Copied by a single scribe (Robert Fayrfax?), except for organ piece at beginning, which is in a different hand. Six folios at beginning and 11 folios at end are flyleaves and guard sheets; other paper folios are blank leaves inserted to replace missing original folios when manuscript was rebound in modern times. Probably copied in London or Windsor; repertory apparently intended for use at court of King Henry VII (MB). Coat of arms and inscriptions on f. 1 suggest manuscript may be connected with Robert Fayrfax, but the composer's precise role in its preparation has not yet been determined. In 1618, manuscript was in the possession of Charles Fairfax (relationship to Robert Fayrfax unknown). Owned in 18th century by Ralph Thoresby, of Leeds; later owned by John White, of Newgate Street, London, Purchased by British Museum at a J. Jackson sale in 1794.
| Archive | British Library, London, England (GB-Lbl) |
|---|---|
| Shelfmark | Add. MS 5465 (Fayrfax MS) |
| Surface | Mixed Paper and Parchment |
| Numbering System | Foliation |
| Measurements | 297 x 215 mm |
| Other Identifiers |
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| Notations |
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| Copyists | |
| Relationships |
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| Provenance |
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| Contents | Contains 49 compositions, 30 from 10 composers, 19 are anonymous. |
General Description
Binding
Modern covers of red leather on boards.
Notation
black full mensural notation with red coloration; organ piece copied in black void mensural notation
Ruling
two staves of 7 and 6 lines, in score format with barlines.
Foliation
Two systems of modern pencil foliation: first system, 1-145 (crossed out by hand which added second system), includes some modern flyleaves and all inserted paper folios; second system, 1-124, includes only original folios.
Foliation
Other numberings: Original numbering of pieces in red ink, i-ii (organ piece not numbered; #vii and #xvii now missing).
Foliation
124 ff + ednpapers: vi paper + 9 parchment + 3 paper + 2 parchment + 4 paper + 8 parchment + 4 paper + 105 parchment + xi paper folio
Decoration
Blue and red painted block initials, with filigree work. Coat of arms of Robert Fayrfax on f. 1 and ff. 26'-27.
Index
No index, except for note on f. 1 listing (with one error) piece numbers of Fayrfax works in manuscript.
Surface
vi paper + 9 parchment + 3 paper + 2 parchment + 4 paper + 8 parchment + 4 paper + 105 parchment + xi paper
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.
12 English sacred pieces, 37 English secular pieces (several incomplete), 1 incomplete organ piece (later addition) = 50
Banastre-1, J.? Browne-3, W. Cornyshe-3, Davy-4, Fayrfax-7 + 1?, Hampshire [Hamshere]-1, Newark-7, T. Philips-1, Sheryngham-2, Turges-4, Tuder [Tutor]-1, anon-15
vi paper + 9 parchment + 3 paper + 2 parchment + 4 paper + 8 parchment + 4 paper + 105 parchment + xi paper folios, 297 x 215. Six folios at beginning and 11 folios at end are flyleaves and guard sheets; other paper folios are blank leaves inserted to replace missing original folios when manuscript was rebound in modern times. Two systems of modern pencil foliation: first system, 1-145 (crossed out by hand which added second system), includes some modern flyleaves and all inserted paper folios; second system, 1-124, includes only original folios. Original numbering of pieces in red ink, i-ii (organ piece not numbered; #vii and #xvii now missing). Modern covers of red leather on boards. No index, except for note on f. 1 listing (with one error) piece numbers of Fayrfax works in manuscript.
Black mensural notation with red coloration in main part of manuscript; organ piece copied in white mensural notation on two staves of 7 and 6 lines, respectively, in score format with barlines. Copied by a single scribe (Robert Fayrfax?), except for organ piece at beginning, which is in a different hand. Blue and red painted block initials, with filigree work. Coat of arms of Robert Fayrfax on f. 1 and ff. 26'-27.
Ca. 1500 (StMP); organ piece is later addition (ca. 1540?). Probably copied in London or Windsor; repertory apparently intended for use at court of King Henry VII (MB). Coat of arms and inscriptions on f. 1 suggest manuscript may be connected with Robert Fayrfax, but the composer's precise role in its preparation has not yet been determined. In 1618, manuscript was in the possession of Charles Fairfax (relationship to Robert Fayrfax unknown). Owned in 18th century by Ralph Thoresby, of Leeds; later owned by John White, of Newgate Street, London, Purchased by British Museum at a J. Jackson sale in 1794.
94
The inventory could not be loaded.
‡ denotes primary source study
Norton-Smith, John. 1979. Bodleian Library MS Fairfax 16 [facsimile and introduction]. London: Scolar Press.
Fallows, David. 1976. The Fayrfax Manuscript. The Musical Times, 117: 127-30.
Preston, Michael J. 1972. A Complete Concordance to the Songs of the Early Tudor Court. Leeds.
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, 156ff II,73-4.
Warren, Edwin B. 1969. Life and Works of Robert Fayrfax. Musicological Studies and Documents, vol. 22. American Institute of Musicology. Pages: 43-4,61,149-78.
Harrison, Frank Llewellyn (editor). 1963-. Early English Church Music. London: Stainer & Bell. Pages: X,119,140-1.
Stevens, John E. 1961. Music & Poetry in the Early Tudor Court. Cambridge. Pages: 3ff, 351-85, passim.
Warrem, Edwin B (editor). 1959-66. Robert Fayrfax (ca. 1464-1521): Collected Works. Corpus mensurabilis musicae, vol. 17. Neuhausen nr. Stuttgart: American Institute of Musicology. Pages: lll,1-14,51-4.
Charles, Sydney Robinson. 1959. The Music of the Pepys Ms 1236. University of California at Berkeley, Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation. Pages: 42-3,69.
Hughes, Dom Anselm. 1953. Catalogue of the Musical Manuscripts at Peterhouse, Cambridge. Cambridge. Pages: I,139-40; II,124-5; III,81.
Hughes, Dom Anselm. 1952. An Introduction to Fayrfax. Musica Disciplina, 6: 83-104. Pages: 85-6, 91, 96.
Stevens, John E. 1952. Early Tudor Songbooks. Cambridge University, Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation. Pages: I,219-21,482-3, passim II,37-230,466-96.
Lewis, Anthony (editor). 1951-. Musica Britannica: A National Collection of Music. London. Pages: XII.xiii XVIII,xv,xvii,110 XXVI, passim.
Blume, Friedrich (editor). 1949-79. Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart: Allgemeine Enzyklopädie der Musik. Kassel. Pages: VIII, 1176 XIII,939.
Greene, Richard Leighton (editor). 1935, 2nd 1977. The Early English Carols. Oxford. Pages: 307, passim.
Davey, Henry. 1921. History of English Music. London. Pages: 84,99.
Fehr, Bernhard. 1901. Die Lieder des Fairfax Ms. (Add. 5465 Brit. Mus.). Archiv für das Studium der Neueren Sprachen und Litteraturen, 106: 48-70. Pages: 48-70.
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Richard Yates
Monday, 28 July, 2025
"I love loved & loved would I be", anonymous in the inventory, is clearly attributed to Fayrfax on folio 28v.
Prof Nick Sandon
Tuesday, 24 October, 2023
attribution of 'O rote of trouthe' on f.39 ('Tutor') added, and the piece linked to John Tuder.
DIAMM, 2016
Monday, 23 January, 2017
NB: Migrated from old site. Credit for notes may not be completely accurate. General Description; Binding Note; Notation Note; Ruling Note; Foliation Note; Foliation Note; Foliation Note; Decoration Note; Contents 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