A Discantus partbook from a set of three volumes. Copied by one main scribe and one other scribe, both employed by Edward Paston. Many pieces have text incipits or titles only. Repertory consists of three-voice works or three-voice sections extracted from larger works; see also LonRC 2035. Originated in the household of Edward Paston (1550-1630) of Norfolk, a country gentleman and collector of music. Owned in 19th century by Sacred Harmonic Society of London. Library of latter purchased for newly founded Royal College of Music in 1883.
| Archive | Royal College of Music, London, England (GB-Lcm) |
|---|---|
| Shelfmark | MS 2036 [Discantus] |
| Image Availability | DIAMM does not have images of this source. Please refer to the external links for image availability. |
| Surface | Paper |
| Numbering System | Foliation |
| Measurements | 119 x 200 mm |
| Other Identifiers |
|
| Notations |
|
| Relationships |
|
| External Links | |
| Provenance |
|
| Contents | Contains 55 compositions, 47 from 14 composers, 8 are anonymous. |
General Description
Binding
Original white limp vellum covers, inscribed 'Preciosas Margaritas' [possibly a reference to Margaret, wife of Edward Paston] ; remnants of green tie strings.
Notation
black void mensural
Foliation
Original ink foliation in each book, 1-48.
Decoration
No initials or decoration
Index
Original index on back flyleaves of Bassus book; pieces grouped alphabetically by first letter of text, with subgrouping under each letter by order of appearance
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.
2 Agnus, 7 Mass Ordinary sections, 2 Mass Proper sections, 4 hymns, 18 motets, 10 Italian secular pieces, 5 English secular pieces, 1 French secular piece, 4 instrumental pieces = 53
(Byrd)-15, (Morales)-1, (Sweelinck)-1, (Taverner)-1, (Victoria)-4, anon-31
3 paper partbooks (D-iii + 48 + ii folios, A-iii + 48 + iii, B-ii + 48 + iii), 119 x 200. Original ink foliation in each book, 1-48. Original covers of white parchment, inscribed "Preciosas Margaritas" [reference to Margaret, wife of Edward Paston] ; remnants of green tie strings. Original index on back flyleaves of B book; pieces grouped alphabetically by first letter of text, with subgrouping under each letter by order of appearance. Copied by one main scribe and one other scribe, both employed by Edward Paston (see BrettEP for list of other books in the same hands and for discussion of related manuscripts from Paston's circle). No initials or decoration. Many pieces have text incipits or titles only. Repertory consists of three-voice works or three-voice sections extracted from larger works; see also LonRC 2035.
Early 17th century. Of English provenance; originated in the household of Edward Paston (1550-1630) of Norfolk, a country gentleman and collector of music. Owned in 19th century by Sacred Harmonic Society of London. Library of latter purchased for newly founded Royal College of Music in 1883.
Vol 4
Composers: Add "(A. Ferrabosco I)-1"; change "anon-31" to "anon-30."
Loading inventory…
The inventory could not be loaded.
Sets
Select a set to see its sources.
MS 2036
Partbooks · 3 sources
Paston Manuscripts
Linked by Origin or Contents · 97 sources
GB-Lcm MS 2036 [Discantus]
Current source
‡ denotes primary source study
Kerman, Joseph. 1979. Byrd's Settings of the Ordinary of the Mass. Journal of the American Musicological Society, 32: 408-39. Pages: 413. Notes: mention of MS.
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: 197-9. Notes: contents list (partial); concordances (partial); mention of MS; discussion.
Brett, Philip. 1964-68. Edward Paston (1550-1630): A Norfolk Gentleman and His Musical Collection. Transactions of the Cambridge Bibliographical Society, 4: 51-69. Pages: 60, 69. Notes: physical description (partial).
Brett, Philip, and Thurston Dart. 1960. Songs by William Byrd in Manuscripts at Harvard. Harvard Library Bulletin, 14: 343-65. Pages: 347, 365.
Squire, W Barclay. 1930c. Catalogue of the Manuscripts in the Library of the Royal College of Music. Notes: physical description.
Husk, W H. 1872. Catalogue of the Library of The Sacred Harmonic Society. London. Pages: 204-5. Notes: physical description (partial); contents list.
This form is used to make comments on a source. If you wish to notify us of a correction to the record, you should use the "Contribute a change" form instead.
No comments have been made.
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
Monday, 28 July, 2025
Proba me Deus is by Jacob Regnart, as found in RISM 1569/6
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