My Ladye Nevells Booke
Encyclopedia
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.
, probably the greatest English composer at that time. Although the music was copied by John Baldwin, one of the most famous musical scribes and calligraphers
of the day, the pieces seem to have been selected, organized and even edited and corrected by Byrd himself.
A heavy, oblong folio volume, it retains its original elaborately tooled Morocco
binding
, stamped with the title, on top of a nineteenth century repair. The illuminated coat-of-arms of the Nevill family is on the title page, with the initials "H.N." in the lower left-hand corner. There are 192 folios each consisting of four six-line staves
with large, diamond-shaped notes. At the end is a table of contents.
, wife of Sir Henry Neville
of Billingbear
, Berkshire
(c.1518-1593), whose arms on the title page have now been identified. Sir Henry and his family were not Catholics, but his son Henry's association with Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex
is evidence that the family may have been in favour of religious tolerance.
The date of the manuscript however leaves no doubt, as it was signed as completed by the scribe John Baldwin in Windsor
:
Baldwin was a fervent admirer of Byrd: at the end of the fourth galliard he noted: mr. w. birde. homo memorabilis, and elsewhere he wrote a poem praising Byrd, whose greater skill and knowledge doth excelle all at this tyme.
Elizabeth Nevill must have been closely associated with Byrd, whether as pupil or patron is not known, but the book was most probably a gift to her. She lived principally at Hambleden
in Buckinghamshire
, nearby to where Byrd and his brothers had a home. At some time it was presented to Queen Elizabeth
by Sir Henry Nevill, and then passed through various hands until it was given back in 1668 to an unknown Nevill descendant. The book was preserved by the Nevill family until the end of the eighteenth century, when it passed through several collectors' hands until it returned to the possession of William Nevill, 1st Marquess of Abergavenny
. In 2006 it was accepted by HM Government in lieu of Inheritance tax
, and allocated to the British Library
. In 2009 the British Library digitised the manuscript and made it available as a virtual book on its website.
With the exception of the two pieces dedicated to Lady Nevell, the compositions were evidently neither created specifically for the book, nor for the dedicatee, but are representative of some of Byrd's work of the ten to fifteen previous years. The tenth pavan is dedicated to the Catholic John, Lord Petre
, while the sixth was for Kinborough Good, daughter of Dr James Good. The manuscript is notable for the lack of any liturgical works, and the pieces may reflect the musical tastes of Elizabeth Nevill herself. Dance music is represented mainly by the ten magnificent but somewhat sombre pavans
and their galliard
s, and there are none of Byrd's more lively corantos
and voltas
found in the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book
, and only one of the almans
.
The naive Battell was supposedly written after the Armada
victory of 1588, but more probably alludes to one of the Irish rebellions
of the time. It is the first known programmed suite of descriptive music, and shows Byrd in a rare lighthearted vein.
The variation forms, sometimes harmonic, sometimes contrapuntal, are on folk-song and dance tunes, and on the hexachord
(ut, re, mi, fa, sol, la), possibly an invention of Byrd's. The masterful fantasias
and voluntaries
(the terms could in this period be used interchangeably), at least one of which is an arrangement of a fantasia for consort
, are not likely to have been composed before the late 1580s, but in any case a full generation before the Italian keyboard masters published their toccata
s.
Complete recordings of the music in the booke have been made by harpsichordists Christopher Hogwood
and Elizabeth Farr. Davitt Moroney
's recording of the complete keyboard works of William Byrd of course includes all these pieces. Some pieces, including Sellingers Rownde and Hughe Ashtons Grownde, have been recorded by Glenn Gould
on piano.
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...
, and, together with the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book
Fitzwilliam Virginal Book
The 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...
, one of the most important collections of keyboard
Keyboard 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...
music of the renaissance.
Description
My Ladye Nevells Booke consists of 42 pieces for keyboard by William ByrdWilliam 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...
, probably the greatest English composer at that time. Although the music was copied by John Baldwin, one of the most famous musical scribes and calligraphers
Calligraphy
Calligraphy is a type of visual art. It is often called the art of fancy lettering . A contemporary definition of calligraphic practice is "the art of giving form to signs in an expressive, harmonious and skillful manner"...
of the day, the pieces seem to have been selected, organized and even edited and corrected by Byrd himself.
A heavy, oblong folio volume, it retains its original elaborately tooled Morocco
Morocco leather
Morocco leather is a leather made from goatskin, dyed red on the grain side and then tanned by hand to bring up the grain in a bird's-eye pattern....
binding
Bookbinding
Bookbinding is the process of physically assembling a book from a number of folded or unfolded sheets of paper or other material. It usually involves attaching covers to the resulting text-block.-Origins of the book:...
, stamped with the title, on top of a nineteenth century repair. The illuminated coat-of-arms of the Nevill family is on the title page, with the initials "H.N." in the lower left-hand corner. There are 192 folios each consisting of four six-line staves
Staff (music)
In standard Western musical notation, the staff, or stave, is a set of five horizontal lines and four spaces that each represent a different musical pitch—or, in the case of a percussion staff, different percussion instruments. Appropriate music symbols, depending upon the intended effect,...
with large, diamond-shaped notes. At the end is a table of contents.
History
The origins of the manuscript are obscure. Not even the exact identity of the dedicatee is clear, but Lady Nevell was presumably a pupil or patron of Byrd. There have been several contenders for the title among the widespread Nevill family, but recent research points to the most likely as being Elizabeth NevilleElizabeth Neville
Dame Elizabeth Neville, DBE, QPM, FRSA was the High Sheriff of Wiltshire for 2010. and former Chief Constable of WiltshireShe was appointed Chief Constable of Wiltshire in 1997 and retired from the force on 17 September 2004...
, wife of Sir Henry Neville
Henry Neville (Gentleman of the Privy Chamber)
Sir Henry Neville was Gentleman of the Privy chamber to King Edward VI.-Family background:Sir Henry Neville's father was Sir Edward Neville Sir Henry Neville (ca. 1520 – 1593) was Gentleman of the Privy chamber to King Edward VI.-Family background:Sir Henry Neville's father was Sir Edward...
of Billingbear
Billingbear House
Billingbear House was situated in the parish of Waltham St. Lawrence in Berkshire, England, about six miles from Windsor.Originally owned by the Bishop of Winchester, the land was given to Sir Henry Neville in 1549 by King Edward VI...
, Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
(c.1518-1593), whose arms on the title page have now been identified. Sir Henry and his family were not Catholics, but his son Henry's association with Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex
Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex
Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, KG was an English nobleman and a favourite of Elizabeth I. Politically ambitious, and a committed general, he was placed under house arrest following a poor campaign in Ireland during the Nine Years' War in 1599...
is evidence that the family may have been in favour of religious tolerance.
The date of the manuscript however leaves no doubt, as it was signed as completed by the scribe John Baldwin in Windsor
Windsor, Berkshire
Windsor is an affluent suburban town and unparished area in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England. It is widely known as the site of Windsor Castle, one of the official residences of the British Royal Family....
:
- finished & ended the leventh of September in the yeare of our Lord God 1591 & in the 33 yeare of the raigne of our sofferaine ladie Elizabeth by the grace of God queene of Englande etc, by me Jo. Baldwine of Windsore. Laus deo.
Baldwin was a fervent admirer of Byrd: at the end of the fourth galliard he noted: mr. w. birde. homo memorabilis, and elsewhere he wrote a poem praising Byrd, whose greater skill and knowledge doth excelle all at this tyme.
Elizabeth Nevill must have been closely associated with Byrd, whether as pupil or patron is not known, but the book was most probably a gift to her. She lived principally at Hambleden
Hambleden
Hambleden is a small village and civil parish within Wycombe district in the south of Buckinghamshire, England. It is about four miles west of Marlow, and about three miles north east of Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire....
in Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
, nearby to where Byrd and his brothers had a home. At some time it was presented to Queen Elizabeth
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
by Sir Henry Nevill, and then passed through various hands until it was given back in 1668 to an unknown Nevill descendant. The book was preserved by the Nevill family until the end of the eighteenth century, when it passed through several collectors' hands until it returned to the possession of William Nevill, 1st Marquess of Abergavenny
William Nevill, 1st Marquess of Abergavenny
William Nevill, 1st Marquess of Abergavenny KG, MVO , styled Viscount Neville between 1845 and 1868 and known as The Earl of Abergavenny between 1868 and 1876, was a British peer....
. In 2006 it was accepted by HM Government in lieu of Inheritance tax
Inheritance Tax (United Kingdom)
In the United Kingdom, Inheritance Tax is a transfer tax. It was introduced with effect from 18 March 1986 replacing Capital Transfer Tax.-History:...
, and allocated to the British Library
British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom, and is the world's largest library in terms of total number of items. The library is a major research library, holding over 150 million items from every country in the world, in virtually all known languages and in many formats,...
. In 2009 the British Library digitised the manuscript and made it available as a virtual book on its website.
Contents
(spelling as in the index to the pieces)- my ladye nevells grownde
- qui passe: for my ladye nevell
- the marche before the battell
- the battell (the souldiers sommons: the marche of footemen: the marche of horsemen: the trumpetts: the Irishe marche: the bagpipe: and drone: the flute and drõme: the marche to fight: tantara: the battels be ioyned: the retreat).
- the galliarde for the victorie
- the barlye breake
- the galliard gygg
- the huntes uppThe Huntes uppThe Huntes upp is a keyboard work in C major by William Byrd, based on an Elizabethan song. The words are:The piece has 11 variation s on the songs The Hunt is Up and The Nine Muses....
- vt re mi fa sol la
- the first Pavian
- the galliarde to the same
- the seconde pavian
- the galliarde to the same
- the third pavian
- the galliarde to the same
- the fourth pavian
- the galliarde to the same
- the fifte pavian
- the galliarde to the same
- the sixte pavian [Kinbrugh Goodd]
- the galliarde to the same
- the seventh pavian
- the eighte pavian
- the nynthe pavian [the Passinge Mesures]
- the galliarde to the same
- the voluntarie lesson
- will you walk the woods soe wyldeWill Yow Walke the Woods soe WyldeWill Yow Walke the Woods soe Wylde is the title of a song from the Tudor era, popularly believed to have been a favourite of Henry VIII. The complete text of the song has not survived, but contained the short refrain:The melody of the song can be found in several compositions of the period, and...
- the maydens songe
- a lesson of voluntarie
- the seconde grownde
- have wt you to walsingameHave With Yow to WalsingameHave With Yow to Walsingame is a keyboard composition by William Byrd in G minor, based on a popular Elizabethan tune. In this work Byrd set the tune into 22 variations on the words of this song:...
- all in a garden greene
- lthe:lo:willobies welcome home
- the carmans whistleThe Carmans Whistle"The Carmans Whistle" is a keyboard composition in C major by William Byrd. It is based on a popular Elizabethan tune.Unfortunately, the manuscript with Byrd's original score is now lost, but other manuscripts from this period survive...
- hughe ashtons:grownde
- A fancie:—. for my ladye nevell
- sellingers rownde
- munsers almaine
- the tennthe pavian: mr:w:peter
- the galliarde to the same
- A fancie
- A voluntarie
With the exception of the two pieces dedicated to Lady Nevell, the compositions were evidently neither created specifically for the book, nor for the dedicatee, but are representative of some of Byrd's work of the ten to fifteen previous years. The tenth pavan is dedicated to the Catholic John, Lord Petre
John Petre, 1st Baron Petre
John Petre, 1st Baron Petre was an English peer.-Biography:John was the only surviving son of the statesman Sir William Petre by his second wife Anne, daughter of William Browne...
, while the sixth was for Kinborough Good, daughter of Dr James Good. The manuscript is notable for the lack of any liturgical works, and the pieces may reflect the musical tastes of Elizabeth Nevill herself. Dance music is represented mainly by the ten magnificent but somewhat sombre pavans
Pavane
The pavane, pavan, paven, pavin, pavian, pavine, or pavyn is a slow processional dance common in Europe during the 16th century .A pavane is a slow piece of music which is danced to in pairs....
and their galliard
Galliard
The 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....
s, and there are none of Byrd's more lively corantos
Courante
The courante, corrente, coranto and corant are some of the names given to a family of triple metre dances from the late Renaissance and the Baroque era....
and voltas
Lavolta
The volta is an anglicised name for a Renaissance dance for couples from the later Renaissance. This dance was associated with the galliard and done to the same kind of music. Its main figure consisted of a turn and lift in a sort of closed position, which could be done either to the right or to...
found in the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book
Fitzwilliam Virginal Book
The 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...
, and only one of the almans
Allemande
An allemande is one of the most popular instrumental dance forms in Baroque music, and a standard element of a suite...
.
The naive Battell was supposedly written after the Armada
Spanish Armada
This article refers to the Battle of Gravelines, for the modern navy of Spain, see Spanish NavyThe Spanish Armada was the Spanish fleet that sailed against England under the command of the Duke of Medina Sidonia in 1588, with the intention of overthrowing Elizabeth I of England to stop English...
victory of 1588, but more probably alludes to one of the Irish rebellions
Desmond Rebellions
The Desmond Rebellions occurred in 1569-1573 and 1579-1583 in the Irish province of Munster.They were rebellions by the Earl of Desmond – head of the FitzGerald dynasty in Munster – and his followers, the Geraldines and their allies against the threat of the extension of Elizabethan English...
of the time. It is the first known programmed suite of descriptive music, and shows Byrd in a rare lighthearted vein.
The variation forms, sometimes harmonic, sometimes contrapuntal, are on folk-song and dance tunes, and on the hexachord
Hexachord
In music, a hexachord is a collection of six pitch classes including six-note segments of a scale or tone row. The term was adopted in the Middle Ages and adapted in the twentieth-century in Milton Babbitt's serial theory.-Middle Ages:...
(ut, re, mi, fa, sol, la), possibly an invention of Byrd's. The masterful fantasias
Fantasia (music)
The fantasia is a musical composition with its roots in the art of improvisation. Because of this, it seldom approximates the textbook rules of any strict musical form ....
and voluntaries
Voluntary (music)
In music a voluntary is a piece of music, usually for organ, which is played as part of a church service. In English-speaking countries, the music played before and after the service is often called a 'voluntary', whether or not it is titled so....
(the terms could in this period be used interchangeably), at least one of which is an arrangement of a fantasia for consort
Consort of instruments
A consort of instruments was a phrase used in England during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries to indicate an instrumental ensemble. These could be of the same or a variety of instruments. Consort music enjoyed considerable popularity at court and in households of the wealthy in the...
, are not likely to have been composed before the late 1580s, but in any case a full generation before the Italian keyboard masters published their toccata
Toccata
Toccata is a virtuoso piece of music typically for a keyboard or plucked string instrument featuring fast-moving, lightly fingered or otherwise virtuosic passages or sections, with or without imitative or fugal interludes, generally emphasizing the dexterity of the performer's fingers...
s.
Complete recordings of the music in the booke have been made by harpsichordists Christopher Hogwood
Christopher Hogwood
Christopher Jarvis Haley Hogwood CBE, MA , HonMusD , born 10 September 1941, Nottingham, is an English conductor, harpsichordist, writer and musicologist, well known as the founder of the Academy of Ancient Music.-Biography:...
and Elizabeth Farr. Davitt Moroney
Davitt Moroney
Davitt Moroney is a British-born and educated musicologist, harpsichordist and organist. His parents were of Irish and Italian extraction – his father was an executive with the Anglo-Dutch Unilever conglomerate...
's recording of the complete keyboard works of William Byrd of course includes all these pieces. Some pieces, including Sellingers Rownde and Hughe Ashtons Grownde, have been recorded by Glenn Gould
Glenn Gould
Glenn Herbert Gould was a Canadian pianist who became one of the best-known and most celebrated classical pianists of the 20th century. He was particularly renowned as an interpreter of the keyboard music of Johann Sebastian Bach...
on piano.
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...
- The Dublin Virginal Manuscript
- 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:...
Media
External links
- British Library: Digitised version of My Ladye Nevells Booke - My Lady Nevells Booke was there.