GB-Och Mus. 983 [Bassus] (Baldwin Partbooks)

Christ Church, Oxford, England

partbook: c. 1575-81

Archive Christ Church, Oxford, England (GB-Och)
Shelfmark Mus. 983 [Bassus] (Baldwin Partbooks)
Surface Mixed Paper and Parchment
Numbering System Pagination
Format landscape
Measurements 146 x 199 mm
Other Identifiers
  • CCM: OxfC 979-83
Copyists
Relationships
External Links
Provenance
  • Windsor, England
Contents Contains 202 compositions, 197 from 22 composers, 5 are anonymous.
General Description

A Bassus manuscript partbook from a set originally of six volumes, with a copy of of the print of Byrd/Tallis Cantiones Sacrae 1575 (RISM 1575/3) bound at the back. Copied and formerly owned by John Baldwin, a singing-man at St George's Chapel, Windsor; English, c.1575-81, with later additions. Probably conceived from the start as a mixed volume of manuscript and printed music, since Baldwin avoided making manuscript copies of the pieces available in the printed section. Baldwin's form of representing a composer's name often varies from partbook to partbook; some ascriptions refer to composers' institutional affilitiations. Copied in Windsor. Later owned by Henry Aldrich (1647-1710), Dean of Christ Church, Oxford; bequeathed to Christ Church Library in 1710.

For a general discussion of the history and codicological structure of the set, see the article by Roger Bray listed in the Bibliography below. For a discussion of the printed music paper on which Baldwin copied the music, see the article by Fenlon & Milsom. For further sample images of pages from the set, see Mateer, pp. 148 and 154.

John Milsom, 2010
Binding

Original covers of brown leather on cardboard, with voice designations and initials 'I.B.' [= John Baldwin] stamped in gold. The partbook titles (also stamped on the upper covers) are as follows: Mus. 979: Superius; Mus. 980: Discantus; Mus. 981: Contratenor; Mus. 982: Sextapars; Mus. 983: Bassus.

John Milsom, 2010
Notation

not indicated

John Milsom, 2010
Ruling

Music has been copied on sheets previously printed with black staves, of a type issued by Tallis and Byrd under the conditions of their 1575 royal patent.

John Milsom, 2010
Foliation

Other numberings: Baldwin himself numbered the contents as '1-169'; the only inconsistencies occur in items 167-9, where different partbooks contain different pieces.

John Milsom, 2010
Foliation

No foliation. The volumes were paginated in 2014.

John Milsom, 2010
Decoration

Some pieces have initials; no other decoration.

John Milsom, 2010
Index

An index of contents was begun by Baldwin at the front of Mus. 983; it was subsequently completed by Havergal, and has since been annotated by other hands.

John Milsom, 2010
Surface

i parchment + ii paper + 65 paper + iii paper

John Milsom, 2010
DIAMM Note

Digitized with funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (UK) and included in 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 Mass, 1 Magnificat, 2 Te Deums, 1 canticle, 28 hymns, 7 Lamentations, 124 motets, 1 English secular piece, 1 canon, 6 instrumental pieces = 172 + 1 duplicate = 173

Aston-1, Baldwin-4, Bevin-1, Byrd-32, Daman-4, Douglas-1, Douglas/(Lassus)-1, Fayrfax-1, A. Ferrabosco 1-2, D. Gerarde-1, R. Johnson 1-2, Lassus [mr. orlandus]/(C. Hollander/S. Hollander)-1, J. Mundy-4, W. Mundy-15, R. Parsons I-8, Redford-1, Shepherd-38, Shepherd/(Tallis)-2, Strabridge-1, Tallis-16, Taverner-10, Taverner/Tye-1, Tye-4, R. White-16, Wilder [mr: philips: of: the privie: chamber:]-1, Wood-1, anon-3

5 partbooks, each consisting of the print RISM 1575/3, with manuscript additions (Superius-iii + 147 + i paper folios, D-iv + 150 + i paper, A-iii + 149 + ii paper, B-v + 136 + i paper. S-i parchment + ii paper + 65 paper + iii paper), 146 x 199. No foliation or pagination; original numbering of pieces, 1-168 (omits last piece and one piece after #89; "167" and "168" each applied to two different pieces). Original covers of brown leather on cardboard, with voice designations and initials "I.B." [= John Baldwin] stamped in gold. Incomplete original index at beginning of B book groups pieces by composer. Only pieces by Shepherd, Taverner, Byrd, R. Parsons I, and W. Mundy (in that order) are listed; five-voice works precede six-voice works.

Copied by John Baldwin (d. 1615), a singer and clerk at St. George's Chapel, Windsor, and gentleman of the Chapel Royal from 1594; Baldwin also copied LonBLM 24 d.2, parts of OxfBMS e.376-81 and OxfC 984-8, and "My Ladye Nevells Booke" (last-named manuscript not within scope of this catalogue). Some pieces have initials; no other decoration.

Ca. 1575-81, with additions ca. 1600-3 (BrayJB). Copied in Windsor. Later owned by Henry Aldrich (1647-1710), Dean of Christ Church, Oxford; bequeathed to Christ Church Library in 1710.

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

312

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Sets

Select a set to see its sources.

‡ denotes primary source study

Boydell, Barra. 1999. Music at Christ Church before 1800: documents and selected anthems.  Four Courts Press.

Mateer, David G. 1995. John Baldwin and Changing Concepts of Text Underlay. English Choral Practice, 1400-1650, edited by David G Mateer,  Cambridge. Pages: 143-60.

Fenlon, Iain, and John Milsom. 1984. 'Ruled Paper Imprinted': Music Paper and Patents in Sixteenth-Century England. Journal of the American Musicological Society, 37: 139-63. Pages: 139-63.

Trowell, Brian. 1980. Faburden-New Sources, New Evidence: A Preliminary Survey. Modern Musical Scholarship, 28-78. Stocksfield, Boston, Henley, and London. Pages: 70, 75, 77. Notes: mention of MS; contents list (partial); concordances (partial).

Caldwell, John. 1978. The 'Te Deum' in Late Medieval England. Early Music, 6: 188-94. Pages: 189. Notes: physical description; mention of MS; discussion.

Benham, Hugh Raymond. 1977. Latin Church Music in England c. 1460-1575.  London. Pages: 24, 26, 148, 153, 163, 169, 211, Plate 7. Notes: physical description (partial); contents list (partial); concordances (partial); facsimile (partial); mention of MS; discussion.

Bray, Roger W. 1975. John Baldwin. Music and Letters, 56: 55-9. Notes: physical description; mention of MS; discussion.

Bray, Roger W. 1971. The Part-Books Oxford, Christ Church, MSS 979-983: An Index and Commentary. Musica Disciplina, 25: 179-97. Notes: physical description (partial); contents list; concordances; mention of MS; discussion.

Bray, Roger W. 1970-71. The Interpretation of Musica Ficta in English Music C.1490-C.1580. Proceedings of the Royal Musical Association, 97: 29-45. Pages: 36-7. Notes: transcription (partial); mention of MS; discussion.

Benham, Hugh Raymond. 1969. The Music of John Taverner - A Study and Assessment. University of Southampton, Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation. Pages: 41. Notes: physical description (partial).

Bray, Roger W. 1969. The Interpretation of Musica Ficta in English Music, C. 1490-C. 1580 [dissertation]. Oxford University, Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation. Pages: I, 141-55, 169-84, 214-33, passim; II, 75-88. Notes: physical description (partial); contents list; concordances; transcription (partial); mention of MS; discussion.

Warren, Edwin B. 1969. Life and Works of Robert Fayrfax. Musicological Studies and Documents, vol. 22.  American Institute of Musicology. Pages: 53, 60. Notes: physical description (partial); contents list (partial); concordances (partial).

Harrison, Frank Llewellyn (editor). 1963-. Early English Church Music.  London: Stainer & Bell. Pages: II, passim; XVII, 16-27, 39-125, 129-51, 156-60; XX, 249ff; XXIV, xiv; XXV,168ff; XXVIII, 124,130, 133-4; XXIX,128,132-4,138,140; XXX,passim. Notes: contents list (partial); concordances (partial); transcriptions (partial); mention of MS; discussion.

Lamont, Herbert Harry. 1963. John Shepherd: His Life and Music. University of Southern California, Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation. Pages: I, 82-3, 111-4, 183ff, passim; II, 83-95, 104-6, 115-20, 123-36. Notes: physical description (partial); contents list (partial); concordances (partial); transcriptions (partial); mention of MS; discussion.

Kerman, Joseph. 1961. Byrd's Motets: Chronology and Canon. Journal of the American Musicological Society, 14: 359-82. Pages: 361, 364, 366-7, 374, 376. Notes: contents list (partial); concordances (partial); mention of MS; discussion.

Fellowes, Edmund H. 1948. William Byrd.  London, New York, and Toronto. Pages: 99, 109, 112-3, 180-2, 188, 192. Notes: contents list (partial); concordances (partial); mention of MS; discussion.

Fellowes, Edmund H (editor). 1937-50, 1962. The Collected Works of William Byrd. Pages: VIII, vi; XVII, 48-52, 150, 157. Notes: mention of MS; contents list (partial); concordances (partial); transcriptions (partial).

Blume, Friedrich (editor). 1929-. Das Chorwerk.  Berlin/Wolfenbüttel. Pages: LXXXIV, v, 11-21. Notes: contents list (partial); transcriptions (partial); mention of MS; discussion.

Fellowes, Edmund H (editor). 1923-48. Tudor Church Music.  London, Oxford et al. Pages: I, xxx, lix, lxii; III, xv-xix, passim; V, xx-xxiv, passim; VI, xxvi-xxvii, xxxi-xxxii, passim; IX, xii-xiv, passim. Notes: physical description (partial); contents list (partial); concordances (partial); transcriptions (partial).

Davey, Henry. 1921. History of English Music.  London. Pages: 123-4, passim [confuses OxfC 979-83 and OxfC 984-8]. Notes: physical description (partial); contents list (partial).

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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