John Blitheman was an English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 composer

Composer

A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...

 and organist

Organist

An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists...

. The Fitzwilliam Virginal Book

Fitzwilliam Virginal Book

The Fitzwilliam Virginal Book is a primary source of keyboard music from the late Elizabethan and early Jacobean periods in England, i.e., the late Renaissance and very early Baroque. It takes its name from Viscount Fitzwilliam who bequeathed this manuscript collection to Cambridge University in 1816...

, which includes the third of his Gloria tibi Trinitas settings, gives his forename as William. However, Chapel Royal

Chapel Royal

A Chapel Royal is a body of priests and singers who serve the spiritual needs of their sovereign wherever they are called upon to do so.-Austria:...

 records from 1558 to 1590 consistently refer to John Blitheman, and there can be little doubt that this was the composer's name.

Nothing is known about his early life. In 1555 he was chaplain at Christ Church, Oxford

Christ Church, Oxford

Christ Church or house of Christ, and thus sometimes known as The House), is one of the largest constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England...

, becoming master of the choristers there in 1564. From 1585 until his death he was appointed organist of the Chapel Royal

Chapel Royal

A Chapel Royal is a body of priests and singers who serve the spiritual needs of their sovereign wherever they are called upon to do so.-Austria:...

 (succeeding Thomas Tallis

Thomas Tallis

Thomas Tallis was an English composer. Tallis flourished as a church musician in 16th century Tudor England. He occupies a primary place in anthologies of English church music, and is considered among the best of England's early composers. He is honoured for his original voice in English...

), where John Bull

John Bull (composer)

John Bull was an English composer, musician, and organ builder. He was a renowned keyboard performer of the virginalist school and most of his compositions were written for this medium.-Life:...

 was both his pupil and successor. He died in London in 1591 and is buried at St Nicholas Olave, Queenhithe

Queenhithe

Queenhithe is a small ward of the City of London, situated on the River Thames and to the south of St Paul's Cathedral. The Millennium Bridge crosses into the City at Queenhithe....

.

The great majority of Blitheman's works is included in The Mulliner Book

The Mulliner Book

The Mulliner Book is a historically important musical commonplace book compiled, probably between about 1545 and 1570, by Thomas Mulliner, about whom practically nothing is known, except that he figures in 1563 as modulator organorum of Corpus Christi College, Oxford...

 where he is represented by fifteen pieces. One of his In nomine

In Nomine

In Nomine is a title given to a large number of pieces of English polyphonic, predominantly instrumental music, first composed during the 16th century....

s, dating from before 1591, displays the earliest known example of triplet figuration in English keyboard music.

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