The Mulliner Book
Encyclopedia
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 (organist) of Corpus Christi College, Oxford
. He is believed to have previously resided in London, where John Heywood
inscribed the title page of the manuscript Sum liber thomas mullineri / iohanne heywoode teste. A later annotation on the same page states that: T. Mulliner was Master of St Pauls school, but this has so far proved unsupportable. The provenance of the MS is unknown before it appears in the library of John Stafford Smith
in 1776. After passing through the hands of Edward Francis Rimbault
the MS was given to the British Museum in 1877 by William Hayman Cummings
.
pieces over half are based on Catholic liturgical chants, and most of the rest are transcriptions of part song
s and anthem
s, some twenty or so of which are secular. There are only two dance pieces and no variations
. There are also nine pieces for the cittern
, the earliest extant music for this instrument. The sixteen named composers represented are among the most important of the time, including Thomas Tallis
(18 pieces), John Redford
(35 pieces), John Blitheman
(15 pieces), John Taverner
(1 piece) and Christopher Tye
(2 pieces). Nineteen pieces are unattributed.
Corpus Christi College, Oxford
Corpus Christi College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom...
. He is believed to have previously resided in London, where John Heywood
John Heywood
John Heywood was an English writer known for his plays, poems, and collection of proverbs. Although he is best known as a playwright, he was also active as a musician and composer, though no works survive.-Life:...
inscribed the title page of the manuscript Sum liber thomas mullineri / iohanne heywoode teste. A later annotation on the same page states that: T. Mulliner was Master of St Pauls school, but this has so far proved unsupportable. The provenance of the MS is unknown before it appears in the library of John Stafford Smith
John Stafford Smith
John Stafford Smith was a British composer, church organist, and early musicologist. He was one of the first serious collectors of manuscripts of works by Johann Sebastian Bach....
in 1776. After passing through the hands of Edward Francis Rimbault
Edward Francis Rimbault
Edward Francis Rimbault , English organist and author. Some of his historical musical anthologies were published by the Percy Society.*Co-founded the Musical Antiquarian Society in 1840....
the MS was given to the British Museum in 1877 by William Hayman Cummings
William Hayman Cummings
William Hayman Cummings , born in Sidbury in Devon, was an English musician, tenor and organist at Waltham Abbey....
.
Contents
Of the 121 keyboardKeyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
pieces over half are based on Catholic liturgical chants, and most of the rest are transcriptions of part song
Part song
A part song is a form of choral music which consists of a secular song which has been written or arranged for several vocal parts, commonly SATB choir, but also for an all-male or all-female ensemble...
s and anthem
Anthem
The term anthem means either a specific form of Anglican church music , or more generally, a song of celebration, usually acting as a symbol for a distinct group of people, as in the term "national anthem" or "sports anthem".-Etymology:The word is derived from the Greek via Old English , a word...
s, some twenty or so of which are secular. There are only two dance pieces and no variations
Variation (music)
In music, variation is a formal technique where material is repeated in an altered form. The changes may involve harmony, melody, counterpoint, rhythm, timbre, orchestration or any combination of these.-Variation form:...
. There are also nine pieces for the cittern
Cittern
The cittern or cither is a stringed instrument dating from the Renaissance. Modern scholars debate its exact history, but it is generally accepted that it is descended from the Medieval Citole, or Cytole. It looks much like the modern-day flat-back mandolin and the modern Irish bouzouki and cittern...
, the earliest extant music for this instrument. The sixteen named composers represented are among the most important of the time, including Thomas Tallis
Thomas Tallis
Thomas Tallis was an English composer. Tallis flourished as a church musician in 16th century Tudor England. He occupies a primary place in anthologies of English church music, and is considered among the best of England's early composers. He is honoured for his original voice in English...
(18 pieces), John Redford
John Redford
John Redford was a major English composer and organist of the Tudor period.From about 1525 he was organist at St Paul's Cathedral and choirmaster there from 1534. Many of his works are represented in the Mulliner Book...
(35 pieces), John Blitheman
John Blitheman
John Blitheman was an English composer and organist. The Fitzwilliam Virginal Book, which includes the third of his Gloria tibi Trinitas settings, gives his forename as William...
(15 pieces), John Taverner
John Taverner
John Taverner was an English composer and organist, regarded as the most important English composer of his era.- Career :...
(1 piece) and Christopher Tye
Christopher Tye
Christopher Tye was an English composer and organist, who studied at Cambridge University and in 1545 became a Doctor of Music both there and at Oxford.He was choirmaster of Ely Cathedral from about 1543 and also organist there from 1559...
(2 pieces). Nineteen pieces are unattributed.
See also
- The Dublin Virginal Manuscript
- 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:...
Sources
- The Mulliner Book edited by Denis StevensDenis StevensDenis William Stevens CBE was a British musicologist specialising in early music, conductor, professor of music and radio producer....
. Musica Britannica vol. I, Stainer & Bell, London 1973. ISBN 0 85249 401 7 - Denis StevensDenis StevensDenis William Stevens CBE was a British musicologist specialising in early music, conductor, professor of music and radio producer....
, The Mulliner Book: A Commentary (London n.d., 1952?). - The Mulliner Book revisited – some musical perspectives and performance considerations. Gifford, Gerald, in The Consort, vol. 58, Summer 2002, pp 13-27.
- The Mulliner Book newly transcribed and edited by John CaldwellJohn CaldwellJohn Caldwell may refer to:* John Caldwell , American cartoonist* John Caldwell , Irish Olympian, bronze medal in 1956 Olympics* John Caldwell , Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky, 1804...
. Musica Britannica vol. I, Stainer & Bell, London 2011. ISBN 978 0 85249 915 3.