Osbert Parsley

Osbert Parsley (1510/15111585) was an English Renaissance composer and chorister. Few details of his life are known, but he evidently married in 1558, and lived for a period in the parish of St Saviour's Church, Norwich. A boy chorister at Norwich Cathedral, Parsley worked there throughout his musical career. He was first mentioned as a lay clerk, was appointed a "singing man" in , and was probably the cathedral's unofficial organist for half a century. His career spanned the reigns of Henry VIII and all three of his children. After the Reformation of 1534, the lives of English church musicians changed according to the official policy of each monarch.

Parsley wrote mainly church music for both the Latin and English rites, as well as instrumental music. His Latin settings are considered to be more fluent and attractive-sounding than those he wrote to be sung in English. His longest composition, Conserva me, domine, has a graceful polyphonic style. Parsley's other liturgical works include Daily Offices (two morning services and an evening service), and the five-part Lamentations (notable for the difficulty in singing the top notes of the highest part). His instrumental music, nearly all for viols, including six consort pieces, was written in a style that combines both his Latin and English vocal styles. Some of his incomplete instrumental music has survived.

Parsley died in Norwich in 1585 and was buried in Norwich Cathedral, where there is a commemorative plaque, a mark of the respect in which he was held by those who knew him, and a unique honour for a chorister at the cathedral. The plaque is inscribed with a poem praising his character and musicianship. Parsley's music is occasionally heard in church services and concerts. Compositions that have been recorded include his Lamentations and Spes Nostra.

Life and musical career

Osbert Parsley was born in 1510 or 1511; the identity of his parents and place of birth are unknown. |group=note

The plaque to Parsley, which once had indecipherable text, was restored in 1930 as a memorial to the composer and organist Arthur Mann. It was unveiled during an evensong service on 10 July 1930, with music by Parsley and Mann sung by the choirs of King's College, Cambridge, Ely Cathedral, and Norwich Cathedral. The text of the memorial reads: His Latin music is fluent and attractive, with extended phrases that become increasingly melismatic as they progress. The parts in Latin are characteristically independent in a way that was typical of sacred polyphony in England before the Reformation. The expressive psalm Conserva me, domine has an elegant polyphonic style.

Liturgical work written in G minor. containing a Magnificat and a Nunc dimittis

Incomplete works + Composition !! Description !! Manuscript name !! Location

In Nomine (of 5 parts upon 5 minims) (1=There is a Parsley In Nomine in the British Library manuscript Add MS 32377, which is a discantus partbook, linked with one of the MS.) Tenbury 1464 In Nomines.

+ Year Album Piece Publisher 1992 Morley, Parsley and Inglott Conserva me, domine;Lamentations Priory Records 2005 Musik der Tudor – Zeit Messen und Motetten Lamentations Sony BMG Music Entertainment 2009 The Lamentations of Jeremiah Lamentations Delphian 2014 Serenissima: Music from Renaissance Europe In Nomine Delphian 2015 As Our Sweets Cords with Discords Mixed Be In Nomine;"Parsley's Clock" Resonus Classics 2017 Cosmography of Polyphony: A Journey Through Renaissance Music with 12 Recorders Spes Nostra Pan Classics 2018 Æternum: Music of the Elizabethan Avant Garde from Add. MS 31390 Spes Nostra Olde Focus Recordings