A matching pair
It was convention during the Renaissance to follow the stately pavane (pavin) dance with a livelier galliard on the same theme. Here we have such a pair from The Margaret Board Lute Book.
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| The first line of the "Pauin" |
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| The last line of the "Gallyard" |
There are 3 strains, of 8 bars each in the pavane, and of 8, 6 and 8 bars in the galliard, each followed by an ornamented variation.
I wonder if the pieces could be by, or for, Ambrosio Lupo. His dates and location seem appropriate.
“Ambrose, Ambrosius or Ambrosio Lupo (died 10 February 1591) was a court musician and composer to the English court from the time of Henry VIII to that of Elizabeth I, and the first of a dynasty of such court musicians. He is thought to have been born in Milan, though he and his family lived in Venice for a while just before being called to England. He and five other viol players, including Alexandro and Romano Lupo, were summoned to England by Henry in November 1540, to bring English music up to speed with music on the continent. Ambrose, also known as 'Lupus Italus' and de Almaliach, was the longest-serving of the group.” From Wikipedia.
The pieces fit quite well on the ukulele, with the inevitable simplification, or even loss, of the lower voice.
I have included the indications of RH fingering and ornaments (graces) in the tablature much as they appear in the MS, rather than showing modern symbols: the fingerings because of their economy and unobtrusiveness, and the ornaments as their meaning is open to interpretation. To be honest, I find the massive number of ornaments rather daunting: perhaps they were suggestions of the best places to play them if you felt like it.
You can freely download pdfs of
the pavane here,
and the galliard here.
Have fun!
