Another piece based on the passamezzo antico, this one originally written for cittern
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| The publication from which I made this arrangement. The author seems to have been particularly fond of the cittern, which we can see being played in the cover illustration. Unlike the renaissance guitar, the cittern had wire strings fixed not to the bridge (which was moveable) but to a tailpiece attached to the body, |
I made this arrangement for ukulele from a piece for 4-course cittern by Thomas Robinson in New citharen lessons (1609), transcribed into keyboard notation by John M Ward: Sprightly and cheerful musick, The Lute Society, 1983, p. 66 (see fig.).
Ward distinguishes up to four voices, which is easier done in 2-stave format than on a single stave. I have done my best.
My reason for transcribing this piece was to find a composition that did not necessarily have those voicings, frequently found in renaissance guitar music, that fall so easily under the fingers on the ukulele. This means that a few of the chord shapes may be unfamiliar, but I have not re-worked them to fit into the guitar/ukulele idiom. Feel free to modify them as you wish.
The “standard” version of passamezzo antica is:
i | VII | i | V || III | VII | i, V | i ||
This piece follows it closely, with some elaborations:
i,V,i | VII | i,V | V || III | VII | V,I,IV,V | I,V,I ||
The first section is mainly chord plus melody, the second is more developed and contrapuntal with duets, and the third greatly elaborated and syncopated. Pieces with lots of divisions can sound, at best, workmanlike, just masses of notes, but this one is quite tuneful and fun to play. In places I can hear echoes of John Dowland’s lute piece “Go from my window”, which I have posted here.
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