i am in need of music that would flow over my fretful, feeling fingertips; over my bitter-tainted, trembling lips; with melody, deep, clear, and liquid-slow
His fingers were plunking the last few chords of the piano sonata on the cold, ivory keys, shaking slightly due to nerves and the cold. This was the first time he’d had a piece commissioned out by someone so prestigious, and he wanted to make sure it was perfect. She would be here any second now to hear it. Upon finishing the run-through, Thomas’s eyes scanned the page to make sure he didn’t spot any glaring errors, though there was definitely no turning back now.
Upon seeing a figure enter the piano room, his head shot up, followed by the rest of his body, banging his knee on the piano as he did so but intent on not letting it show. “Lady Eleanor,” he said as he bowed to her. “What a pleasure it is to see you.” He stood upright, and hastened to find a chair for her to sit in, mentally scolding himself for not thinking of it sooner. He sat the chair next to the piano, saying “Please, have a seat” as he did so. He could hear his heart pounding in his ears, and took deep breaths in an attempt to calm his nerves. “You’ll have to forgive me, madam. I am a little nervous to play for you. I can only hope you will find the piece satisfactory.”
☆ ━ ━ OUT OF THE WAY ! can’t you see THOMAS TALLIS, the COURT COMPOSER of ENGLAND coming this way ? I hear HE is/are WARMHEARTED, but also MEEK. HE seem/s to remind everyone of A COLD STARRY NIGHT, HOT CHAMOMILE TEA, .&. A SOFT PIANO SONATA. hopefully one day HE will succeed in HIS ambition to BE THE MOST RECOGNIZABLE COMPOSER IN ENGLAND, but then again, the court is a dangerous place. one can only hope HE will keep HIS head… ( DANE DEHAAN ) ━ ━ ☆ as written by MILEAH ;; CST, SHE/HER, 20 .
The Real History
Thomas Tallis was a composer who primarily did choral pieces and holds his own in anthologies to this day. He had a distinct voice and style that had never been seen in choral history until his compositions appeared.
Little is documented about Thomas’s early life; his speculated birth year is 1505. He was an organist and a singer as well as a composer, and his first musical appointment was as an organist at Dover Priory in Kent. From there he went to London, then Waltham Abbey, followed by Canterbury Cathedral, then he finally came to court in 1543.
He remained in court from that point onward, composing for the likes of Henry VIII, Edward VI, Queen Mary, and Queen Elizabeth I.
Tallis married in 1552 to a woman named Joan, though they never had any children.
Thomas managed to spend his life free of controversy, despite the multitudes swarming around him. He kept his head down and was well liked at court, spending his life as a devoted Roman Catholic.
In 1575, Queen Elizabeth I granted him and his pupil, William Byrd, a 21 year monopoly on polyphonic music as well as a patent to print and publish music, one of the first times that arrangement was ever made in English history.
Tallis retained respect during a succession of opposing religious movements and avoided the violence which claimed Catholics and Protestants alike.
He composed until his dying day in 1585, an uncharacteristically long life for the time assuming his birth year is correct.
Mileah’s AU Wonderland
This is more or less the same in Mileah’s Wonderland, though I will probably play up his success a bit more since this is a name I had never heard of until I was researching him for a music history class.
Okay so here is my interpretation of his early life. It’s very rambly and it’s going to be more coherent once I post his official biography but this just gives you some insight!
I have Thomas in my head as around 26, so I’m going to have him born in 1510. He was an only child, and had humble upbringings for the majority of his life.
His mother played piano and was a singer, and she was the one who taught him how to play. She loved to play and wore out the same two books of sheet music she’d had since she was little, which prompted Thomas to start writing compositions so she would have more to play.
His father was a merchant who resented Thomas as his mother, thinking that she coddled him and that’s the reason he’s “the way that he is.” He tried toughening Thomas up, and the one time he took him out hunting did not end well at all, resulting in many tears and years of nightmares.
Thomas started to notice he was different from the other kids in his neighborhood when he was around six or seven. He gravitated towards the girls and did not excel at sports like the other boys did. He enjoyed braiding hair, playing hopscotch, reading, playing pretend, and of course writing music; activities the other boys and his father didn’t deem ‘manly’ enough. He was bullied frequently and endured verbal abuse from his father regularly. The only solace he got was from his mother, though she was usually pretty indisposed due to her having to deal with his father’s complaints, and from his neighbor, James, who was a few years his senior.
Over the years the girls began to think he was odd as well since he didn’t act like a normal boy, so James became his only friend aside from his mother. As Thomas grew into a preteen, his feelings for James grew more complicated. He confided in his mother, and even she, the only other person he could trust in the world, had at last turned on him. After slapping him for the first and only time, she said that he must say fifty hail Marys every night and to never speak of it again. Thomas did just that. He pushed those feelings as far down as he could and took his mother’s advice, never speaking of it again.
After a few days things returned to normal with his mother. He never brought it up again and neither did she.
When Thomas was thirteen years old, his mother contracted tuberculosis and passed away. He was crushed and could not stand the thought of staying alone in the house with his father. He sent him to a boys Catholic school a few towns over, whereupon his graduation he received his first job as an organist.
Thomas’s life up until his arrival at court had some more twists and turns that I could go into detail about and I will for his full biography, but we’d be here all day so I’m gonna cut it off right here!!
The Mun
My name is Mileah and I’m just so excited to start roleplaying again!! It’s been probably a year or two since I’ve RPed and this is my first historical RP ever so I’m in new territory but it’s gonna be great. I have such a strong muse for Thomas and I hope you all love him and he fits right in as well as I think he will!!
My personal tumblr is @noowanda and you’re free to follow me or contact me there, but I’ll be on the discord if you ever wanna chat bc I love making new friends :’)
You can literally always message me if you want to plot. Never feel shy because I can guarantee right now I will love your ideas and cry with joy that you got inspired by my lil bean.
