Getting the word out

After seeing the psalter that Bridget Robinson treasured so, and took with her to the New World, I would like to learn more about the work and invention of Johann Gutenberg; the man credited with the invention of moveable type for printing. Before his invention, most books were either copied by hand, by scribes in monasteries or running their own scriptoria. Or they were printed from woodblocks, very simple volumes containing mostly pictures pointing out a moral truth accompanied by a few sentences that the average person might be able to read.

With the development of moveable type which could be reused to make page after page of text, not only were books more readily available, but also news-sheets, advertising posters and even songsheets. What we are looking for here, is the first information revolution.

In considering how best to approach this visit, there are a couple of likely options:

1. Turn up at Meister Fust's workshop as a hopeful journeyman printer looking for possible employment.

2. Visit the workshop as a minor representative of the archbishop's diocese to enquire about progress with the latest order for 500 indulgences.

Of the two, I favour the second. Among other things, at least I will have the opportunity to avoid tonsuring this time. And minor clerics have a slightly irritating habit of appearing all over the city for the most trivial excuses.

It has taken several visits to Mainz and Strasbourg to ferret out the information trail that led us to 1454.

While we make our way to the printing workshop, I should explain about Meister Fust's involvement in the business: Meister Gutenberg's father was a cloth dealer with connections in the goldsmithing trade and it seems that Johann chose to learn the craft of goldsmithing after completing his education in Strasbourg. My own guess is that he saw the goldsmith's trade stock as a safer long-term investment than the fine fabrics his father dealt in.

A few years ago, the city of Strasbourg had planned an exhibition of holy relics of the Emperor Charlemagne for 1439, but complications arose (some things never change) and the exhibition was delayed by twelve months. Unfortunately, Johann had planned to cash in on the religious pilgrim trade by making a range of metal mirrors imbued (supposedly) with the ability to capture "holy light", yes, I know, this is almost as superstitious an age as it is religious!

Anyway, in order to buy the metal stock needed for the mirrors, Johann had taken some fairly substantial loans but the delay of the exhibition left him high and dry when his repayment was due early in 1440. In a desperate effort to avoid legal entanglements he suggested to one of his creditors that he had been working on a new method of crafting books, for which he had great hopes. Describing his method as "Kunst und Aventur", literally a marriage of art and technology, he was cautious about describing the technique in detail "for fear that his method might be stolen by avaricious men" as he put it. Of course, for a long time it was customary for patent applications to be worded carefully for the same reason.

At the time when he made his suggestion, a book of hours, one of the most commonly owned books, took months to copy and cost the equivalent of several months income for a moderately wealthy man. For the common people, owning a book of any kind was out of the question. And for most, pointless. But the increase in the number of copying scribes over time indicated that there was a viable potential market if more books could be produced more quickly.

It was eight years before we were able to track him down again, and by then he had moved from Strasbourg to Mainz. I'm not sure what he was doing during that time, but two things seem very clear: he wasn't idle, and he had managed to shake off his debtors. The main reason we were able to track him down was because he was looking for funding, yet again. This time from his brother-in-law, Herr Arnold Gelthus. Presumably, his experiments have been at least partially successful, as by 1550 he will have overseen the printing of a poem in German.

With the tangible evidence of a printed sheet, he managed to snag the interest of Meister Johann Fust, a wealthy merchant and banker with ample funds to invest. In total, Meister Fust would lend Gutenberg 1600 guilders, a small fortune, and perhaps Gutenberg was unrealistic in hoping to recoup his expenses.

Our first stop, to get directions, is Mainz cathedral, where businessmen often meet to finalize the details of contracts. Some of the traders operate from small stalls - a desk and a placard announcing the nature of their business, and a trusted member of staff to negotiate details of contract and payment. It's a good place to get directions to the Fust/Gutenberg workshop.

This isn't the sign that Gutenberg hung outside his printing workshop, but it is similar enough to give some idea. In fact, as soon as we step through the door, the atmosphere literally changes. Instead of the rich mixture of cooking, rotting vegetables and unwashed body smells of the street the air smells of ink and paper and in the back part of the workshop a team of printers are busy at work inking formes and feeding paper into a pair of presses. Nearer the front of the shop, making use of the daylight, two printers are picking types from shallow trays and assembling them in tools that will one day become composing sticks.

I'm a little surprised that a youngish man with close-cropped hair and very pink ears steps forward to welcome us, wiping inky hands on his apron.

I ask to speak to Master Gutenberg; "Meister Gutenberg bitte?"

One of the printers, an older man in his late forties, or early fifties with a slight beer-belly, comes forward from the back of the shop, giving instructions to the short-haired young man to take his place as he does so.
"Väter, wie kann ich Ihnen helfen?"
I explain that we have been sent to determine when the next printing of indulgences will be ready for collection and after advising us that they should be delivered before the end of the week, Herr Gutenberg's face takes on a new animation. It seems that there is something he would particularly like us to see, and he leads us upstairs to a small room where two more printers are seated at desks, comparing pages. Both men wear glasses, and one of them is silently mouthing words as he works.
"Väter, bilden wir eine heilige Bibel durch den Druck"
This is better than I had dared to hope during this trip! We are seeing the printing of Gutenberg's Bible, the first Bible to be printed using movable type. Seeing the obvious delight on my face, Johann proceeds to show us various aspects of the process which, he tells us, he developed himself and wishes to use only for the greater glory of God.
While it seems a little uncharitable on my part, I cannot help but suspect on the basis of what I have learned so far, that while he is sincere in his devotion, he would be equally content to receive financial recompense for his efforts. As much as I would like to see more, and even say as much, Johann declines to show us his method for casting individual types, but I do manage to catch a brief glimpse of his casting room in passing. All I can be sure of is that there are small lengths of metal rod waiting in buckets, a crucible, hearth, and littered ceramic fragments all over the floor.
We should Thank Meister Gutenberg for the tour and confirm that the forms will be delivered within a few days, and then we must leave for our own time.
Now that we have left the workshop, and before we return, did you notice, on the unoccupied desk where the proofreaders were working, some sheets of music in manuscript? I didn't manage to get much of a look, but I did manage to find the first page, with a title: Quam Pulchra es, fecit par Ioannes Dunstapulum.
John Dunstaple is an educated English gentleman who writes music in the new polyphonic style. I can only assume that he may have met Gutenberg as a fellow student at Strasbourg University. Both men are more or less contemporaries and perhaps we should consider visiting Master Dunstaple to see whether we can confirm my guess.
Here, then, in abc notation, is John Dunstable's Quam Pulchra es, a setting of words from Solomon's Song of Songs.
X:15 % number
T:Quam Pulchra Es % title
C:John Dunstable % composer
O:http://www.upv.es/coro/victoria/varios.html % origin.
M:3/4 % meter
L:1/4 % length of shortest note
Q: % tempo
K:C % key
V:1 name="Altus" sname="A." % voice 1
V:2 name="Tenor" sname="T."
V:3 name="Bassus" sname="B." clef=bass
%====1=======2======3=======4========5===============7=============8===================9
V:1
C2 E | D F>E | G2 G | A2 F | G G E | E/ E/ E D/C/ | F/E/ C d/F/-|F/E/ C B,/A,//B,// |
w:Quam_ pul-chra_ es et quam de-co-ra, ca-ris-si-ma in_ de--li------ci-
V:2
c3 | G D F | C2 c | d A B | c G C | C/ C/ C z/ A/ | B/ c A/ F | F/G/ E/C/ F |
w:Quam pul-chra_ es et quam_ de-co-ra, ca-ris-si-ma in de-li-------ci-
V:3
c'3 | b a2 | g2 e | d2 d | c c c' | c'/ c'/ g f | d/c/ f2 | d/c/ e d |
w:Quam pul-chra es et quam de-co-ra, ca-ris-si-ma in de--li----ci-
%====10======11======12==========13======14============15======16======17=========18========
V:1
C z E | E E z | F D z | F F/ F/ G | F G A-| A/F/ F/G/ E | F z D | E>E C | B, C B, | C2 z |
w:is. Sta-tu-ra tu-a as-si-mi-la-ta est pal------me, et u-be-ra tu-a bo-tris.
V:2
G z C | E G A-|A F D | F c/ c/ d | c d e-|e/c/ d B | c A B | c>c G | F G/E/ F | G C C |
w:is. Sta-tu-ra tu--a as--si-mi-la-ta est pal-----me,_ et u-be-ra tu-a_ bo-tris. Ca-put
V:3
c z g | g c f | d z f | a a/ a/ _b | a g c'-|c'/a/ _b g | f2 f | c>c e | d c d | c z g |
w:is. Sta-tu-ra tu-a as--si-mi-la-ta est pal-----me, et u-be-ra tu-a bo-tris. Ca-
%========19=========20===========21======22==========23======24===================25=========26============27
V:1
G C D | C z E/F/ | G/ A G ^F/ | G2 z | A A F/ F/ | G C z | E C/D/ B,/A,//B,// | C z E/F/ | G/A/ F G-|
w:Ca-put tu-um ut_ Car---me-lus, col-lum tu-um sic-ut tur------ris e----bur-
V:2
z G/A/ _B | G C2 | C2 c | d B c | c c B/ B/ | c G C | G C/D/ F | G C c/A/ | G/F/ D E/C/-|
w:tu---um ut Car-me-lus,__ col-lum tu-um sic--ut tur----ris_ e----bur---
V:3
c2 _B | c g g/a/ | g/ c' g/ a | g z c | f f d/ d/ | c2 g | c e/f/ d | c e c/d/ | e/d/ a g |
w:put tu-um ut Car-----me-lus, col--lum tu-um sic--ut tur---ris_ e----bur-
%===================28====29=======30===========31=======32===========33======34==========35===========36===============37
V:1
G/F/ E/D/ ^C/B,//C// | D3 | z3 | F3 | F2 A | G>F F/G/ | E F z | F F/ F/ F | G G F/D/ | F G/ A G/-|
w:----ne---a. Ve-ni, di-le----cte mi, e-gre-di-a-mur in__ a-
V:2
C/D/ G/F/ G | A3 | z3 | D3 | D2 F | G>A c/d/ | B c2 | d c/ c/ c | d z z | d/c/ B/ A d/ |
w:----ne-a Ve-ni, di-le----cte mi, e-gre-di-a-mur in__ a-
V:3
g c/d/ e | d3 | z3 | a3 | d'2 c' | _b> a a/b/ | g f2 | d a/ a/ a | g b/c'/ d' | _b/a/ g/ c' a/ |
w:---ne-a. Ve-ni, di-le----cte mi, e-gre-di-a-mur in__ a-----
%============38=======39==========40======41======42==========43======44===========45===========46======47
V:1
G//E//^F/ G z | A2 A | _B A G/F/ | F2 E | F z F | G/ G/ E C | E>D D | ^C/ C/ D z | C F/ F/ A-|A G>E |
w:---grum, et vi-de----a--mus si flo-res fruc-tus par--tu-ri-e-runt, si-flo-ru-e--runt_
V:2
c d B | A F2 | D A c | d B2 | c A A | c/ c/ G G | C2 D | G/ G/ A2 | c c/ c/ F | F z c |
w:-grum,_ et vi-de-a----mus_ si flo-res fruc-tus par-tu-ri-e-runt, si-flo-ru-e-runt ma-
V:3
a g z | c'2 c' | d' c' a | _b g2 | f2 f | c/ c/ c e | g>f f | e/ e/ d2 | a a/ a/ c'-|c' b z |
w:-grum, et vi-de-a----mus si flo-res fruc-tus par--tu-ri-e-runt, si-flo-ru-e--runt
%========48=======49================50=================51=============52=========53===============54================55==============56======
V:1
F C D/ D/ | C2 z | C/ C/ C/ A,/ B, |[M:3/2] C z F2 E2 |[M:3/4] D2 ^C | D z F/E/ | C/E/ F/ G E/ | C/D/ F E/D/-|D/C/ D/ B, A,/ | C3 |]
w:ma-la Pu-ni-ca. I-bi da-bo ti-bi u-be-ra me-a. Al--le-------------lu--ia.
V:2
F A G/ G/ | A E F | G/ G/ E/ E/ F |[M:3/2]G c A2 B2 |[M:3/4] A2 G | A2 z |[L:1/8] A3 B2 c |[L:1/4] A>B c/A/-|A/F/ G/A/ F | G3 |]
w:-la Pu-ni-ca.__ I-bi da-bo ti-bi_ u-be-ra me-a. Al-le----------lu-ia.
V:3
a a b/ b/ | c' z a | e/ e/ c/ c/ d |[M:3/2] c2 d2 g2 |[M:3/4] f e2 | d3 | a f/e/ g/a/-|a/ f d/ c/d/ | f e/f/ d | c3 |]
w:ma-la Pu-ni-ca. I--bi da-bo ti-bi u-be-ra me-a. Al-le------------lu-ia!
To convert the code above to sheet music, or listen to the tunes, copy the code for a single song, then paste it here and [submit].

Getting the word out

After seeing the psalter that Bridget Robinson treasured so, and took with her to the New World, I would like to learn more about the work and invention of Johann Gutenberg; the man credited with the invention of moveable type for printing. Before his invention, most books were either copied by hand, by scribes in monasteries or running their own scriptoria. Or they were printed from woodblocks, very simple volumes containing mostly pictures pointing out a moral truth accompanied by a few sentences that the average person might be able to read.
With the development of moveable type which could be reused to make page after page of text, not only were books more readily available, but also news-sheets, advertising posters and even songsheets. What we are looking for here, is the first information revolution since the development of the written word.
In considering how best to approach this visit, there are a couple of likely options:

1. Turn up at Meister Fust's workshop as a hopeful journeyman printer looking for possible employment.
2. Visit the workshop as a minor representative of the archbishop's diocese to enquire about progress with the latest order for 500 indulgences.

Of the two, I favour the second. Among other things, at least I will have the opportunity to avoid tonsuring this time. And minor clerics have a slightly irritating habit of appearing all over the city for the most trivial excuses.
It has taken several visits to Mainz and Strasbourg to ferret out the information trail that led us to 1454.
While we make our way to the printing workshop, I should explain about Meister Fust's involvement in the business: Meister Gutenberg's father was a cloth dealer with connections in the goldsmithing trade and it seems that Johann chose to learn the craft of goldsmithing after completing his education in Strasbourg. My own guess is that he saw the goldsmith's trade stock as a safer long-term investment than the fine fabrics his father dealt in.
A few years ago, the city of Strasbourg had planned an exhibition of holy relics of the Emperor Charlemagne for 1439, but complications arose (some things never change) and the exhibition was delayed by twelve months. Unfortunately, Johann had planned to cash in on the religious pilgrim trade by making a range of metal mirrors imbued (supposedly) with the ability to capture "holy light", yes, I know, this is almost as superstitious an age as it is religious!
Anyway, in order to buy the metal stock needed for the mirrors, Johann had taken some fairly substantial loans but the delay of the exhibition left him high and dry when his repayment was due early in 1440. In a desperate effort to avoid legal entanglements he suggested to one of his creditors that he had been working on a new method of crafting books, for which he had great hopes. Describing his method as "Kunst und Aventur", literally a marriage of art and technology, he was cautious about describing the technique in detail "for fear that his method might be stolen by avaricious men" as he put it. Of course, for a long time it was customary for patent applications to be worded carefully for the same reason.
At the time when he made his suggestion, a book of hours, one of the most commonly owned books, took months to copy and cost the equivalent of several months income for a moderately wealthy man. For the common people, owning a book of any kind was out of the question. And for most, pointless. But the increase in the number of copying scribes over time indicated that there was a viable potential market if more books could be produced more quickly.
It was eight years before we were able to track him down again, and by then he had moved from Strasbourg to Mainz. I'm not sure what he was doing during that time, but two things seem very clear: he wasn't idle, and he had managed to shake off his debtors. The main reason we were able to track him down was because he was looking for funding, yet again. This time from his brother-in-law, Herr Arnold Gelthus. Presumably, his experiments have been at least partially successful, as by 1550 he will have overseen the printing of a poem in German.
With the tangible evidence of a printed sheet, he managed to snag the interest of Meister Johann Fust, a wealthy merchant and banker with ample funds to invest. In total, Meister Fust would lend Gutenberg 1600 guilders, a small fortune, and perhaps Gutenberg was unrealistic in hoping to recoup his expenses.
Our first stop, to get directions, is Mainz cathedral, where businessmen often meet to finalize the details of contracts. Some of the traders operate from small stalls - a desk and a placard announcing the nature of their business, and a trusted member of staff to negotiate details of contract and payment. It's a good place to get directions to the Fust/Gutenberg workshop.

This isn't the sign that Gutenberg hung outside his printing workshop, but it is similar enough to give some idea. In fact, as soon as we step through the door, the atmosphere literally changes. Instead of the rich mixture of cooking, rotting vegetables and unwashed body smells of the street the air smells of ink and paper and in the back part of the workshop a team of printers are busy at work inking formes and feeding paper into a pair of presses. Nearer the front of the shop, making use of the daylight, two printers are picking types from shallow trays and assembling them in tools that will one day become composing sticks.
I'm a little surprised that a youngish man with close-cropped hair and very pink ears steps forward to welcome us, wiping inky hands on his apron.
I ask to speak to Master Gutenberg; "Meister Gutenberg bitte?"
One of the printers, an older man in his late forties, or early fifties with a slight beer-belly, comes forward from the back of the shop, giving instructions to the short-haired young man to take his place as he does so.
"Väter, wie kann ich Ihnen helfen?"
I explain that we have been sent to determine when the next printing of indulgences will be ready for collection and after advising us that they should be delivered before the end of the week, Herr Gutenberg's face takes on a new animation. It seems that there is something he would particularly like us to see, and he leads us upstairs to a small room where two more printers are seated at desks, comparing pages. Both men wear glasses, and one of them is silently mouthing words as he works.
"Väter, bilden wir eine heilige Bibel durch den Druck"
 This is better than I had dared to hope during this trip! We are seeing the printing of Gutenberg's Bible, the first Bible to be printed using movable type. Seeing the obvious delight on my face, Johann proceeds to show us various aspects of the process which, he tells us, he developed himself and wishes to use only for the greater glory of God.
While it seems a little uncharitable on my part, I cannot help but suspect on the basis of what I have learned so far, that while he is sincere in his devotion, he would be equally content to receive financial recompense for his efforts. As much as I would like to see more, and even say as much, Johann declines to show us his method for casting individual types, but I do manage to catch a brief glimpse of his casting room in passing. All I can be sure of is that there are small lengths of metal rod waiting in buckets, a crucible, hearth, and littered ceramic fragments all over the floor.
We should Thank Meister Gutenberg for the tour and confirm that the forms will be delivered within a few days, and then we must leave for our own time.
Now that we have left the workshop, and before we return, did you notice, on the unoccupied desk where the proofreaders were working, some sheets of music in manuscript? I didn't manage to get much of a look, but I did manage to find the first page, with a title: Quam Pulchra es, fecit par Ioannes Dunstapulum. John Dunstaple is an educated English gentleman who writes music in the new polyphonic style. I can only assume that he may have met Gutenberg as a fellow student at Strasbourg University. Both men are more or less contemporaries and perhaps we should consider visiting Master Dunstaple to see whether we can confirm my guess.
Here, then, in abc notation, is John Dunstable's Quam Pulchra es, a setting of words from Solomon's Song of Songs.
X:15                          % number
T:Quam Pulchra Es            % title
C:John Dunstable             % composer
O:http://www.upv.es/coro/victoria/varios.html % origin.
M:3/4                        % meter
L:1/4                        % length of shortest note
Q:                           % tempo
K:C                          % key
V:1 name="Altus" sname="A."                         % voice 1
V:2 name="Tenor" sname="T."
V:3 name="Bassus" sname="B." clef=bass
%====1=======2======3=======4========5===============7=============8===================9
V:1
C2 E | D F>E | G2 G | A2 F  | G G E  | E/ E/ E D/C/  | F/E/ C d/F/-|F/E/ C B,/A,//B,// |
w:Quam_ pul-chra_ es et quam de-co-ra, ca-ris-si-ma in_ de--li------ci-
V:2
c3   | G D F | C2 c | d A B | c G C  | C/ C/ C z/ A/ | B/ c A/ F   | F/G/ E/C/ F       |
w:Quam pul-chra_ es et quam_ de-co-ra, ca-ris-si-ma in de-li-------ci-
V:3
c'3  | b a2  | g2 e | d2 d  | c c c' | c'/ c'/ g f   | d/c/ f2     | d/c/ e d          |
w:Quam pul-chra es et quam de-co-ra, ca-ris-si-ma in de--li----ci-
%====10======11======12==========13======14============15======16======17=========18========
V:1
C z E | E E z | F D z | F F/ F/ G | F G A-| A/F/ F/G/ E | F z D | E>E C | B, C B,  | C2 z  |
w:is. Sta-tu-ra tu-a as-si-mi-la-ta est pal------me, et u-be-ra tu-a bo-tris.
V:2
G z C | E G A-|A F D  | F c/ c/ d | c d e-|e/c/ d B     | c A B | c>c G | F G/E/ F | G C C |
w:is. Sta-tu-ra tu--a as--si-mi-la-ta est pal-----me,_ et u-be-ra tu-a_ bo-tris. Ca-put
V:3
c z g | g c f | d z f | a a/ a/ _b | a g c'-|c'/a/ _b g | f2 f | c>c e | d c d | c z g |
w:is. Sta-tu-ra tu-a as--si-mi-la-ta est pal-----me, et u-be-ra tu-a bo-tris. Ca-
%========19=========20===========21======22==========23======24===================25=========26============27
V:1
G C D     | C z E/F/ | G/ A G ^F/ | G2 z  | A A F/ F/ | G C z | E C/D/ B,/A,//B,// | C z E/F/ | G/A/ F    G-|
w:Ca-put tu-um ut_ Car---me-lus, col-lum tu-um sic-ut tur------ris e----bur-
V:2
z G/A/ _B | G C2     | C2 c       | d B c | c c B/ B/ | c G C | G C/D/ F           | G C c/A/ | G/F/ D E/C/-|
w:tu---um ut Car-me-lus,__ col-lum tu-um sic--ut tur----ris_ e----bur---
V:3
c2 _B     | c g g/a/ | g/ c' g/ a | g z c | f f d/ d/ | c2 g  | c e/f/ d           | c e c/d/ | e/d/ a g    |
w:put tu-um ut Car-----me-lus, col--lum tu-um sic--ut tur---ris_ e----bur-
%===================28====29=======30===========31=======32===========33======34==========35===========36===============37
V:1
G/F/ E/D/ ^C/B,//C// | D3  | z3     | F3         | F2 A   | G>F F/G/   | E F z | F F/ F/ F | G G F/D/   | F G/ A      G/-|
w:----ne---a. Ve-ni, di-le----cte mi, e-gre-di-a-mur in__ a-
V:2
C/D/ G/F/ G          | A3  | z3     | D3         | D2 F   | G>A c/d/   | B c2  | d c/ c/ c | d z z      | d/c/ B/ A d/   |
w:----ne-a Ve-ni, di-le----cte mi, e-gre-di-a-mur in__ a-
V:3
g c/d/ e             | d3  | z3     | a3         | d'2 c' | _b> a a/b/ | g f2  | d a/ a/ a | g b/c'/ d' | _b/a/ g/ c' a/ |
w:---ne-a. Ve-ni, di-le----cte mi, e-gre-di-a-mur in__ a-----
%============38=======39==========40======41======42==========43======44===========45===========46======47
V:1
G//E//^F/ G z | A2 A   | _B A G/F/ | F2 E  | F z F | G/ G/ E C | E>D D | ^C/ C/ D z | C F/ F/  A-|A G>E  |
w:---grum, et vi-de----a--mus si flo-res fruc-tus par--tu-ri-e-runt, si-flo-ru-e--runt_
V:2
c d B         | A F2   | D A c     | d B2  | c A A | c/ c/ G G | C2 D  | G/ G/ A2   | c c/ c/ F  | F z c |
w:-grum,_ et vi-de-a----mus_ si flo-res fruc-tus par-tu-ri-e-runt, si-flo-ru-e-runt ma-
V:3
a g z         | c'2 c' | d' c' a   | _b g2 | f2 f  | c/ c/ c e | g>f f | e/ e/ d2   | a a/ a/ c'-|c' b z |
w:-grum, et vi-de-a----mus si flo-res fruc-tus par--tu-ri-e-runt, si-flo-ru-e--runt
%========48=======49================50=================51=============52=========53===============54================55==============56======
V:1
F C D/ D/ | C2 z   | C/ C/ C/ A,/ B, |[M:3/2] C z F2 E2 |[M:3/4] D2 ^C | D z F/E/ | C/E/ F/ G E/   | C/D/ F     E/D/-|D/C/ D/ B, A,/ | C3 |]
w:ma-la Pu-ni-ca. I-bi da-bo ti-bi u-be-ra me-a. Al--le-------------lu--ia.
V:2
F A G/ G/ | A E F  | G/ G/ E/ E/ F   |[M:3/2]G c A2 B2  |[M:3/4] A2 G  | A2 z     |[L:1/8] A3 B2 c |[L:1/4] A>B c/A/-|A/F/ G/A/ F    | G3 |]
w:-la Pu-ni-ca.__ I-bi da-bo ti-bi_ u-be-ra me-a. Al-le----------lu-ia.
V:3
a a b/ b/ | c' z a | e/ e/  c/ c/ d  |[M:3/2] c2 d2 g2  |[M:3/4] f e2  | d3       | a f/e/    g/a/-|a/ f d/ c/d/     | f e/f/ d      | c3 |]
w:ma-la Pu-ni-ca. I--bi da-bo ti-bi u-be-ra me-a. Al-le------------lu-ia!
To convert the code above to sheet music, or listen to the tunes, copy the code for a single song, then paste it here and [submit].

A tiny flower on a vast ocean

In order to tell the second part of this story, I am obliged to take on the persona of a later settler (I couldn't very easily hide among the original voyagers, and I really didn't enjoy the prospect of spending months on the ocean in a tiny, cramped, overcrowded and dangerously fragile little wooden ship. I can only admire the courage of those who did.
I have taken the trouble to seek out Bridget Jones once more and ask how she fared since last we met.

Charter seal of the Virginia Company of London

By 1619 seafarers returning home were bringing news of the speculative companies being formed to exploit the New World, and once more the assembly "sought God earnestly, on their knees, and in their hearts" as Bridget puts it. While material gains might be possible, more importantly they might be able to find, once and for all time, a place on the Earth where they would be "free from powers and principalities, trying to interfere" with their worship. The decision was taken to send Deacon John Carver and Robert Cushman as representatives to negotiate with the Virginia Company in London. So with much prayer, the men were sent out equipped with written articles of belief composed by the assembly as proof of their orthodoxy and loyalty to the English crown.
The two representatives returned to Leiden where the assembly rejoiced to hear the news that anyone willing to work for the Virginia Company's settlement in Jamestown would be granted a portion of land, or alternatively those who wished to be their own masters, or were willing to sponsor another immigrant would also receive a smaller portion of land. They also received assurance from the King that they would be free to worship God in their own manner and planning for the voyage began in earnest.
The assembly used their shared funds to purchase a small ship, the Speedwell, that had originally been built as a fighting ship to oppose the Spanish Armada, but later refitted as a cargo ship. Having trekked across country once more, carrying with them such belongings as they value most, they boarded the Speedwell at Delfshaven, a suburb of Delft, to sail for Southampton where they would rendezvous with Mayflower which would be carrying secular settlers hired by the Virginia Company.

The departure, on August 5th, 1620, went as planned but before the ships were out of sight of land, the Speedwell was forced to turn back, taking on water.
"My dear husband, John, led the assembly in earnest prayer, that our Lord would save us, just as he did when Peter's boat was in jeopardy on Galilee".
With repairs made, Speedwell put to sea once more, but again began to take on water.

Bridget chuckles at the memory; "The 'sorry old bucket' as the sailors called the ship returned to Plymouth where it was sold - may God be merciful to the fool who bought her! and those of our company whose hearts remained stout, and their faith strong, joined us aboard Mayflower for the voyage to the New World."

For the next three months the assembly endured the cold, damp and constant danger of the voyage spending much of their wakeful time in prayer. The ship was damaged during the voyage, but God be thanked, the ship's carpenter, Mathew Stevens was skilled in carpentry and repaired the damage within a couple of days. In course of the voyage, we welcomed into our number Master Peregrine White, son of William and Susanna, and blessed God for Susanna's safe delivery, and also Master Oceanus Hopkins, son of Stephen and Elizabeth.

As great as was the rejoicing when Mayflower first sighted land, there was some question concerning where the ship was harbored, and when it was confirmed that it was indeed northward of the lands that had been granted to us by the Virginia Company, lands that had not been claimed by any sovereign power, the elders of the assembly called for a meeting to determine how best to proceed.

As Bridget herself expressed the common sentiment, "there is no place in all creation safer than that to which God hath appointed us."

"Having sought the guidance of God individually, the men of the company as were moved to do so drafted and signed their names to a contract setting out the foundations of such a government as we believed right and proper in the sight of God and obedience to King James."

As much as I love to listen to Bridget's recollections of the first days of the colony, I seize the opportunity to ask her what she brought with her from Leiden.

It seems that of all her possessions, those she values most are a bible, a heavy volume bound in black leather, and well-thumbed. And almost as dear, a book of psalms "Both in prose and in metre", printed in Amsterdam just eight years before her voyage to the new world. The psalms, though much newer than the bible, also show much use and I am delighted when Bridget sings for me her favourite, psalm 100.

The music is notated in a way which will change fairly little over the next four to five hundred years; the symbol "C" with a line through it will continue in use, although its meaning will change. And the "b" symbol, indicating the key signature of F major will become standardized on the middle line of the five-line treble staff. The shapes of breve (whole note) and semi-breve (half-note) will be rounded and their stems moved to the side. And eventually, a stylised "G" will be added to show the position of that note, rather than the symbol which will eventually become the "C" clef.

X:10 % number
T:Psalm 100 % title
C:Anon. % composer
O:Ainsworth Psalter (1612) % origin.
M:3/2 % meter
L:1/2 % length of shortest note
Q:240 % tempo
K:F % key
V:1 % voice 1
F2 E D C F G A3 A G F B A G2 F2 G A G F D E F2 c2 A F G B A2 G2 F4 |]
w:1.Showt~to Je-ho-vah, al the earth.~2.Serv ye~Je-ho-vah with glad-ness: be-fore him come with sing-ing merth. 3.Know that Je-ho-vah He God is.
W:
W:Its he that made us, and not wee
W:his folk, and sheep of his feeding.
W:4.O with confession enter yee
W:his gates, his courtyards with praising:
W:confess to him, bless ye his name.
W:5.Because Jehovah he good is:
W:his mercy ever is the same:
W:and his faith, unto al ages.

To all my readers, may you have a happy Thanksgiving, 2007. And may the love of God be ever near you.

To convert the code above to sheet music, or listen to the tunes, copy the code for a single song, then paste it here and [submit].

Spreekt u het Nederlands?

My original intention in coming to Leiden was to learn more about the English non-conformists. I could hardly have hoped to find a better friend than Bridget Robinson. I had hoped that perhaps a few inquiries among the market traders might point me in the right direction, but at the third stall a short woman was negotiating the purchase of a brace of pheasant in an odd mixture of English and Dutch, in an unmistakeably English accent.
Once it looked as though the trade was completed I asked whether she knew of any church congregations where I might be able to worship.
"God be thanked!" she exclaimed, and proceeded to ask me about my beliefs, whether I would consider myself a true catholic, or a Calvinist.
I admitted that my own beliefs were closer to those of Calvinist teachings, but that in honesty before God, I should be called a Brownist, believing that neither the catholic church, nor Calvinism gave liberty to the Holy Spirit to move freely in the hearts and lives of men.
For a frightening moment I wasn't sure whether her expression was veering towards outrage or astonishment but when she seized me in a warm embrace and insisted I accompany her back to her home my doubts were banished.
Home, for Bridget and the reverend John Robinson is Grone Point house, only a few minutes walk from Leiden University. And while Grone Point is clearly larger than needed for a single family it also serves as a meeting-place for the English separatist assembly in Leiden.
Although I don't have any pictures of Amsterdam or Leiden when the Robinsons lived there, a couple of paintings by Jan Vermeer from later in the century should give a fair impression of the way the towns looked.

A Delft Street, by Jan Vermeer	Delft, by Jan Vermeer

Comfortably settled in the kitchen of the house, Bridget fills me in on the background to their move to Holland.
She had married John the year before the Gunpowder Plot in London, which had been intended to remove the King from power, and which might, had the conspirators succeeded, have resulted in the Church of England being brought once more under the supremacy of the Pope. John Robinson had been granted the preferment of Saint Andrew's Church in Norwich, a town with a strong connection to the Dutch wool trade and several expatriate Dutch families. When King James issued his proclamation insisting on conformity with the Thirty-Nine Articles of Faith following the Hampton Court Conference, John felt that he could no longer continue in his position as a priest in the Church of England and they returned to live with Bridget's parents at Sturton-Le-Steeple. It was as a result of the move that the couple had joined the non-conformist assembly meeting at the home of William Brewster, at Scrooby in Northamptonshire.
While the assembly had hoped to be permitted to continue to worship privately in their own unique way, the laws of England in 1606 were such that they were liable to fines, imprisonment, and in some cases torture, and it was these conditions that prompted many of the assembly to move to Amsterdam three years after Bridget married.
The move to Amsterdam was no minor undertaking. Those members who had determined to make the move pooled their resources, hiring horses and a couple of carts which were loaded with such possessions as they intended to take to their new homes. It seemed as though the whole undertaking was in jeopardy when, on arrival in the town of Boston, the captain whose ship had been chartered for the voyage to Holland, was waiting by the quay with the town constables and a priest, ready to arrest the footsore travellers for sedition. (The picture on the left shows Boston as it looked from the air in the 20th century)
Rather than discouraging them, once the fines were paid and jailed members released, the majority of the travellers joined to watch in prayer while a couple of the menfolk were sent to the quay to find another vessel for the voyage.
Bridget tells me that the Brownist congregations that they had found in Amsterdam were not in harmony amongst themselves, let alone with the Church of England which they had shunned, and before the end of the year, the Scrooby assembly had determined that perhaps the least harmful course would be for them to move elsewhere in Holland.
Nearly four years after coming to Holland, in January 1611, John Robinson, William Jepson, Henry Wood, and his brother-in-law, Randall Thickins jointly purchased on behalf of the assembly, a large house called Grone Point, near the Leyden University. Although it would be May 1612 before they could begin to make use of the property.
While she was showing me the rooms in the house that are commonly used by the assembly I couldn't help but admire the virginals used to accompany the singing. The case of the instrument was unusually plain, without even the customary decorative papers, but to me, the sound when Bridget played a few short phrases of a typical foursquare hymn, was beautiful. With music in mind, I asked Bridget about the attitude of the assembly toward music and dancing as forms of recreation.
Although Bridget herself regards music as a perfectly acceptable form of recreation, she tells me that all too often dance is the back door through which the devil tempts innocent souls, and she presents me with a pamphlet (a treatise against daunses) which I am advised to read and consider prayerfully, for the benefit of my soul, although, she concedes that during a visit to Utrecht, not above two years ago, her husband and herself "were greatly entertained at some length" by a blind man who played upon a flute, sitting in the churchyard of the Cathedral, by name, Jacob van Eyck.

X:14                          % number
T:De lof-zangh Marie         % title
C:Anon (arr. J.van Eyck      % composer
O:Der Fluiten Lust-hof (1646) % origin. M:C|                         % meter
L:1/2                        % length of shortest note
Q:                           % tempo
K:C                          % key
V:1                          % voice 1
P:THEMA
d2 | d ^c | d e | f2 | f2 | g f | e d | ^c2 | e2 | f a | g f | e2 | d2 |
A2 | d ^c | d _B | A2 | d2 | f e | f g | e2 | a2 | e2 | g2 | f g | e2 | d2-|d2 |]
P:VARIATIE I
[L:1/8] d2 AB ^c2 A2 | d2 ed ^c2 A2 | d2 gf e2 c2 | f8 | f2 de fdef | g2 ag f2 gf |
e2 fe d2 ed | ^c8 | e2 AB cd e2 | fefg a2 ef | g2 ag f2 gf | e2 d2 eAB^c |
d8 | A2 B2 ^c2 A2 | d2 ed ^c2 A2 | d3 c _B2 AG | A8 | d3 ^c d2 e2 | f2 gf e2 de |
f2 ef gafg | e8 | a2 FGABcd | e2 ABcdef | g2 GABcde | f2 efgafg | e2 d2 eAB^c | d8-|d8 |]
P:VARIATIE II
dDEF GAB^c | dFGF ^cEFE | dFGF eGce | f8 | fFA_B cdef | gceg fadf | eA^ce dDAd |
^cAec A4 | eagf ed^cA | fefg aAFa | gGEg fDdf | eAdF GeA^c | d4 D4 | Aagf ed^cA |
dDFd ^cEAc | dDdc _BG c/d/B/c/ | A8 | dadf ecAe | fDdf eAce | fD de/f/ gGgf | e4 z a fg |
aAFG Aagf | [L:1/16] edcB AGFE FGAB cdef | g2fe dcBA G2g2d2e2 | f2AB cdef g2ag f2gf |
e2A2 d2^cd edcB A2Bc | d2c2 _B2AG FEFG A2D2 | d16-|d16 |]

To be continued...
To convert the code above to sheet music, or listen to the tunes, copy the code for a single song, then paste it here and [submit].

Home is the sailor, home from the sea...

Home is the sailor, home from the sea:
 Her far-borne canvas furled
The ship pours shining on the quay
 The plunder of the world.

Home is the hunter from the hill:
 Fast in the boundless snare
All flesh lies taken at his will
 And every fowl of air.

'Tis evening on the moorland free,
 The starlit wave is still:
Home is the sailor from the sea,
 The hunter from the hill.

A.E.Housman

It is November, in the year of our Lord 1577. Beneath a clear blue sky, a little before 11.00am, Fernäo Mendes Pinto is working in the orchard of his farm near the village of Pragal. The locals tell me that the name means "wasteland", although where Senhor Pinto is tending his pomegranate trees the ground seems quite productive. I would like to ask the old man about his voyage to Japan, described in his Peregrinaçao. His book hasn't been published yet, but for some years he has been trying to obtain recompense from the court for his contributions to Portuguese international relations and exploration. I would prefer not to raise any false hopes, but the only persona I could come up with that would provide a suitable excuse to interview Senhor Pinto was that of a minor clerical officer sent by the court to obtain information.
In terms of appearance Fernäo Mendes is a little below average height, a wiry, sinewy man, starting to show his age. His face is as deeply creased and as brown as old leather, but lit by twinkling brown eyes. His voice is still as strong as ever, if a little coarse, and as I approach, he is singing quietly as he works. For several years he attended the Portuguese court in hope of obtaining some favour, but now that it has become clear that King Sebastião ("the Desired") regards his accomplishments as of less import than King João III ("the Pious"), during whose reign he first sailed, he has given up hope of achieving his desires by direct influence, and has retired to manage his small farm.
It should be said, in defence of King Sebastião, that he has implemented some very forward-thinking policies, among them the Celeiros Comuns (Communal Granaries), a program to support struggling farmers during times of hardship, with the proviso that they repay their loans in produce when conditions improve.
Once I have introduced myself my first priority is to make clear that I cannot confirm, or deny that he might receive some recompense for his exploratory voyages, but after that Senhor Pinto suggests that we adjourn to the farmhouse. Comfortably seated in the shade of an elderly olive tree, with a small cup of sirop de grenadines, a strong, sweet liqueur made from the fruit of his own orchard, I intersperse questions about crop yield and local markets with my own curiosity.

Fernäo Mendes tells me how he was first driven onto the Japanese shore by a storm, as a paying passenger on a Chinese junk. The Captain of the junk is a disreputable trader who sells his wares to the Japanese for extortionate prices, but the islanders have little choice but to pay his prices. In a maneuver which Niccolo Macchiavelli himself might have admired, Fernäo Mendes ingratiates himself with the daimyo, the district governor, by offering his arquebus as a model to be copied.
But more importantly to me, he offers to play two traditional Japanese songs which he learned during his time as ambassador to the daimyo of Bungo. He asks his wife Maria to fetch his cithern, and a few minutes later their seven-year-old daughter joins us carrying the instrument. Fernäo is happy to let her accompany his singing, excusing himself on the grounds that she is a better player than he. The first song, Sakura, is a traditional Japanese song, comparing the frail beauty of the cherry blossom with that of human life.




X:1                          % number
T:Sakura                     % title
C:Anonymous                  % composer
O:Gerald Walker              % origin.
O:loulou2032@yahoo.com.sg
M:C                          % meter
L:1/4                        % length of shortest note
Q:                           % tempo
K:G                          % key
V:1                          % voice 1
e e f2 | e e f2 | e f g f | e f/e/ c2 | B G B c |
B B/G/ F2 | e f g f | e f/e/ c2 | B G B c | B B/G/ F2 | e e f2 |
e e f2 | B c f/e/ c | B2 z2 |]
X:3                          % number
T:Kojo no Tsuki              % title
C:Kati                       % composer
O:Gerald Walker              % origin.
M:C                          % meter
L:1/4                        % length of shortest note
Q:                           % tempo
K:F                          % key
V:1                          % voice 1
A A d e | f e d2 | B B A G | A3 z | A A d e |
w:Ha ru ko--yo--no; ha na no e n. Me gu ru sa
f e d2 | B G A>A | D3 z | F F E D | B>B A2 | G A B>B |
w:ka zu ki, ka ge sa si te. chi yo no ma tsu ga e, ma ki i de,
A3 z | A A d e | f e d2 | B G A>A | D3 z |]
w:shi. Mu ka shi no hi ka ri, i ma i zu ko.
To convert the code above to sheet music, or listen to the tunes, copy the code for a single song, then paste it here and [submit].

Breadcrumbs or Gunpowder?

Somebody left a trail. For whom? And why?

Remember, remember, the Fifth of November,
Gunpowder treason and Plot,
For I know no reason why gunpowder treason
should ever be forgot.

Since King James came to power in '03, there have been several plots aimed at changing the political picture, but this looks like it might actually succeed. One of the conspirators, Robert Winter, is a member of Parliament who is using his position and influence to allow his brother to come and go freely to the Houses of Parliament in London.

At Hengrave Hall in Suffolk, Sir Thomas Kytson has received word from a network of catholic conspirators that a plot is in hand to remove King James from the throne to clear the way for a catholic monarch. After Queen Elizabeth died leaving no heir, the throne was open to King James the sixth of Scotland to become James the first of England. While James may be king, Robert Cecil, one of Elizabeth's most trusted advisors wields the real power and the prospect of any law promoting religious tolerance seems scant.

Sir Thomas Kytson

Lady Kytson

Sir Thomas's house musician is John Wilbye who learned his craft in the patronage of Sir William Cornwallis, in his home town of Brome in Norfolk. Why should we suspect Wilbye? When he first entered the household of Cornwallis he was only fourteen. The Spanish Armada was on its way to reclaim protestant England for the true catholic faith after the excommunication of Elizabeth for refusing to obey Papal authority. Wilbye, like Cornwallis, is catholic and presumably awaited the restoration of the true faith as eagerly as his patron.

The Earl of Salisbury and head of King James's intelligence service, Robert Cecil, has hinted that Wilbye may be using a code that conceals information in songs; look carefully at the way he divides the song between different voices overlapping, which voices are silent, which singing, how the melody moves. We need to either confirm, or deny that this is how the messages are being transmitted¹. We have no sound evidence on which to base the next suggestion, but Sir Francis Walsingham operated an extensive intelligence network during the reign of Queen Elizabeth. Is it possible that Wilbye was initially trained as one of Walsingham's operatives? It seems unlikely, given that Walsingham was committed to supporting the English crown, but we cannot discount the possibility entirely.

As cover for this investigation, you will be joining a group of musicians hired to play for the All Saints Day festivities at Hengrave. Keep your eyes and ears open, even while rehearsing and playing: we already know that Wilbye is corresponding on a regular basis with George Kirbye, house musician for Sir Robert Jermyn at Rushbrooke Hall, about five miles across Bury St. Edmunds as the crow flies. You should make yourself familiar with the song presented; the Musicians Gallery at Hengrave is well-equipped with several cornetts, viols, violins, a sackbut, hautbois, chest of recorders and a cithern.

X:1                          % number
T:Lady, your words do spite me % title
C:John Wilbye                % composer
O:http://www.xprt.net/%7Evox/Music/101.nwc % origin.
M:C                           % meter
L:1/4                        % length of shortest note
Q:                           % tempo
V:1 name="Cantus"
V:2 name="Quintus"
V:3 name="Altus"
V:4 name="Tenor"
V:5 name="Bassus" clef=bass
K:A                           % key
%
%==2====3=========4=========5=======6=======7============8==========9===========10
%
V:1                          % voice 1
A4 | e4 | z e c e | B3 E    | z3  e-|e c2 A | c3 c       | e2 z2    | z f f e    |
w:La-dy, your words do spite me, your_ words do spite_ me, your words do
V:2
z4 | z4 | z4      | z4      | z4    | A4    | e2 z2      | z2 d2    | c B>A    A-|
w:                                    La-dy, your words do_ spite
V:3
z4 | E4 | A4      | z B G B |    A4-|A2 E2  | E2 E A     | =G2 F2   | z F F A    |
w:La-dy, your words do spite_ me, your words do spite me, your words do
V:4
z4 | z4 | A4      | e4      | z ece | c2 A2 | z A G A    | B c d2   | A F A E    |
w:La-dy, your words do spite me, your words do spite__ me, your words do
V:5
z4 | z4 | z4      | z4      |   F,4 | A,4   | z A, E, F, | E,2 B,,2 | z D, D, C, |
w:La-dy, your words do spite me, your words do
%
%========11=========12============13============14========15============16=======17=======18
V:1
d4        | c e c>d  | e f e2      | z e>e E     | B4      | G B>B A     | G A2 G | A2 z e-|
w:spite me, yet your sweet lips, so soft, kiss and de-light me, kiss and de-light__ me, your
V:2
A G/F/ G2 | A3 e     | c>d e c     | B B>B B     | F4      | E e>d c     | B A B2 | c4     |
w:____ me, yet your sweet lips, so soft, kiss and de-light me, kiss and de-light__ me
V:3
D4        | E2 E2    | A>A A A     | F G>G E     | ^D E2 D | E E>E E     | E4     | E E2 C-|
w:spite me, yet your sweet lips, so soft, kiss and de-light__ me, kiss and de-light me, your deeds_
V:4
B4        | E c c A  | e>d c2      | z B>B B     | B4      | B B>B c     | e c B2 | A2 A2  |
w:spite me, yet your sweet lips, so soft, kiss and de-light me, kiss and de-light, de-light me, your
V:5
B,,4      | A,,2 A,2 | A,>D, A, A, | B, E,>E, E, | B,,4    | E, G,>G, A, | E,4    | A,,4   |
w:spite me, yet your sweet lips, so soft, kiss and de-light me, kiss and de-light me,
%
%=======19=======20===============21==========22======23=========24=======25==========26============27
V:1
e c2 e   | A A d2-|d c B A         | B4        | c4    | z4       | z4     | z4        |z2 e2        |
w:_ deeds my heart sur-charg'd_ with o-ver-joy-ing, your
V:2
z4       | z4     | z4             | z4        | z3  e-|e c2 e    | f3 e   | d c B A   | B4          |
w:your_ deeds my heart sur-charg'd with o-ver-joy-
V:3
C A A>=G | F3 E    | F/=G/A/F/ G A-| A G/F/ G2 | A2 A2 | A2 A2    | A3 =G  | F>E D E   | E4          |
w:_ my heart sur-charg'd with o-ver-joy--------ing, Your deeds my heart sur-charg'd with o-ver-joy-
V:4
A2 A2    | d3 c    | B A e f       | e4        | e4    | z A A>G  | F F B2-|B A F/G/ A-|A G/F/ G2    |
w:deeds my heart sur-charg'd with o-ver-joy-ing, your deeds my heart sur-charg'd_ with o-ver-joy-----
V:5
z4       | z4      | z4            | z4        |   A,4-|A,2 F, C, | D,3 E, | B,, C, D, A,, | E,2 E,2 |
w:your_ deeds my heart sur-charg'd with o-ver-joy-ing,
%
%=====28========29==========30=============31===============32========33========34===35=======36
V:1
e2 e2  | c>d e2  | A4        | z4           | z e2         e-|e e d c  | B A B2  | A4 | z4     |
w:taunts my life des-troy-ing, your taunts_ my life des-troy---ing,
V:2
c4     | z3 e    | e d d c   | d4           | c4             | z e f f | e4      | e4 | A2 d2  |
w:ing, your taunts my life des-troy-ing, my life des-troy-ing, since both
V:3
E4     | z2 A2   | A2 A2     | F>G A2       | E2 E2          | C A, D2-| D C B,2 | C4 | E2 F2  |
w:ing, your taunts my life des-troy-ing, your taunts my life_ des-troy-ing, since both
V:4
A2 c2  | e2 c2   | f f e2    | d4           | z2 A2          | A2 F2   | G A2 G  | A4 | A2 F G |
w:ing, your taunts my life des-troy-ing, your taunts my life des-troy-ing, since both have
V:5
z2 A,2 | A,2 A,2 | F,>G, A,2 | D,>E, F, =G, | A, A,, A,, A,, | C,2 D,2 | E,4     | A,,4 | z4   |
w:your taunts my life des-troy-----ing, your taunts my life des-troy-ing,
%
%=====37========38==========39========40=========41=======42==========43========44=======45
V:1
z4     | z4      | A2 d2     | c2 B  A-|A G/F/ G2 | A3 e   | f>f e A   | A>A A d | c B A2-|
w:since both have force to_ spill__ me, let kis-ses sweet, let kis-ses sweet, sweet, kill_ me,
V:2
c2 B A | G2 E2   | e2 f2     | e2 d c  | B4       | c3 A   | A>A A e   | f>f e A-|A G A2    |
w:have force to spill me, since both have force to spill me, let kis-ses sweet, let kis-ses sweet, sweet,_ kill me,
V:3
E2 D C | B,2 B,2 | C2 D B,   | E2 F2   | B,2 B,2  | z4     | z3 C      | D>D C D | E2    E2-|
w:have force to spill me, since both have force to spill me, let kis-ses sweet, sweet, kill me,
V:4
A2 D2  | E2 E2   | z A2 B    | c2 d A  | e4       | e3 c   | d>d c A   | F D A2  | z2    c2-|
w:force to spill me, since both have force to spill me, let kis-ses sweet, kis-ses sweet, let_
V:5
z4     | z4      | A,2 F, G, | A,2 D,2 | E,4      | A,3 A, | F, D, A,2 | z3 F,   | E,2 A,,2-|
w:since both have force to spill me, let kis-ses sweet, sweet, kill me,
%
%===========46========47=========48========49============50==========51
V:1
A A A>A      |A e f>f  | e A2 G   | A e e c | e f e/d/  d-|d c d d    |
w:_ let kis-ses sweet, let kis-ses sweet, sweet, kill me. Knights fight with swords and lan-----ces, fight
V:2
e2 f>f       | e A A>A | A d c B  | A3 A    | c A c d     | e2 d A    |
w:let kis-ses sweet, let kis-ses sweet, sweet, kill_ me. Knights fight with swords and lan-ces, fight
V:3
E2 z2        | z C D>D | C D E2   | E3 E    | E A, A F    | A2 A A    |
w:_ let kis-ses sweet, sweet, kill me. Knights fight with swords and lan-ces, fight
V:4
c2 d>d       | c A F D | A2 z B   | c2 A c  | c d c B     | e2 f d    |
w:_ kis-ses sweet, let kis-ses sweet, sweet, kill me. Knights fight with swords and lan-ces, fight
V:5
A,, A, F, D, | A,2 z2  | z F, E,2 | A,,3 A, | A, F, A, B, | A,2 D, D, |
w:_ let kis-ses sweet, sweet, kill me. Knights fight with swords and lan-ces, fight
%
%=========52================53===========54==========55==============56=========57======58
V:1
d B c/d/ e | e/e/ ^d e2      | z B2 d     | c B c2    | B A A c       | B A B2   | c4    |
w:you with smil----ing glan-ces, so, like swans of Lean-der, my ghost from hence shall wan-der,
V:2
B d c>B    | A/=G/ A G2      | z G2 B     | ^A B2 A   | B F F A       | G A2 G   | A4    |
w:you with smil-ing glan---ces, so, like swans of Lean-der, my ghost from hence shall wan-der,
V:3
=G G E   E-|E A, E2          | z E2 F     | F B, F2   | F D D E       | E A, E2  | E4    |
w:you with smil-ing_ glan-ces, so, like swans of Lean-der, my ghost from hence shall wan-der,
V:4
B B A A    | A2 B2           | z B2 B     | c e c2    | d A A2        | B d>c B  | A4    |
w:you with smil-ing glan-ces, so, like swans of Lean-der, my ghost from hence shall wan-der,
V:5
=G, G, A,>G, | F,/E,/ F, E,2 | z E,2 B,, | F, =G, F,2 | B,, D, D, A,, | E, F, E,2 | A,,4 |
w:you with smil-ing glan---ces, so, like swans of Lean-der, my ghost from hence shall wan-der,
%
%======================59=======60=======61========62========]
V:1
[M:3/2][L:1/2] c>c B    | A2 G   | F>G A  | c B2    | A-A-A |]
w:sing-ing and dy-ing, sing--ing, and dy-ing.__
V:2
[M:3/2][L:1/2] A>A G    | F2 E   | D2 F   | A A G   | A-A-A |]
w:sing-ing and dy-ing, sing-ing, and dy-ing.__
V:3
[M:3/2][L:1/2] E>E E    | C2 C   | A,2 A, | A, B,2  | C-C-C |]
w:sing-ing and dy-ing, sing-ing, and dy-ing.__
V:4
[M:3/2][L:1/2] c>c e    | A2 E   | F2 F   | E E2    | E-E-E |]
w:sing-ing and dy-ing, sing-ing, and dy-ing.__
V:5
[M:3/2][L:1/2] A,>A, E, | F,2 C, | D2 D   | A,, E,2 | A,,-A,,-A,, |]
w:sing-ing and dy-ing, sing-ing, and dy-ing.__

In an effort to better understand Master Wilbye, I have also consulted with Doctor Imbrius, of Montague Street. He provided me with an astrological chart with a summary of the influences acting on Wilbye.



¹ Perhaps the most important example of music used to encrypt information is the alchemical text "Atalanta Fugiens". For more recent examples of music being used to encrypt non-musical content, consider the use of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony by the BBC during World War II to represent the Morse code "V" for victory; the signal that the D-Day invasion was about to begin, and J.S.Bach's use of the letters of his own name as a theme.

She loves me... She loves me not...

Everyone who ever loved a woman has felt the same at some time! You try to understand her, but it's like trying to grasp a handful of water in the stream.

In this year of our Lord 1587 Master Giles Farnaby married Katherine Roane, and while at the time of our visit, he is still a tradesman, having recently completed his indenture as an apprentice to a joiner and cabinet-maker he has now achieved journeyman status, but already he shows a noticeable talent for music.

A few words with Master Farnaby in his master's shop and we arrange to meet him in the evening at the White Hart. With a few pints of cider between us, Giles honors us with an invitation back to his home, where he will play for us, on a virginals made by his cousin Nick, his latest madrigal.

In the course of discussion, Giles mentions the news of the Siege of Antwerp that reached England more than a year ago and the more recent news of Sir Francis Drake's raid on the Spanish port of Cadiz. Some of the street balladeers in the city still have copies of the broadsheets for sale, telling the stories with accompanying woodcuts.

It is thirty years since England's last catholic monarch, Mary the first, died and her half-sister, protestant Elizabeth ascended to the throne. In 1559 her government passed the Act of Uniformity which required all English citizens to attend an Anglican church every week, or be fined 12 pence, not a trivial sum for the poor majority. Giles mentions rumours that King Philip II of Spain is determined in his piety that the errant nations of Europe should be corrected, by force if necessary, and that the campaign which was so recently prosecuted in the Netherlands may soon be spread to England. While Philip's campaign in the Burgundian Netherlands may be justified to some extent since the territory became Habsburg property through the Treaty of Senlis in 1493, he cannot claim any such justification in any plan to subdue England.

X:1 % number
T:The Wavering Planet % title
C:Giles Farnaby % composer
O:Transcribed from Noteworthy Composer format by Myscha Aiken % origin.
M:C % meter
L:1/4 % length of shortest note
Q: % tempo
V:1 name="Cantus"
V:2 name="Altus"
V:3 name="Tenor"
V:4 name="Bassus" clef=bass
K:C % key
%1=2==============3===================4=================5================
V:1 % voice 1
d4 | d/c/B/A/ G g | g/f/e/d/ c/B/A/G/ | ^F/E/ D G B-|B A/G/ A G |
w:The wav-er-ing pla-net, the wav-er-ing plan-et, the wa-ver-ing plan-et, the wav--er-ing plan-et
V:2
z4 | d2 d/c/ B/A/ | G g e/d/ c/B/ | A/G/ ^F/E/ D d | e c/B/ c/d/ e |
w:The wav-er-ing plan-et, the wav-er-ing plan-et, the wav-er-ing plan-et, wav-er-ing plan-et
V:3
z4 | z G2 G/F/ | E/D/ C2 C | D>C B,2 | C3 C |
w:The wav-er-ing plan-et, the wav-er-ing plan-et
V:4
z4 | z4 | z4 | z4 | z4 |
%
%
%============7============8==========9============10==========11
V:1
^F G2 F | G e/f/ g d | e c B c | z B e d | d ^c d B |
w:most un-sta-ble, God-dess of the wa-ters flow-ing, of the wa-ters, flow-ing that
V:2
d B/c/ d A | B c2 B | c A ^G A-|A G A A | A A A G |
w:most un--sta--ble, God-dess of the wa-ters-- flow-ing wa-ters, flow-ing that
V:3
D G, D D | z G E/F/ G | C>D E A, | E2 E F | E2 ^F D |
w:most un-sta-ble, God-dess-- of the wa-ters, flow-ing wa-ters flow-ing that
V:4
D, D B,/C/ D | G, C, z2 | z2 E, E | C/D/ E ^C D | A,2 D, G, |
w:God-dess of-- the wa-ters, God-dess of the wa-ters flow-ing that
%
%
%==========12============13=========14=====15=========16
V:1
c>c B c-|c B A A | B2 z _B | _B4-|_B2 _B2 |
w:bears a sway in_ each thing grow-ing, and makes_ my
V:2
A>G G G | ^F G2 F | G2 z d | d4 | f4 |
w:bears a sway in each thing grow-ing, and makes my
V:3
F>E D E | A, B,/C/ D2 | D2 z G | F4 | D4 |
w:bears a sway in each thing-- grow-ing, and makes my
V:4
F,>C, G, C, | D, D, D,2 | G,2 z G, | _B,4-|_B,2 _B,2 |
w:bears a sway in each thing grow-ing and makes my
%
%
%======17===========18========19========================20================21
V:1
c3 _B | A G A2 | A4 |: A>B c/d/ e-|e d/c/ B2 |
w:La-dy var-i-a-ble, oft I seek to un-der---mind
V:2
f3 e/d/ | ^c d2 c | d2 D>E |:[L:1/8] FG A3 BcB//A// |[L:1/4] ^G A2 G |
w:La-dy* var-i-a-ble, oft I seek to un-der-mind_____
V:3
A3 G/F/ | E D E2 | ^F2 z D-|:[L:1/8] DE FG A3 G/F/ |[L:1/4] E2 E2 |
w:La-dy* var-i-a-ble, oft_ I seek to un-der--mind her
V:4
F,3 G, | A, _B, A,2 | D,4 |: z4 | z4 |
w:La-dy var-i-a-ble,
%
%
%===========22=====================23===============24============25======================26
V:1
A2 E>^F |[L:1/8] GA B3 cdc/B/ |[L:1/4] A G A2 | B2 z2 |[L:1/8] z4 z2 cd |
w:her, oft I seek to un-der-mind_____ her Oft I
V:2
A2 z2 | [L:1/8] z8 | [L:1/4] z4 | z D>E F/G/ |[L:1/8] A3 B c3 B/A/ |
w:her, oft I seek to un-der-mind her_
V:3
A,>B, C/D/ E-|[L:1/8] EF G3 F/E/DE |[L:1/4] ^F G2 F | G2 z A,-|[L:1/8] A,B, CD E3 F |
w:oft I seek to un-der-mind________ her oft_ I seek to un-der-
V:4
z A,>B, C/D/ |[L:1/8] E3 D/C/ B,3 D |[L:1/4] D4 | G,2 D,>E |[L:1/8] F,G, A,3 B, C2-|
w:oft I seek to un-der----mind her, oft I seek to un-der-mind
%
%
%=================27===============28========29===========30=============31
V:1
ef g3 f/e/ d2 |[L:1/4] e f e2 | ^f2 z2 | z d>^c d | e f d e |
w:seek to un-der---mind__ her, yet I know not where, not where,
V:2
GABc dc/B/AB |[L:1/4] ^c d2 c | d2 z2 | A>^G A F | E A>^G A |
w:oft I seek to un-der--mind____ her, yet I know not where, yet I know
V:3
G3 F/E/ DEFG |[L:1/4] A F A2 | D2 F>E | F D E D-|D/ ^C/ D B, C |
w:mind her,_ oft I seek to un-der-mind her, yet I know not where, yet_ I know not where
V:4
CB,/A,/G,A, B,C D2 |[L:1/4] A,4 | z2 D>^C | D B, A, D, | A, D, D>^C |
w:________ her, yet I know not where to find her, yet I
%
%
%=======32============33============34===========35=========]
V:1
A>^G A F | E d>^c d | e f e e |[1 d4 :|[2 d4 |]
w:yet I know not where, yet I know not where to find her, her.
V:2
F z2 d-|d/ ^c/ d e f | e d2 ^c |[1 d2 D>E :|[2 d4 |]
w:not, yet_ I know not where for to find her, oft I her.
V:3
z D>^C D | E F E D-|D/ ^C/ D A>G |[1 ^F2 z D :|[2 ^F4 |]
w:yet I know not where, I know_ not where to find her, oft her.
V:4
D B, A,2 | A,4 | A,4 |[1 D,4 :|[2 D,4 |]
w:know not where to find her, her.


In the course of the evening Mistress Farnaby informs us that Giles has expressed an interest in learning to design and build instruments and intends to consult his cousin on the subject. And since so many people in the city resort to music as their entertainment she fancies it may be a prosperous notion. Poor Giles looks astonished, according to him, the last time they discussed the prospect, she dismissed it as "folly, for the playhouses now are so prosperous that folk should scarce have a penny or a minute to sing in their own homes".

With candles lit in the house, and the cries of an enthusiastic watchman ("Take heed to your fire, your lock and your light, and God give you good night!"), uncharacteristically early in making his first round of the streets it is time for us to bid Master Farnaby and Katherine a warm farewell, and leave.

To convert the code above to sheet music, or listen to the tunes, copy the code for a single song, then paste it here and [submit].

Notes from the Silver City of the Holy Roman Empire

During this trip we have an opportunity to visit the studio of one of the great artists of the German renaissance; Albrecht Dürer. Early on a cool July morning in 1494 we have reached the Tiergärtner Platz.
Standard Operating Procedures dictate that anachronistic technology may not be used, so I am inserting a 21st century photograph of Dürer's house. It is encouraging to note that this part of the town has changed very little despite some devastating attacks by the Allied Forces during the Second World War.
The red-timbered house is a double focus of interest for this trip since Dürer bought it from the heirs of the noted astronomer, Bernhard Walther.
The picture to the left is Albrecht's new wife, Agnes, daughter of Herr Frey, a craftsman in copper and brass (materials which Dürer himself often uses for engravings). With the benefit of a historical perspective, I can tell you now that Agnes' arranged marriage was, for want of a better word lacklustre. For Albrecht, marriage was a prerequisite imposed by the Burghers of the city if he wished to open his own workshop. For Agnes, if she does not have a particularly romantic relationship with Albrecht, and will never have children, at least she has the prestige of being the mistress of the household of a respected merchant and internationally famous artist.
Sadly, Albrecht is already busy with new commissions, and cannot spare the time to entertain the "idle curiosity of casual guests, however esteemed". However, Agnes is much more approachable and suggests that later in the day we might pay a visit to her father's workshop.
It turns out that her father is not only a skilled craftsman, but also a harper of some renown in the city. Not a mastersinger himself, but sometimes called upon to accompany contestants in the singing contests of the guild of mastersingers for which the city is famed.
At around 3pm, Herr Frey has excused himself from his workshop and escorted us back to his house where he is keen to perform for us a song by Heinrich Isaaks for which he recently obtained written music from a travelling ballad-seller. At this time, Isaaks has relatively recently been forced to find alternative employment as a result of the banishment of the Medici family from Florence following the French invasion, and it seems that he is making full use of his connections with the woodblock printing craftsmen of his native land to disseminate his music, and thereby earn an honest Florin.
The song which has Agnes' father so excited is Ne piu bella di queste, performed at the celebrations for the marriage of Emperor Maximilian I to Bianca Maria Sforza in Innsbruck in March, and he is keen to perform this song for us on his chamber harp, an instrument slightly larger than the bardic harp favoured by the celts.

X:13 % number
T:Ne piu bella di queste % title
C:Heinrich Isaaks % composer
O:Florence, Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale, MS Pal. 1178 % origin.
M:4/2 % meter
L:1/4 % length of shortest note
Q:160 % tempo
K:F % key
V:1 name="Superius" sname="S." % voice 1
V:2 name="Tenorius" sname="T."
V:3 name="Altus" sname="A."
V:4 name="Bassus" sname="B."
%
%==
V:1
F4 | F2 F2 G2 G2 | A4 G4 | c4 c2 B2-|B2 A3 G/F/ G2 |
w:Ne piu bel-la di que-ste, ne piu de_____
w:lu-non ve-de-te che nel ciel su re_____
V:2
c4 | A3 B c2 c2 | c4 c4 | G4 c2 B2-|B2 f2 d2 e2 |
w:Ne piu bel-la di que-ste, ne piu de_____
w:lu-non ve-de-te che nel ciel su re_____
V:3
f4 | c2 d2 e2 e2 | f4 e4 | c4 c2 d2-|d G c2 B4 |
w:Ne Piu bel-la di que-ste, ne piu de____
w:lu-non ve-de-te che nel ciel su re____
V:4
F,4 | F,2 F,2 C,2 C,2 | F,4 C,4 | C,4 C,2 G,2-|G,2 F,2 G,4 |
w:Ne piu bel-la di que-ste, ne piu de___
w:lu-non ve-de-te che nel ciel su re___
%
%====
V:1
A4 | z2 A2 A2 A2 | B3 A G2 F2 | E4 :|
w:gnia si truo-va'al-cu-na'i-de--a:
w:gnia ve-de-te Ci-the--re-a,
V:2
d4 | z2 f2 f2 f2 | f3 f _e2 d2 | c4 :|
w:gnia si truo-va'al-cu-na'i-de-a:
w:gnia ve-de-te Ci-the-re--a,
V:3
A4 | z2 c2 c2 c2 | d3 c B2 A2 | G4 :|
w:gnia si truo-va'al-cu-na'i-de--a:
w:gnia ve-de-te Ci-the-re--a,
V:4
D,4 | z2 F,2 F,2 F,2 | B,,2 B,,2 _E,2 F,2 | C,4 :|
w:gnia si truo-va'al-cu-na'i-de--a:
w:gnia ve-de-te Ci-the-re--a,
%
%====
V:1
z4 z4 | z4 z4 | z4 A2 A A | B2 A G2 F2 E | F4 z4 |
w:ve-de-te qui Mi-ner---va;
V:2
z4 e2 e e | f2 e d2 c2 =B | c2 z2 f2 f f | f2 _e>d c d c2 | c2 z2 A2 A A |
w:ma-dre dol-ze d'a-mo---re; ve-de-te qui Mi-ner----va; che gl'in-ge-
V:3
z4 z4 | z4 z4 | z4 c2 c c | d2 c B A B G2 | F2 z2 c2 c c |
w:ve-de-te qui Mi--ner---va; che gl'in-ge-
V:4
z4 G,2 G, G, | A,2 G, F, E, F, D,2 | C,2 z2 F,2 F, F, | B,,2 C, _E, F, B,, C,2 | F,4 z4 |
w:ma-dre dol-ze d'a--mo---re; ve-de-te qui Mi--ner---va;
%
%====
V:1
z4 z4 | z4 G2 G G | A2 G A G c2 =B | c4 |
w:e'l mar-ti-al fu--ro---re
V:2
B2 A c B/A/G/F/ G2 | F4 z4 | z4 z4 | z4 |
w:gni con--ser-----va,
V:3
d2 c>d e f2 e | f2 z2 e2 e e | f2 e f e c d2 | c4 |
w:gni con--ser---va, e'l mar-ti-al fu--ro---re
V:4
z4 z4 | z4 C,2 C C | F,2 C, F, G, A, G,2 | C,4 |
w:e'l mar-ti-al fu--ro---re
%
%====
V:1
[M:6/2] A2 A2 A2 | B4 B2 A4 A2 | G2 F2 G2 A2 F4 | E4 z4 z4|
w:do-ma coll' ar-te'et col-la sa----pien-za:
V:2
[M:6/2] F2 F2 F2 | B3 c d e f4 f2 | e2 f2 e2 c2 d4 | G4 z4 z4 |
w:do-ma coll' ar--te'et- col-la sa-----pien-za:
V:3
[M:6/2] c2 c2 c2 | d4 B2 c4 d2 | e2 d3 c c4 =B2 | c4 z4 z4|
w:do-ma coll' ar-te'et col-la sa---pien--za:
V:4
[M:6/2] A,2 A,2 A,2 | G,4 G,2 F,4 F,2 | C,2 D,2 E,2 F,2 D,4 | C,4 z4 z4 |
w:do-ma coll' ar-te'et col-la sa----pien-za:
%
%====
V:1
[M:4/2] E2 E E | D2 D2 C>D E F | G B A G2 F2 E | F4 F4 |]
w:ve-nu-ti'in-sie-me'ad a-bi-tar Fio-ren------za._
V:2
[M:4/2] G2 G G | F2 F2 f2 e d | c G A c2 B c2 | c4 c4 |]
w:ve-nu-ti'in-sie-me'ad a--bi-tar Fio-ren----za._
V:3
[M:4/2] c2 c c | B2 B2 A c2 B/A/ | G2 F E F2 G2 | F4 F4 |]
w:ve-nu-ti'in-sie-me'ad a--bi--tar_ Fio-ren--za._
V:4
[M:4/2] C,2 C, C, | D,2 B,,2 F,2 C, D, | E,2 F, C, D,2 C,2 | F,4 F,4 |]
w:ve-nu-ti'in-sie-me'ad a--bi-tar_ Fio-ren--za._

To convert the code above to sheet music, or listen to the tunes, copy the code for a single song, then paste it here and [submit].