John Farmer

An English madrigalian who was dedicated to the patronage of Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford and who contributed to the 1592 Psalter of East. He served for Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin (1596) and moved to London's Broad Street in 1599 where he had a hand in "The Triumphes of Oriana". Farmer composed a number of songs and madrigals with a collection of two-part canons over a common foundation piece from a plainsong. "Divers and Sundry Waies of Two Parts in One" was impressive enough to earn him a part in East's psalter. Probably influenced by Morley, Farmer opened one of his madrigals with a rising chromaticism. The majority of his works are typically textured contextually with tendencies towards reflective melancholy and expressiveness. ~ Keith Johnson