Background
John was born in 1562 in Wellow, United Kingdom.
John was born in 1562 in Wellow, United Kingdom.
Bull was born in Somersetshire in 1563. Following a period of training at the Chapel Royal, he was made organist of Hereford Cathedral in 1582. In 1585 he was appointed master of the children at the Chapel Royal, and in 1591 became its organist for Queen Elizabeth. On the recommendation of Queen Elizabeth he was appointed professor of music at Gresham College in 1596. In accordance with the school regulations, Bull was forced to resign from this institution when he married in 1607. In 1611 he was in the employ of the prince of Wales as musician. Soon after he proceeded to Belgium where, in 1613, he was appointed organist in the archduke's chapel at Brussels. In 1617 he accepted the post of organist at Antwerp Cathedral. While in Belgium, John Bull made the acquaintance of Jan P. Sweelinck. He and Sweelinck greatly affected the development of contrapuntal-keyboard music. Bull is credited with more than 200 compositions for the organ, virginal, and voice. Many are extremely difficult to perform, and it is generally thought that Bull himself must have been an extraordinary virtuoso to have been able to play them. He died at Antwerp on Mar. 13, 1628.