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Robert Johnson (c. 1583 – 1633) was an English composer and lutenist of the late Tudor and early Jacobean eras. He is sometimes called "Robert Johnson II" to distinguish him from an earlier Scottish composer. Johnson worked with William Shakespeare providing music for some of his later plays. ==Life== Robert Johnson was the son of John Johnson, who was lutenist to Elizabeth I. In 1594 Robert's father died, and in 1596 he joined the household of George Carey, 2nd Baron Hunsdon as an apprentice. Robert is assumed to have been around 13 at the time, as this was a typical age to begin an apprenticeship, but his date of birth is not known. Carey and his wife Elizabeth Spencer were patrons of the lutenist and composer John Dowland, who dedicated various compositions to them. The family had a house in Blackfriars, London, and a country home Hunsdon House, which partially survives. Johnson joined the Carey household at an interesting time in their patronage of the arts. In 1597 Dowland dedicated his ''First book of songs and ayres'' to George Carey.〔Charles Nicholl, "The Lodger: Shakespeare on Silver Street", Penguin Books.〕 As well as supporting musicians, Carey was patron of a theatre company to which William Shakespeare belonged.〔 In 1596/7 the company was briefly known as "Baron Hunsdon's Men", but is better known as the Lord Chamberlain's Men (the name they used after Carey became Lord Chamberlain in 1597), or their subsequent name, the King's Men. It is not known whether Johnson worked with this theatre company on any of their productions in the 1590s, such as ''The Merry Wives of Windsor''. However, he certainly provided music for the King's Men in a later stage of his career. After serving his apprenticeship in the Carey household, Johnson found work at the court of James I in 1604. A number of lutenists were employed at court, and Johnson may have specialised in the bass lute when playing in consort music.〔 He was lutenist to Prince Henry (until the prince's death in 1612).〔(''Robert Johnson'' ), Here of a Sunday Morning (www.hoasm.org).〕 He composed music for the masques and entertainments which were popular at court in the Jacobean era. He also served at the court of Charles I, remaining on the royal payroll until 1633, the year of his death.〔Matthew Spring, ‘Johnson, Robert (c.1583–1633)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Oct 2009 (accessed 17 June 2015 ) (subscription or UK public library membership required)〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Robert Johnson (English composer)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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