Ashbee, Andrew-John Jenkins and The Lyra Viol
Ashbee, Andrew-John Jenkins and The Lyra Viol
Ashbee, Andrew-John Jenkins and The Lyra Viol
.
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JohnJenkins,
andtheLyraViol
1592-1678,
AndrewAshbee
was provedright:thoughits use to accompany
the voice was merelya passing fad, the lyra
viol achievedconsiderablepopularityas a solo
instrument
rightup to the end of the century,
but the lute, while still used as a continuo
otherwiselargelydisappears from
instrument,
view.How farthemusicforthetwoinstruments
was consideredinterchangeable,
however,needs
furtherstudy. Roger North's reminiscenceof
his elder brother Francis 'touching his lyra
viol, lute fashionupon his knee' is intriguing.5
Jenkins'sgreat lifespanthus roughlycorresponds to thatof the lyraviol's popularityand,
as he playedtheinstrument
himself,it naturally
featuresprominentlyin his vast output. The
unkindly
ravagesof timehave dealt particularly
withthispartof his work,and manypieceshave
come down to us onlyin a fragmented
state; we
musthope thatnew discoverieswill fillsome of
the gaps. Jenkinswas 33 when James I died,
and presumably he had already begun to
attribute
compose (thoughwe cannot definitely
any copies of his musicto theJacobeanperiod).
By about 1630,however,some of his pieceshad
enteredcirculation,includingseveral solos for
lyra viol. Ten are found in a tablaturebook
belongingto JohnBrowne(1608-91), apparently used and expanded while Browne was a
He was a lutinist
and usedthelyraway
profes't,
studentat the Middle Temple in the 1620s,6
uponthevioll,whichfollowedthemannerofthe
and
some had also foundtheirway to Glouceslute,and he had a verygreathand upon the
ter to be included(anonymously)in one of the
consortviol .... He was once carryedto play
on theviolbeforeKingCharlesI, whichhe didin
great collectionscompiled by the singing-man
JohnMerro (d 1639).7
his voluntary
and
way,withwonderful
agillity,
odd humours,
as (forinstance)touching
thegreat
The lyra viol solo, encompassingas it does
stringswithhis thumb,whiletherestwereheld
both melodic and harmonic interest,gained
inanotherway.Andwhenhe had done
imployed
acceptance as an ideal formof musical divertheKing saydhe did wondersupon an inconsision, particularlyfor the lone 'young gentlederableinstrument.
man' such as thelaw studentor undergraduate.
Most of the lyra viol solos which have come
ElsewhereNorth mentionsvariouslythat this
down
to us are overtlygeared to an amateur
was
on
the
bass
or
viol.
performance
lyra
marketand generallyavoid beingtoo demandThe firstmention of the viol played 'by
tablatureafterthe leero fashion' is in Robert
ing technically.Most, too, are relativelytrivial
Jones's The Second Booke of Songs and Ayres
musically: dances, masque music, popular
tunes, preludes, and the like-though this is
(1601), with furthercontributionsby Hume,
Ford, FerraboscoII and otherssoon following. not to deny that many are attractive.Jenkins
Hume's claim that 'the statefullinstrument must have composed vast numbers of such
Gambo Violl, shall withease yeeldfullvarious
pieces in his day; most surviving sources
and devicefulMusic as the lute' was naturally contain at least a few items by him. Furthermore, many were publishedby John Playford
challenged by Dowland.4 In England, Hume
840
Tuning
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feded
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3
3
3
1
4
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7
7
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9
2
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10
10
Sources
'Browne' (formerly'Braye') tablature book (owned by Robert Spencer)
Oxford, Bodleian Library, Mus. Sch. D245-7
Cambridge University Library, Hen. Dep. 77(1)
Cambridge University Library, Hen. Dep.77(2)
Los Angeles, Clark Memorial Library, 'Mansell' tablature book
Manchester, Henry Watson Music Library, MS 832 Vu 51
Oxford, Bodleian Library, Mus. Sch. F575
Oxford, Bodleian Library, Mus. Sch. D221
I Dublin, Archbishop Marsh's Library, MS Z3.5.13
J 'Boynton' keyboard and tablature book (owned by C. Vere Pilkington)
K British Library, Add. 59869 ('Cartwright')
L Oxford, Bodleian Library, Mus. Sch. F573 [staff-notationtranscriptions of lyra viol solos]
M J. Playford: A Musicall Banquet (1651)
N J. Playford: Musick's Recreation: on the Lyra Viol (1652) [- 1655?]
0 J. Playford: Musick's Recreation: on the Viol, Lyra-way (1661)
P J. Playford: Musick's Recreation on the Viol, Lyra-way (1669)
Q J. Playford: Musicks Recreation on the Viol, Lyra-way (1682)
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
Ex. 1
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841
JOHN JENKINS
in
MUSICA BRITANNICA
A National Collectionof Music
The ConsortMusic of FourParts
editedbyAndrewAshbee
The ConsortMusic of Six Parts
editedby Donald Peart
Parts availableforNine SelectedAirsforFour-PartConsort
Also in Musica Britannica:consortmusicby Locke and WilliamLawes
and two volumesof Elizabethanconsortmusicin preparation
STAINER & BELL
842
843