William Brade

An English violinist and composer of laudable repute in Germany. Brade was a resident musician in Germany and quite traveled within that country as during the early 17th century it was the practice to exchange musicians between courts. He contributed to the development of the suite as his composiions were primarily dances for which he wrote four, five and six parts. (Some of the dances he employed were foreign to the German shores.) Aloof to the polyphonic style, Brade composed works with homophony in mind though the various parts maintained an horizontal and seemingly independent quality. Brade's tunes were quite the exception. ~ Keith Johnson