Giles Farnaby (c. 1563–1640) was an English composer and virginalist of the Renaissance period. Giles Farnaby was born in about 1563, perhaps in Truro, Cornwall, or near London. His father, Thomas, was a Cittizen and Joyner of London, and Giles may have been related to Thomas Farnaby (c. 1575–1647), the famous schoolmaster of Kent. But it was his cousin Nicholas Farnaby (c. 1560–1630) who may have turned him to music. Nicholas was a virginal maker, at this time a generic word that included the entire family of plucked keyboard instruments: the harpsichord, virginal, muselaar, and th…
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