Dear David T: Forgive me for willy-nilly mixing up comments with Davids. I think we are in agreement with the need to fix mistakes but it is necessary to apply a more contextual approach than to look backwards with our modern training in the treatment of dissonance. There are many instances in the music of _A Pilgrims solace_ where one finds bits I would call daring rather than outright wrong. The example of 'When the poor cripple' features a wonderful unprepared dissonance (a major second) in the part writing between cantus and altus on the word 'grief' for instance. Also, Dowland used an interesting augmented fifth in 'Tell me true love' and 'From silent night' that is also found in the chromatic fantasias. I think of this as pungent rather than wrong, perhaps another signature motif.
I completely agree that Dowland knew his counterpoint, and barring the printer's error, what he wrote, he wrote on purpose. But I think the image of Dowland and Morley sitting through lectures on counterpoint is mistaken. Ian Harwood's article on Matthew Holmes in the last (not latest) issue of The Lute dispels this notion. Degrees were bought then as they can be today, and candidates were only required to submit a composition for review. Yes, it is sometimes puzzling to approach things that look like mistakes in lute music, as well as in vocal music. The 'Gipsies lilt' (from Rowallan rather than Skene, although there are plenty of bizzare things in Skene) really does seem like someone was having us on by deliberately writing tablature on the wrong line. My approach is to try it out, rehearse the 'mistake' until it sounds convincing, and then decide. I do this even when I am directing our vocal ensemble and no lives have been lost as of yet. Context is everything. Best wishes, Ron Andrico [1]www.mignarda.com > Date: Mon, 18 Aug 2008 17:09:42 -0700 > To: [email protected] > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: [LUTE] Re: Go, crystal tears > > I fully agree in the danger of correcting music, but it for me it is > less than the danger of not correcting it. > The question of editing can be resolved in many ways, but things I > think are important are as follows: > Did they make mistakes? And should we correct them? > What is the best way to correct them? > What to do with multiple variants? > > I think one of the most interesting ways to look at this problem is > the error rules and the theory of errors. > For example, two of the most common errors are the line error and the > mirror error, wherein a note is placed on the wrong line, or, due to > the engraving or printing process is reversed in some way. > Therefore, when presented with an error, we first look to see if it > is a line error. In "go crystal tears," one can argue fairly > persuasively that the tablature reflects a double line error; that > is, the note should be two lines down, and so matches the tenor part. > There's no certainty, except to avoid the problem entirely does not > reflect renaissance practice--after all, they often corrected their > own errors. A double line error is less common than a single line > error, but it is common enough. Were the problem NOT correctable by a > line change, it often reflects a more complex situation. When it IS > correctable in this way, one has to have a good reason NOT to correct > it, I think. An exception--an off the wall exception--might be a > piece like the Gypsies lilt, where anything goes. But Dowland is not Skene :) > > In "when the poor cripple", we are not looking at a line or mirror > error, however in this case two clear standards apply. The first is > that Dowland provides the correct notes in the parts. The second is > that this is also a common error, the "nipped ascender", where a pen > stroke is blunted due to the lack of ink flow (in the presumed fair > copy--they would not have printed the draft). The conflation of the e > and the c is by far the most common of the "non abbreviated" scribal > errors. The fact that it is such a common error and that the part is > unambiguously expressed in the parts is a fairly strong argument. > However, an additional argument can be made that a contrapuntal > construction consisting of an unresolved, unsupported major second > between the lowest voices does not occur anywhere in the entire > Dowland Canon. Indeed, I would be hard pressed to cite an example in > any piece of renaissance music--even Gesualdo. But even if it were > intended (and there is no certainty), it creates no effect--Dowland > uses dissonance for a purpose. However, the less obvious errors in > Dowland's song revolve more I think around the subtle lack of > cohesion in the inner parts of the lute part--and here, I would for > sure as an editor leave it as is, but as a performer I would rewrite > it. And rewriting the lute part is what the Elizabethans did every day! > > A good edition is one in which, based on the information on the page, > one can completely reconstruct the original source material. The > danger comes, I think, in editions that willy nilly simply change > notes with no paper trail. > Although the theory of errors, of which these are but a few examples, > encompasses much more than this, and it has it's pitfalls, it is > still one of the best tools for editing renaissance music. > > I think we can safely take Burney with a grain of salt as far as > understanding Dowland's hexachord system--at least I don't think > Dowland is barbarous :)--I think Dowland is glorious. The barbarous > criticism was leveled at the best composers--Monteverdi, Gesualdo, > Marenzio--even Jorg Schoenfelder! A badge of honor. > In any case, Burney was too far removed in time to have a sense of > Dowland's music--not to mention the fact that Burney himself was an > awful composer, in fact, at the end of his career, he described his > own music as "negligible." > > As for the organ, or keyboard, Dowland and Morley both graduated from > Oxford in 1588 and would have received extensive and rigorous > training in all aspects of counterpoint, and the fundamental training > for that would have been at the organ and in studies of vocal polyphony. > One has only to look at Morley's staggeringly comprehensive tome on > music to get a feeling for the training at that time. Not to mention > that he (Morley) was immediately hired as an organist after > graduation. I would go so far as to say that the chromatic fantasies, > which are among the most stunningly complex works for lute, could > only have been possible as a result of the quality of the training at > Oxford--with the addition of Dowland's keen imagination. > > As for corrections, I always look to the standards set by Philip > Brett's Byrd edition. That is unquestionably one of the great works > musicology, although there are many. The Gombosi edition of the > Capirola lutebook is also quite remarkable considering when it was written > > One of the most interesting books I have read on this subject is > "Scribes and Scholars: A Guide to the Transmission of Greek and Latin > Literature". > Ultimately, though, you are right--how can one really know what is a mistake? > > dt > > > > At 04:38 AM 8/17/2008, you wrote: > > David: > > > > There is a real danger in 'correcting' Dowland's music, in fact most > > surviving music of the 15th-17th centuries. It has been done and > > overdone in the past by many musicians and musicologists to the extreme > > detriment of the music and the aesthetic of its historical context. > > > > Charles Burney, a self-styled music historian of late 18th century, was > > convinced that Dowland knew nothing of the basic rules of composition, > > and committed numerous 'barbarisms' in his music. There are several > > editions of Dowland's songs available today, with and without the lute > > parts, that have 'corrected' texts and the part writing. I am of the > > firm opinion that we have to give the original reading an honest > > try, several times, before applying our modern sense of the proper > > treatment of dissonance to historical music. > > > > I'm sure Dowland thought of his music as adaptable for different > > combinations of voices and instruments. This was an > > astute commercial stance, and clear evidence is in the preface to his > > publications. But I really can't imagine Dowland was thinking of an > > organ playing the tablature lute parts. A Pilgrim's Solace contains > > some of Dowland's finest music and I just can't agree that, apart from > > printer's errors, there is an ill-considered note in the book. > > > > The same thing goes for the opening of 'Go crystal tears'. I'm sure > > Dowland liked the effect. > > > > Best, > > > > Ron Andrico > > > > [1]www.mignarda.com > > > > > Date: Sun, 17 Aug 2008 12:44:24 +0200 > > > To: [email protected] > > > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > Subject: [LUTE] Go, crystal tears > > > > > > A small question in Go, crystal tears from Dowland's First Booke of > > Songs. > > > In measure 15 the lute has a g' where the tenor has a passing a'. > > When the > > > lute plays with just the cantus, the g' suggests an off-beat > > beginning of > > > the altus line; very beautiful. But in the four-part version the > > dissonance > > > is rather unprepared. Perhaps playing along with the polyphony is a > > better > > > solution for the lute here? > > > > > > See example here: > > > http://home.planet.nl/~ooije006/david/writings/dowpuz_p.html > > > > > > David - pleasantly puzzled > > > > > > > > > > > > **************************** > > > David van Ooijen > > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > www.davidvanooijen.nl > > > **************************** > > > > > > > > > > > > To get on or off this list see list information at > > > http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html > > __________________________________________________________________ > > > > Get ideas on sharing photos from people like you. Find new ways to > > share. [2]Get Ideas Here! -- > > > >References > > > > 1. http://www.mignarda.com/ > > 2. > > http://www.windowslive.com/explore/photogallery/posts?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL _Photo_Gallery_082008 > > __________________________________________________________________ Get thousands of games on your PC, your mobile phone, and the web with Windows(R). [2]Game with Windows -- References 1. http://www.mignarda.com/ 2. http://clk.atdmt.com/MRT/go/108588800/direct/01/
