pastyme with good companye · "pastyme with good companye" is one of the ones signed by...

Pastyme With Good Companye

An Tir Bardic Championship Lady Emma Godwif, Artisan of Wastekeep - March 2014

�1AN TIR BARDIC - LADY EMMA GODWIF

Introduction: Picking and Grinning... Music pervades every aspect of life from church to the home, and it was no less the case

in the 16th century. As the merchant, or middle, class took root with growing industry and occupations that didn't have the intense demand on time, people had more time to devote to the art and skill of song (Machlis & Forney 96). Subsequently, the 16th century is when we begin to see much integral development and growth within the art form, especially that of instrumental music (109).

I was drawn to "Pastyme" not only for the dance-like setting and its capacity for instrumental performance, but also as a way to learn more about the musicians in the court of Henry VIII -- a position my persona may have found herself in.

Instrumental Music... And Women in Music

"The Lute Player" by Orazio Gentileschi, circa 1626. Traditionally, instrumental music would have most

likely been played on a lute or virginal, as they were among the more popular instruments of the time (McGee 77), and easily adapted to a variety of styles (79). During this time of history, having such an instrument was a mark of status. The study of music was also considered to be a critical part of a young woman's education (especially if her family was well off), and at this time, we begin to see women performing music in a professional capacity as well as at home (Machlis & Forney 108). For example, Francesca Caccini (b. 1587) became one of the highest paid musicians in the Medici court (Brown 267). And the Concerto Della Donne -- an all-female professional singing group formed in 1580 by Duke Ferrara -- won acclaim throughout Italy and several other European courts (Brown 269).

As dance and instrumental music blossomed, musicians (much like they still do today) found they could adapt and simplify popular songs to suit the limitations of an instrument:

"The dances were often fashioned from vocal works such as madrigals and chansons, which were published in simplified versions that were played instead of sung." (Machlis & Forney 109)


King Henry VIII... Composer and Musician

From Henry's Psalter, British Library.

Henry was well-known to be an avid music aficionado. It is said that he enjoyed all types of music from sacred to secular (Williams 36). When Henry became King, he increased his staff of court musicians from around twenty-two to over sixty, and he so prized their creative pursuit of virtuosity, he paid them well above a minstrel's salary so they might live comfortably 1

and securely and have more time to devote to their art. Foreign musicians flocked to Henry's court, both drawn by the promise of good wages and enticed into relocation by the King himself. It was at this time that English musicians found themselves among the best and most talented in Europe:

"Visitors from abroad commented in their letters home in the most favourable terms on the music of Henry's court, the beauty of the choristers' tone, the dexterity of the viol playing and the sheer amount of music-making that went on. At the French court by contrast, the choir failed to sing in time or in tune because the chief singing-master was unable to read music at sight and was frequently drunk..." (Williams 37)

The King was known to be a talented musician and reveled in the art: he was proficient on recorder, flute, virginal, organ, and lute, among others; he had a good singing voice, and while on progress during 1510, purportedly kept himself busy playing and "setting songs" or composing:

[He] amused himself playing... and 'in setting of songs, making of ballads, and did set two goodly masses, every of them five parts'... (Williams 36)

Quite the output, considering the business a royal progress entailed, and not something someone who didn't absolutely love music would attempt.


! Williams writes they were paid "three times as much as the average parish priest" p.371

"Pastyme With Good Companye"

Originally appearing in a collection of 109 pieces of music compiled around 1518, "Pastyme With Good Companye" is one of the ones signed by "The Kynge H. viii" (British Library) , though some still debate whether King Henry VIII did truly write it. Scholars who 2

do believe it was written by the King say it was composed in the period just preceding or right at the beginning of his reign. The lyrics extoll the virtues of the "good life," the pleasures of spending time with worthy friends and pursuing enjoyable leisure activities instead of spending it in idleness and solitude.

"Drei Muzirende Madchen" Circa 1500-1530. As mentioned above, musicians of the time were well-known to adapt popular works for instrumental performance, and this popular tune 3

was no exception. There is a period lute solo arrangement of it by an anonymous lutenist contained in the manuscript Royal Appendix 58 (circa 1515 to 1540) in the British Library. Though I could not locate a digitized image of the original score via their online archives, I did learn through the course of my searching that The Lute Society had at one time published a direct transcription of it in their newsletter ("On Lute..."). Some further

sleuthing turned up an arrangement for classical guitar (GuitarLoot) that was exactly transposed from the Lute Society's direct transcription of the original.


! In this folio of music, there are 20 songs and 13 instrumental pieces ascribed to King Henry, as well as 76 2

other pieces by various composers of the court, some attributed and some not.

! It is said that "Pastyme" remained a favorite of Queen Elizabeth I's, several decades later.3

Preparing My Performance When I consider performing any music I have not written, my first task is to see how

others have approached the piece. I went immediately to YouTube and began looking up various early music groups to see prior interpretations of the song (LuteandTheorbo and Valery Sauvage). I had a different version of "Pastyme" based off the madrigal (not the period lute arrangement) and arranged for ukulele by Tony Mizen, a premier classical guitarist and teacher, which I considered as well for things such as tempo.

"The Concert" by Callisto Piazza de Lodi circa 1528 - 1530.

Ideally, "Pastyme" would be performed on a lute.

Unfortunately, I do not have an authentic lute at my disposal, however, my primary instrument is guitar, which is in the same family (plucked strings) and can be used to mimic the appropriate sound with the judicious use of playing technique. The Lute Society out of London, UK, has a few beginners' lessons available for free off their website that sufficed as a quick introduction to how a lute is played. Upon researching the technique, it appeared that while the hand and arm positions differed (I would presume to say because of the giant bowled back of the lute), many of the results for playing chords -- plucking the notes simultaneously and/or "spreading" the notes with a "rolling" motion -- were similar to classical guitar technique.

Using and understanding the Lute Society's information on how to pluck and spread chords to further the musical effect enhanced my performance; the guitar almost seems to tell the story itself!

The most obvious concession in terms of technique was my decision to play the guitar with the fleshy tips of the fingers, not the fingernails, as is currently the custom with classical guitar. According to McGee, lutes were either plucked with a pick -- or plectrum -- before 1450 for monophonic music, or plucked with the fingers after that time for polyphonic songs (79).


Initially, the hand positions for some of the chording felt extremely difficult, much more so than I expected. I then remembered reading in a reprinted edition of John Dowland's Lute Songs, that "it is often necessary to lower the 3rd string by one half-step, from G down to F-sharp" (Nadal ix) for the music to lie nicely on the modern instrument. It also has the added bonus of reproducing the pitch spacing of a Renaissance lute -- strings tuned in intervals of fourths with a third in the middle. As soon as I adjusted the tuning of my guitar, the difficulty of hand position eased and I found it much more comfortable to practice and not strain the fingers or wrist.

The other concession I made was to simplify a few of the rhythms in measures 5 and 31 in the interests of clarity. My particular guitar was losing the eighth note G on the treble staff, so I opted to drop it to a bass G to give it a bit of pop.

I also began to practice ornamentation, as stipulated in McGee's guide to performance: "For musicians living in the Middle Ages and Renaissance era there was a tradition which would have been learned as soon as instruction began and would have continued to develop throughout a career... in spite of the difficulties, modern performers are encouraged to attempt ornamentation and improvisation which, when finally mastered, will add greatly to the authentic re-creation of the early repertory" (149-150).

After I felt fairly comfortable with the hand positions, fingerings, and plucking of the music, I began to experiment with ornamentation and ad lib improvisation, especially in part B of the music. There are several sections where the melody soars above a simple bass accompaniment, and I played with changing the rhythm and/or adding grace notes to the existing rhythmic scheme. Its benefit was twofold: it gives the ear a bit of variety, especially if the first time through is played verbatim, and it enabled me to honor the practice of ornamentation as found during this time in musical history.

Conclusion: Pulling It All Together While it is unlikely that Emma, a merchant's wife, would have been strictly a court

musician by trade, it is highly likely that she would have been proficient enough to be a source of entertainment in her household. A woman's role in music was typically limited to the scope of the religious sector, or within a private home (Brown 270). Her husband is a well-to-do merchant, and they would often have guests over for dinner -- who would then enjoy entertainment after the meal. Throughout my research, I came upon painting after


painting of women playing music, both for themselves as well as for others. For Emma, it would be a very appropriate task to pull out the lute (in my case, guitar!) and play music for her husband's guests after dinner.

The more I researched, the more I began to realize that musicians in the Renaissance were not that much different than musicians today. There is nothing I enjoy more than playing music for guests or people I may meet, if the opportunity presents itself.

My performance of "Pastyme" is intended to evoke that beautifully simple, down-to-earth enjoyment of music that is timeless.


Appendix: Extant & Modern Notation

Pastyme With Good Company, Henry VIII. From British Library MS. 31922, ff.14v-15. Circa 1518.


Pastyme With Good Company (from RA 58) Found at GuitarLoot.co.uk Arrangement by Eric Crouch, 2006


Works Cited British Library Online. "Pastime with Good Company." <http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/

onlineex/henryviii/musspowor/pastime/index.html>. Accessed 30 Dec 2013. Brown, Meg Lota and McBride, Kari Boyd, Eds. Women's Roles in the Renaissance.

Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing, 2005. Craig-McFeeley, Julia. "On Royal Appendix 58." <http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/

julia/ap1/RA58.htm>. Accessed 2 Jan 2014. Crouch, Eric. Arr. "Pastyme." 2006. <http://www.guitarloot.org.uk/page61/page24/

page24.html>. Accessed 4 Jan 2014. Luminarium.org "Pastyme With Good Companye," Henry VIII orginial manuscript. <http://

www.luminarium.org/renlit/pastime.htm>. Accessed 2 Jan 2014. LuteandTheorbo. "Pastime With Good Company." YouTube, 2010. <http://youtu.be/

EmR2boa2pcQ>. Accessed 30 Dec 2013. Lute Society of London. "Beginners' Lessons." <http://www.lutesociety.org/pages/

beginners>. Accessed 27 Dec 2013. Machlis, Joseph and Forney, Kristine, eds. “Renaissance Sacred Music” The Enjoyment of

Music, Ninth. 9th ed. New York: Norton & Company, 2003. McGee, Timothy J. Medieval and Renaissance Music: A Performer's Guide. Toronto:

University of Toronto, 1985. Mizen, Tony. Ed. "Pastime With Good Company," From Lute to Uke: Early Music for Ukulele.

Wisconsin: Hal-Leonard, 2011. Nadal, David. Ed. Lute Songs of John Dowland: The Original First and Second Books

Including Dowland's Original Lute Tablature. New York: Dover Publications, 1997 Reese, Gustave. Music in the Renaissance. New York: Norton & Company, 1959. Sauvage, Valery. "Pastyme: from RA 58." YouTube, 2008. <http://youtu.be/3HepGq-O0Qs>.

Accessed 5 Jan 2014. Stephens, Denys. "[LUTE] Re: Pastime With Good Company." 2006. <https://www.mail-

archive.com/[email protected]/msg14778.html>. Accessed 2 Jan 2014. <[email protected]>.

Waldron, Jason. Progressive Classical Guitar Method: Book 1. South Australia: Koala Publications, 2000.

Williams, Neville. Henry VIII and His Court. New York: Macmillan, 1971.


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