The Osborn Commonplace Book: all the Renaissance guitar pieces in one place

The Osborn MS is a commonplace book containing 21 of (the very uncommon) pieces written in England for the Renaissance guitar. The music is pretty basic, consisting mainly of strums and twiddly bits, and shows how the instrument was played by non-expert musicians. In France and Spain and some English circles it appears to have had a more elite existence, and treated like a small lute.

The spine

I originally posted about the MS here: https://renaissance-ukukele.blogspot.com/2019/09/english-renaissance-guitar-music-from.html, where I chose what seemed to be the "best" pieces for transcription. You can find more details, including references, there, – I won't repeat them here.

Now, for the sake of completeness, I have posted arrangements of all 21 pieces, which you can find as pdf files here: 

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1tbs83XVtG0O7RG-bWw_TmGyMRDRPL4x0?usp=sharing.

Just download what you want – no charge!

The name of each file consists of  "ßOsborn" + W no. + brief title, where W no. is the serial number in the transcriptions by Ward (1983) Sprightly & cheerful music, Pub. The Lute Society.

My earlier transcriptions were made from facsimilies of the original MS, or from Page (2017); later ones were made after Ward. I have cross checked all the sources for my versions. They were made over several years, so the presentation varies slightly.

If you have any problems, please let me know via the message widget in the right-hand column. 

Happy strumming!

Robinson: Bon(n)y sweet boy (folio M2/2)

Short & sweet

Thomas Robinson (c 1560 – c 1610) was a lutenist who published a tutor for lute (The Schoole of Musicke) in 1603. This piece is the seventeenth of the works in the tutor that I have arranged for low-G ukulele, and will be posting over the next few weeks.

"Bon(n)y sweet boy" is a version of "Robin is to the Greenwood gone", which I posted as part of a compendium of "Robins", which you can read here.

You can view and download the arrangement here.

_______________________

SOURCE: Thomas Robinson, 1603, The Schoole of Musicke (f. M2/2). 

Facsimile at: https://ks4.imslp.net/files/imglnks/usimg/9/9a/IMSLP247275-PMLP401021-Thomas_Robinson_School.pdf. 

See also “Robin is to the Greenwood Gone”, f. I2v

Robinson: Robinsons Riddle

 A riddle: why is this piece called a "riddle"?

Thomas Robinson (c 1560 – c 1610) was a lutenist who published a tutor for lute (The Schoole of Musicke) in 1603. This piece is the sixteenth of the works in the tutor that I have arranged for low-G ukulele, and will be posting over the next few weeks.

This catchy piece consists of three strains, each of 4 bars which are repeated, and then followed by a variation. 

There is plenty of counterpoint, but it’s not so clear in this arrangement as in the lute original, as I have had to raise the lower voice by an octave in places.

The last few bars need some pretty nifty fingering (and planning) but follow the original tabs closely. Good luck!

You can view and download the pdf version of the arrangement here.

___________________________

SOURCE: Thomas Robinson, 1603, The Schoole of Musicke .

Facsimile at: https://ks4.imslp.net/files/imglnks/usimg/9/9a/IMSLP247275-PMLP401021-Thomas_Robinson_School.pdf

Robinson: An Almaigne (folio H2v)

 Thomas Robinson (c 1560 – c 1610) was a lutenist who published a tutor for lute (The Schoole of Musicke) in 1603. This piece is the fifteenth of the works in the tutor that I have transcribed for low-G ukulele, and will be posting over the next few weeks.

There are two strains of 8 bars, each followed by a variation. In order to accommodate some of the passages which are played on the lower strings of the lute, I have raised the pitch of the entire piece by a major 3rd.

You can view and download a pdf of the arrangement for free here.

__________________________________

SOURCE: Thomas Robinson, 1603, The Schoole of Musicke (f. H2v). 

Facsimile at: https://ks4.imslp.net/files/imglnks/usimg/9/9a/IMSLP247275-PMLP401021-Thomas_Robinson_School.pdf

Robinson: Three short pieces (f. M2v)

Well, I'm not sure....

These short pieces seem to have been used to fill out a spare page (folio M2v). I present them here more as a matter of interest. Ho hum.

“A gigue” is rather jumpy and erratic, and I found it difficult to discern any pattern.

“Lantero” is a lively little piece, but I have yet to find the significance of the name.  Good fun to play.

“Three parts in one upon an old ground.”  To be honest, it’s not that easy to determine which note goes with which voice, even in the lute original. As to the ground, I do not recognise it. For the record, these are the (approximate) chord changes:

|G   C  A |G  Dm  |G  C  G  C |F   C  |G  Am  D  C |Dm  Bm  Am  Bm |

|C G Am A |D   G  |A      D   | G  Em  Dm  | C   D  | G           ||

You can view and download the pdf versions here.

_________________________

SOURCE: Thomas Robinson, 1603, The Schoole of Musicke (f. M2v). 

Facsimile at: https://ks4.imslp.net/files/imglnks/usimg/9/9a/IMSLP247275-PMLP401021-Thomas_Robinson_School.pdf

Robinson: A toy (f. I2)

The  fourth and last toy (and my favourite)

Thomas Robinson (c 1560 – c 1610) was a lutenist who published a tutor for lute (The Schoole of Musicke) in 1603. This piece is the twelfth of his works that I have transcribed for low-G ukulele, and will be posting over the next few weeks.

A charming, tuneful little piece with three themes each repeated in variation. I need say no more.

You can view and download it for free here.

Happy plucking!

_____________________________

SOURCE: Thomas Robinson, 1603, The Schoole of Musicke (f. 33? or I2). 

Facsimile at: https://ks4.imslp.net/files/imglnks/usimg/9/9a/IMSLP247275-PMLP401021-Thomas_Robinson_School.pdf

Robinson: A toy (f. I1v)

 A third toy from the toy box

Thomas Robinson (c 1560 – c 1610) was a lutenist who published a tutor for lute (The Schoole of Musicke) in 1603. This piece is the eleventh of his works that I have transcribed for low-G ukulele, and will be posting over the next few weeks.

A strange, haunting, wistful solo which never seems to resolve. It sonsists of an 8-bar strain, repeated, followed by three variations of increasing elaboration and rhythmic invention. 

I have set the piece in 3/4 time, but some passages seem to fit more happily in 6/8 time. Rather than insert frequent changes in time signature, I have beamed the notes, with some difficulty, according to what feels more comfortable under the fingers and to the ears.

You can view and download the pdf file here.

Happy plucking!

______________________________

SOURCE: Thomas Robinson, 1603, The Schoole of Musicke (f. 32? or I1v). 

Facsimile at: https://ks4.imslp.net/files/imglnks/usimg/9/9a/IMSLP247275-PMLP401021-Thomas_Robinson_School.pdf

Robinson: A toy (f. H1v)

 A second toy from the toy box 

Thomas Robinson (c 1560 – c 1610) was a lutenist who published a tutor for lute (The Schoole of Musicke) in 1603. This piece is the tenth of his works that I have transcribed for low-G ukulele, and will be posting over the next few weeks.

A sweet little toy, but it does get difficult in the variations.

There are four strains (A – D) played in order with internal repeats thus: A A B C D B C D. Then the whole is repeated in variation, heavily syncopated – a good exercise in counting!

You can view and download the pdf version for free here.

SOURCE: Thomas Robinson, 1603, The Schoole of Musicke (p. 30? or f. H1v). 

Facsimile at: https://ks4.imslp.net/files/imglnks/usimg/9/9a/IMSLP247275-PMLP401021-Thomas_Robinson_School.pdf. 

Robinson: A toy (f. I2v)

 One of Robinson's "toys", to lighten the mood  

Thomas Robinson (c 1560 – c 1610) was a lutenist who published a tutor for lute (The Schoole of Musicke) in 1603. This piece is the ninth of his works that I have transcribed for low-G ukulele, and will be posting over the next few weeks.

"Toys", or "toyes" were, in Robinson's time, relatively short and lighthearted compositions, often based on a dance form. I will be posting four of them over the coming days. Since Robinson didn't give them specific names, I have to refer to them by page number – or rather (since there seems to be some confusion over pagination) by the printer's marks, identifying the folio for the bookbinder.

Here we have a charming little piece, with syncopation and counterpoint. There are two strains, of 4 and 7(!) bars. I particularly like the harmonic surprise of the II-chord in bar 9.

My original transcription, which preserves the lute fingering as much as possible, is set in the key of E (i.e. D in the lute version), which is not the most accessible on the uke. I have therefore added a version in F, which falls more easily under the fingers. 

Because the end of each strain in the original ends on a falling scale, using lower strings not available on the uke, I have had to adjust the first voice in the last few bars.

You can view and download it for free here.

Happy plonking!

______________________________

SOURCE: Thomas Robinson, 1603, The Schoole of Musicke (f. 36/2? or I2v/2). 

Facsimile at: https://ks4.imslp.net/files/imglnks/usimg/9/9a/IMSLP247275-PMLP401021-Thomas_Robinson_School.pdf

Robinson: A galliard (f. G1v)

Thomas Robinson (c 1560 – c 1610) was a lutenist who published a tutor for lute (The Schoole of Musicke) in 1603. This piece is the eighth of his works that I have transcribed for low-G ukulele, and will be posting over the next few weeks.

In my previous post of a galliard this morning I complained that it didn't sound much like a galliard. I thought I ought to post another of Robinson's galliards. This one is much more galliard-like.

It's pretty tuneful, and not too challenging, so I hope you enjoy playing it.

There are three strains, and the first has a very clear galliard rhythm. In the second and third strains, some passages seem to fit more into a 6/8 rhythm when played, and have been set accordingly.

You can view and download a pdf of the arrangement here.

__________________________________

SOURCE: Thomas Robinson, 1603, The Schoole of Musicke .

Facsimile at: https://ks4.imslp.net/files/imglnks/usimg/9/9a/IMSLP247275-PMLP401021-Thomas_Robinson_School.pdf

Robinson: A Galliard (f. D2v)

 Thomas Robinson (c 1560 – c 1610) was a lutenist who published a tutor for lute (The Schoole of Musicke) in 1603. This piece is the seventh of his works that I have transcribed for low-G ukulele, and will be posting over the next few weeks.

The first line of the original. The RH fingerings are shown by dots (pricks) in the tab, the LH fingers by numerals beneath. 

A nice if undistinguished little piece in three strains. 

Although it's in 3/4 time, it doesn't seem much like a galliard to my untutored ears, as I was expecting a rhythm along the lines:

1   2   3 | 1   & 3 |

i.e. with a skip in even-numbered bars.

The form of the cadences in bars 4, 8 & 15 will be familiar to anyone who has played the music of Le Roy and Dowland.

Unusually for Robinson, the right-hand fingerings for the lutenist are indicated to a show unaccented notes, where • = the first finger (i) and ∴ = the ring finger (a). I have added them to the uke arrangement. Apparently, in the Renaissance, the thumb and middle finger were thought of as stronger and reserved for the accented notes; they are not indicated in the original. Something to ponder on.

You can view and download a pdf version of the arrangement for uke here.

Robinson: Merry Melancholie

   A musical oxymoron?  

Thomas Robinson (c 1560 – c 1610) was a lutenist who published a tutor for lute (The Schoole of Musicke) in 1603. This piece is the sixth of his works that I have transcribed for low-G ukulele, and will be posting over the next few weeks.

The first line of the piece in the original

Here we have a fairly simple piece, which is a good chance to test one's accuracy and ability to produce a sweet sound. 

The arrangement was relatively easy, but I have had occasionally to lose the lower voice. (I must explore the feasibility of transposing up to make space for the lower voice.) In particular, I have greatly modified the penultimate bar to accommodate the limited range of the ukulele.

You can view and download a pdf of the arrangement here.

Happy plucking!

____________________________________

SOURCE: Thomas Robinson, 1603, The Schoole of Musicke (f. G2). 

Facsimile at: https://ks4.imslp.net/files/imglnks/usimg/9/9a/IMSLP247275-PMLP401021-Thomas_Robinson_School.pdf

Robinson: Goe from my window

An opportunity to compare entabulations by Thomas Robinson and John Dowland.

Thomas Robinson (c 1560 – c 1610) was a lutenist who published a tutor for lute (The Schoole of Musicke) in 1603. This piece is the fifth of his works that I have transcribed for low-G ukulele, and will be posting over the next few weeks.

There are four variations based on the old song, increasing in complexity.

Ornamental capital from the original

I remembered that over five years ago I blogged an arrangement of a version of this song.by Robinson's contemporary John Dowland (1563 – 1626). You can read about it here. This was an opportunity to polish up the arrangement that I made then.

You can view and download my arrangements by both composers in pdf format by clicking on the links below:

• Robinson
• Dowland

See what you think of them. They are in the same key, which helps. (I know which composer I prefer.)

Happy plucking!

Robinson: The Spanish Pavan

Robinson's version of a popular Renaissance melody

Thomas Robinson (c 1560 – c 1610) was a lutenist who published a tutor for lute (The Schoole of Musicke) in 1603. This piece is the fourth of a number of his works that I have transcribed for low-G ukulele, and will be posting over the next few weeks.

Ornamental capital from the original score

The “Spanish Pavin” was a popular tune in Tudor England. Before I transcribed it I had expected it to have (in the words of Jelly Roll Morton) a “Spanish tinge”. It doesn’t. At the time this slow, stately dance was popular in Spain and therefore associated with that country, but scholarly analysis I have read seems to show that it originated in Padua. The strongest accent was on the third beat, with a lesser accent on the first.

In performance, the pavan was often followed by the livelier galliard, often based on the same tune, but it isn’t in Robinson’s book.

Whenever an instrumental piece is based on a melody or song I search out the original, and I find that it helps with the interpretation. Ian Pittaway has written a fascinating article on Richard Tarleton and his use of this tune here: https://earlymusicmuse.com/category/spanish-pavin/. I have taken the melody from his article and, having transposed it, have appended it to this arrangement.

You will see that Robinson’s first statement keeps closely to the melody, but ends on the tonic (A) rather than the major 3rd (C#) as in the melody – the Tierce de Picardie, with echoes of the Coventry Carol. It is a tuneful entabulation, with simple counterpoint, and a pleasure to play. Alone, this makes a perfectly acceptable piece.

Subsequent variations are increasingly complex – Robinson obviously expected a lot of the students in his “Schoole”. Variation 4 begins in triple time, but I have not modified the beaming of the notes to show the irregular phrasing. It includes what sounds to me like a bugle call. The piece ends back in duple time.

You can download a free pdf file of the transcription HERE.

Happy plucking!

______________________

SOURCE: Thomas Robinson, 1603, The Schoole of Musike (f. L2v). 

Facsimile at: https://ks4.imslp.net/files/imglnks/usimg/9/9a/IMSLP247275-PMLP401021-Thomas_Robinson_School.pdf

Robinson: Row well you marriners

 A nautical dance

Thomas Robinson (c 1560 – c 1610) was a lutenist who published a tutor for lute (The Schoole of Musicke) in 1603. This piece is the third of a number of his works that I have transcribed for low-G ukulele, and will be posting over the next few weeks.

This is an arrangement of a well-known dance that is still performed today, sometimes under the title "Row well ye mariners". 

I have appended the melody of the original dance to the uke arrangement, so you can see how they relate to each other. Robinson’s version agrees quite closely with the later dance tunes, but is much more syncopated, so probably not intended as an accompaniment to dancers. Bar 5, an ornament of the bass line, seems not to be part of the dance.

You can see and download a pdf of my arrangement here.

Happy plucking!

-------------------------------------------------

Footnotes

SOURCE: Thomas Robinson, 1603, The Schoole of Musike (f. 33? or I2). Facsimile at: https://ks4.imslp.net/files/imglnks/usimg/9/9a/IMSLP247275-PMLP401021-Thomas_Robinson_School.pdf

The dance melody: Playford's School of English Dance (1650).

There is a facsimile of keyboard version arranged by Cecil J Sharp here: http://round.soc.srcf.net/files/mariners.pdf.

Roger Ruthen has made an accessible arrangement for uke (key of F) from the melody in Playford's dance book here: https://pdfminstrel.files.wordpress.com/2019/03/row_well_ye_mariners.pdf

Robinson: A gigue, rosa solis

A lively jig with frisky undertones

Thomas Robinson (c 1560 – c 1610) was a lutenist who published a tutor for lute (The Schoole of Musicke) in 1603. This piece is the second of a number of his works that I have transcribed for low-G ukulele, and will be posting over the next few weeks.

SOURCE: Thomas Robinson, 1603, The Schoole of Musike (f. 33? or I2). Facsimile at: https://ks4.imslp.net/files/imglnks/usimg/9/9a/IMSLP247275-PMLP401021-Thomas_Robinson_School.pdf

Image of a sundew (rosa solis) from Sowerby's English Botany

According to Wikipedia: 

Rosa Solis or Rosolio, probably originating in Renaissance Turin, was a cordial derived from the carnivorous sundew plant. It was believed to not only invigorate the heart, but to be an aphrodisiac as well; according to the 17th century medical writer William Salmon, sundew "stirs up lust". 

Geoffrey Grigson says that in Lancashire it was known as “youthwort” in recognition of its perceived rejuvenating qualities. 

All very appropriate for a lively jig. I wonder if playing the piece has similar effects. 

Why not download the pdf version here and try it out.

Happy plucking, etc.....

Osborn Commonplace Book, Part 3: What yt ys to love

 A simple piece I may have unfairly rejected.

We have very little extant Renaissance guitar music written in England, but in The Osborn Commonplace Book there are a number of pages dedicated to the instrument. I have previously blogged most of them here (in revised format), and three more here. 

A few days ago correspondent Martin Wall asked me if I had transcribed "What ys yt to love", and recommended watching the flamboyant version by Taro Takeuchi here. He is a very gifted player, and really knows how to spank a plank.

I had previously not bothered with making a transcription because I thought the piece was just arpeggiation of a simple chord sequence, but when I heard Taro I thought "it's not what you play it's how you play it." And so I'm posting my version here.

The first line of the MS, showing the original barring. I mostly followed Ward by splitting each bar (measure) into two.

I must confess I (lazily) based this version on the transcription published in J M Ward's Sprightly and cheerful music, and then checked it against a facsimile of the original. I followed his barring, except in §D. Thanks to Martin's comments on a draft I think I now have the timings and beaming correct.

It's all based on the 8-bar chord sequence in, I think, 3/4 time

• Dm  |  A   | Dm   | A   | Dm   | C   | Dm   | A  |  
• 
  
• which is repeated twice in variation, 
• 
  
• followed by a section [D] in 9/8 time (following the MS rather than Ward),
• 
  
• concluding with a final section in 3/4, with a 2-bar scale passage.

The piece seems to stop rather abruptly, but that’s how it is in the MS. I imagine that the original was intended mainly as an aide memoire, like a jazz-man’s fake-book, and that the contemporary player would have improvised at will. So, there's a lot of scope to having fun, using your own ingenuity: plucking, strumming, varying the rhythm patterns, adding divisions (rapid runs of notes) and so on.

You can see and download a pdf of the transcription here. 

Happy plonking!

Ascue: Robin Hoode

Another version of the old melody

Some years ago I blogged a compendium of Robin Hood instrumentals by Dowland and Robinson, preceded by simpler versions by me in (I hope) the appropriate idiom.  You can view them here. 

Earlier this week I heard on BBC R3 another version the very obscure Robert Ascue. It was played on lute by Paul O'Dette. It's in The Euing Lute Book, held in Glasgow University Library, but there appears to be no facsimile available. Fortunately I found a transcription on www.GroundsandDivisions.info, to whom many thanks.

Alternative names of the piece are: Robin is to the Greenwood Gone, Bonny Sweet Robin, and Robin Hood(e).

It's quite a nice arrangement, but probably easier to understand than to play. The later variations include a fairly bog-standard set of divisions: OK, but not a patch on the Dowland version. Have a look at both versions and see what you think.

You can download the pdf of the arrangement for low-G ukulele (for free) here. (Just click on the download button in the top right-hand corner of the page.)

Let me know if you have any problems. Happy plucking!