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Civil war music

BBC 1's current Sunday teatime adventure series Children of the New Forest once again throws the spotlight on the English Civil War (1642 - 46).

Based on Captain F. Marryat's classic children's story of 1847, it tells of the hardships faced by the four children as they hide in the forest from Parliamentarian Roundheads.

In Newark, of course, it was members of those same Parliamentarian forces who held the town to three long and bitter sieges, the circumstances of which are now regularly quoted in histories of the Civil War period.

The importance of events around Newark were also recognised at the time, being eagerly reported in a fascinating series of 'newsbooks' or pamphlets published by the Parliamentarians.

One of the most extraordinary interpretations of Civil War action in the Newark area, however, must surely be that which takes the form of a dramatic musical suite written by the 17th Century English composer John Jenkins.

A new CD recording of Jenkins' piece, entitled The Newarke Seidge has recently been added to stock at Newark Library and is now available for loan.

Today the name of John Jenkins (1592 -1678) may not be as well remembered as those of his near contemporaries such as William Byrd or Henry Purcell, but during his lifetime Jenkins was widely acknowledged as one of the country's foremost musicians and composers.

He played before Charles I and following the Restoration was appointed theorbo (or lute) player at the Court of Charles II. Jenkins' entry in the authoritative New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians describes him as one of the most outstanding English composers in the field of 17th Century consort music. John Jenkins was born in Maidstone, Kent in 1592.

Little is known of his early life and it is not until the 1640s - the time of the Civil War - that his name begins to appear in historical records.

By that time he had become resident musician to two wealthy Norfolk families, the Derehams of West Dereham and the L'Estrange family of Hunstanton.

They acted as his patrons throughout the Civil War period and it was for them that Jenkins wrote his suite entitled The Newarke Seidge.

Although Norfolk was a Parliamentarian stronghold, both the Derehams and the L'Estranges were ardent and active supporters of the king. In August, 1643, the town of Kings Lynn, under its governor Sir Hamon L'Estrange, declared for the king and prepared to fight off the Parliamentarian attack that its action would inevitably bring.

L'Estrange's defiance lasted about a month, until 15 September, 1643, when the Earl of Manchester forced the town to surrender.

The loss of Kings Lynn was a severe blow to the Royalist cause in the east and devolved considerable hardships on those, such as the Derehams and L'Estranges, who continued to support the king.

They were said, however, to have derived considerable satisfaction from the news that Royalists in Newark - not so very far away - had successfully repulsed not one but two attempts by the Parliamentarians to take their town.

It was in celebration of the lifting of the Second Seige of Newark (February 29 - March 21, 1644) that Jenkins wrote his musical suite. The piece, in four sections, is written in the popular 17th Century dance combination of pavan and galliard.

The pavan begins by establishing the atmosphere around Newark on February 29, 1644, when a force of 7,000 Parliamentarian troops took up position outside the town. As Parliamentarian commander Sir John Meldrum orders the onslaught to begin, Jenkins' music steps up a pace.

The town is bombarded with canon and mortar, and a grenade from the latter destroys a house in the Market Place belonging to the mayor, Alderman Hercules Clay.

As the bombardment continues, the king is advised of the danger and sends word to his nephew, Prince Rupert of the Rhine, that reinforcements are urgently needed at Newark.

Rupert immediately quits his base at Chester and, with a force of 3,000 foot and 3,000 horse, begins the eight-day march that will bring him to Newark. As dawn breaks on March 21, 1644, having approached the town from the east via Balderton, Rupert's forces mount Beacon Hill from where they can see Meldrum's HQ in the ruins of the old St. Leonard's hospital on Northgate.

Rupert attacks swiftly, his men charging headlong down Beacon Hill and causing panic among the Parliamentarian ranks. Jenkins' music describes the scene as Meldrum counterattacks but finds himself out-manoeuvred and surrounded on three sides.

Jenkins' suite ends with a victory galliard - dignified, but nonetheless joyous - which celebrates Prince Rupert's military triumph. Meldrum and his troops, unhorsed and disarmed are left to footslog their way to a refuge in Lincolnshire.

Although by no means as strident or dramatic as other battle pieces which might spring to mind - Tchaikovsky's 18122 Overture is an obvious example - John Jenkins' Newarke Seidge is nevertheless a unique interpretation of Newark's role in these important historical events.

The new recording by the Rose Consort is included on a CD compilation of John Jenkins' music entitled All in a Garden Green. It is available for loan through libraries in the Newark area.

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