English Virginalists, Intermediate Pieces?

[mr_bubb]

Hello,

I really enjoy the music of the English virginalists (Byrd, Gibbons, Purcell, etc.).  When I looked at the reviews of the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book on Amazon, I saw things like, "I can only play three of the pieces in here."  Not too encouraging.  I was wondering if there was anything from this period within the range of an intermediate student.

Jim

[cziffra777]

Hello,

I really enjoy the music of the English virginalists (Byrd, Gibbons, Purcell, etc.).  When I looked at the reviews of the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book on Amazon, I saw things like, "I can only play three of the pieces in here."  Not too encouraging.  I was wondering if there was anything from this period within the range of an intermediate student.

Jim

Most of the works in the FVB are fairly accessible, although it will depend on what you mean by intermediate. What pieces have you played?

It might interest you to know that Dover also publishes two other books of virginal music. One is all Byrd.

[bernhard]

Hello,

I really enjoy the music of the English virginalists (Byrd, Gibbons, Purcell, etc.).  When I looked at the reviews of the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book on Amazon, I saw things like, "I can only play three of the pieces in here."  Not too encouraging.  I was wondering if there was anything from this period within the range of an intermediate student.

Jim

Yes.

Start with the “Musick’s handmaid” – vol. 2 which has a selection of easy – intermediate pieces form Purcell, Blow, Turner, Snow, Draghi, and Motley.

See what you think, and if you can cope with it I will have more suggestions.

There are two difficulties in this type of music. First is the ornamentation (which I suggest you ignore for the moment being). It is not so much that it is difficult to execute, but rather it is almost impossible to figure out what is it that we are supposed to execute. Get ready for a lot of research that will leave you mostly with inconclusive results. Second we are really too far in time and attitude to truly understand what this music is all about and how exactly it should be performed. Again be ready for a lot of research with mostly inconclusive results.

Also try this book to get acquainted with a very sound philosophy of performance of early music:

Nikolaus Harncourt – “Baroque music today: Music as speech” (Amadeus Press)

Best wishes,
Bernhard

[mr_bubb]

Bernhard wrote:

>Yes.

>Start with the “Musick’s handmaid” – vol. 2 which has a selection of easy – intermediate >pieces form Purcell, Blow, Turner, Snow, Draghi, and Motley.

By this, I assume you're referring to the "Parthenia", which seems to be really hard to find, at least in the States (Out of print at Amazon, sheetmusicplus, only vol 1 at Boulder Early Music Shop).  Anyone know where I can purchase a copy?  Thanks,  Jim

[bernhard]

Bernhard wrote:

>Yes.

>Start with the “Musick’s handmaid” – vol. 2 which has a selection of easy – intermediate >pieces form Purcell, Blow, Turner, Snow, Draghi, and Motley.

By this, I assume you're referring to the "Parthenia", which seems to be really hard to find, at least in the States (Out of print at Amazon, sheetmusicplus, only vol 1 at Boulder Early Music Shop).  Anyone know where I can purchase a copy?  Thanks,  Jim

I was unaware that it was called “Parthenia”. My copy just says “Musick’s handmaid” on the cover.

I like it because – besides being reasonably easy – it has a number of composers represented. However if you don’t mind just Purcell, you can try:

Henry Purcell – Complete Keyboard music (2 vols. Edited by Christopher Kite) (Chester music)

Which should be easier to find. It has all of Purcell’s pieces that appear in the “Musick’s handmaid”, and the added pieces are of a similar level of difficulty.

Best wishes,
Bernhard.

[mr_bubb]

Bernhard wrote:

>I was unaware that it was called “Parthenia”. My copy just says “Musick’s handmaid” on the cover.

Actually, I've done a lot of reseach on this in the meantime.  Stainer and Bell publishes Musick's Handmaid vols 1 and 2, as well as a lot of other early music.  I had to go the the Stainer and Bell website in the UK to find it.  Incidentally, Davitt Moroney recently published "20 Keyboard Pieces" by Purcell, apparently from a "method" only discovered in 1993.  I've ordered this as well -- have you seen it?

Jim

[bernhard]

Bernhard wrote:

>I was unaware that it was called “Parthenia”. My copy just says “Musick’s handmaid” on the cover.

Actually, I've done a lot of reseach on this in the meantime.  Stainer and Bell publishes Musick's Handmaid vols 1 and 2, as well as a lot of other early music.  I had to go the the Stainer and Bell website in the UK to find it.  Incidentally, Davitt Moroney recently published "20 Keyboard Pieces" by Purcell, apparently from a "method" only discovered in 1993.  I've ordered this as well -- have you seen it?

Jim

Stainer and Bell: Yes, this is the publisher of my copy of the Musick’s Handmaiden.

I have not heard of Davitt Moroney’s publication. But if it is a collection of pieces called “ A choice collection of lessons for the harpsichord or spinet”, then it is included in vol. 1 of Purcell’s “Complete keyboard music” (Chester) which I mentioned above.

By the way, two of Purcell’s pieces are included in the 2005 – 2006 repertory for the ABRSM exams: “Rigadoon” (grade 2) and “Air” (Dm) (grade 1).

Best wishes,
Bernhard.

[khantallis123]

Parthenia was collected 20 years before Purcell's Birth (and you can find it on IMSLP)! But Byrd's La Volta is extremely exciting. I agree with Musick's Handmaid, especially the 2nd Part.
Take a look at this:
earlymusician.weebly.com

[pauld3]

I am a beginner, recently recapturing my childhood years of piano, ending in 1969. I am perfecting Fur Elise on the piano, but "The Dutchess of Bunswick's Toye", by John Bull, in the 2nd volume, Dover edition, is quite easy, though special focus is needed on the closing measure. I can already play it ( on my harpsichord) better then the Beethoven on the piano.

[avanchnzel]

If you've exhausted the Virginal Book, you could try Sweelinck's keyboard works. He was from the Netherlands but he was strongly inspired by the English style of divisions and their variation techniques so you'll find the figurations very much the same, but the style is all his own. There are so many different ways you can phrase and articulate his music and it's also very good for finger work.

I'm playing for a charity concert next week and am including the Echo Fantasia in D Dorian (the longest one) in my repertoire - I started learning that just last week!

[pauld3]

----and some of Sweelinck's keyboard works are in the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book.