Pastyme with Good Companye: recreating an early music performance pt 1

(portrait by Hans Holbein the Younger)

Introduction: Picking and Grinning...

Music pervades every aspect of life from church to the home, and it was no less the case in the 16th century. As the merchant, or middle, class took root with growing industry and occupations that didn't have the intense demand on time, people had more time to devote to the art and skill of song (Machlis & Forney 96). Subsequently, the 16th century is when we begin to see much integral development and growth within the art form, especially that of instrumental music (109).

I was drawn to "Pastyme" not only for the dance-like setting and its capacity for instrumental performance, but also as a way to learn more about the musicians in the court of Henry VIII -- a position my historical performance persona may have found herself in.

Instrumental Music... And Women in Music

Traditionally, instrumental music would have most likely been played on a lute or virginal, as they were among the more popular instruments of the time (McGee 77), and easily adapted to a variety of styles (79). During this time of history, having such an instrument was a mark of status. The study of music was also considered to be a critical part of a young woman's education (especially if her family was well off), and at this time, we begin to see women performing music in a professional capacity as well as at home (Machlis & Forney 108). For example, Francesca Caccini (b. 1587) became one of the highest paid musicians in the Medici court (Brown 267). And the Concerto Della Donne -- an all-female professional singing group formed in 1580 by Duke Ferrara -- won acclaim throughout Italy and several other European courts (Brown 269).

As dance and instrumental music blossomed, musicians (much like they still do today) found they could adapt and simplify popular songs to suit the limitations of an instrument:

"The dances were often fashioned from vocal works such as madrigals and chansons, which were published in simplified versions that were played instead of sung." (Machlis & Forney 109)

King Henry VIII... Composer and Musician

Henry was well-known to be an avid music aficionado. It is said that he enjoyed all types of music from sacred to secular (Williams 36). When Henry became King, he increased his staff of court musicians from around twenty-two to over sixty, and he so prized their creative pursuit of virtuosity, he paid them well above a minstrel's salary (1) so they might live comfortably and securely and have more time to devote to their art. Foreign musicians flocked to Henry's court, both drawn by the promise of good wages and enticed into relocation by the King himself. It was at this time that English musicians found themselves among the best and most talented in Europe:

"Visitors from abroad commented in their letters home in the most favourable terms on the music of Henry's court, the beauty of the choristers' tone, the dexterity of the viol playing and the sheer amount of music-making that went on. At the French court by contrast, the choir failed to sing in time or in tune because the chief singing-master was unable to read music at sight and was frequently drunk..." (Williams 37)

The King was known to be a talented musician and reveled in the art: he was proficient on recorder, flute, virginal, organ, and lute, among others; he had a good singing voice, and while on progress during 1510, purportedly kept himself busy playing and "setting songs" or composing:

[He] amused himself playing... and 'in setting of songs, making of ballads, and did set two goodly masses, every of them five parts'... (Williams 36)

Quite the output, considering the business a royal progress entailed, and not something someone who didn't absolutely love music would attempt.

"Pastyme With Good Companye"

Originally appearing in a collection of 109 pieces of music compiled around 1518, "Pastyme With Good Companye" is one of the ones signed by "The Kynge H. viii" (British Library) (2), though some still debate whether King Henry VIII did truly write it. Scholars who do believe it was written by the King say it was composed in the period just preceding or right at the beginning of his reign. The lyrics extoll the virtues of the "good life," the pleasures of spending time with worthy friends and pursuing enjoyable leisure activities instead of spending it in idleness and solitude.

As mentioned above, musicians of the time were well-known to adapt popular works for instrumental performance, and this popular tune(3) was no exception. There is a period lute solo arrangement of it by an anonymous lutenist contained in the manuscript Royal Appendix 58 (circa 1515 to 1540) in the British Library. Though I could not locate a digitized image of the original score via their online archives, I did learn through the course of my searching that The Lute Society had at one time published a direct transcription of it in their newsletter ("On Lute..."). Some further sleuthing turned up an arrangement for classical guitar (GuitarLoot) that was exactly transposed from the Lute Society's direct transcription of the original.

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1 Williams writes they were paid "three times as much as the average parish priest" p.37
2 In this folio of music, there are 20 songs and 13 instrumental pieces ascribed to King Henry, as well as 76 other pieces by various composers of the court, some attributed and some not.
3 It is said that "Pastyme" remained a favorite of Queen Elizabeth I's, several decades later.

Works Cited

—British Library Online. "Pastime with Good Company." http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/onlineex/henryviii/musspowor/pastime/index.html. Accessed 30 Dec 2013.
—Brown, Meg Lota and McBride, Kari Boyd, Eds. Women's Roles in the Renaissance. Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing, 2005.
—Craig-McFeeley, Julia. "On Royal Appendix 58." http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/julia/ap1/RA58.htm. Accessed 2 Jan 2014.
—Crouch, Eric. Arr. "Pastyme." 2006. http://www.guitarloot.org.uk/page61/page24/page24.html. Accessed 4 Jan 2014.
—Luminarium.org "Pastyme With Good Companye," Henry VIII orginial manuscript. http://www.luminarium.org/renlit/pastime.htm. Accessed 2 Jan 2014.
— LuteandTheorbo. "Pastime With Good Company." YouTube, 2010. http://youtu.be/EmR2boa2pcQ. Accessed 30 Dec 2013.
—Lute Society of London. "Beginners' Lessons." http://www.lutesociety.org/pages/beginners. Accessed 27 Dec 2013.
—Machlis, Joseph and Forney, Kristine, eds. “Renaissance Sacred Music” The Enjoyment of Music, Ninth. 9th ed. New York: Norton & Company, 2003.
—McGee, Timothy J. Medieval and Renaissance Music: A Performer's Guide. Toronto: University of Toronto, 1985.
—Mizen, Tony. Ed. "Pastime With Good Company," From Lute to Uke: Early Music for Ukulele. Wisconsin: Hal-Leonard, 2011.
—Nadal, David. Ed. Lute Songs of John Dowland: The Original First and Second Books Including Dowland's Original Lute Tablature. New York: Dover Publications, 1997
—Reese, Gustave. Music in the Renaissance. New York: Norton & Company, 1959.
—Sauvage, Valery. "Pastyme: from RA 58." YouTube, 2008. http://youtu.be/3HepGq-O0Qs. Accessed 5 Jan 2014.
—Stephens, Denys. "[LUTE] Re: Pastime With Good Company." 2006. https://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/msg14778.html. Accessed 2 Jan 2014. [email protected].
—Waldron, Jason. Progressive Classical Guitar Method: Book 1. South Australia: Koala Publications, 2000.
—Williams, Neville. Henry VIII and His Court. New York: Macmillan, 1971.