Fantasies in Three Parts Compos’d for Viols

Orlando Gibbons's Fantasies in Three Parts Compos'd for Viols, composed around 1610, is a significant work in English music history. It is believed to be the first piece of music in England to be printed using engraved copperplates.1

A fantasia, in music, is a composition that is free in form and inspiration. During the 16th and 17th centuries in England, this term was particularly applied to fugal compositions, which are based on melodic imitation, for ensembles of string or wind instruments known as consorts. The viol itself is a bowed string instrument popular in chamber music from the 16th to 18th centuries, typically featuring six strings and gut frets. Gibbons was a prominent composer and organist, considered one of the last great figures of the English polyphonic school.2341