Bateson, Thomas

English musician and organist Noted for his madrigals. The dates of his birth and death are unknown and nothing can be found of his early history. He became organist of Chester Cathedral probably, in 1599, and sometime between 1608 and 1611 went to Ireland, where he was made organist to Christ's Church Cathedral, Dublin. He received the degree of Bachelor of Music from Dublin University and is supposed to have been its first musical graduate. Bateson is known entirely by his madrigals, though he also wrote sacred music. His First Set of English Madrigals for three, four, five and six voices was published in 1604 and the Second et of Madrigals in 1618. He also published a Set of Madrigals in praise of Queen Elizabeth. These madrigals gave Bateson a high place among composers of his time.