News...

Priory Records has launched a new internet radio service, eponymously titled 'Priory Radio'. The station aims to provide a service to admirers of choral and organ music, the demand for which is no longer served by major classical stations in the UK. The station transmits a selection of Priory tracks 24/7, at a bit-rate high enough to do proper justice to the quality of the recordings concerned. Priory has been recording and distributing choral and organ music for over 31 years. Based in Leighton Buzzard, UK, the company sees its mission as capturing the music at the heart of the Anglican choral and organ tradition and providing this music to the many passionate followers of the genre.

About the Forum...

The Thomas Tomkins Forum seeks to pursue interests of all kinds in the music of the English Renaissance and its context. We aim to encourage interest in and enjoyment of Tomkins' music (and the music of a range of other composers) at all levels. We clearly need a Forum dedicated to giving Tomkins the recognition he deserves as one of England's finest composers - and to fostering interest in the English Virginalists generally.

Anyone interested in Tomkins, in early music, in keyboard instruments, in choral music, consort music, or in the wider musical and cultural contexts of Renaissance England and its European parallels, is most welcrome to contact us.

The image to the left is a watercolour of the church at Martin Hussingtee (the village where Tomkins spent the last part of his life); the picture is owned by the Worcestershire Record Office and is used by their kind permission. The copyright owner has not been identified: anyone with a claim should contact us.