GB-Lbl Add. MS 31390

British Library, London, England

manuscript of polyphony: c. 1578

Archive British Library, London, England (GB-Lbl)
Shelfmark Add. MS 31390
Surface Paper
Numbering System Foliation
Format portrait
Measurements 388 x 272 mm
Other Identifiers
  • CCM: LonBL 31390
Notations
  • black void mensural
Copyists
Relationships
External Links
Provenance
  • Chichester? West Sussex, England
Contents Contains 137 compositions, 124 from 37 composers, 13 are anonymous.
General Description

Copied by a single scribe (perhaps Clement Woodcocke), except for slightly later additions on ff. 123'-124 and 125'-127. Many pieces have text incipits or titles only. Of English origin; possibly copied at Chichester, West Sussex (EdwaS). Belonged in 1728 to Bernard Gates (inscription on f. 129), then to North and L'Estrange families. Owned in 1843 by the antiquarian Edward F. Rimbault. Acquired by British Museum in 1881.

DIAMM, 2017
Binding

New covers of red cloth on pasteboard, with white spine; portions of original brown leather covers, tooled in gold, glued inside new front and back covers.

DIAMM, 2017
Liminary Note

Title page on f. 1: 'A booke of In nomines & other solfainge songes of v: vi: vii: & viii: pts for voyces or Instrumentes.'

DIAMM, 2017
Notation

black void mensural

DIAMM, 2017
Date

Ca. 1578 (date of corrections in manuscript).

DIAMM, 2017
Foliation

New pencil foliation, 1-129; original ink foliation, 17-36 [= new ff. 3-22] + 43-143 [= new ff. 24-125] (omits new ff. 1-2, 23, 109, and 126-129).

DIAMM, 2017
Surface

paper

DIAMM, 2017
DIAMM Note

Digitized with funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (UK) for the Tudor Partbooks project at the Universities of Oxford and Newcastle.

DIAMM, 2023
Census Catalogue of Music Description

This information is reproduced here by kind permission of the publishers. It is COPYRIGHT and copying/reproduction of this content without permission may result in legal action.

1 Magnificat section, 28 motets, 3 anthems, 26 French secular pieces, 6 Italian secular pieces, 1 English secular piece, 65 instrumental pieces (In nomines, Fantasias, etc.) = 130

Blancks-2, Bruster [Brewster]-1, Byrd-6, (Clemens non Papa)-1, (Crecquillon)-2, (Croce)-1, Douglas-1, (Douglas/Lassus)-1, A. Ferrabosco I [Alfoncius]-1, D. Gerarde [Gerardus]-1, Gombert-1, S. Hollander/(C. Hollander/Lassus)-1, (Janequin)-1, R.Johnson I-3, (Le Cocq)-1, Maillard? [Mr. Maillart Italyan]/(Tye)-1, Mallorie-4, T. Mudd I? or H. Mudd? [Mr. Mudd]-1, W. Mundy-5, Parsley-1, R. Parsons 1-5, R. Parsons I/(Byrd)-1, (R. Parsons I/Wilder)-1, Picforth-1, Poynte-1, Alessandro Romano-1, Shep-herd-5, Stoninge-3, Strogers-3, Tallis-6, Taverner-3, Tye-28, (Tye/Verdelot/Wilder)-1, R. White-1, Wilder [Philipps]-16, Wilder [Philippes]/(Gombert)-2, Woodcocke-4, anon-12

iii + 129 + i paper folios, 388 x 272. New pencil foliation, 1-129; original ink foliation, 17-36 [= new ff. 3-22] + 43-143 [= new ff. 24-125] (omits new ff. 1-2, 23, 109, and 126-129). New covers of red cloth on pasteboard, with white spine; portions of original brown leather covers, tooled in gold, glued inside new front and back covers. No index. Copied by a single scribe (perhaps Clement Woodcocke), except for slightly later additions on ff. 123'-124 and 125'-127. Voice parts copied to be readable by performers around a table. No initials or decoration. Many pieces have text incipits or titles only. Title page on f. 1: "A booke of In nomines & other solfainge songes of v: vi: vii: & viii: pts for voyces or Instrumentes."

Ca. 1578 (date of corrections in manuscript). Of English origin; possibly copied at Chichester, West Sussex (EdwaS). Belonged in 1728 to Bernard Gates (inscription on f. 129), then to North and L'Estrange families. Owned in 1843 by the antiquarian Edward F. Rimbault. Acquired by British Museum in 1881.

Census-Catalogue of Manuscript Sources of Polyphonic Music 1400-1550

34r

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Sets

Select a set to see its sources.

‡ denotes primary source study

Doe, Paul (editor). 1988. Elizabethan Consort Music II. Musica Britannica, vol. 45.  Pages: xvi, fn. 5. Notes: Passing reference to the second, untitled and anonymous work on ff. 26v to 27r.

Sadie, Stanley (editor). 1980. The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians.  London. Pages: XVII, 715. Notes: facsimile (partial).

Bernstein, Jane Agar. 1979. Philip van Wilder and the Netherlandish Chanson in England. Musica Disciplina, 33: 55-75. Pages: 66, 69-75. Notes: contents list (partial); concordances (partial); mention of MS; discussion.

Warwick, Edwards. 1978. The Instrumental Music of Henry VIII's Manuscript. The Consort, 34: 274-82.

Bernstein, Jane Agar. 1974. The Chanson in England 1530-1640: A Study of Sources and Styles. University of California at Berkeley, Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation. Pages: 229-54. Notes: physical description (partial); contents list (partial); concordances (partial); transcriptions (partial); mention of MS; discussion.

Daniel, Ralph T, and Peter Le Huray. 1972. The Sources of English Church Music 1549-1660. Early English Church Music, vol. Supplementary Volume 1.  London. Notes: contents list (partial); concordances (partial).

Danner, Peter Kolb. 1967. The Miserere Mihi and the English Reformation: A Study of the Evolution of a Cantus Firmus Genre in Tudor Music. Stanford University, Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation. Pages: 48, 179-84, 249. Notes: contents list (partial); transcription (partial).

Harrison, Frank Llewellyn (editor). 1963-. Early English Church Music.  London: Stainer & Bell. Pages: II, 143-55, 218-9; XVII, 158, 160; XIX, 330, 337; XXV, 147-60, 163,183; XXX, 127-35,176,191. Notes: physical description (partial); contents list (partial); concordances (partial); transcriptions (partial).

Lamont, Herbert Harry. 1963. John Shepherd: His Life and Music. University of Southern California, Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation. Pages: I, 84, 102-3, 327. Notes: physical description (partial); contents list (partial).

Kerman, Joseph. 1961. Byrd's Motets: Chronology and Canon. Journal of the American Musicological Society, 14: 359-82. Pages: 361, 374. Notes: contents list (partial); concordances (partial); mention of MS; discussion.

Key, Donald Rochester. 1960. Two Manuscripts of Instrumental Ensemble Music from the Elizabethan Period (British Museum Add. MS. 31390 and Bodleian Library MSS. D. 212-216). Boston University, Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation. Notes: physical description; contents list; concordances; transcription (partial); facsimile (partial); mention of MS; discussion.

Noble, Jeremy. 1955. La Répertoire Instrumental Anglais: 1550-1585. La Musique Instrumentale de la Renaissance, 91-114. Paris. Notes: physical description (partial); contents list; concordances; mention of MS; discussion.

Hughes, Dom Anselm. 1953. Catalogue of the Musical Manuscripts at Peterhouse, Cambridge.  Cambridge. Pages: III, 202, 216-8, 231, 234, 279, 354. Notes: physical description (partial); contents list.

Lewis, Anthony (editor). 1951-. Musica Britannica: A National Collection of Music.  London. Pages: XV, 190-l; XLIV,xxix,39ff, passim. Notes: contents list (partial); concordances (partial); transcriptions (partial); facsimile (partial).

Blume, Friedrich (editor). 1949-79. Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart: Allgemeine Enzyklopädie der Musik.  Kassel. Pages: VIII, 1177-8. Notes: physical description (partial).

Fellowes, Edmund H (editor). 1937-50, 1962. The Collected Works of William Byrd. Pages: IX, vi, 48-98; XVII, 86-9, 103-7, 149, 155, 160-2. Notes: mention of MS; contents list (partial); concordances (partial); transcriptions (partial).

Fellowes, Edmund H (editor). 1923-48. Tudor Church Music.  London, Oxford et al. Pages: I, lviii; III, xvi, xix; IX, xii, 164-80. Notes: physical description (partial); contents list (partial); concordances (partial); transcriptions (partial).

Madden, F. 1843-. Catalogue of Additions to the Manuscripts in the British Museum. Pages: [1876-81], 188-9. Notes: physical description (partial); contents list (partial).

Public Comments

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Jonathan Tribe

Friday, 1 October, 2021

The first part of Byrd 'Ad dominum cum tribularer' is at 126v, following the second part 'Heu mihi' at 125v.

Contributions to this record are recorded here. If you wish to contribute information or a correction to this record, use the "Contribute a Change" link. This will then be reviewed by DIAMM staff and, if accepted, your contribution will be acknowledged here.

Edward Tambling

Tuesday, 19 November, 2024

'Si je me plains' previously listed as 'Si je moy pleins' concordant with Hamond partbooks (GB-Lbl Add. 30480–4)

Edward Tambling

Thursday, 8 August, 2024

Identified untutled piece on 121v–122r by Alessandro Romano as "Non pur d'almi splendori", found at the head of RISM 1561/10.

christopher shaw

Saturday, 2 March, 2024

Added a note identifying "Or sa bien" (ff. 114v-115) as an anonymous five-part re-working of Janequin's four-part chanson "Or vien ca" (printed in Chansons musicales a quatre parties, Attaingnant, Paris 1533)

Chrissie Berryman

Thursday, 12 August, 2021

Entries for 'My death bed' & 'Follow me' (on 60v-61r) updated to show layout of parts across the opening; and 2 composition entries for 'My Death Bed' merged.

Chrissie Berryman

Saturday, 17 July, 2021

Notification of the second, anonymous and untitled piece on fols 26v-27r (which is briefly mentioned in passing in Paul Doe's introduction to Elizabethan Consort Music II).

Chrissie Berryman

Monday, 17 May, 2021

Order of pieces on f.20v-21 corrected

DIAMM, 2016

Monday, 23 January, 2017

NB: Migrated from old site. Credit for notes may not be completely accurate. General Description; Binding Note; Liminary Note; Notation Note; Date Note; Foliation Note; Surface Note

Census-Catalogue of Manuscript Sources of Polyphonic Music 1400-1550

Monday, 23 January, 2017

NB: Migrated from old site. Credit for notes may not be completely accurate. Census Catalogue of Music Description