Thanks, Nancy. I've looked again at my copy of the MS and mostly it's pretty clear, but damp damage at the tops of pages has obscured a few things:

bar 1, events 2-4: top part
bar 56: middle of bar, but the logic is clear here
bar 59: most of bar, but the rhythm signs are all just about legible, also events 1-3, 7-9 and 10-12

The other thing I noticed is that the # sign occurs three times, each time written in the middle of the stave (not next to a note):

bar 1 (before first chord)
bar 23, event 7
bar 38, event 1

I doubt that these are intended as signs for graces. Holmes seems to have used the # to cross out a copying mistake or indicate the location of such a mistake, to indicate a grace, or for no discernable reason at all! Looking through Dd.2.11 and Dd.5.78, it is quite rare, and quite often occurs just two or three times in the course of a piece, and then at places where a grace is impossible or seems unlikely. But just occasionally, it occurs about 20 times on one page (see the first page of Lachrimae in Dd.5.78) and in sensible places - then it seems it is being used to indicate graces. So I think we have to be very circumspect in interpreting this sign.

Best wishes,

Martin

On 16/10/2010 19:05, Nancy Carlin wrote:
    Thank you, thank you for this piece. I have been fascinated with it for
    quite a while and about a year ago asked the list if anyone knew where
    to find it. Ron Andrico got back to me with a link to the music, which
    he has on his web site. So now what is really interesting is the
    differences that Ron and Martin have in their versions of the piece. I
    am eagerly waiting for Dd.2.11 to be available so I can get a real copy
    of it to replace the fuzzy old microfilm I have, but assume at least
    some of the different notes come from guessing what is written at the
    top of the pages where it looks like there is mildew damage.  The
    biggest difference between the 2 versions is measure 31, which was
    probably unreadable. The other differences are mostly from places where
    Holmes wrote notes on the lines instead of in the spaces and Ron and
    Martin chose a line above or below each other.
    About those ornaments - Martin wrote THE article on ornament in the
    1996 The Lute "The Interpretation of Sings for Graces in English Lute
    Music," pp37-84. You can easily buy a copy of it from the Lute Society
    (UK)'s web site.
    It's also interesting that Martin has named it "Dump" rather than
    "Ground."  It looks like it's loosely built on a 6 measure chord
    progression to me, and some of the Dumps have shorter, sometimes only 2
    chord grounds.    If you want to look at other lute grounds there is
    one on with web site
    [1]www.groundsanddivisions.info
    from the Euing manuscript, and there is one very strange one for
    bandora that I transcribed for lute in my article on bandora music.
    That one is 2 variations on 2 different chord progressions stuck
    together and I am beginning to think it might be a bass part from an
    ensemble piece.
    Nancy
    At 08:34 AM 10/16/2010, Martin Shepherd wrote:

       With apologies for the long gap in this series, a new piece of the
      month has finally escaped from my music room, played on a new lute
      after Maler (67cm) strung entirely in gut.
      [2]http://www.luteshop.co.uk/month/pieceofthemonth.htm
      You'll want to play this piece (you'll probably also want to play
      the lute, but sorry it belongs to somebody else!).
      Best wishes,
      Martin
      To get on or off this list see list information at
      [3]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html

    Nancy Carlin Associates
    P.O. Box 6499
    Concord, CA 94524  USA
    phone 925/686-5800 fax 925/680-2582
    web sites - [4]www.nancycarlinassociates.com
    [5]www.groundsanddivisions.info
    Representing:
    FROM WALES - Crasdant&  Carreg Lafar,  FROM ENGLAND - Jez Lowe&  Jez
    Lowe&  The Bad Pennies, and now representing EARLY MUSIC - The Venere
    Lute Quartet, The Good Pennyworths&  Morrongiello&  Young
    Administrator THE LUTE SOCIETY OF AMERICA
    web site - [6]http://LuteSocietyofAmerica.org
    --

References

    1. http://www.groundsanddivisions.info/
    2. http://www.luteshop.co.uk/month/pieceofthemonth.htm
    3. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
    4. http://www.nancycarlinassociates.com/
    5. http://www.groundsanddivisions.info/
    6. http://lutesocietyofamerica.org/



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