Dear Bill and Thomas, I'm afraid the Quadro Pavan has nothing to do with square dancing. :-(
The Quadro Pavan is similar to many pieces popular in England in the latter part of the 16th century, which are based on grounds - simple bass lines which imply a simple harmonic sequence. Another would be Chi Passa, which in England existed as a ground for variations and divisions, and is based on the chord sequence of a song by Filipo Azzaiuolo, "Chi passa per questa strada". Such pieces appear in many guises in the earlier English lute sources like the Willoughby and Marsh manuscripts. In the Willoughby Lute Book there are three settings of Chi Passa for the lute, and a couple more for the cittern. The cittern settings involve the strumming of simple chords (one setting in F, and the other in G), and look like consort pieces of some kind. The three lute versions are in three "keys": G, D, and C in terms of a standard renaissance lute in g'. Francis Willoughby (or his scribe) refers to the G version as "Qui passa in the hygher keye", and to the version in D as "Qui passa in the lowest keye". There is a very significant sentence added below the version in G: "these tow qui passas agre one tow lutes, the one set foure notes above the other" [= These two chi passas agree on two lutes, the one tuned a fourth above the other.] In fact the two versions don't fit awfully well. There are major/minor clashes and such like, so you have to doctor them a bit to make them sound well together. The Francis Willoughby MS sets a precedent for us. If Francis can stick two solo versions of Chi Passa together to make a lute duet, why not do the same with other pieces based on simple chord sequences? In the same manuscript there are four settings of the Quadro Pavan for solo lute. One in C and one in F (nos 27 and 28 in the MS) fit very well together as a duet for lutes a fourth apart, and require far less jiggery-pokery to make them work together than the two chi passas. I think I might have made the point before, but Antony Holborne shows a certain freedom in how he expects us to play his cittern music. In _The Cittharn Schoole_ (London, 1597) he writes, "I have conjoyned the most usuall and familiar grounds of these times, for consort or thine owne private selfe." In other words, he has given us cittern settings of the Quadro Pavan and other "familiar grounds", which we can play as solos or use to play along with other people. It's the Elizabethan equivalent of a group of friends getting together today, and busking a twelve-bar blues together. Everyone knows the simple chord sequence, and so strong is the harmonic progression that a few unfortunate clashes along the way won't matter too much. I believe that the lute "Trebles" at the beginning of CUL Dd.3.18 are designed for Elizabethan jam sessions. It could be just a lute duet, with one lute playing chords for the ground, or it could involve a larger group of instruments. This is in contrast to the formal broken consort compositions of Richard Allison and Daniel Bacheler, which are for a specific group of six instruments. By the way, the basic Quadro chord sequence of G- C- G- D- G- C- GD G- is also used for "John come kiss me now", for example in the ML Lute Book. Best wishes, Stewart McCoy. ----- Original Message ----- From: "bill" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Cc: "Lautenliste" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Wednesday, May 26, 2004 10:32 AM Subject: Re: Subliminal message > could "quadro" also mean a pavane performed in the shape of a square - > "square dancing?" > > bill (who, through no fault of your own has been humming "lay that > pistol down" all morning...) > > On Mercoledì, mag 26, 2004, at 11:16 Europe/Rome, Thomas Schall wrote: > > > Dear Stewart, > > > > what an answer! > > Thanks for this very informative and entertaining lecture. > > > > I could insist and say that your answer refering to the usual chord > > scheme of the quadro pavan is still unclear regarding the relation to > > the lute. > > But I think you will voluntarily give an encore without my invitation > > .. > > > > Best regards > > Thomas (strumming "Bile dem cabbage down" on his lute)
