Frederick Methvan Whyte
Frederick Methvan Whyte (March 2, 1865 – 1941 Athens) was a mechanical engineer of Dutch background who worked for the New York Central in the United States. He is most widely known as the person who developed Whyte notation to describe the different wheel arrangements of steam locomotives in 1900.
Lute song
In England the lute song was usually called an “Ayre,” possibly borrowed from the French word, ‘air.’ The first written record of the lute songs or ayres was written and composed by John Dowland in 1597 called, “First book of Songes or Ayres.” This is considered the beginning of the popularity of the lute songs, that set the standard for other composer’s songbooks of English Ayres. The music was printed on the page,so that when placed in the center of a table it could be read by the performers around the table. John Dowland's ayres, like other composers, used music from dance forms; such as Pavans, galliards and jigs, for the melody. Philip Rosseter, Court Musician, composer and theatrical manager, published a collection in 1601, “A Book of Ayres,” with composer and poet Thomas Campion. The compositions were short, homophonic songs with minimal phrase repetition with their own lyrics. The last book published was by John Attay in 1622, called “First Book of Ayres.” The format of these songbooks was intended to be performed with a solo voice and an accompaniment, but some did include variations for multiple voices and additional instruments. It is possible that lute songs were composed before these books were published, but the written record of such songs starts with John Dowland.The consort song, popular during the reign of Henry the VIII, leads to some consideration that the lute songs were composed prior to 1597. Other composers of Lute songs during this time include; John Danyel, Robert Jones, Pilkington and Alfonso Ferrabosco.