Orlando Gibbons (baptised 25 December 1583 �" 5 June 1625) was an English composer, virginalist and organist, and of the late and early Jacobean periods. He was a leading composer in the England of his day. He was born in Cambridge and christened at Oxford in the same year - thus appearing in Oxford church records. One of the most versatile English composers of his time, Gibbons wrote a quantity of keyboard works, around thirty fantasias for viols, a number of madrigals (the best-known being "The Silver Swan"), and many popular verse anthems. His choral music is distinguished by his complete mastery of counterpoint, combined with his wonderful gift for melody. Perhaps his most well known verse anthem is This is the record of John, which sets an Advent text for solo countertenor or tenor, alternating by a full section, echoing words of the verse.