According to his contemporary
Anthony Wood, Hudson may have begun his career as a dancing master. Though Hudson ultimately lost his position during the power struggles of the
Civil War, he maintained a professional presence in
London as an instructor of
viol and voice. In May 1656, Hudson and several of his colleagues, including
Cooke and
Lawes, were commissioned by the
impresario William Davenant to compose music for ''
First Day's Entertainment at Rutland House'', a moral
disputation consisting of music, dance, and
declamation. Later that year, Hudson joined the creative team for Davenant's subsequent work
The Siege of Rhodes, for which Hudson co-wrote the instrumental music with
Charles Coleman. After
the Restoration, Hudson was appointed master of the King's violins, one of the positions of leadership over which the
Master of the King's Music,
Nicholas Lanier, was granted nominal control. Hudson directed the violins first in cooperation with
Davis Mell and then
Matthew Locke, the latter of whom Hudson had collaborated on Davenant's stage works several years prior. By January 1672, Hudson had fallen gravely ill. No longer able to fulfill his compositional duties at the court, Hudson was assisted without fee by
Pelham Humphrey and Thomas Purcell, the uncle of
Henry. Upon Hudson's death, Humphrey and Purcell were appointed to the composer's previous post. ==Works==