User talk:DaveF

And very tangled it is too! --Pml 19:58:56, 2006-05-04 (PDT)

Honor, virtus et potestas: one wrong note?

Dear David, I've posted on the information page about this work the suggestion that one note in the cantus firmus in bar 18 might be wrong. While we are on the subject of textual typos, the plainsong section includes a 'perennis' with two Rs. Incidentally, I'll check soon whether my group has performed any of your scores and let you know. Mick
PS (25 April 2008): Thanks for your acknowledgement of my proofreading of this piece, but the revised version of 23 April looks the same as the previous version to me. Is it possible that you have uploaded the wrong one by mistake?

Mick - I'm worried now, because the 23rd April version on CPDL looks right to me. Bar 18 - 2nd bar of p.2 - tenor part - 2 semibreves under a ligature - e and f?

Not to worry: the e and f are there now. But there must have been some kind of time-lag, because last time I looked there were still two es in that bar. Incidentally, in the meanwhile I've looked out the Byrd scores that my group (The Art of Music, based in Luxembourg) has performed, and found six of yours: Siderum rector, Victimae paschali laudes, Peccantem me quotidie, Miserere mei Deus, Viri Galilaei and Laudate pueri Dominum, although when we sang the last-mentioned we were so depleted that I had to arrange it for 5 voices rather than 6. So thanks for the use of all these. Perhaps next time we use one, a (retrospective) acknowledgement in the programme would be in order. Mick

Absterge Domine - score error?

Dear David,
I see you noted that the source contained a semibreve at III.56.2, which you have emended to a minim. Actually, I don't think that is necessary: it looks to me as if III's semibreve G in bar 52 should be a minim, after which the whole of this part as far as b. 56 would move along one minim to the left, avoiding some rather strange harmonies! I was going to propose this solution even before I spotted the parallel passage in b. 59-63, which surely confirms my supposition?
All the best, Mick Swithinbank
PS: I am impressed to hear that stile antico have been using your editions. I admire their recordings greatly.

O Gawdelpus

you're right - what an absolute stinker. It's correct now. Thank you. I find this piece so low in interest that I must have switched off by that point. You were also kind enough not to point out "spririt" in the translated text, but that will just have to stay for now...--DaveF 07:57, 22 April 2008 (PDT)

Alternative layout for Byrd page

Hi Dave,

I made an alternative layout of the Byrd page in Sandbox-Byrd. The main thing I did was to make three tables: Sacred music in Latin, Sacred music in English, and Secular music.

Take a look at it, I think it looks better and might well serve the user looking for Byrd music well.

ChuckGiffen 09:14, 24 May 2006 (PDT)

More blather from you-know-who :)

It's me again, turning up like a bad ha'penny. My spin on CHG's idea is at Talk:William Byrd, for the record. Philip Legge _{♇ ℗ @ © Φ} 09:28:29, 2006-05-24 (PDT)

Performance

Hi Dave

Just thought you'd like to know that the choir I run, Cantus (www.cantus.co.uk - but the website's in dire need of an update!) are singing the services at Lincoln Cathedral, England, this coming weekend (6/7 January 2007), and we're peforming two of your editions of the Byrd 1607 Gradualia settings.

We're singing O admirabile commertium and Vidimus stellam, the first as the anthem at Evensong on the Saturday, and the second as the introit for solemn Evensong on the Sunday.

It will be a real privelege to use this music exactly 400 years to the day for which it was written, and I'd like to personally say thank you for editing the music so well and thereby enabling us to undertake this task.

Phil Cowling

Greetings, thanks and praise

Mr. Fraser,

I want to thank you for your efforts to bring Byrd to CPDL. I very much like the layout of the works you have posted thus far. While I am not a musician per se, I am in my parish choir and will be utilizing your editions to try to introduce some polyphony to my choir director. He is rather keen on 'older' works, but sometimes convincing others in the choir is difficult.

Thanks again for your efforts. Keep up the good work. Also, I have a thing for Tallis but I noticed that the listings for Tallis on CPDL are not as comprehensive as one might like. Any suggestions where one can find more?

Sincerely,

John Waddell Muncie, IN USA

---

John,

Thanks for the message and the kind comments. As far as I know, our Tallis collection on CPDL is more comprehensive than any other site's; Tallis's problem, of course, is that (with the exception of the Cantiones of 1575, in which I've now indexed his contributions), hardly any of his music was published. Also unlike Byrd, he hasn't yet benefitted from the publication of a modern Complete Works.

On my to-do list are all the motets from the Cantiones - the missing ones include several masterpieces, notably In jejunio et fletu. I don't know yet when I'll get a chance to start on them.

To start your introduction of polyphony to your choir, might I recommend a piece of almost pure homophony: Emendemus in melius - a Lenten text which will have seasonal relevance before long. If that doesn't convince your fellow singers, nothing will!

Regards,
DF

Byrd MIDI files

Hi David,

Great job over the years with the Byrd collection.

Too bad you feel it necessary to pull the Byrd sources, since listening to a score in the editor allows you to follow the work, and adjust your vocal line to stand out for musical practice.

Can I encourage you to make the MIDI files available for singers who wish to listen to the works, and perhaps practice them ? There is little danger of abuse of a MIDI file, and the benefits are significent.

Johnhenryfowler 03:20, 6 March 2008 (PST)

Thank you, David Fraser

		The C Clef neume award
		for comprehensive contributions in Early Music is hereby awarded to David Fraser for his excellent, comprehensive editions of the choral works of William Byrd . — Chucktalk Giffen♫

Death of St. Edmund Campion

Honourable Mr. Fraser, I was not able to find anywhere all 30 stanzas of compose of William Byrd "Why do I use my paper, ink and pen?" which you have cited under the song. Would it be possible to give me kindly an advice where I could find it? Thank you very much for your admirable work. Much greetings, K, friarforsaken

Dear K.,

I don't know of any easily-accessible source of this poem. A copy of the book A true reporte of the death... is available either in the Huntington Library (San Marino, California, USA) or online through Early English Books Online. Membership of this is usually restricted to academic institutions, although some large public libraries may offer access. Alternatively, if the Society of Jesus has a headquarters near you (in London this would be Farm Street, but I don't know where you are), they may have a facsimile of the book, or some other source of the poem.

And "Honourable" is very kind, although the only honour I've ever received is the one on the lines immediately above!

Best wishes, DF

Dowland Scans

Hi Dave,

I'm busy cross-posting material at "Art Song Central" and there are John Dowland scores there which could be new editions of existing works pages if you deem it worthwhile. Have a look and see if they add anything. They do have lute tablature. The source is: Stainer & Bell edition, ed. Fellowes ©1920. It's not a lot of work to cross-post them if they add anything. (I give you a link to one as an example.)     Johnhenryfowler 10:26, 18 July 2008 (PDT)

Dowland - Burst forth, my tears

Dowland - Can she excuse my wrongs?

Dowland - Come Again, Sweet Love Doth Now Invite

Dowland - Dear, if you change

Dowland - Flow my tears

Dowland - If my complaints could passions move

Dowland - My thoughts are winged with hope

Dowland - Now, O now, I needs must part

Dowland - Who ever thinks or hopes of love

Link to ASC Page for "Who ever thinks or hopes of love"

John - For some reason I can't open any of the files at ASC - just get the error message "File does not begin with '%PDF'. I wonder whether they are created by a newer edition of Acrobat than I'm using - I have the full product version 5. From what you say, I would have thought that any editions with lute tablature would be welcome at CPDL, since so few of the editions there seem to include it. My only doubt would be that Fellowes's editions, at least of Byrd, are notoriously inaccurate. And the other problem with working from his editions is that any editorial work in them is still in copyright, since Fellowes lived until 1951. --DaveF 04:00, 24 July 2008 (PDT)

Hi David, I've made a ZIP file here. Containing the Dowland songs. Hopefully you won't have any problem opening the zip file. Let me know if it is desirable to post them, and I'll do the rest.Johnhenryfowler 04:45, 11 August 2008 (PDT)

John - Thanks for that; I can open them now. Yes, they're good-looking scores, right enough, especially the tablature - I like the way the old-fashioned engraving allows the backwards stem on the semibreve, which Sibelius can't reproduce. However, there must be a question regarding directly reproducing editions that incorporate Fellowes's editorial work, which remains in copyright until 2021 in the US and EU. Perhaps that's something on which the other admins will have more informed views. And Fellowes's editorial work - i.e. meddling - is certainly there, even at a quick first glance: looking at the second bar of Can she excuse, for example, he inserts an unwarranted B flat into the melody, justifying this by accompanying it with the fairly obviously defective lute part from the 1st and 2nd editions, rather than the corrected 3rd and 4th. Naturally, being Fellowes, there isn't an editorial note in sight to explain any of this. And aren't these songs supposed to be in 4 parts plus lute? Sorry to go on; Fellowes generally has this effect on me. They're still a great deal better than many of the contributions on the Dowland pages and, providing the copyright situation is clear, it would be good to have links to them.

--DaveF 07:34, 11 August 2008 (PDT)

Byrd a 3

Hello,

I'm very sorry to read of your plan to remove Sibelius source files, having just used your delightful edition of the three part mass to print a transposition in D on letter size paper for a concert at the Berkeley Musicfest. We found only one typo: Agnus m 40 cantus should read mi sol re fa. Thanks, and all the best from California, Richard Mix 11:08, 25 August 2008 (PDT)