Michael Praetorius: Branle de la Torche XV

As promised, another Branle de la torche 

Following on from my previous posting of an anonymous Branle de la torche, here is one by the German composer Michael Praetorius (1561 – 1621). I read somewhere that the piece has been referred to as "The dance of the candlestick".

The composer

The lute version that I found is a duet, so I have transcribed two versions for low-G ukulele:

1. A ukulele duet, which you can download here and

2. A ukulele solo, incorporating as much of the two parts as I can, available here.

Harmonic sequence:

 the first strain 

 i  | VII  |  i   | V  ||  i  | VII  | i V  | I  ||

is basically the passamezzo antico, 

and the second strain

 i  III | ii  | i  V  | V  ||  III  | VII | i  V  | I  || 

is a variation of it, with i replaced in places by its relative major (III.)

It's interesting to note that he accent of the heavier chord voicings does not always fall on the beat.

This branle has similarities with the one in my previous post, but I think that it is more a cousin than a sister.

Have fun!

Thinks: I wonder if there are 14 other Branles de la Torche to be found.

Anon: Branle de la Torche (Margaret Board Lute Book f. 23/3)

 A tuneful little piece and fun to play

The branle is in origin a C16 French dance involving swaying (branle = sway), but I do not know whether torche refers to a flaming torch or a tea-towel. Shakespeare refers to the dance as a 'brawl', which sounds quite robust.

Harmonies: The first strain follows the pattern of the passamezzo antico 

i    | VII    | i  V   | V    || i    | VII    | i  V   | I   ||

 and the second strain 

 V  v   | ii VII   | i  IV   | V    || V  v   |VII  V   | i  V   | I   ||

is a variation.

You can download the pdf for free HERE.

(Incidentally, there is a similar Branle by Michael Pretorius and I will post it soon so that you can see the similarities and differences.)

Anon: Two More Courants (Margaret Board Lute Book, f. 7 and f. 25/2)

 Following on from yesterday's post, two more accessible pieces for you to download and enjoy here and here.

The piece on f. 7 is interesting for its varied placing of emphasis within the bar, as shown by the dots under the notes that indicate weaker notes (played with the RH index finger).

Have fun!

Anon: Two Short Courants (Margaret Board Lute Book, f. 22v)

 Two little non-challenging pieces for the New Year.

A courant (also spelt courante, coranto, corant etc) was, in late Renaissance times, a fast running dance in triple time. The forms evolved and diverged in the baroque period, but since the MS is dated about 1620, I guess these pieces were of the original form. 

Not a lot more to say ...  just download here and enjoy.

I hope you have a happy and musical 2024.

Anon (Ambrose Lupo?): Ambrose's Pavane & Galliard (Margaret Board Lute Book)

 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.

The first line of the "Pauin"

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!

Anon: The Eglantine Branche (Margaret Board Lute Book)

 Short and sweet

As I mentioned in my last post, in my attempts to find and post more accessible pieces, I have been trawling the Margaret Board Lute Book (c. 1620). This is the third piece that I have posted which is named after an ornamental wild plant.

'The Eglantine Branche' fits nicely under the fingers, and has a clear melody, but I cannot find out if it is a known (then) song or dance, or a one-off lute solo.

The eglantine is a simple wild rose, Rosa rubiginosa, also known as sweet briar (or brier). The name may also have been used for similar wild species such as the dog rose, and even (in Yorkshire) for honeysuckle. Picture from RHS.

You can download a pdf of the piece arranged for low-G ukulele for free here.

Anon: The Woodbind and The Gilliflower (Margaret Board Lute Book)

Two scented flowers 

As part of my attempts to find and post post more accessible pieces, I have been trawling the Margaret Board Lute Book (c. 1620).

Judging from the difficulty of the music, the original owner must have been a skilful player - indeed, she was taught by John Dowland. Fortunately, some pieces are relatively easy and I include arrangements of two short ones here. 

Facsimile of f. 25v in The Margaret Board Lute Book, published online here

It is difficult to find much information about the pieces, but you can find performances by excellent lutenists of the second ("The Gillyflower") on YouTube.

Botanical information: "Woodbind" = a climbing plant such as Honeysuckle, and "Gilliflower"  = a clove-scented flower such as Pink, Stock or Wallflower.

You can freely download two versions of the pieces:

1. A full version, as close as possible to the original, here:

2. An easier version transposed to G here.

I will be posting an arrangement of the third piece on the page, an Almain by Daniel Bacheler, soon.