musica Dei donum
CD reviews
"They that in ships unto the sea down go - Music for the Mayflower"
Passamezzo
rec: Oct 21 - 23, 2019, London, St John's Wood Church
Resonus Classics - RES10263 (© 2020) (61'23")
Liner-notes: E; lyrics - no translations
Cover, track-list & booklet
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Richard ALLISON (c1565-c1606):
Psalm 122 (I did in heart rejoice) [1];
Psalm 147 (Praise ye the Lord) [1];
The Lamentation [1];
The Lord's Prayer [1];
anon:
A lamentable Ditty on the death of Lord Guildford Dudley;
London's Lotterie;
Psalm 100 (Shout to Jehovah);
Psalm 107 (They that in ships unto the sea down go);
Psalm 137 (By Babel's waters);
Rogero;
Song from the Masque of Flowers;
The Bird's Dance;
[The Inconstancy of the World] (What if a day);
The most cruel murther of Edward the fifth;
The Shepherds Joy;
The wind blows out of the west;
We be three poor mariners/Row well ye mariners;
Thomas CAMPION (1567-1620):
Never weather-beaten sail [5];
John DOWLAND (1563-1626):
[The Shepherd's Pipe] (Sleep wayward thoughts);
Up merry mates [4];
Thomas FORD (c1580-1648):
[Love's Constancy] (Since first I saw your face) - [Corydon's resolution] (There is a lady sweet);
Tobias HUME (c1579-1645):
Tobacco is like love [2];
Thomas WEELKES (1576-1623):
Come Sirrah Jack ho [3]
Sources:
[1] Richard Allison, The Psalmes of David in Meter, 1599
[2] Tobias Hume, The First Part of Ayres, French, Pollish and others together ... with Pavines, Galliards, and Almaines, 1605;
[3] Thomas Weelkes, Ayeres or Phantasticke Spirites for Three Voices, 1608;
[4] John Dowland, A Pilgrimes Solace, 1612;
[5] Thomas Campion, Two Bookes of Ayres, the First contayning Divine and Morall Songs, the Second Light Conceits of Lovers, 1613
Eleanor Cramer. soprano, bass viol;
Tamsin Lewis, contralto, violin, viol;
Richard de Winter, tenor;
Peter Willcock, bass;
Alison Kinder, recorder, viol;
Lynda Sayce, recorder, viol, lute;
Robin Jeffrey, lute, cittern;
Historical events are often used as a stepping stone for programmes of music. Several discs have been devoted, for instance, to the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648) that devastated large parts of Germany. In the Netherlands, an ensemble like Camerata Trajectina specialises in bringing historical events to life through music, for instance the Eighty Years' War (1568-1648). Both events had their origin in religious conflicts, and that brings us to the disc under review here. Passamezzo has devoted a disc to music around the Separatists, who set sail for America at the Mayflower in 1620. They were looking for religious freedom in the New World. They had separated from the Church of England, as they wanted it to break more radically with its Roman Catholic past and did not expect that to happen. It is generally thought that the Separatists, often identified with the Puritans, had a rather negative attitude towards music. However, that is too one-sided: that attitude was not shared by everyone, and the three books with music which are used as sources for the programme that Passamezzo has recorded, attest to that.
These books have been included in the inventory of the library of the Elder William Brewster from 1644, and date from before the Mayflower sailed to America. One of them is the Book of Psalmes Englished in Prose and Metre by Henry Ainsworth (1571-?1622/23). He settled in Amsterdam in 1593, where he founded an Independent church. He translated the psalms into English, keeping as closely as possible to the Hebrew originals, and added unharmonized melodies. His book of psalms was used in the New World until the late 17th century. The melodies are mostly taken from other sources; only three are original. Unfortunately, the booklet to this disc does not include a reference to the sources of the various pieces, and because of that I do not know which of the anonymous psalm settings are from this psalter, except Psalm 107, as this is specifically mentioned in the liner-notes. From this psalm the title of this disc is taken. It is likely that the setting of Psalm 100 is also from this source, and there the tune known as The Old Hundredth is used. It was first included in the Genevan Psalter for Psalm 134 and is attibuted to the French composer Louis Bourgeois.
A second source is another psalter, The Psalmes of David in Meter by Richard Allison. He was a professional composer, who also wrote consort music and pieces for lute. Some of his consort pieces were included in Thomas Morley's First Booke of Consort Lessons. The title of his book of psalms is interesting with regard to performance practice, as he adds to the title "the plaine song beeing the common tunne to be sung and plaide upon the lute, orpharyon, citterne or base violl, severally or altogether, the singing part to be either tenor or treble to the instrument, according to the nature of the voyce, or for fowre voyces (...)". This indicates that he follows a wide-spread practice at the time, which we find also in Dowland's songbooks. This similarity is confirmed by the fact that the psalter is laid out in 'table-book' format which allowed the players and/or singers to sit around the book and sing or play from different ends. There is no indication that Allison was a Separatist himself, and from that perspective his references to instruments to be used in the performance of his psalms is no reason for surprise. It is the fact that this book was carried by Separatists on their journey to America that raises questions about their attitude to music. Tamsin Lewis, in her liner-notes, refers to an author who in 1642 mentioned that Robert Browne, the founder of the Separatists, was a good lutenist and "made his son Timothy usually on Sundays bring his viol to church and play the base to the psalmes that were sung (...)". This kind of information contributes to a more differentiated view on the Separatists' attitude to music. Three pieces are taken from this psalter. Psalm 122 is again set to the tune from the Genevan Psalter.
The third music book that was part of William Brewster's library was one with secular music, called The golden garland of princely pleasures and delicate delights. It includes fifteen ballads telling about famous tales from history and a collection of song lyrics without music. Among the former are The most cruel murder of Edward the fifth and A lamentable Ditty on the death of the Lord Guildford Dudley. As far as the latter category is concerned, it has been possible to connect them to music. Hidden behind some titles are well-known songs of the time around 1600. John Dowland's song Sleep wayward thoughts is included here with the title The Shepherd's Pipe. The two songs by Thomas Ford are performed here instrumentally. An interesting question is how a book of this content came into Brewster's library. The repertoire does not look like that which was popular among Separatists. Tamsin Lewis's suggestion that it might have belonged to another Mayflower passenger - for instance one of the merchants - seems plausible.
Not all the music included here is taken from these three collections. Some pieces have been selected to illustrate parts of the historical context. One part is the fact that the merchants came into contact with the native Wampanoag tribe, and through them with tobacco. They brought it to England, and there it resulted in a kind of craze, although there were also some who strongly opposed its use, among them King James who considered it unhealthy and "hateful to the nose" (and how right he was). Several pieces in the programme are connected to this subject, the most famous among them Thomas Hume's Tobacco is like love.
Another aspect is that of the London Lotterie; the ballad of this title "describes how voyages to the New World might be funded, and what people in England might expect to find when they arrived" (booklet). It has inspired Tamsin Lewis to include some songs about sailors and their voyages. The programme comes to a fitting close with Thomas Campion's beautiful song Never weather-beaten sail, and it brings us back to the religious part of the programme as it ends with the words "O come quickly, glorious Lord, and raise my sprite to thee!"
This is a quite fascinating disc, whose subject may not have been touched before in a programme of music. At least I can't remember having ever heard pieces from the three main sources used by Tamsin Lewis, who has made an interesting and varied choice. It is a very useful contribution to our knowledge of an episode in English music history and in American history at large. Passamezzo delivers excellent performances. I have greatly enjoyed the singing and playing of these artists. Both the sacred pieces and the more frivolous items come off very convincingly. The only issue here is the modern pronunciation; I find it rather odd to hear ancient texts being sung in modern English.
This disc, which largely consists of music that is seldom, if ever, performed, strenghtens my conviction that the sacred songs, including psalms, that were sung by the faithful in various countries, deserve more interest. They are probably less suitable for the concert platform, but definitely need to be documented on disc.
Johan van Veen (© 2021)
Relevant links:
Passamezzo