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The following is an introduction to my edition of Bodleian Library Music School Ms. F575. This edition is now available for purchase from me. Please contact me for pricing.
Bodleian Library Music School Ms. F. 575 is an English manuscript collection of 17th century solo lyra viol music and a single work for lute and voice. A handwritten note prefacing the manuscript gives a date of 1673 and what could be a signature of William Ives. This edition puts in print a newly edited version of this manuscript in both staff and tab notation. This work relies upon the facsimile edition Garland Publishing printed in 1987.
For this new edition, I have chosen to follow the format used in my editions of Playford’s editions of solo lyra viol music. As such, the following features have been altered from the original source. Slurs are notated in the staff with a traditional slur line. Within the tab, however, slurs are notated with a straight line. All measures that do not contain the full number of beats (usually found at repeats and the end of a work) are corrected in accordance with current practice. Because sections of any given work might be repeated at the desire of the performer, this edition includes repeat marks at the end of almost every work. If the gambist so wishes to repeat a section, the gambist is encouraged to improvise upon that section, as was evidently a common practice during the time. Finally, this collection reorders the music, combining works of like tunings.
This collection begins with the second work in the manuscript, and the numbers of the works in this edition reflect that decision. The first work in the manuscript, written for lute and voice, is not included this edition. All item numbers in this edition are editorial additions. All data within brackets are editorial additions.
One reason for studying this genre of music is to gain insight into historic performance practice. For the most part, collections of solo lyra viol music were designed for use by students. Therefore, on occasion, corrections, additions, written-out ornaments, and fingerings can be found. However, these features are not always in accordance with common practice today. One wonders if the following example was written out by the student or the teacher. Within Number 3, measures 19-20, the notated fingering is exactly as it appears in the manuscript and is quite awkward. An argument could be made that the three ones are actually up bow markings. However, this use of the slash is not logical here. Simply changing the 1 under the second A natural to a 3 produces a more logical fingering.
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Problems with identification are common throughout the lyra viol repertory. Within this collection, number 15 is titled The Post and is ascribed to George Hudson. This work is almost identical to #68 in the Playford’s 1666 edition titled A Poli and ascribed to Simon Ives. Number 22 in this edition is basically the same work as Number 39 in the Playford 1682 edition. Critical differences are that in the Playford edition, the middle section of the work is missing. As the Preludium does not have measure lines, no directions are possible other than the 22 note after the double bar through to and including the 96th note are missing from the Playford edition.
A most vexing feature of this collection is that very few works are accompanied by a title or the composer’s name. Such editorial additions are provided by comparing works in this collection with the Playford, Mansell, and March manuscripts published by this editor. Information within brackets and followed by a question mark are assumed, but are not verified.
As with most lyra viol collections, ornament signs are to be expected. No indication is found in the manuscript to explain how to perform ornament signs. The reader is advised to consult Furnas’ excellent dissertation.
While most signs are regularly encountered in lyra viol collections, one sign is possibly unique. Numbers 61-63 include a mark above the tablature letters that is not uniformly drawn. The mark appears to be a wavy line. This mark is not discussed in either Traficanti or Furnas. In this edition, I’ve used the mordant mark. How it is to be performed is an open question.
Numbers 6 and 83 are almost identical with The Thumping Lesson in Playford. One significant difference is a sign that appears in Number 83 but not in Number 6. This sign is a vertical dash with a dot above it. The mark always appears below an open string and is located at the same place that Playford uses a mark that indicates a left hand pizzicato (a thump). For consistency all uses of this mark in this collection have been changed to a Maltese Cross so as to prevent confusion. The editor of this collection has also used the Maltese Cross in his Playford editions to indicate a thump. This vertical line and dot is also found elsewhere in this collection with closed strings. So, the implication here is that the sign indicates a pizzicato.
Two other marks appear, being dot below a letter followed by a vertical line placed below a following letter. The dot evidently indicates an up bow. The vertical line evidently indicates a down bow. Number 22 (measures 21-24) and Number 70 (measure 4, see below) consist of eight notes grouped into slurred sets. However, both sets have a dot below them. Additionally, the eighth notes are on nonadjacent strings. Surely, this is an example where the slur indicates a hold (i.e. the performer needs to keep the finger on a string so that the note will continue to sound). The performer must play only the notated strings.
CONTENTS
DEFHF TUNING
[Untitled] 5 Page 1 Simon Ives
[Untitled] 1 Page 2 William Jenkins
[Saraband?] 2 Page 4 William Jenkins
Saraband 4 Page 6 William Jenkins
Saraband 7 Page 8 Mr. Lawes
Coranto 12 Page 10 [anonymous]
Preludium 13 Page 12 [anonymous]
The Post 15 Page 14 Simon Ives
Almaine 16 Page 16 George Hudson
Eccho 17 Page 18 John Jenkins
Preludium 18 Page 16 [anonymous]
Saraband 19 Page 18 [anonymous]
Preludium 20 Page 20 William Lawes
Boro Bells 21 Page 22 [anonymous]
[Preludium] 22 Page 24 [Simon Ives]
Saraband 27 Page 27 Simon Ives
Ayre 23 Page 28 Simon Ives
The Lord Whittlock Coranto 24 Page 30 [anonymous]
Almaine 25 Page 32 Simon Ives
Coranto 26 Page 34 Simon Ives
Corant 30 Page 36 John Lilly
[Untitled] 31 Page 38 [anonymous]
[Untitled] 32 Page 40 [anonymous]
[Untitled] 33 Page 42 [anonymous]
Preludium 52 Page 44 Geo. Hudson
[Untitled] 53 Page 45 [anonymous]
Corant 54 Page 46 [anonymous]
Almaine 56 Page 48 Jo. Lilly
Saraband 55 Page 49 [anonymous]
Almain 61 Page 50 Geo. Hudson
Corant 62 Page 51 [anonymous]
[Untitled] 74 Page 52 [anonymous]
The Flowers 75 Page 54 Mr. Ives
Saraband 63 Page 56 Geo. Hudson
[Untitled] 76 Page 57 Mr. Jenkins
Irish Rant 79 Page 58 Tho. Smith
A French Coranto 80 Page 60 [anonymous]
Vive Le Roy 78 Page 62 [anonymous]
The First Saraband 81 Page 63 [anonymous]
Ala Mode de France 82 Page 64 [anonymous]
Thump 83 Page 65 [anonymous]
The Thumping Lesson 84 Page 66 [anonymous]
[Second lesson with a thump] 6 Page 67 [anonymous]
EDHFH TUNING
Preludium 3 Page 68 William Jenkins
Lost Nag 14 Page 70 Simon Ives
[Untitled] 36 Page 72 [anonymous]
[Untitled] 46 Page 75 [anonymous]
Prelude 41 Page 76 Jo. Esto
[Untitled] 42 Page 78 [Untitled]
Corant 44 Page 80 [anonymous]
Corant 45 Page 82 John Esto
Coranto 48 Page 84 [anonymous]
Almain 47 Page 86 [anonymous]
FDEHF TUNING
Prelude 28 Page 87 F. Collier
Mackbeth 29 Page 88 [anonymous]
Almain 43 Page 90 Jo. Esto
Almain 64 Page 92 Jo. Lilly
Corant 65 Page 94 Jo. Lilly
An Almain 67 Page 96 [anonymous]
Coranto 68 Page 98 [anonymous]
[Untitled] 69 Page 100 [anonymous]
Almaine 70 Page 101 Simon Ives
FEDFH TUNING
Almaine 37 Page 102 William Gregory
Corant 38 Page 104 William Gregory
Sarab[and] 39 Page 106 W.G.
A Gigg 40 Page 108 W.G.
Sound […] 49 Page 110 John Esto
Division 50 Page 112 Ed. Tanner
Coranto 57 Page 114 Jo. Lilly
Corant 58 Page 116 Jo. Lilly
Saraband 59 Page 118 Jo. Lilly
[Untitled] 60 Page 120 John Jenkins
[Untitled] 66 Page 122 Mr. Jenkins
[Untitled] 72 Page 125 [anonymous]
[Untitled] 71 Page 126 Mr. Ives
An Ayre 73 Page 128 Sy Ives
The Canaries 77 Page 129 [anonymous]
EFFFE TUNING
Saraband 8 Page 130 [anonymous]
Corant 9 Page 132 [anonymous]
[Untitled] 10 Page 134 [anonymous]
Almaine 11 Page 136 [anonymous]
[Untitled] 51 Page 138 Mr. Esto
FFEFF TUNING
Preludium 35 Page 140 [anonymous]
Preludium 34 Page 142 [anonymous]
