Tregian, Francis

views updated

Tregian, Francis

Tregian, Francis, English musician; b. 1574; d. London, 1619. He was a recusant, and fled England to escape persecution. He was attached to Catholic dignitaries in Douai and in Rome. Returning to England to settle his father’s estate, he was convicted in 1609, remaining in prison until his death. His significance for English music lies in the fact that he was the scribe of the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book (ed. by J. Fuller Maitland and W. Squire, London and Leipzig, 1894-99) and of 2 MSS containing more than 2,000 motets, madrigals, etc., some of them of his own composition.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire