It seems that the English practice of the "broken consort"—chamber music for mixed instruments rather than a "family"—may have begun in the Elizabethan theater. Stage directions from a 1566 production at Gray's Inn call for the "doleful & strange noise of viols, cittern, bandurion and such like." Throughout the Elizabethan era, evidence grows for an English practice of such instrumental menageries, not only for the stage, but also for receptions, weddings, and other such outdoor events. It was not until 1599, however, that the practice was codified in print, with the release of Thomas Morley's First Book of Consort Lessons. This set of partbooks, opulent enough to be reissued in 1611 after Morley's death, probably represents the first music in Western history earmarked for a specified and well-organized orchestration: treble viol, flute, cittern, and bandurion (or pandora, a string bass instrument invented around 1562), plus a second group of treble lute, flute, cittern, and bass viol. The orchestration takes advantage of both the softer voices of gut strings and louder plucked instruments. Morley's collection contains pieces by the best musicians of Elizabeth's London, writing marches, dances, laments, and other clearly articulated character pieces.

In the case of My Lord of Oxenford's Masque, the composer (possibly but not certainly William Byrd) evokes a martial scene, whether a battle or a military march. He takes a popular tune (which he also exploited at least twice for keyboard music, as in the march before the battle) known for its stolid character and square rhythms. Despite the flexible orchestrations possible within the broken consort, here the composer relentlessly proceeds with full textures: fundamental bass instruments providing a thorough harmonic underpinning to the upper melodic pairs. In addition, several of the instrumentalists would have further filled in the texture with improvised ornamental "divisions." The music that results is rousing, if extremely predictable (it uses all of three chords); the composer does not take advantage of, for example, a later strain that offers Byrd in the march before the battle an opportunity to evoke imitative horn calls. The Lord of Oxenford apparently plows on, presumably to the cheers of the audience in the "pit."

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