, and other similar collections were published soon after. Yonge published a second edition of Musica transalpina in 1597, hoping to repeat the success of the first.

William Byrd, one of the most famous English composers of the time, tried writing madrigals but never called his works madrigals. After writing some secular songs in a style similar to madrigals, he returned to writing mostly sacred music.

The most important English madrigal composers, whose works have survived to today, were Thomas Morley, Thomas Weelkes, and John Wilbye. Morley and Robert Johnson are the only composers of the time whose music for poems by Shakespeare has survived. Their style is melodic and easy to sing, and it remains popular with a cappella singing groups. Wilbye wrote fewer madrigals, but his works are known for their emotional depth and use of unique musical features that differ from earlier Italian madrigals.

The final line of John Gibbons' song "The Silver Swan" from 1612 is often seen as a sad farewell to the English madrigal tradition.

One important collection of English madrigals was The Triumphs of Oriana, compiled by Thomas Morley. It included 25 madrigals by 23 different composers and was published in 1601 as a tribute to Queen Elizabeth I. Each madrigal in the collection mentions "Oriana," a name used to honor the queen.

Madrigals were still written in England through the 1620s, but the rise of new styles, such as "recitative music," made the madrigal style less popular. Eventually, features of the Baroque style appeared in England. While the music of the English Madrigal School is generally of high quality and remains popular, the total number of madrigals written by English composers was relatively small. For example, Luca Marenzio in Italy published more madrigal books than all of England combined, and Philippe de Monte wrote over 1,100 madrigals, more than were written in England during the entire period.

Composers

The list below includes most of the composers from the English Madrigal School who published music. Many of these composers were not professional musicians. Some were known for only one collection of madrigals, and others contributed very few madrigals to the music world.

• Thomas Bateson (c 1570–1630)
• John Bennet (c 1575–after 1614)
• John Bull (1562–1628)
• William Byrd (1543–1623)
• Thomas Campion (1567–1620)
• Richard Carlton (c 1558–?1638)
• Michael Cavendish (c 1565–1628)
• John Dowland (1563–1626)
• Michael East (c 1580–c 1648)
• John Farmer (c 1565–1605)
• Giles Farnaby (c 1560–c 1620)
• Alfonso Ferrabosco (1543–1588) (Italian, but worked in England for two decades)
• Ellis Gibbons (1573–1603)
• Orlando Gibbons (1583–1625)
• Thomas Greaves (fl. c 1600)
• William Holborne (fl. 1597)
• John Holmes (d. 1629)
• Edmund Hooper (1553–1621)
• John Jenkins (1592–1678)
• Robert Jones (fl. 1597–1615)
• George Kirbye (c 1565–1634)
• Henry Lichfild (fl. 1613, d. after 1620)
• John Milton (1562–1647)
• Thomas Morley (1557–1603)
• John Mundy (c 1555–1630)
• Peter Philips (c 1560–1628) (lived and published in the Netherlands, but wrote in an English style)
• Francis Pilkington (c 1570–1638)
• Walter Porter (c 1587–1659)
• Thomas Tomkins (1572–1656)
• Thomas Vautor (c 1580-?)
• John Ward (1571–1638)
• Thomas Weelkes (1576–1623)
• John Wilbye (1574–1638)