John Marbeck,Merbeck orMerbecke (c. 1510 – c. 1585) was an English choral composer andtheological writer whosemusical setting of the earlyAnglicanliturgy standardised the sung Anglican service until the late 20th century. He is also known today for his setting of theMass,Missa Per arma justitiae.

Probably a native ofBeverley in Yorkshire, Merbecke appears to have been aboy chorister atSt George's Chapel, Windsor, and was employed as an organist there from about 1541. Two years later he was convicted withfour others of heresy and sentenced to beburnt at the stake, but received a pardon owing to the intervention ofStephen Gardiner,Bishop of Winchester,^[1][2] who said he was "but a musitian". An EnglishConcordance of the Bible which Merbecke had been preparing at the suggestion ofRichard Turner, was however confiscated and destroyed.^{[citation needed]} A later version of this work, the first of its kind in English, was published in 1550 with a dedication toEdward VI.^[2]

In the same year, Merbecke published hisBooke of Common Praier Noted, intended to provide for musical uniformity in the use of theFirst Prayer Book of Edward VI. This set the liturgy to semi-rhythmical melodies partly adapted fromGregorian chant; it was rendered obsolete when the Prayer Book was revised in 1552. Merbecke wrote several devotional and controversial works, and a number of his musical compositions are preserved in manuscript in theBritish Library, and atOxford andCambridge. He died, probably while still organist at Windsor, about 1585.^[2]

His son,Roger Marbeck (1536–1605), was a noted classical scholar and physician.^[2]

In the first half of the 19th century, theOxford Movement inspired renewed interest in liturgical music within theChurch of England.John Jebb first drew attention to Merbecke's Prayer Book settings in 1841. In 1843, William Dyce publishedplainsong music for all the Anglican services, which included nearly all of Merbecke's settings, adapted for the1662Book of Common Prayer. During the latter half of the 19th century, many different editions of Merbecke's settings were published, especially for theCommunion service, with arrangements by noted musicians such as SirJohn Stainer,Charles Villiers Stanford andBasil Harwood, Merbecke's Communion setting was very widely sung by choirs and congregations throughout theAnglican Communion until the 1662 Book of Common Prayer began to be supplanted by more modern liturgy in the late 20th century.^[3] Parts of his service, notably the Nicene Creed, have been adapted to "modern" wording. His setting has also been adapted for the liturgy of many other denominations; theCatholic Church drew on it for the new English-language form of theMass of Paul VI following theSecond Vatican Council of 1962–65.^[4]

His complete Latin Church music was recorded byThe Cardinall's Musick under the direction ofAndrew Carwood in 1996.

A voluntary choir for young men and women atSouthwark Cathedral in London is named theMerbecke Choir in his honour,^[5] because Merbecke's heresy trial had been partly held at the church in 1543.^[6]

• Free scores by John Merbecke in theChoral Public Domain Library (ChoralWiki)
• Royal Berkshire History: The Windsor Martyrs
• Free scores by John Merbecke at theInternational Music Score Library Project (IMSLP)
• http://www.hoasm.org/IVM/MerbeckeDiscography.html
•   Texts on Wikisource:
  • "Merbeck, John".Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). 1911.
  • "Marbeck, John".New International Encyclopedia. 1905.
  • "Merbecke, John".A Dictionary of Music and Musicians. 1900.
  • "Marbeck, John".Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 36. 1893.
  • "Marbeck, John".The American Cyclopædia. 1879.