Robert Johnson (English composer)

Carey and his wife Elizabeth Spencer were patrons of the lutenist and composer John Dowland, who dedicated various compositions to them.

During these years the King's Men were producing plays by Shakespeare and other playwrights such as Ben Jonson, Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher.

Johnson's main claim to fame is that he composed the original settings for some of Shakespeare's lyrics, the best-known being probably those from The Tempest: "Where the Bee Sucks" and "Full Fathom Five".

While other contemporary settings of Shakespeare's lyrics exist, for example those by Thomas Morley, they have not been proved to be connected to a stage performance.

From 1608 the King's Men company was using the Blackfriars Theatre as its winter base, and this may have influenced the songs and instrumental music required from Johnson.

It featured music between acts, a practice which the induction to Marston's The Malcontent (published 1604) indicates was not common in the public theatres at that time.

Shakespeare's The Tempest (circa 1610), in which the stage directions call for music and sound effects, is an example of a play which may have been written for performance at Blackfriars.