Coprario: Twelve Fantasias . . . and Eleven Pieces . . .

John Coprario (John Cooper) was one of the most important and influential composers of instrumental music in Jacobean England. These pieces are a fine illustration of his charming and colorful style. The twelve fantasias for two bass viols and organ are historically significant as the earliest known examples of English chamber music with an independent keyboard accompaniment. The pieces for three lyra viols reveal a richness of tonal color and a contrapuntal intensity possessed by few other works for this instrument.