Eight English Songs around 1600
(John Dowland, Thomas Campion, Anonymous)for soprano or tenor recorder or voice
and basso continuo
Edited by Franz Müller-Busch
Girolamo G 12.006, playing score, € 10,00
ISMN 979-0-50084-008-4
Preface
The Eight English Songs presented here are kept in the British Library under the shelf mark Add. MS 24665. The catalogue identifies them as:
Songs with a bass, collected by Giles Earle, taken from part-songs, embellished with fiorite.
The manuscript is dated around 1615–1626.
On the left hand side one can find the voice part, on the right hand side an unfigured bass part. One can clearly see the interaction between the English song with a lute accompaniment and the beginnings of the baroque period. Here the lute would probably be the best choice as an accompaniment but virginal or harpsichord are also suitable. For teaching or for a recital, piano or guitar are also acceptable, of course.
The composers are not mentioned in the draft. Nevertheless two songs are known to be by John Dowland and one by Thomas Campion. Text and melody of Come you prettie are also very similar to a madrigal by Campion bearing the same title.
The manuscript contains a whole series of mistakes – especially rhythmical errors – that have been corrected discreetly. The spelling of the English text has been retained as well as the placement of bar-lines in the pieces with a 2-beat. The songs with a 3-beat were provided with normal bar-lines in order to be able to read them more easily. Breathing marks are by the editor; any other additions have been indicated. The realization of the figured bass has been kept as easy as possible in order to increase its usefulness for instrumental teaching.
Translation: J. Whybrow
Calw, November 1995, Franz Müller-Busch
Content
- Sleepe, sleepe, though greife torment (Anonymus)
- Ay mee (Anonymus)
- Come you prettie (Thomas Campion?)
- I care not for those ladies (Thomas Campion)
- As on a daie Sabina fell asleepe (Anonymus)
- I love a love that loves not mee (Anonymus)
- Flowe my teares (John Dowland)
- Yf my complaintes (John Dowland)
