The Cosens Lute Book | A Fancie, a Fansie

An anonymous piece from the 'Cosens Lute book', recorded as part of Casey's doctoral research into the Add.3056 manuscript. In this video, the pages of the manuscript come to life, revealing how the ancient tablature ciphers translate into music.

The original facsimile can be found HERE

Recorded on a 1973 S.Gottlieb 8 course lute.

Lacrime by MR Dowlande

By the start of the seventeenth century, Dowland’s “Lacrimae” was one of the most recognisable tunes in England. This is one of two versions preserved in the Cosens Lute Book (1595-1610). It's a beautiful arrangement, with unique variations and divisions that are rarely heard in recordings.

This was recorded as part of Casey's doctoral research into the Add.3056 manuscript. The original facsimile can be found HERE

As part of Casey’s doctoral research into the ‘Cosens lute manuscript’ he happened upon an unknown and anonymous section of tablature that was nestled inside an existing piece of music. This video is a world premiere recording of that tablature segment, which is an entirely new and unknown composition in lute scholarship. The miraculous story of this piece (and it's discovery) is penned in the Lute Society of America Quarterly Journal (LSAQ) Vol. 57, No. 4, which can be viewed HERE.

The tablature ciphers, text, rhythm flags, and illuminations shown in this video come from the remarkable ‘Capirola Lute Book’. This collection of lute music was written by Vincenzo Capirola in the first few decades of the sixteenth century and was scribed by Vidal, a pupil of the great lute master. Vidal reasoned that animals and illuminations would give the book intrinsic value to anyone who owned it, regardless of whether they could understand the tablature. Owing to Vidal’s uncanny foresight, the wonderful illuminations and lute pieces in the Capirola Lute Book have remained safe and intact for over 500 years.

The galliard was a popular dance form utilised by Dowland, and many other sixteenth century composers, as a structural framework for composition. It was a dance characterised by a light and spritely character in triple-meter.

The ‘Frog galliard’ is one of the best and most celebrated solo lute compositions that are built upon the galliard structure. It is a particularly beautiful and iconic melody, and was later recycled by Dowland into the sung lute song ‘Now oh now I needs must part’. When paired together in performance, the solo and the song seamlessly flow into one another—owing to the shared keys, meter and spirit of the two compositions.

“As an avid lover of fantasy literature, Middle Earth remains a continuous source of inspiration and wonder for me. I am sure Tolkien’s vivid imagination and creativity has, in part, led me to pursue the study of historical music. This is my homage to J.R.R. Tolkien, Howard Shore, Peter Jackson and, of course, the Hobbits.”

‘The Bard of Bag End’ incorporates Shore's iconic melodies from ‘Concerning Hobbits’ alongside some of Casey’s own variations. This was recorded on a traditional 8 course Renaissance lute.

By the start of the seventeenth century, Dowland’s “Lachrimae pavane” was probably one of the most recognisable tunes in England. Its popularity is, in part, evidenced by the vast number of sources that contain copies or versions of the piece. Based on the current extant catalogue of surviving tablature sources, almost thirty different manuscript versions of the pavane exist. This is a staggering number, considering that the majority of these sources contain bespoke, handwritten versions of the pavane, from a time when solo lute music was rarely published or distributed en masse. This video highlights 10 important tablature sources that contain excellent versions of the Lachrimae Pavane.

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