John Plummer

1410-1483

A composer whose work has long since been forgotten, or in many cases lost, very little is known about him.

Certainly he was English and joined the Royal Household of Henry VI.

The three definite things we know about him are that he was a member of the Chapel Royal 1437-67, the first person to hold the post of Master of the Children of the Chapel Royal 1444-1455 and member of the Choir of St George's, Windsor between 1458-1484.

The rest is a mystery. His place of birth, parents and how he got positions at the Royal household, even the dates of his birth and death are uncertain.

What we do know is that some of his music was widely known across Europe. A number of his compositions appear in the Speciálník Codex which was written in a monastery in Prague in the late 15th century.

The other things we have is his music. It is much simpler than the polyphony coming from Franc and Flanders in the 15th century but within that simplicity there is beauty. He uses repetition of melody across the vocal parts and a certain stillness that gives the music a transcendental quality.