The Carmans Whistle
Encyclopedia
"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. This work was one of Byrd's most popular works in the 16th century, as well as a popular teaching piece used by many keyboard teachers, and it was included in several manuscripts. It is usually played on a chamber organ, harpsichord
, or piano
and takes around 4 minutes.
The work is included in two of the most important collections of keyboard music of the Renaissance
, My Ladye Nevells Booke
and the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book
.
Robert Johnson, a lutenist, also wrote a setting of this tune for the lute.
C major
C major is a musical major scale based on C, with pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. Its key signature has no flats/sharps.Its relative minor is A minor, and its parallel minor is C minor....
by 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...
. 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. This work was one of Byrd's most popular works in the 16th century, as well as a popular teaching piece used by many keyboard teachers, and it was included in several manuscripts. It is usually played on a chamber organ, harpsichord
Harpsichord
A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It produces sound by plucking a string when a key is pressed.In the narrow sense, "harpsichord" designates only the large wing-shaped instruments in which the strings are perpendicular to the keyboard...
, or piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
and takes around 4 minutes.
The work is included in two of the most important collections of keyboard music of the Renaissance
Renaissance music
Renaissance music is European music written during the Renaissance. Defining the beginning of the musical era is difficult, given that its defining characteristics were adopted only gradually; musicologists have placed its beginnings from as early as 1300 to as late as the 1470s.Literally meaning...
, 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...
and 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...
.
Robert Johnson, a lutenist, also wrote a setting of this tune for the lute.