Dublin Virginal Manuscript
Encyclopedia
The Dublin Virginal Manuscript is an important anthology of keyboard music kept in the library
of Trinity College, Dublin
, where it has been since the 17th century under the present shelf-list TCD Ms D.3.29.
, who from 1603 was sent to England on frequent voyages to buy books "to furnish the Library of the University of Dublin". The name "Dublin Virginal Manuscript" is modern, and there is no mention of any specific instrument for which the music was intended.
The manuscript is undated and its 30 pieces are without titles apart from one, ascribed to a "Mastyre Taylere". All but four of the pieces are arrangements of popular song and dance tunes found in other, mainly continental
sources, such as Tielman Susato
, Adrien Le Roy and Pierre Phalèse the Elder
. From these, together with stylistic evidence, the manuscript can be dated to circa 1570.
Most of the music is written in a neat hand
on seven-line stave
s. That for the right hand is written with a c-clef
placed on the first or second line from the bottom. Music for the left hand is written with an f-clef, usually placed on the fourth or fifth line from the bottom. All repetitions are copied out, even if there is no change in the music.
The Dublin Virginal Manuscript is important in the history of English keyboard music because of its date, being one of only five English secular keyboard sources that predate William Byrd
's My Ladye Nevells Booke
of 1591. It is also the second-oldest surviving English source (after the Mulliner Book
) of early Almain
tunes, of which it contains four. The Dublin Virginal Manuscript also represents an important step in the development of secular English keyboard music from around 1530 to its golden age in the late 16th century, with examples of developing counterpoint
in some pieces.
Library
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
of Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...
, where it has been since the 17th century under the present shelf-list TCD Ms D.3.29.
History
The Manuscript was probably purchased by Archbishop James UssherJames Ussher
James Ussher was Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland between 1625–56...
, who from 1603 was sent to England on frequent voyages to buy books "to furnish the Library of the University of Dublin". The name "Dublin Virginal Manuscript" is modern, and there is no mention of any specific instrument for which the music was intended.
Description
The manuscript, consisting of 72 pages, is contained in a small oblong volume 5.5 x 7.4 inches. At some time it was bound together with the Dallis Lute Book (of perhaps 1583), but the two volumes are in different hands and the collection of keyboard pieces forms a separate and independent manuscript.The manuscript is undated and its 30 pieces are without titles apart from one, ascribed to a "Mastyre Taylere". All but four of the pieces are arrangements of popular song and dance tunes found in other, mainly continental
Continental Europe
Continental Europe, also referred to as mainland Europe or simply the Continent, is the continent of Europe, explicitly excluding European islands....
sources, such as Tielman Susato
Tielman Susato
Tielman — or Tylman — Susato was a Renaissance composer, instrumentalist and publisher of music in Antwerp.-Biography:...
, Adrien Le Roy and Pierre Phalèse the Elder
Pierre Phalèse the Elder
Pierre Phalèse the Elder was an important Flemish music editor and engraver of the sixteenth century....
. From these, together with stylistic evidence, the manuscript can be dated to circa 1570.
Most of the music is written in a neat hand
Hand (handwriting)
A Hand, in calligraphy and palaeography refers to one of several historical varieties of formal, impersonal, generic and exemplary writing styles...
on seven-line stave
Stave
Stave can refer to:*Staff , a set of five horizontal lines and four spaces used in musical notation*Stave church, a Medieval wooden church with post and beam construction prevalent in Norway*The individual wood strips that form the sides of a barrel...
s. That for the right hand is written with a c-clef
Clef
A clef is a musical symbol used to indicate the pitch of written notes. Placed on one of the lines at the beginning of the staff, it indicates the name and pitch of the notes on that line. This line serves as a reference point by which the names of the notes on any other line or space of the staff...
placed on the first or second line from the bottom. Music for the left hand is written with an f-clef, usually placed on the fourth or fifth line from the bottom. All repetitions are copied out, even if there is no change in the music.
The Dublin Virginal Manuscript is important in the history of English keyboard music because of its date, being one of only five English secular keyboard sources that predate William Byrd
William Byrd
William Byrd was an English composer of the Renaissance. He wrote in many of the forms current in England at the time, including various types of sacred and secular polyphony, keyboard and consort music.-Provenance:Knowledge of Byrd's biography expanded in the late 20th century, thanks largely...
's My Ladye Nevells Booke
My Ladye Nevells Booke
My Ladye Nevells Booke is a music manuscript containing keyboard pieces by the English composer William Byrd, and, together with the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book, one of the most important collections of keyboard music of the renaissance.-Description:My Ladye Nevells Booke consists of 42 pieces for...
of 1591. It is also the second-oldest surviving English source (after the Mulliner Book
The Mulliner Book
The Mulliner Book is a historically important musical commonplace book compiled, probably between about 1545 and 1570, by Thomas Mulliner, about whom practically nothing is known, except that he figures in 1563 as modulator organorum of Corpus Christi College, Oxford...
) of early Almain
Allemande
An allemande is one of the most popular instrumental dance forms in Baroque music, and a standard element of a suite...
tunes, of which it contains four. The Dublin Virginal Manuscript also represents an important step in the development of secular English keyboard music from around 1530 to its golden age in the late 16th century, with examples of developing counterpoint
Counterpoint
In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more voices that are independent in contour and rhythm and are harmonically interdependent . It has been most commonly identified in classical music, developing strongly during the Renaissance and in much of the common practice period,...
in some pieces.
Contents
The titles following are taken from other sources with analogous tunes:- Passing Measures PavanPavanPavan may refer to:* Pavan , a slow processional dance* Pavan , a god of wind in Hindu mythology and father of HanumanPeople with the given name Pavan:* Pavan Duggal...
- GalliardGalliardThe galliard was a form of Renaissance dance and music popular all over Europe in the 16th century. It is mentioned in dance manuals from England, France, Spain, Germany and Italy, among others....
to the Passing Measures Pavan - Pavan "Mastyre Taylere"
- Galliard to the pavan before
- Pavan
- Galliard to the pavan before
- Pavan
- Galliard to the pavan before
- Variations on the romanescaRomanescaRomanesca was a song form popular in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. It was most popular with Italian composers of the early Baroque period...
- DivisionsDivision (music)Division in music refers to a type of ornamentation or variation common in 16th and 17th century music in which each note of a melodic line is "divided" into several shorter, faster-moving notes, often by a rhythmic repetition of a simple musical device such as the trill, turn or cambiata on each...
on the Goodnight ground - The Earl of Essex Measure
- Branle Hoboken
- Was not good King Solomon
- Dance
- Almande du prince
- Le Reprinse of the Almande du Prince
- Galliard
- Almande Le Pied de Cheval
- Almande Bruynsmedelijn
- L'homme arméL'homme arméL'homme armé was a French secular song from the time of the Renaissance. It was the most popular tune used for musical settings of the Ordinary of the Mass: over 40 separate compositions entitled Missa L'homme armé survive from the period....
alias Lumber me - Pavan
- Galliard to the pavan before
- Galliard
- Like as the lark within the marleon's foot
- Turkeylony
- Pavan
- Galliard to the pavan before
- Dance
- Dance
- Variations on Chi passa
Sources
- The Dublin Virginal Manuscript by John Ward. Schott, & Co., London 1983. ISBN 901938947
- The Almain in Britain c.1549 – c.1675. A Dance Manual from Manuscript Sources by Ian Payne. Ashgate Publishing, Aldershot, 2003. ISBN 978-0859679657
See also
- The Mulliner BookThe Mulliner BookThe Mulliner Book is a historically important musical commonplace book compiled, probably between about 1545 and 1570, by Thomas Mulliner, about whom practically nothing is known, except that he figures in 1563 as modulator organorum of Corpus Christi College, Oxford...
- My Ladye Nevells BookeMy Ladye Nevells BookeMy Ladye Nevells Booke is a music manuscript containing keyboard pieces by the English composer William Byrd, and, together with the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book, one of the most important collections of keyboard music of the renaissance.-Description:My Ladye Nevells Booke consists of 42 pieces for...
- Susanne van Soldt ManuscriptSusanne van Soldt ManuscriptThe Susanne van Soldt Manuscript is a keyboard anthology dated 1599 consisting of 33 pieces copied by or for a young Flemish or Dutch girl living in London...
- Clement Matchett's Virginal BookClement Matchett's Virginal BookClement Matchett's Virginal Book is a musical manuscript from the late renaissance compiled by a young Norfolk man in 1612. Although a small anthology, it is notable not only for the quality of its music but also for the precise fingering indications that reveal the contemporary treatment of...
- Fitzwilliam Virginal BookFitzwilliam Virginal BookThe Fitzwilliam Virginal Book is a primary source of keyboard music from the late Elizabethan and early Jacobean periods in England, i.e., the late Renaissance and very early Baroque. It takes its name from Viscount Fitzwilliam who bequeathed this manuscript collection to Cambridge University in 1816...
- Parthenia
- Priscilla Bunbury's Virginal BookPriscilla Bunbury's Virginal BookPriscilla Bunbury's Virginal Book is a musical commonplace book compiled in the late 1630's by two young women from an affluent Cheshire family. It is important more for its fingering indications than for the quality of the music it contains.-The Manuscript:...
- Elizabeth Roger's Virginal BookElizabeth Roger's Virginal BookElizabeth Rogers Virginal Book is a musical commonplace book compiled in the mid-seventeenth century by a person or persons so far unidentified...
- Anne Cromwell's Virginal BookAnne Cromwell's Virginal BookAnne Cromwell's Virginal Book is a manuscript keyboard compilation dated 1638. Whilst the importance of the music it contains is not high, it reveals the sort of keyboard music that was being played in the home at this time.-The Manuscript:...