IIIF manifest
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 OxfC 979-83, parts of OxfBMS e.376-81 and OxfC 984-8, and 'My Ladye Nevells Booke'. Copied in Windsor. Later part of King's Library, formed in 1762 by King George III and expanded by later monarchs. Transferred from Buckingham Palace to British Museum in 1911.
GB-Lbl R.M.24.d.2 (Baldwin Commonplace Book)
British Library, London, England
manuscript of polyphony: c. 1580-1606
| Archive | British Library, London, England (GB-Lbl) |
|---|---|
| Shelfmark | R.M.24.d.2 (Baldwin Commonplace Book) |
| Surface | Paper |
| Numbering System | Foliation |
| Format | Ff. 1-89 in score format, with barlines; music on other folios in choirbook format |
| Measurements | 285 x 250 mm |
| Other Identifiers |
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| Notations |
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| Copyists | |
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| Provenance |
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| Contents | Contains 195 compositions, 175 from 39 composers, 20 are anonymous. |
General Description
Binding
New covers of aqua and pink paper and cardboard, with spine and corners of red leather
Watermark
Resembles Heawood #2873-4.
Liminary Note
Original flyleaves contain two poems by Baldwin praising various composers, especially William Byrd.
Notation
black void mensural
Date
Ca. 1580-1606 (BrayJB).
Foliation
Other numberings: New pencil numbering of pieces, 1-203, omits several pieces and counts partes of some motets as separate items.
Foliation
New pencil foliation, 1-188
Decoration
Last piece has large inked calligraphic initial; no other decoration.
Surface
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.
1 Mass, 5 Agnus, 2 Mass Ordinary sections, 1 Mass Proper section, 1 Te Deum section, 1 processional hymn, 80 motets, 6 Service sections, 10 anthems, 14 Italian secular pieces (2 with text incipits only; others textless in this source), 9 English secular pieces, 44 textless or instrumental pieces (In nomines, proportion exercises, etc.) = 174 + 1 duplicate = 175
(Aston)-1, Baldwin-20, Barberi, John Bedyngeham [not the 15th-century composer Johannes Bedingham]-3, Bevin-4, Bull-3, Byrchley-1, Byrd-23, R. Cooper-2, Daman-1, Dygon-1, Fayrfax-1, A. Ferrabosco I-4 + 1?, A. Ferrabosco I/(Verdelot)-1, N. Giles -7, Golder-1, Gore-1, Henry VIII-1, R. Johnson I-3, Marenzio-13, Merbecke-1, Philippe de Monte [filipus demontanus]-1, Moorecocke-1, Morley-1, J. Mundy-6, W. Mundy-5, R. Parsons I-3, T. Preston I-1, Shepherd-7, Tallis-3, Taverner-13, Taverner/(Aston)-1, Taverner/(Fayrfax)-1, Thorne-1, Tye-5, R. White-2, R. Wilkinson-1, Wood-4, T. Woodson-1, anon-23
iv + i + 188 + ii + ii paper folios, 285 x 250. New pencil foliation, 1-188; new pencil numbering of pieces, 1-203, omits several pieces and counts partes of some motets as separate items. New covers of aqua and pink paper and cardboard, with spine and corners of red leather. No index. 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 OxfC 979-83, parts of OxfBMS e.376-81 and OxfC 984-8, and "My Ladye Nevells Booke" (last-named manuscript not within scope of this catalogue). Ff. 1-89 in score format, with barlines; music on other folios in choirbook format. Last piece has large inked calligraphic initial; no other decoration. Watermark resembles Heawood #2873-4. Original flyleaves contain two poems by Baldwin praising various composers, especially William Byrd.
Ca. 1580-1606 (BrayJB). Copied in Windsor. Later part of King's Library, formed in 1762 by King George III and expanded by later monarchs. Transferred from Buckingham Palace to British Museum in 1911.
Vol 4
Composers: Change "R. White-2" to "R. White-1, R. White/(W.? Mundy)-1."
97v
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Sets
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TUDOR PARTBOOKS
Project Collection · 170 sources
GB-Lbl R.M.24.d.2 (Baldwin Commonplace Book)
Current source
‡ denotes primary source study
Owens, Jessie Ann. 1987. London, British Library, R.M. 24.d.2 [Baldwin Commonplace Book: facsimile edn with introductory study].
Sadie, Stanley (editor). 1980. The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. London. Pages: XVII, 61. Notes: facsimile (partial).
Trowell, Brian. 1980. Faburden-New Sources, New Evidence: A Preliminary Survey. Modern Musical Scholarship, 28-78. Stocksfield, Boston, Henley, and London. Pages: 64, 70, 75, 77. Notes: mention of MS; contents list (partial).
Ledbetter, Steven, and Patricia Myers (editors). 1977-. Luca Marenzio: The Secular Works. New York. Notes: physical description (partial); contents list (partial); concordances (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. 1974. British Library, R. M. 24 d 2 (John Baldwin's Commonplace Book): An Index and Commentary. Royal Musical Association Research Chronicle, 12: 137-51. Notes: physical description; contents list; concordances; 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).
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, 33, 40, 141-55, 169-85, passim; II, 60-6, 75-88. Notes: physical description (partial); contents list (partial); concordances (partial); transcriptions (partial); mention of MS; discussion.
Brett, Philip. 1965. The Songs of William Byrd. Cambridge University, Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation. Pages: 226. Notes: physical description (partial); contents list (partial).
Harrison, Frank Llewellyn (editor). 1963-. Early English Church Music. London: Stainer & Bell. Pages: II, 217, 219; XVII, 157; XIX, 330; XX, 249-50; XXIII, 16-20, 148; XXV, 141-6,164,171,175,183; XXVIII,124, 133-4; XXIX,128,134; XXX,152-3,156,158-61,177,196-8. 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, 82-3, 106-7, 218-9, 223-4, 227. Notes: physical description (partial); contents list (partial); concordances (partial).
Lowinsky, Edward E. 1960. Early Scores in Manuscript. Journal of the American Musicological Society, 13: 126-73. Pages: 155-6. Notes: physical description (partial).
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: II, 95-6. Notes: contents list (partial); concordances (partial).
Lewis, Anthony (editor). 1951-. Musica Britannica: A National Collection of Music. London. Pages: IX, 219-20; XLIV, 2,4,183,185. Notes: contents list (partial); concordances (partial); transcriptions (partial).
Fellowes, Edmund H (editor). 1937-50, 1962. The Collected Works of William Byrd. Pages: IX, vi, 99-129. Notes: contents list (partial); concordances (partial); transcriptions (partial).
Andrews, Hilda K. 1929. Catalogue of the King's Music Library: Part II. The Miscellaneous Manuscripts. London. Notes: physical description (partial); contents list.
Fellowes, Edmund H (editor). 1923-48. Tudor Church Music. London, Oxford et al. Pages: I, lx, lxii; II, xxiv, xxxiii; III, xviii-xx, 123-31; V, xxi, xxiii; VI, xxvii-xxviii, xxxii; IX, xii-xiv, passim; X, 162, 213-4. Notes: physical description (partial); contents list (partial); concordances (partial); transcriptions (partial).
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Edward Tambling
Tuesday, 27 January, 2026
Corrected composition on 85r–85v : not the Benedictus (qui venit) from Missa Cantate Domino, but an excerpt from the Benedictus (Dominus Deus Israel) of Sheppard's Second Service. Text not supplied in full in this MS is 'That being delivered... all the days of our life."
Prof Nick Sandon
Thursday, 17 March, 2022
Amended title of Byrd's setting of "Aspice domine quia facta est" (6vv) & separated from 5vv setting
Jason Smart
Monday, 1 June, 2020
Inventory corrected as follows: 'Genitum non factum' on f.136 is an extract from the mass 'O bone Jesu' by Robert Fayrfax. 'Rex amabilis' (mis)attributed to Taverner on f.146v is an extract from 'Maria plena virtute' by Robert Fayrfax. 'Ut te laudare' and 'Quare pro nobis' on ff.153v-f.154 are both extracts from 'Quales sumus O miseris' by John Mason. 'Maria plena virtute' on ff.154v-155 is not from the setting by Fayrfax. Like the 'Rex amabilis' that follows, it is unique to this source.
Matthias Range
Wednesday, 28 August, 2019
Images are now present. 155v-157r, Tallis Gaude gloriosa part 1 & 2, Fayrfax Ave Patris parts 2 & 1 (ie reversed!), laid out Tallis 1 Fayrfax 2 on 1st opening, then Tallis 2 Fayrfax 1 on second... Inventory updated to show partes, so that this is clearer.
Julia Craig-McFeely
Wednesday, 28 August, 2019
Compositions linked to images; and some (but not all) composition partes tidied up
DIAMM, 2016
Monday, 23 January, 2017
NB: Migrated from old site. Credit for notes may not be completely accurate. General Description; Binding Note; Watermark Note; Liminary Note; Notation Note; Date Note; Foliation Note; Foliation Note; Decoration 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