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Wednesday 31 October 2018

Devereux & Bacheler: To plead my faith (song and ukulele accompaniment)

My previous posts dealt with two galliards (by Bacheler and Dowland) based on this song, so I thought it might be a good idea to examine the original in more detail.

It is in four sections, each consisting of repeated 8-bar strains. Fortunately the lute accompaniment  still exists, and is not too challenging, so I have transcribed it for ukulele.

Robert Devereux in a portrait by Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger
Image from Wikipedia


Robert Devereux (1565 – 1601), second Earl of Essex, was a distant relation of Elizabeth I, a brave soldier and a poet. He became a favourite of the queen, but lost his head on a charge of treason.

Daniel Bacheler (1572 – 1619) was a lutenist and composer, who at one time worked for Devereux, and later held office in the court of the wife of James I / VI. His style of playing was at the time considered complex and difficult, but this accompaniment isn't too hard.

The piece was published in Robert Dowland's A musicall banquet. I can't find a facsimile online, but you can see a transcription here.

I have provided links to the arrangement below. There is also a MIDI file of the melody – played on an oboe, which is the least horrible synthesised melody instrument on my computer.

Links:


P.S. As the galliards by Bacheler and Dowland diverged so far from the original air, I am making a plain and simple arrangement for ukulele, sticking to the melody. I will post it in a few days.

Wednesday 24 October 2018

How to be kept informed of new posts


Temporary note

24/10/18

Lots of this
None of this
Images from Wikipedia
A correspondent asked me how to subscribe to this blog, and I thought what a good idea it was. So, I've had a go at adding a "Follow by email" option (right-hand column, below the "Contact me" option).

I post on average less than once a week, so it won't overload your inbox.

I don't know if it will work, so if you try to use it and it doesn't work, please send me a short note.

Many thanks!


Friday 19 October 2018

John Dowland: Galliard on a galliard by Daniel Bacheler (P 28)

Well, if you thought that Bacheler's original galliard in my previous post was difficult, this one made on it is really testing!

Dowland wrote this galliard presumably as a compliment to his younger contemporary. It is described in the MS (British Library Add. 38539) as “A gallyard upon the gallyard before”, which was entitled “A gallyard by Mr Dan: Bacheler” and which, in turn, was based on Bacheler’s own song “To plead my faith”.

The subscription (end title) of Bacheler's original galliard.

The subscription of Dowland's version.
Note the penultimate note, which assumes a fourth diapaison course!
Facsimilies of British Library Ms Add. 38539 from Sarge Gerbodes website here.

I would have found making the arrangement well-nigh impossible if I had not relied completely on the transcription by Poulton & Lam. How any lute player managed to play the piece from the lute tabs, especially in manuscript, beggars belief. I am full of awe.

Dowland’s first bar is very similar to Bacheler’s, and then deviates more and more. As in the original, there are three strains, each with a variation, but Dowland has lengthened the first two from 8 to 9 bars.

The whole piece is full of invention, and surprisingly playful. In her biography of Dowland, Diana Poulton writes: “The repeat of the second strain is of exceptional interest” because bars 33 and 34 (the repeat of bars 24 and 25) are “not a division at all, but a free variation, since at this point he completely destroys the original harmonic framework”. These bars in particular have a wonderful galloping feel.

If you fancy a challenge, you can download the arrangements in various formats using the links below. Incidentally, I had given up posting Midi files as I thought it was a bit patronising, but this piece is so challenging in the timekeeping, I thought I'd include one this time.


Wednesday 17 October 2018

Daniel Bacheler: Galliard to 'To plead my faith'

Daniel Bacheler (1572 – 1619) was about 9 years younger than John Dowland, but as regards status more successful, in being appointed to the court of Queen Elizabeth I, and gaining a coat of arms. He was apparently admired by Dowland, who wrote an arrangement (P 28) of this piece, which I intend to arrange for ukulele soon.

The galliard is adapted for ukulele from a tablature transcription of the lute original (BL Add MS 38539 p 15v/1) by Sarge Gerbode here. I subsequently referred to a transcription for guitar by Eric Crouch here.

Daniel Bacheler (on horseback) from an engraving by Thomas Lant 
of the funeral procession of Sir Philip Sidney in 1586.
I don't think you'd recognise him in a police line-up without the horse.

Image taken from Wikipedia.


According to Diana Poulton, this piece is based on Bacheler’s own song melody “To plead my faith”, but apart from the first four bars (and their repeat) it deviates widely. There are three themes of eight bars, each followed by a variation.

Much of the activity in the lute original is thankfully on the top four strings, but as usual I have tried to fit in some bass notes. The durations shown are as in the original, but it may not be possible to maintain them on the ukulele as they have to be fingered, whereas on the lute they are often on open strings.

The piece is quite syncopated and, to make the timing clearer where a note crosses the beat, I have notated with ligatures rather than dots. In some places, especially where there are three voices, it would be a good idea to take the timing from the notation as the tabs are stretched to the limit.

The first two lines of the galliard from the Sturt Lute Book (British Library).
The grace symbols are clearly visible.
Timing is indicated by the (now conventional) note symbols, but in short-hand form.
Full facsimile on Sarge Gerbode's website here.

The image above shows that the original is decorated with indications of graces (#, × and +). I have omitted them as: (1) there seems no clear consensus of what they mean, and (2) I find the piece difficult enough already. As players of the day seem to have been rather like jazz musicians in their ability to improvise, I think it’s consistent for to us to add mordents, slurs and so on to the longer notes as we see fit (or are able to perform). Or, you might want to download Gerbode's transcript and work out for yourself what is feasible; if you do, let me know.

As with much music of this period, the voices are integral to the piece, and I have found it unrealistic to simplify for performance by, say, just playing the top voice. So ... it's not easy to play, but I have enjoyed trying. Perhaps I'll have a go at making a simple arrangement of the original song.

You can download the galliard in the following formats:

... and also the words and music of the song:

Thursday 11 October 2018

John Johnson: The Old Medley (Brogyntyn)

After the previous short piece by Johnson, here is a longer one, also from the Brogyntyn Lute Book. I considered adapting a transcription by Sarge Gerbode of another version of this piece from the Marsh Lute Book in Dublin, but it is so full of fast divisions I feel it is out of the scope of this amateur blog.

The first 3 lines from Johnson's The Old Medley. 
Facsimile from https://www.library.wales/discover/digital-gallery/manuscripts/early-modern-period/brogyntyn-lute-book/
It's a nice clean MS, carefully written, with only one small error that I can detect.


On the whole, it's quite an easy piece, with a few tricky bits. The harmonies are mostly quite simple, with some quick chord changes and patches of syncopation to cope with.

There are eight themes, each followed by an often minor variation. These are indicated in Roman numerals by I, I’, II, II’ and so on. The first three themes are set in in common time annd are 8 bars long; the fourth fits most comfortably into 3/4 and is 4 bars long; and the rest are in 6/8 time and 4 bars long. This ukulele version has been set at 4 bars per line, to make the structure clearer.
The themes are presumably arrangements of old songs and dances, whose identities remain unknown to me.

The abundance of block chords in this 4-string version give a possibly misleading impression that they would have been strummed, but checking the lute originals shows most chords include unplayed internal strings; but, there's no reason that we can't strum them (anachronistically) in the fashion of Gaspar Sanz et al. if we want to.

In chords such as E and F which do not have a root note available on a lower string, I have often added B and A respectively on the 4th string, mainly where a fuller chord is indicated in the MS.
To help in interpretation, I have tried to identify voices by stem direction, but this was not always possible.

Available to download in the following formats:



Monday 8 October 2018

John Johnson: Galliard (Brogyntyn Lute Book p. 17/2)

Now, here's a nice little galliard in three parts, with some slightly unexpected harmonies. As with all pieces set in D (or Dm), one runs out of root notes in the chords, so I have used 5ths in places.

The galliard in the Brogyntyn Lute Book.


It's one of a number of pieces by Johnson (c. 1545 – 1594), copied out very neatly in the Brogyntyn Lute Book. You can see facsimilies of the original in the National Library of Wales here.

John Johnson was a lutenist and composer and was at the court of Queen Elizabeth I. You can read his biography here

Available for download in the following formats:

Friday 5 October 2018

Anon: Seven variations on Walsingham (Holmes Nn.6.36 20v, 21r)

The second of two versions of Walsingham in the Mathew Holmes Lute Book Nn.6.36 20v, 21r/1 in the Cambridge University Library, and the last (for now, at least) of my ukulele arrangements, which were advertised here.

The first 3 lines of the clear original MS.
Note that Holmes, the compiler, had bought a 5-line music manuscript book, and had to rule in an extra line.


The preceding version of Walsingham in the book (uke arrangement here) is a bit of a dog’s breakfast, so I was pleasantly surprised by this piece. There is the usual problem with tunes in D or Dm on the ukulele, as you tend to run out of low notes, but I've done what I can.

This piece diverges more from the original air than do most arrangements of Walsingham – even at the beginning it has some unexpected harmonies. It is both interesting and not too challenging (if you keep to 60 bpm).

It is more tuneful than most, and quite contrapuntal in places. Where I have heard hints of the campanella effect, I have scored accordingly. Even the, apparently obligatory, variation with semi-quaver divisions has a clear melody and articulation, and is not merely a stream of scale fragments. You will gather that I like it. I hope you do.

Available to download in the following formats:

Wednesday 3 October 2018

Dowland: Walsingham (P 67)

As explained in an earlier post, this is one of a series of adaptations for ukulele of late 16th century arrangements of As I went to Walsingham for the lute.

I have had the luxury of following Poulton and Lam’s transcription (and reconstruction) of Holmes’ MS Dd.9.33 67v–68r, rather than using the MS, which is is rather confusing.

Holmes’ MS Dd.9.33, p. 68r, bottom three lines. (Cambridge University Library.)
You can see the state of the MS. All hail to Poulton & Lam for making their transcription.

There are seven variations, of 12 bars each.

The first two variations keep quite closely to the melody, but later ones include loads of divisions (mostly in the form of scale fragments) which seem very workaday to my ears, with none of the unexpected twists and catchy repeated motifs of Dowland at his best.

Variation 5 is weird, with (in the transcription) four bars in 3/4 time with triplets, four bars in 9/8, and the final four in straight 3/4 with a totally different feeling and quite out of place. (I have tweaked bar 51 to tidy things a little, but it’s a bodge of a bodge job.)

Poulton, in her biography of Dowland, describes this setting of Walsingham as “far less satisfactory than the one in galliard form (P31)”. [You can see a transcription of P31 for ukulele here.] The MS is the only copy, so she says one can’t ascribe to blame to Dowland performing below par, or to Holmes using a corrupted source. Also, I believe that Holmes was quite old and becoming unwell at the time he wrote the MS. Poulton also describes extending the song from 8 to 12 bars as destroying the “beautiful balance” of the original.

It looks to me like a case of cut-and-paste, with some of the pastings in the wrong order.

Even so, it sounds pretty good when Nigel North plays it on the lute.

Still curious? You can download the arrangements in the following formats:


Monday 1 October 2018

Marchant: Variations on Walsingham (Holmes Dd.9.33 26v)

I enjoyed Marchant’s short galliard on page 29 of this volume (Dd.9.33) of the Holmes Lute Book, so I had high hopes of this piece.

The first two variations of a much longer piece.

The first two variations are quite enjoyable, but then we get further and further into divisions of increasing difficulty – and, to me, lack of interest. I have therefore ended my arrangement at 32 bars, although there are another 2.5 pages to go.

You can download the arrangement in the following formats: