Shave and a haircut, two bits

One of the reasons I love what I do is the unmitigated delight of being surprised by music; whether it's a workman whistling a tune I've never heard before, a party celebrating a wedding, or grieving family mourning a bereavement, every now and then, the music just bursts out in a spontaneous expression of our humanity no matter where, or when, in the world we live.
Throwing in my lot with Jacob Smollett and his granddaughter Amelia, on their way down to Wilmington delivering farm produce to Bencher's chandler has been enjoyable, but not particularly profitable. Old Mr.Smollett has admitted to knowing several songs which he has no intention of teaching young Amelia and Amelia has taught me a couple of interesting, but generally unremarkable schoolyard songs.
While Jacob fine-tuned the details of his deal with Captain Bencher, Amelia and I watched the longshoremen shouldering and carrying barrels, bales, and crates up the gangplanks to the Caroline. For a while, Amelia was held spellbound by the noise and smoke of a steam-powered derrick working further down the quay but the quay is a working environment, with heavy loads, strong men, and powerful machinery at work, and I was able to deter her from trying to get a closer look.
Lunch break for the longshoremen doesn't happen at 12 noon sharp; these men work until the ship is loaded or unloaded, one or two men taking a break at a time, as needed under the watchful eye of the bo'sun. By three o'clock the Caroline's cargo had all been loaded and the ship was only waiting on the harbour pilot and the tide.
With an hour or so before they would be needed again, a small group of stevedores had settled themselves on a stack of woolen bales and formed an impromptu choir. What surprised me was that these men (three negroes and two white men) were improvising what I would have termed barbershop harmony and their performance was in no way blemished by the occasional discord:

The youngest member of the group had a question about rhythm:
“Perfesser, yes'day you tole me you can write music down, on paper, same as writin' on paper? kin you show me how?”
“Well now, young Amos, let's take a real simple example – ‘shave an' a haircut; two bits’, I would write that like this:”
And taking a pencil and a scrap of paper from his pocket he jotted down the following sample:

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Eternal Triangle

Before I came to the town of Arona in northwest Italy, I had no idea what it was like, or why it might be of interest. And I had never heard of the brothers de Lantins, so bumping into them, almost literally, outside a lively tavern on a May evening was a very happy accident.

I had managed to secure a temporary job as pot-girl during the festivities and was carrying a large jug of wine out to some thirsty patrons when a boisterous circle-dance broke up, scattering revellers in all directions, two of them being the aforementioned brothers, identical twins, differentiated only by their dress; one wearing a more sombre traveller's outfit, the other in a rich-looking tunic with the livery of some great house embroidered on the breast. They were good enough to apologize hastily for jogging my arm, and one of the pair asked if they might buy a couple of measures of cool wine after their exertions in the dance?
When I returned a few minutes later to find them seated and waiting they were already engaged in discussion:
"Can you not see how the pattern of the tune might be overlaid perhaps two or three times, at different intervals?"
"I can see that it might be possible, but surely, it would be cacophanous! What patron would want such music?"
"In Paris, already, this new art is being practised in the service of the divine, and surely what is good enough for God in France, will soon be good enough for the noble houses of Italy?"
"You will not convince me, Hugo, no matter how you try. Did you not learn from the holy brothers that 'God is not the author of confusion'?"
"No, no! You do not understand. Let me demonstrate..."
Drawing back a little on the bench, Hugo dips his finger in the red wine and starts drawing lines:
"A hop and a skip, I shall write it in imperfect time, perfect prolation, like so..."
He draws a broken circle, the symbol of imperfection, indicating two main phrases, with a small complete circle inside it, meaning that there will be three main beats in each phrase, then a sequence of squares indicating the notes.
"Now, after ... five steps, let us say with the beginning of the second three, another voice begins..."
Watching with fascination, I see how he repeats the same pattern of notes, at a lower pitch, harmonizing as the beginning of the second voice joins with the middle of the first! And suddenly, I am brought back to earth by a sound slap to my behind.
"Giovanna! this patient family is waiting for honey cakes. NOW!"
Perhaps it was the bang on the behind, but by the time I get home, I can barely remember the melody that Hugo wrote down. And as nearly as I can tell, it was the traditional carol "I saw three ships come sailing in". Considering the lyrics, I find myself wondering if this is another of the riddle songs that were once so popular:

Why three ships, for two people? and what does the song mean by "Our Savior Christ and His Lady"? Normally we use the term so-and-so and his lady to indicate a girlfriend or wife. Most people would probably have no trouble in identifying the virgin Mary as Christ's lady, but what about the Bride of Christ? His church? And why are they sailing to landlocked Bethlehem? riddle-me riddle-me ree!
It occurs to me too, that it might be more than coincidence that I met the twins in a town governed by the Borromea family, whose arms are three interlinked rings. Twos and threes every which way!

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A bastard genius

In a feudal political system, how does a duke try to avoid unnecessary bloodshed and expense when he foresees the probability of a power struggle? Well, one way is by sending a peace offering (bribe!)
On the left, is Lodovico Sforza, Il Moro (the Moor, a nickname supposedly given to him because he tanned easily) duke of Milan, and on the right, Lorenzo di Medici, Il Magnifico ('nuff said).
And the reason we're here, the young man with the rather splendid legs and the two young pageboys carrying the package in the damask behind him, is none other than Signor Leonardo da Vinci. The content of the package, which will be revealed in a few moments is a magnificent silver lyre in the shape of a horse's head crafted by Leonardo himself.
The lyre is an excellent idea for a gift, suggesting that Lodovico will appreciate the classical associations of the instrument of Apollo and Orpheus, as well as being capable of playing the instrument himself. The fact that it is made from silver should give it a characteristically sweet tone, as well as representing more lucre in the ducal vaults!
Since I couldn't find a picture of Leonardo's presentation this detail from the mural of the court of the duke of Mantua should give a fair idea not only of the fashions, but the kind of characters that hang out with the duke.
As a matter of course, it is expected of any young man who moves in aristocratic circles that he should be a skilled horseman, poet, philosopher, soldier, and musician, and once the lyre has been unwrapped and offered to Lodovico, etiquette demands that Lodovico invite Leonardo to demonstrate the gift.
After the first few bars the murmur of chatter fades away. I think the thirty-year-old craftsman painter has made an impression, and no wonder! The piece he has chosen to demonstrate the lyre is quite a challenging song by the Flemish composer Johannes Ockeghem.
The musical riddles which Ockeghem poses in some of his compositions will keep scholars hard at work for many centuries to come, and no doubt the gentlemen of the court who pride themselves on their mathematical and scientific knowledge will find matter for debate in this piece for months to come.

the abc notation for the music below is available online.

Before it is time for him to leave Milan and return to Florence once more, Leonardo has received an invitation to enter the service of the duke of Milan, and I suspect he has been taken into the confidence of the duke. While it is not supposed to be generally known, the duke has plans to encourage France to invade Italy, presumably confident of overpowering the French invaders with the help of the cunning of Leonardo, and simultaneously taking advantage of his weakened neighbouring duchies.
For his part, Leonardo left a sodomy charge behind in Florence, and although he was acquitted, I wouldn't mind betting he has more admirers in the ducal court here in Milan than just Lodovico! But it ill-behooves me to speculate on Leonardo's private life. Let me present for you Jan Ockeghem's music:

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The Italian Job

Don't tell me I look like a tramp, I already know. In fact, I worked quite hard to achieve this look.
One of the problems of trying to get to know someone famous is that, often, simply because they are famous, they don't have huge amounts of time to get to know everybody else. So it's often much simpler to be a nobody, and get to know somebody who knows somebody, and just once in a great while, you can get close.
Which is why I am dressed in this second-best last year outfit, and peddling a selection of glass beads. (The beads, by the way, were laughably inexpensive, although if I were really who I appear to be, they would have cost me a year's worth of careful savings, and they're so beautiful it's a great temptation to take a few back with me).

Now, let me introduce you to Proserpina Belmonte. Don't be fooled by the hare lip or that mole beside her nose. She may be a tad on the homely side, but she can play! Before you got here she was sitting outside the palazzo (yes, well they're all palazzo's along here) playing a piece for mandolin. I thought it sounded familiar, so I strolled over to see if I could interest her in some parmesan cheese. (I bought it from a trader who was coming down from the Vicenza area before heading south to Ferrara).
Well, after expressing my appreciation of her beautiful playing we got to talking, and I asked her what the song was that she played. It turns out that it was the andante from a concerto for two mandolins, by Padre Vivaldi who runs the girls choir at the Ospedale della Piétà*!
Proserpina (she goes by 'Pina) told me she was a beneficiary of the Ospedale, and a student under Padre Vivaldi until she was eighteen, at which point she was more than ready to take on the world. (And all the while she was telling me this, she was talking, like a typical Italian, with her hands). I had to ask what she meant by that last statement, since I had always had a mental image of Vivaldi as the gentle, creative, kindly priest who churned out music as fast as the musicians could play it (some wit once quipped that Vivaldi didn't write five hundred concerti, he wrote one concerto, five hundred times!).
Perhaps unfortunately for Vivaldi's reputation, by the late twentieth century, it was a fair assumption that anyone who had ridden in an elevator had been subjected to a rather mechanical reproduction of one of his best-known suites, the Quatre Stagione (Four Seasons).
Pina laughed scornfully at my rosy description! It turns out, (at least according to her) that he was the foulest, most irritable, sweaty, smelly creature ever to walk God's blessed Earth. He frequently suffered from shortness of breath (asthma?), and when he did, his temper which was short at the best of times, just evaporated completely. She recounted one occasion when his scathing comments reduced one of the girls in the choir to a sobbing wreck, quite unable to continue the rehearsal, and indeed, it was only a matter of a few weeks before she left the Ospedale, indentured to a modestly wealthy merchant family. She also told me how the young ladies nicknamed their slavedriver Il Prete Rosso (the Red Priest), not so much for his hair, but his tendency to turn puce when enraged.
She doesn't mind telling me a little about her experiences in the Ospedale either. She has no memory of her parents, and the sisters of the Ospedale would only ever tell her that she was "a child of God". She never went hungry, or without clothing or shelter at night, but sometimes she wondered what her parents had been like. After leaving the Ospedale, she worked for a couple of years for a bookseller, and it was during that period that she met her husband, Guido. When he first came to the bookseller he was looking for a pattern book that he could use as a guide for decorative carvings for his building work. His clothing was covered in stone dust, and his hair was slicked down from rinsing himself off before leaving work.

Click on the gramophone to listen to the music below.

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Stand and Deliver!

I accept a certain amount of risk as an occupational hazard of travelling in time, so I suppose I have to accept the consequences when I find myself in the middle of a hazardous situation, although to be honest, it doesn't happen very often. One of the easiest ways I've found to infiltrate myself into a time and place is to join a travelling party early in the day as they prepare to set out. Of course, that also means I am accepting the same risk as my fellow-travellers, of being intercepted and robbed on the road, and in May of 1721 my complacency about the potential risk was confronted with the reality in the middle of Epping Forest, miles from the nearest village. It took me a few minutes to realize what was happening when we were ordered to disembark from the coach in which we were travelling. A number of possible causes for our unscheduled halt ran through my mind:

• One of the horses had been lamed? (during the ride one of my companions told me how a couple of years ago, the Essex Gang, led by Mr.Turpin, sowed the road with caltrops, laming the horses of an express team in a most cruel manner).
  
• A wheel had come off the coach? (unlikely, the coach would probably have tipped)
• A fallen tree blocking the road?

When I saw the masked horseman pointing a flintlock pistol I got the shock of my adventurous life. One of the most notorious highwaymen of the period is "Dick" Turpin, originally an Essex lad, who served his apprenticeship as a butcher and has become notorious for his daring and violent robberies. He has already outlived the Essex Gang with whom he allied for a while; apparently his cavalier disregard for hazard was more than they felt their lives justified. But it seems my concerns were not altogether justified; our interrogator's manners were very much those of a gentleman, assisting myself and an older lady in dismounting from the coach (not the easiest maneuver in a hoopskirt), and while he would not spare any coin or jewelry, at least he apologized to us for inconveniencing us so rudely.
X:1
T:Air XX, March in Rinaldo with Drums and Trumpets % title
T:Adapted by John Gay for The Beggar's Opera
C: % composer
O:http://www.gutenberg.org/files/25063/25063-h/music/air_XX.pdf % origin.
M:C % meter
L:1/8 % length of shortest note
Q: % tempo
K:Bb % key
V:1 % voice 1
z2 z2 DE | F4 F4 | F6 Bc | dcde d2 d2 |
w:Let us take the Road. Hark! I hear the Sound of Coach-es!
d4 f4 | dcde d2 d2 | d4 f3 e | e2 cd edcB |
w:The Hou-r of At-tack ap-proach-es, To your Arms, bra-ve Boy-s an-d
c6 || AB | c4 c4 | !trill! c6 f2 | FGAB c2 d2 |
w:load. See the Ball I hold! Let the Chy-mists toil like Ass-
e4 f3 e | d2 cd edcB | c2 F2 f3 e | dcBc !trill! c3 B |
w:es, Our Fire their Fi-re sur--pas--ses And turns all our Lead__ to_
B6 |]
w:Gold.
Our assailant did, however, unhitch one of the team of horses, which he took with him. While the animal might not be broken to saddle, and difficult to ride, it still represents a considerable loss to the coaching company. The shortfall in the team means that any further progress will be painfully slow, and some of us will have to continue on foot, alongside the coach. And I will probably have to explain to my director the loss of a couple of items of antique jewelry, which cannot be replaced. The music, which I thought would be appropriate to this little adventure, is from the Beggar's Opera by John Gay, produced by John Rich, which as one wag put it,

made Gay rich, and Rich gay

After I got back here a little research suggested that the most likely identity for our assailant would be "Captain" King, so called because of his delightfully gallant manners! 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].

Let's go to the hop!

Thank goodness you've arrived! It's a bit of a climb, but I think it's worth it for the view across the valley.

This naughty old shepherd tells me his name is written in the Book of Life: Guglielmo Bondone. But young Giovanna there tells me everyone in the nearby town of Cortona calls him Poppa Glug on account of his drinking habit. I was flirting with him a little, but he seems more intent on something serious! (And he's sixty-seven years old, for Pete's sakes!) He excuses himself saying that "Tomorrow we may be dead of the plague, but today, how about a little smooching in the sunshine? I can give you a fine, strong baby. Does that not appeal?"

He also told me that he has been suffering with a toothache, but doesn't think it is bad enough to pull the tooth. He has been chewing on cloves to keep the pain under control. I came up here with his granddaughter Giovanna, to bring him this leather scrip with his lunch - bread made with herbs, and a chunk of sheepsmilk cheese, and a pitcher of wine. He tells me he came up here a little before the bell sounded for lauds down in the priory (about 6.00 am), with a breakfast of small honey-cakes which made the toothache worse for a bit, and will be up here until after compline (about 7.00 pm).

I'm staggered by the size of the flock of sheep Poppa Glug is watching. (I can't help thinking of him as Poppa Glug, especially after watching him drink) He tells me the flock is one hundred and twenty sheep at present (not all his own), although it varies with lambing and slaughter. The sheep are used for milk (which surprises me), wool, and eventually meat. But there isn't much need for rams, so they just get fattened for meat.

We are both invited to join Poppa Glug when his grandson takes over watching the sheep to go into the town itself; there is a dance in the piazza this evening and there will be plenty of meat and drink on offer. Who knows, we might even find some handsome young man? (He really is the most incorrigible rogue, but quite fun to be with in a non-committal way).

In the town, apart from the crowds, the first thing that strikes me is that the Italians must have been among the first people to develop high-rise buildings. Part of their Roman heritage, perhaps? and the pavements, none of them are the same, different types of stone, different textures. I'm sure I could navigate blindfold if I knew the town better, just by the feel of the pavement under my feet.

X:35 T:Saltarello 3 M:6/8 L:1/8 Z:Andy Hornby %%ID:00000da6 F: http://www.leeds.ac.uk/music/Info/RRTuneBk/gettune/00000da6.abc K:C cBA GAB|cdB c2 G|ABc ABG|cBc d2e| cgf e2d|cgf e2d|cBc A2e|Aee A3:| |:edc B2A|c2d e2d|cBc A2B|GAB c2G|ABc ABG| cBc d2e|cgf e2d|cgf e2d|cBc A2e|Aee A3:| |:ede g2c|ggc g3|ede g2e|fed e2d| cBc A2B|GAB c2G|ABc ABG|cBc d2e| cgf e2d|cgf e2d|cBc A2e|Aee A3:|

For anyone who wants to know, the band comprised three shawms (S, T, T), one of the shawm players doubled on Alto recorder solo for a couple of slow dances, a sacbut, and Nakers.

That saltarello is the one tune I could remember when I got back! If you can visualize a square full of whirling bodies, and leaping young men; this is a jumping dance, and very energetic. And although I had to sit this one out, even Poppa Glug was in the mix, throwing himself into it with gusto. I got the impression that a lot of the young men were competing to see who could make the highest jumps.

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].

The Better 'Ole, In Search Of...

The First World War produced a number of memorable songs of its own, so when I started thinking about a visit to the battlefields of France, 1914 I was very pleased to learn about the blog of Private Harry Lamin. I don't think anybody can paint a clearer picture than Private Lamin, so I will just refer my patient reader to his blog, and reproduce the songs below to give a little of the flavour of the period.

The Better 'Ole	The Better 'Ole (a musical)	Fragments from France (What time do they feed the sea lions Alf?)

Among other things, Captain Bruce Bairnsfather will long be remembered for his comic drawings of the character "Ole' Bill" which did so much to maintain morale not only in the First World War, but also in the Second.

X: 1 T: It's a Long Way to Tipperary C:Words and Music by Jack Judge and Harry Williams. M: 4/4 L: 1/4 Q:1/4=120 P:ABA K:C % 0 sharps V:1 P:A c/e/d/c/ A/G/E/F/ | G/A/G/E/ G>z | c/e/d/c/ A/G/E/F/ | G/G/G/^F/ G>z | w:Up to might-y Lon-don came An I-rish lad one day, All the streets were paved with gold, So ever-y-one was gay! c/e/d/c/ A/G/E/=F/ | G/G/G/G/ B>z | c/e/d/c/ A/B/A/B/ | w:Sing-ing songs of Pic-ca-dil-ly, Strand, and Leices-ter Square, 'Til Pad-dy got ex-ci-ted and c/B/A/B/ c d2 z | w:He shout-ed to them there: P:B E/F/ G G z/G/ | A/B/ c e2 | w:It's a long way to Tip-per-a-ry, e/d/ c A2 | c G2 z | E/F/ G G z/G/| A/B/ c e2 | w:It's a long way to go. It's a long way to Tip-per-a-ry, c/c/ d A B | c d2 z | G G2 A/B/ | c e>z | w:To the sweet-est girl I know! Good-bye Pic-ca-dil-ly, f A c d| e2 z c/d/ | e e e/c/d/c/ | A2 G z | w:Fare-well Leices-ter Square! It's a long long way to Tip-per-a-ry, c e c2 | d c2 z |] w:But my heart's right there. W:Paddy wrote a letter To his Irish Molly O', W:Saying, "Should you not receive it, W:Write and let me know! W:If I make mistakes in "spelling", W:Molly dear", said he, W:"Remember it's the pen, that's bad, W:Don't lay the blame on me". W: W:Chorus W: W:Molly wrote a neat reply W:To Irish Paddy O', W:Saying, "Mike Maloney wants W:To marry me, and so W:Leave the Strand and Piccadilly, W:Or you'll be to blame, W:For love has fairly drove me silly, W:Hoping you're the same!" W: W:-0-Alternative wartime chorus-0- W:That's the wrong way to tickle Mary, W:That's the wrong way to kiss! W:Don't you know that over here, lad, W:They like it best like this! W:Hooray pour le Francais! W:Farewell, Angleterre! W:We didn't know the way to tickle Mary, W:But we learned how, over there!

The keen-eyed observer of WW I movies may notice that trenches were often named after familiar landmarks back home, so the reference to "Goodbye Piccadilly, farewell Leicester Square" would have had an extra depth of meaning for the troops.

X:3
T:Smile, Smile, Smile % title
C:Felix Powell, Lyric by George Asaf % composer
O:http://levysheetmusic.mse.jhu.edu/otcgi/llscgi60 % origin.
M:2/4 % meter
L:1/4 % length of shortest note
Q: % tempo
%%staves L | { Kr1 Kr2 Kl }
V:L name="Lyric" sname="L."
V:Kr1 name="piano" sname="P." clef=treble
V:Kr2
V:Kl clef=bass
%
P:ABABA
K:G % key
P:A
%1=================2=============3===========================4=========================
[V:L] Z | Z | Z | Z |
[V:Kr1] [DB,][DB,] | [B,G,] D/G/ | [B/D/][B/D/] [B/D/][A/C/] | [G/B,/]A/ [B/G/][c/A/] |
[V:Kr2] Z | z B, | Z | Z |
[V:Kl] G/d/ D/d/ | G/d/ D/d/ | G/d/ D/[d/f/] | [d/G/] z/ z |
%
%5=================6===================7=============================8==================9=============================
[V:L] Z | Z | Z | Z |:[L:1/16] Z |
[V:Kr1] [dBG] g/e/ | [d/B/]e//d// B/G/ | ([A2F2C2] |[GDB,]) z !segno!|:[L:1/16][G3B,3]E D2[B,2G,2] |
[V:Kr2] z ^A | Z | Z | Z |:[L:1/16] Z |
[V:Kl] [gG][^c'g]-| [d'/g/]z/ z | [d/D/][^d/^D/] [e/E/][f/F/] |[gG] [GG,] |:[L:1/16] G2d2 D2d2 |
%
%10====================11===========12===================13=========================14======================================
[V:L] Z :|[L:1/4] G>A | B A/ G/ |[L:1/8]E>F G E |[L:1/4] D/ C/ B,/ D/ |
w:Pri-vate Perks is a fun-ny lit-tle cod-ger With a
w:Pri-vate Perks went a-march-ing in-to Flan-ders With his
w:Pri-vate Perks he came back from Bosch-e shoot-ing With his
[V:Kr1][D3F,3]A, z4 :|[L:1/4] [GB,]>[AC] | [BD] [A/C/][G/B,/] |[L:1/8][EC]>[FD] [GE][EC] |[L:1/4][D/B,/][C/A,/] [B,/G,/][D/B,/]|
[V:Kr2] C2B,2 z4 :|[L:1/4] Z | Z |[L:1/8] Z |[L:1/4] Z |
[V:Kl] A2d2 D2EF :|[L:1/4] G/d/ D/d/ | G/d/ D/d/ |[L:1/8] c g2 g |[L:1/4] G/ d d/ |
%
%15==================16===============17====================18==============================19=====================
[V:L] G2-|G/ B/ G/ A/ | G2-| G z | F F |
w:smile_ a fun-ny smile._ Five feet
w:smile_ his fun-ny smile._ He was
w:smile_ his fun-ny smile._ Round his
[V:Kr1] G2-|G/B/ A/B/ | [GDB,] d//B//G//B// | (3A//B//A// G/ (3A//B//A// G/ | F F |
[V:Kr2] [EB,] [^C^A,]-|[D/B,/] z/ [FC] | Z | [EC] [_EC] | F/B,/ F/B,/ |
[V:Kl] e (_e |d/) z/ D | G [d'b'g'] | g2 | ^d/[a/f/] B/[a/f/] |
%
%20======================21==========================22==========================23===========
[V:L] B A/ F/ |[L:1/16]E3 F G2 A2 |[L:1/4] B/ G/ E/ D/ | ^C2-|
w:none, he's an art-ful lit-tle dod-ger With a smile_
w:lov'd by the pri-vates and com-man-ders for his smile_
w:home he then set a-bout re-cruit-ing With his smile_
[V:Kr1] B A/[F/B,/] |[L:1/16]E3F G2[A2^D2B,2] |[L:1/4] B/G/ [E/G,/][D/^G,/] | [^CA,] B-|
[V:Kr2] B/B,/ z |[L:1/16] z2 [B,4G,4] z2 |[L:1/4][EB,] B, | z [GEC]-|
[V:Kl] ^d/[a/f/] b/[a/d/] |[L:1/16] e6 f2 |[L:1/4] g e | A a-|
%
%24===============25================26==============27===================28=========================
[V:L] C/ G/ ^D/ E/ | A2-| A z | _B B | G _B |
w:_ a fun-ny smile._ Flush or broke he'll
w:_ his fun-ny smile._ When a throng of
w:_ his fun-ny smile._ He told all his
[V:Kr1] A/G/ ^D/E/ | [AFC] D/^C//D// | _E/D/ ^G,/A,/ | _B/_B,/ _B/_B,/ | G/[_E/_B,/] _B/[G/B,/] |
[V:Kr2][G/E/C/]z/ z| Z | Z | Z | Z |
[V:Kl] a/g/ ^d/e/ | D ^d/c//d// | _d/c/ ^G/A/ | G/[g/d/] z/ [g/d/] | _E/_e/ z/ e/ |
%
%29======================================30==================31=============32===============
[V:L][L:1/16] F3_E D2 E2 |[L:1/4] F2 | A A | G E |
w:have his lit-tle joke, He can't be sup-
w:Bosch-es came a-long With a might-y
w:pals, the short, the tall, What a time he'd
[V:Kr1][L:1/16][F3D3][_EC] [D2_B,2][F2C2] |[L:1/4] [FD] z | [A^FD] [AFD] | [GD] [E^CA,] |
[V:Kr2][L:1/16] Z |[L:1/4] Z | Z | Z |
[V:Kl][L:1/16] _B2 f4 f2-|[L:1/4] f/f/ g/^g/ | A/d/ f/a/ | b g |
%
%33===================34=========================35==================36=======================
[V:L] A2-| A2 | A A | B F |
w:press'd._ All the oth-er
w:swing,_ Perks yell'd out "This
w:had;_ And as each en-
[V:Kr1][AEA,] a/f//d// | (3^c//d//e// (3B//c//B// A/ | A A | B F |
[V:Kr2] Z | Z | A/[D/A,/] A/[D/A/]| B/[^D/B,/] F/[D/B,/] |
[V:Kl] f [f'd'a] | [g'2^c'2a2] | F/ f f/ | ^d/a/ B/a/ |
%
%37=======================================38============================39==============40=================
[V:L][L:1/16]G3 F G2 A2 |[L:1/4] B ^A/ B/ | ^c B | F E |
w:fel-lows have to grin When he gets this off his
w:lit-tle bunch is mine! Keep your heads down, boys and
w:list-ed like a man Pri-vate Perks said "Now my
[V:Kr1][L:1/16][A3E3][F^D] [G2E2][A2D2B,2] |[L:1/4][BEB,][^A/^A,][B/B,/] | [^cG^C] [BGC] | [F^CA,] [ECG,] |
[V:Kr2][L:1/16] Z |[L:1/4] Z | Z | Z |
[V:Kl][L:1/16] e2 [b4g4] d2 |[L:1/4] e/[b/g/] z | A/ e g/ | A/^A/ B/^c/ |
%
%41===================42==============
[V:L] D z | Z ||
w:chest,
w:sing,
w:lad,
[V:Kr1] [DA,F,] z | [d2c2F2] ||
[V:Kr2] Z | Z ||
[V:Kl] d [c/C/][d/D/] | [BB,][AA,] ||
%
%43======================44==============================45==========46==============
P:B
[V:L]|: D D/ E/ | D/ C/ B,/ C/ | D B | B A |
w:Pack up your troub-les in your old kit-bag And
[V:Kr1]|:[DB,][D/B,/][E/C/] | [D/B,/][C/A,/] [B,/G,/][C/A,/] |[DB,][BGB,]|[BGB,][AFC]|
[V:Kr2]|: Z | Z | Z | Z |
[V:Kl]|: G/d/ D/d/ | G/d/ D/d/ | G/ d d/ | G/ d ^d/ |
%
%47=============48==========49=================50======================================
[V:L] G2 | E2 | D2-| D2 |
w:smile, smile, smile_
[V:Kr1][G2E2B,2] |[E2C2G,2] |[DB,] D |[D/C/A,/F,/][B,/G,/] [C/A,/][^C/A,/] |
[V:Kr2] Z | Z |[L:1/16] z4 B,3G, |[L:1/4] Z |
[V:Kl] e2 | c/d/ e/f/ | g (B| A/) z/ D |
%
%51=======================52=============================53===========54====================
[V:L] D D/ E/ | D/ C/ B,/ C/ | D B | G2 |
w:While you've a Lu-ci-fer to light your fag,
[V:Kr1][DB,] [D/B,/][E/C/] |[D/B,/][C/A,] [B,/G,/][C/A,/] |[DB,][BA^D] |[G2E2B,2] |
[V:Kr2] Z | Z | Z | Z |
[V:Kl] G/d/ D/d/ | G/d/ D/d/ | G/d/ F/^d/ | E/e/ [f/F/][g/G/] |
%
%55===============56============57===============58=======================================
[V:L] A E | F G | A2-| A2 |
w:smile boys, that's the style._
[V:Kr1][AG^C][ECA,]|[FDA,][G^CA,]| ([A2F2C2]|[d/c/F/])[f//d//][e//c//] [d/B/][c/A/]|
[V:Kr2] Z | Z | Z | Z |
[V:Kl] G/d/ F/^d/ |[fF] [eE] |[dD][f/F/][e/E/]|[d/D/][c/C/] [B/B,/][A/A,/]|
%
%59=============60========61==================62============63=========64================
[V:L] G>A | B G | F/ G/ A-| A B | c A | B G |
w:What's the use of wor-ry-ing?_ It ne-ver was worth-
[V:Kr1][L:1/8][G3B,3][AC][L:1/4]|[BD][GB,]|[F/D/][G/E/] [AFD]-| [AFD] [BFD] |[cE][A^FC]| [BGD][GE^C] |
[V:Kr2] Z | Z | Z | Z | Z | Z |
[V:Kl]G/d/ D/d/ |G/d/ D/d/| A d/e/ | [c'f] g | c d | g [ae] |
%
%65=================66===========================67===================68===============================
[V:L] A2 | d2 | D D/ E/ | D/ C/ B,/ C/ |
w:while. So pack up your troub-les in your
[V:Kr1][A2F2D2C2] | [d2c2F2] | [DB,] [D/B,/][E/C/]| [D/B,/][C/A,/][B,/G,/][C/A,/]|
[V:Kr2] Z | Z | Z | Z |
[V:Kl]d [d/D/][e/E/] | [d/D/][c/C/] [B/B,/][A/A,/]| [G/G,/]d/ D/d/ | G/d/ D/d/ |
%
%69=================70=========71========72===========73==========================74===============================
[V:L] D d | d c | B2 | A2 |[L:1/16][1 G8-|[L:1/4] G z :|
w:old kit-bag, And smile, smile, smile._
[V:Kr1] [DB] [dGD] |[dGD][cGE]|[B2G2B,2]|[A2F2C2] |[L:1/16][1 [G3D3B,3]D E2F2 |[L:1/4]G/[A/A,/][B/B,/][c/C/]:|
[V:Kr2] Z | Z | Z | Z |[L:1/16][1 Z |[L:1/4] Z :|
[V:Kl] G/d/ b |[bB] [c'c]| d2 | D/^D/ E/F/ |[L:1/16][1 G2B2 c2d2 |[L:1/4]e/f/ g/a/ :|
%
%75====
[V:L][2 G2-| G z !segno!|]
w:smile._
[V:Kr1][2 [G2D2B,2]|[gdBG] z |]
[V:Kr2][2 Z | Z |]
[V:Kl][2 G D | G, z |]

Notes

1. Lucifer; a popular brand of match 2. fag; British slang for a cigarette See JM's Sketchbook for more firsthand images of WW I 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].

Black Coffee

The Playhouse A Satyr,

by Robert Gould,

1685

The Middle Galle'ry first demands our View; The filth of Jakes, and stench of ev'ry Stew! Here reeking Punks like Ev'ning Insects swarm; The Polecat's Perfume much the Happier Charm...

Discreet in this, their Faces not to shew; The Mask the best Complexion of the two. Their Noses falling and their Eyes sunk in, A wrinkl'd Forehead and a Parchment Skin...

Choak't with the stench of Brimstone, 'twill be fit To Visit next the Boxes and the Pit, And for the Muse a Nobler Scene prepare, And let Her breathe awhile in Milder Air.

But such a sudden Glare invades her Eyes, So vast a Crowd of diffe'rent Vanities, She knows where not to fix her Rancour first; So very Wicked all, that all are worst!...

Such Giddy Insects here for ever come, And very little Dare, but much Presume: Perpetually the Ladies Ears they Ply, And whisper Slander at the Standers by:

Then laugh aloud; which now is grown a part Of Play-house Breeding, and of Courtly Art. The true Sign of Your Modish Beau Garson Is Chatt'ring like a Ladies lewd Baboon,

Shewing their Teeth to charm some pretty creature; For Grinning, amoung Fops, is held a Feature...
All People now, the Place is grown so ill, Before they see a Play shou'd make their Will:

For with much more Security , a Man Might take a three Years Voyage to Japan.

Having walked north from Westminster Abbey we probably have an hour or two before Drury Lane theatre begins the evening performance, and since we're in the vicinity of several coffee houses it seems a good place to stop, wet our whistles and ask about what's playing.

Inside the atmosphere of mouth-watering coffee scent is underlaid by the whiff of smoke from clay pipes. The variety of coffees and chocolate on offer is bewildering, with so many spices and roasts to choose from I think we would be justified in spending a few minutes considering before we choose.

I'm glad you insisted on Will's Coffee House (can't miss it, look for the sign of the Rose), rather than the Turk's Head which I thought looked like a good bet. I've heard several people discussing recent plays since we settled at this table. The impression I get is that most of the plays aren't staged for very long; a week or two at most and the audiences are ready for something new.

The small huddle of gentlemen engaged in conversation a few tables over has been dwindling since we came in, and now the last two have left and I recognize the face of Mr.Dryden. I think we should invite him to join us at our table.

"Have I the honour of addressing Mr. Dryden?"

"You have, sir. Though few enough would count it an honour these days."

"Then might I invite you to share our table for a few minutes, and we shall count it both an honour and a pleasure, sir."

What I am hoping is that we might be able to find out if any of Dryden's plays are currently on the stage, but it seems that since he lost his position as Poet Laureate seven years ago, even his plays have lost their lustre with the public. I can quite understand his slightly melancholy mood.

However, as he tells us, he is free now to work on something that has interested him since his collegiate days; a translation of the works of Publius Virgilius Maro. Once he starts explaining the fascination of the classical poet's works, his face lights up with a new enthusiasm.

Returning eventually to the question of the London stage, I ask whether he knows what is playing at present, that might be worth the cost of admission.

It seems that the only play he feels would be worth our time, and that more for the theatrical music than the play itself, is a revival of Abdelazer, or The Moor's Revenge by the late Aphra Behn, as a series of benefit performances for the widow of Michael Mohun. Although she was widowed more than a decade ago, she has always been supportive of the acting community, and being unable to work because of increasingly painful arthritis, reluctantly sought their help.

While we are talking, we are joined once more by the familiar figure of Mr.Pepys. As soon as introductions have been made (I am flattered that Samuel Pepys remembers us by the sound of our voices, from our previous encounter in the Lloyds Coffee House), Mr.Pepys cautions us against the Orange Girls.

These traders visit the playhouses to sell fruit at extortionate prices, and Pepys himself tells us how:

The orange-woman did come in the pit and challenge me for twelve oranges, which she delivered by my order at a late play, at night, to give to some ladies in a box, which was wholly untrue, but yet she swore it to be true. But, however, I did deny it, and did not pay her; but , for quiet, did buy 4s.¹ worth of oranges of her, at 6d. a-piece.'

Dryden summarises the play for us as follows: it was published in 1657 and tells the story of a vengeful wicked Moor, whose kingdom has been vanquished by Spain, who tires of his affair with the lascivious Queen of Spain and plots with her to murder the King, thinking to murder her afterwards, and reign with his innocent young wife. However, the Queen in her turn kills his wife, and plots to take her son’s throne. It is full of action with armies engaged on stage, people in disguise escaping from imprisonment and torture and a final act in which the wicked are punished and the good prince wins the throne.²

If Mr.Dryden felt that the music for the play was better than the play itself, I can hardly disagree with him. From the play, here is Mr. Henry Purcell's Rondeau.

X:4 % number T:Rondeau % title C:Henry Purcell % composer O:Music for Abdelazer or The Moor's Revenge (Dolce Edition) % origin. M:3/4 % meter L:1/8 % length of shortest note Q: % tempo P:ABACA %%staves Sop | {Hr1 Hr2 Hl} V:Sop name="Soprano" sname="S." clef=treble V:Hr1 name="Harpsichord" sname="Hp." clef=treble V:Hr2 clef=treble V:Hl clef=bass K:F % key P:A %1===============================2====================3================4================= [V:Sop]|: D2 F2 A2 | de/f/ g/f/e/d/ ^c2 | ad/f/ a/f/d b2 | gc/e/ g/e/c a2 | [V:Hr1]|: [FDA,]2 [FDA,]2 [EA,]2 | F G/A/ B2 [AE^C]2 | A2 d2 d/B/G | [cGC]4 c/A/F | [V:Hr2]|: Z | D2 DG z2 | D4 z2 | Z | [V:Hl] |: d2 d2 c2 | B2 G2 A2 | f4 g2 | e4 f2 | % %5=====================6=================7=======================8========================== [V:Sop] fB/d/ f/d/B g2 | eA/^c/ e/c/A f2 | e/f/e/d/ ^cf e/f/e/d/ | Ad ^c/d/e/c/ !fine! d2 :| [V:Hr1] [BFD]4 B/G/E | [AEA,]4 A/F/D | [BD]2 [AE^C]2 [GD]2 | GF E2 [FDA,]2 :| [V:Hr2] Z | Z | Z | ^CD A,2 z2 :| [V:Hl] d4 e2 | ^c4 d2 | G2 A2 B2 | A4 d2 :| % P:B %9========================10=====================11=====================12===================== [V:Sop] F2 A2 c2 | fg/a/ b/a/g/f/ ef/g/ | ab/a/ ga/g/ fF/G/ | ab/a/ ga/g/ Ff/e/ | [V:Hr1] [CA,]2 [FC]2 [GC]2 | AB/c/ [dBF]2 [cGE]2 | [cAF]2 [cGC]2 A=B | [cE]2 [GE]2 [cFC]2 | [V:Hr2] Z | F2 z2 z2 | z2 z2 F2 | Z | [V:Hl] f4 e2 | d2 B2 c2 | c2 B2 A2 | c2 B2 A2 | % %13=========================14====================15====================16============================ [V:Sop] de/d/ cd/c/ Bg/f/ | ef/e/ de/d/ Ca/g/ | fg/f/ ef/e/ dg | cf e/f/g/e/ f2 || [V:Hr1] [BFD]2 [cFC]2 [BGD]2 | [GEC]2 [GD]2 [AEC]2 | [AFD]2 [AE]2 AB/A/ | [GE][AF] [GEC]2 [AFC]2 || [V:Hr2] Z | Z | z2 z2 FD | Z || [V:Hl] B2 A2 G2 | c2 B2 A2 | d2 c2 B2 | c4 F2 || % P:C %17===============================18============================19============================= [V:Sop] !trill! c>d c/d/e f/e/d/c/ | !trill! =B>c B/c/d e/d/c/B/ | !trill! c>d c/d/e f/e/d/c/ | [V:Hr1] [AEC]4 [cE]2 | [=BE]4 [BE]2 | [AEC]4 [AFD]2 | [V:Hr2] Z | Z | Z | [V:Hl] a2 A2 a2 | ^f2 e2 g2 | a2 A2 d2 | % %20======================21============================22===========================23============================= [V:Sop] !trill! c3 =B A2 | !trill! e>f e/f/g a/g/f/e/ | !trill! f>g f/g/a b/a/g/f/ | !trill! e>f e/f/g a/g/f/e/ | [V:Hr1] A2 ^G2 [AEC]2 | ^c>d c/d/e f/e/d/c/ | d>e d/e/f g/f/e/d/ | ^c>d c/d/e f/e/d/c/ | [V:Hr2] [E=B,]4 z2 | [AE]4 A2 | A4 B2 | A4 A2 | [V:Hl] e4 A2 | a2 ^c'2 a2 | d'2 d2 g2 | a2 A2 d2 | % %24=========================================== [V:Sop][L:1/32] f6g2 !trill! g6fg !D.C.! a8 || [V:Hr1] [dAF]2 [dGD]2 [^cAE]2 || [V:Hr2] Z || [V:Hl] dc B2 A2 || 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]. If you know the music of Benjamin Britten, you might also recognize this as the theme for his "Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra".

Notes

1. English currency before decimalisation:

Pounds	Shillings	Pence
£	s.	d.

2. I would like to acknowledge Dawn Lewcock's article for a summary of the plot.

The Queen is dead. Long Live the King.

"'at's Queen Mary. She choked on a plum."
"she did not. You bin listenin' to Possle again encha? 'E don't know nuffin' so 'e makes it up."
My two young advisers are a couple of Thames mudlarks, urchins who, in the absence of better employment, contribute to their families welfare by searching the mud of the riverbank at low tide for dropped valuables and the occasional coin. Although they're equally likely to be found knocking hats off unwary heads with a well-aimed stone. And only the sharpest wits are ever likely to see exactly where the missile originated.
"'ere 'e is nah. Wotcha Possle!"
"Permit me to introduce myself sirs. I have the honour to be your humble servant, Oliver Postlethwaite, apothecary surgeon".
Possle is a rather tatty-looking character with stockings that don't quite match and a pervasive odour of stale urine.
"If I may be so bold sir, your complexion suggests that you suffer from a weakness of the stones, for which I can offer a very efficacious remedy."
He may be half-wasted, but Possle's diagnosis is worryingly accurate, at least to the point of identifying that I have a very feminine appearance.
We are here on the edges of a crowd that is still assembling outside Westminster Abbey to pay our final respects to the late Queen Mary(or just take advantage of an excuse to close the shop for an hour or two). As the funeral procession approaches, the drumbeat changes while remaining consistent.
Tan tan tan ta-ta tan
Tan ta-ta tan tan tan
Ta-ta tan tan ta-ta tan
Tan tan ta-ta tan tan
Until inside the abbey, a final TAN-TAN! marks the halt. I can't see anybody signalling from here at the back of the crowd, but it seems somebody has performed a very deft sleight-of-hand, because, precisely as the catafalque entered the abbey, the organ began a sombre tune in perfect time to the drumbeat.
Among the other vendors working the crowd is a ballad-seller with something very unusual, and very interesting to me: a copy of Purcell's Ode on the Birthday of Queen Mary composed only eight months earlier for the celebrations.

X:3 T:Strike the viol % title C:Henry Purcell % composer O:William F. Long transcription % origin. N:http://www.drdrbill.com/music.html M:3/4 % meter L:1/8 % length of shortest note Q:60 % tempo %%staves Ct { ( Hr1 Hr2 ) ( Hl ) } V:Ct name="Countertenor" sname="Ct" % voice 1 V:Hr1 name="Harpsichord" sname="Hp" clef=treble V:Hr2 clef=treble V:Hl clef=bass K:C % key %1======================2============================3==================4============================= [V:Ct] Z | Z |: e>d c2 dB | c2 A2 z2 | w:Strike__ the_ vi-ol, [V:Hr1] [ECA,]4 [EDB,]2 | [ECA,]2 z [FCA,] [EB,^G,]2 |: [ECA,]4 [EDB,]2 | [ECA,]2 z [FCA,] [EB,^G,]2 | [V:Hl] A3 a ^ge | a2 z d eE |: A2 z a ^ge | a2 z d eE | % %5======================6============================7==================8============================ [V:Ct] e>d c2 dB | c2 A2 z2 | c2 z2 B/c/d | B2 z2 cG | w:strike__ the_ vi-ol, touch, touch,__ touch, touch_ [V:Hr1] [ECA,]4 [EDB,]2 | [ECA,]2 z [FCA,] [EB,^G,]2 | [ECA,]4 [FB,A,]2 |[FB,G,]2 z [DB,G,] [ECG,]2 | [V:Hl] A3 a ^ge | a2 z d eE | A3 a fd | g2 z g ec | % %9===============================10==================11================12============================ [V:Ct][L:1/16] ABc2 BA3G3 ^F |[L:1/8] E4 z2 | A^GAc B2 | c4 z2 | w:touch,__ touch__ the Lute; wake___ the Harp, [V:Hr1] [FCA,]2 z [FCA,] [DB,G,]2 | [ECG,]4 [EB,^G,]2 | [ECA,]4 [EDB,]2 | [ECA,]2 z [FCA,] [EB,^G]2 | [V:Hl] f2 z d gG | c2 z d eE | A2 z a ^ge | a2 z d eE | % %13====================14==========================15========================16============ [V:Ct] A^GAc B2 | c4 z2 | cBce d2 | e4 dc | w:wake___ the Harp; wake___ the Harp, in- [V:Hr1] [ECA,]4 [EDB,]2 | [ECA,]2 z [FCA,] [EB,^G]2 | [ECA,]2 z [ECG,] [DG,]2 | [ECG,]6 | [V:Hl] A2 z a ^ge | a2 z d eE | A2 z c BG | c2 z d ec | % %17=======================18========================19========================20================== [V:Ct][L:1/16] B3cABcdc3 B |[L:1/8] c4 z2 | cBcd e2 | e4 dc | w:spire______ the Flute; wake___ the Harp, in- [V:Hr1] [FB,A,]4 [FB,G,]2 | [ECG,]3 [FCA,] [DB,G,]2 | [ECG,]2 z [ECG,] [DG,]2 | [ECG,]4 [GCG,]2 | [V:Hl] f3 d gG | c3 d GG, | C2 z c BG | c3 d ec | % %21========================22==================23========================24============================= [V:Ct][L:1/16] B2c2Bcd2c3 B |[L:1/8] c4 z2 :| c4 z2 |: z2 G2 G2 | w:spire_____ the flute; flute; Sing, your [V:Hr1] [FB,A,]4 [FB,G,]2 | [ECG,]4 [EC^G,]2 :| [ECG,]2 z [FCA,] [DBG]2 |: [ECG,]2 z [FCA,] [DB,G,]2 | [V:Hl] f3 D gG | c2 z d cB :| c2 z F GG, |: c2 z F GG, | % %25============================26==========================27===============28=========================== [V:Ct] G4 G2 | ABAB c2 | B4 z2 | z2 d2 d2 | w:Pa-tro-ne----ss's praise, Sing your [V:Hr1] [ECG,]2 z [ECG,] [DG,]2 | [ECG,]2 z [ECA,] [^FCA,]2 | [GDB,]4 [ADC]2 | [GDB,]2 z [GEC] [^FDA,]2 | [V:Hl] C2 z c BG | c2 z A dD | G2 z g ^fd | g2 z c dD | % %29===================30==========================31================32===============33================== [V:Ct] d3e d2 | dedf e2 | f4 d2 | z2 B2 e2 | z2 A2 cB | w:Pa--tro-ness's____ praise, Sing, sing, sing, sing in_ [V:Hr1] [GDB,]4 [ADC]2 | [GDB,]2 z [FDA,] [E^CA,]2 | [FDA,]4 [ADA,]2 | [GDB,]4 [GEC]2 | [FCA,]4 [FDG,]2 | [V:Hl] G2 z g ^fd | g2 z d aA | d2 z e fd | g2 z g ec | f2 z f dB | % %34=======================35=========================36================37======================= [V:Ct] ^GE/^F/GFGF/E/ | AA/B/cBc/B/A | dB/c/dcd/c/B | cc/d/ede/d/c | w:cheer---------- [V:Hr1] [EB,^G,]4 [^GEB,]2 | [AEA,]2 z [^GEB,] [AEC]2 | [GDB,]4 [GFB,]2 | [GEC]2 z [GFD] [EC]2 | [V:Hr2] Z36 | z4 GA | [V:Hl] e2 z B eB | c2 z e ae | f2 z d gd | e2 z d cA | % %38=============39==========================40==========================41==== [V:Ct] fedc B A | AB A/B/c BA |[1 A4 z2 :|[2 A6 |] w:----full and har--mo---nious_ lays. [V:Hr1] [^GFB,]6 | [AEC]2 z [FCA,] [EB,^G,]2 |[1 [ECA,]2 z [ECG,] [DG,] :|[2 [ECA,]6 |] [V:Hl] e2 z B cA | e2 z d eE |[1 A2 z c BG :|[2 A6 |] 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]. To listen to the Funeral March for Queen Mary II, click the gramophone.

I don't know about you, but after the funeral, I feel like something a bit more cheerful. What say we totter along to Drury Lane and see if Mr.Dryden has something new to entertain us?