95551
ORPHEUS ANGLORUM
Lute music by John Johnson and Anthony Holborne
Yavor Genov lute
Orpheus Anglorum Lute music by John Johnson and Anthony Holborne All music prepared and played from original sources by Yavor Genov. John Johnson (c. 1545 - 1594) 1. Flatt Pavan Euing lute book, f. 8v 2. Flatt Galliard Dd.2.11, f. 1v-2 3. Carman’s Whistle Dd. 5.78.3., f.48v 4. Delight Pavan 5. Delight Galliard Margaret Board Lute Book, f. 6v-7v 6. Quadro Pavan Dd. 9.33, f. 93v
2’36 1’47 2’36 5’04 1’44
2’49
7. Johnson’s Jewel 1’38 Dd.2.11, f. 99 8. Without title (Galliard) 1’13 Dd. 5.78.3., f. 43 9. Gathering of peascods 0’51 Margaret Board Lute Book, f. 26 10. A Ground 2’21 Wickhambrook, f. 17v 11. Passingmeasures Pavan 1’56 Dd.2.11, f. 62v 12. Good night and good rest 2’24 Dd.2.11, f. 86
Recording: May 2017, ANP Music Production, Sofia, Bulgaria Recording, editing, mixing, mastering: Aleks Nushev Front cover: Mosaic Floor with Orpheus and the Animals, with Four Seasons in the Corners, 150 – 200 AC, founded in Saint-Romain-en-Gal, France. Reproduced with kind permission of J. Paul Getty Museum p & © 2018 Brilliant Classics
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Anthony Holborne (c. 1545 – 1602) 13. Pavan 5’18 GB-Lbl: British Library, London Add. MS 31392, f. 17v 14. New Year’s Gift 1’22 Marsh Lute Book, f. 118 15. The Countess of Pembroke’s Funerals 5’15 Euing lute book, f. 18 16. Fantasia I 5’14 Dd.2.11, f. 39 17. Heigh ho holiday 1’00 Dd. 5.78.3., f. 34v 18. Pavan 4’19 Dd.2.11, f. 88 19. Galliard to the Pavan last before 1’42 Dd.2.11, f. 89
20. Last will and testament 5’10 Dd.2.11, f. 57v-58 21. Fantasia II 2’53 GB-Lbl: British Library, London MS 1353 (Hirsh lute book), f. 64 22. Almaine 1’52 Dd.2.11, f. 70 23. Galliard 1’39 Dd. 5.78.3., f. 28 24. Fantasia 1’48 Hirsh lute book, f. 65 25. Heres Paternus 5’43 Euing lute book, f. 19 26. Muy Linda 1’13 Dd. 5.78.3., f. 34v 27. As it fell on a holiday 0’55 Dd. 5.78.3., f. 5v
Yavor Genov lute 7-course lute by Ivo Magherini after Georg Gerle, Innsbruck, c. 1550 (Vienna A35) 3
The appearance of the first prints with instructions for playing the lute in England during the 1560’s coincides with the youth and education of some of the first professional native lutenists. John Johnson and Anthony Holborne share lots in common in their music (and probably career) and in the same time reveal very individual styles and approach to the instrument. It is assumed that they both were born somewhere in the 1540’s. Records about their life are rather poor and sometimes contradictory (for instance the name of latter appeared as one who matriculated Corpus Christy Cambridge in 1562 and as a Londoner with the same name who was admitted to the Inner Temple three years later). Their career was devoted to the royal court - Johnson was appointed as “one of the musicians for the three lutes [...]” at the Queen in 15791. Holborne described himself in his two prints (The Cittharn Schoole, 1597 and Pavans, Galliards, Almain, 1599) as a “servant to her most excellent Majestie”. While Johnson unquestioningly was a prominent lutenist, Holborne is known mainly as a composer of part music and is hard to be claimed whether he played the lute himself. This diversity between them, to my opinion, is reflected in their approach to the texture of some typical pieces of the time - Pavans with Galliards for instance. Adopted from the continent, the early English Pavans are simple and homophonic in structure. Closer to that are the Pavans and Galliards by Johnson - usually based on leading melody with chordal accompaniment. The style is idiomatic and much appropriate to the technique of playing the lute. The treatment of the Pavan changed towards the end of the century when the English composers gave to it a new significance - the homophonic decorative composition is often replaced by highly developed counterpointal texture. It is witnessed by the pieces of Holborne where the consort originals predetermine the style and texture of the lute versions. Many of the Pavans and Galliards are grouped in a suite-like pairs sometimes sharing common harmonic plan - Delight Pavan and Galliard; Pavan and Galliard to the Pavan last before among others. There are, however, well know examples of single pieces of both forms - Last will and testament, Heres Paternus, Johnson Jewel, Galliard without title 4
etc. Certain descriptive titles are given to number of such pieces which refers to the affect of music. Pieces, called Pavan are the so called Passamezzo pavan and Quadro pavan but they differ from what the term usually meant in England. In fact both are sets of variations on the passamezzo antico and passamezzo moderno. Almain is another typical dance of the late 16th century in England. It is structured in double metric and its “harmonic movement seems to be the main organizing factor, for melodic phrases are often irregular[...]”2. Sets of variations on certain subject are essential part of the lute repertory of the time. The present recording includes some such pieces by Johnson, for whom Mc. Guire reports that “all his compositions include some form of variation procedure and often more than one kind at a time”3. Among them are variation on the famous Tudor song Carman's Whistle which as a lute piece is attributed namely to Johnson and survived in two separate versions and sources (the one by Mathew Holmes lute books was chosen for the recording). The free genres based on counterpointal technique are definitely not main part of the lute music by Johnson and Holborne (it is especially true for the former). The three fantasias by Holborne, included in the recording are meant for the lute and one of them (listed as number 3) gained a huge popularity on the continent as well. It is copied in number of sources, including the well know print Hortus Musicalis Novus, Strasbourg (1615) by Elias Mertel. All the three pieces are polythematic ones built by various motives involved as points of imitation. Biggest part of the lute music by Johnson and Holborne circulated through the impressive amount of lute manuscripts in England at the border between 16th and 17th centuries while very few examples took a place in prints of the time (rare example of that is the Pavan Heres Paternus, printed by Robert Dowland in the Variety of Lute Lessons, 1610). Mathew Holmes lute books, now in Cambridge University Library (with shelfmarks Dd.2.11, Dd. 5.78.3, Dd. 9.33) stand out as “the major source of the music of all the great English renaissance lute composers” and 5
are assumed as first English sources, decisively replacing the influence of the Italian musicians from the beginning of 16th century in favor of the specific English forms4. The lute pieces by Holborne and Johnson took a significant place in the collection of Holmes and their number give way only to the music of John Dowland. Most of the pieces in this recording are collected from Holmes’s sources. Another important document involved in the present recording is Euing 25 (olim R.d.43) of the Glasgow University Library. It gives a simple versions for number of Pavans without any coloring for repetitions of the sections - unlike the highly embellished copies of Holmes. Such a plain version is preferred for the Countess of Pembroke's Funerals where even the last cadential chords of the sections are left without the characteristic repercussions to the end of the bars. Not only the high circulation of their music witness for the importance of Johnson and Holborne as a composers. The former is believed to be Ionsorum, celebrated among the most skilled instrumentalists (instrumentorum peritissimos) by John Case in his Apologia Musices, 1588. After death of Johnson in 1594 John Dowland himself applied for his vacancy as a royal lutenist. Holborne was praised as “the most famous [and perfect Artist]” in the dedication of the song I saw my lady weep from The second book of Songs, 1600 by John Dowland and the Variety of lute lessons, 1610 by Robert Dowland as well. The sobriquet Orpheus, used as a title of the recording was not especially applied to Johnson or Holborne at their time to my knowledge. It was John Dowland, who was praised with composition by Mauritius, landgrave of Hessen in honorem Ioanni Doulandi Anglorum Orphei. On the other hand, the Thracian Orpheus, who according to the legend possessed the magical power to move all living beings by his singing and playing, was an ideal and symbol of the inner power of music and musician for centuries. It was witnessed by enormous dedications and comparisons of musicians with Orpheus, titles of volumes (Orpheus Britanicus and Orpheus Caledonius are only two such examples), which makes the sobriquet definitely not a 6
special mark for certain person. That gives me permission to apply it for Johnson and Holborne, who unquestionably played a significant role and influence during the late Renaissance period, not only in England. © Yavor Genov
1 Mc. Guire. Ch. E. John Johnson. - In: New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2001. 2E llis Little, M. / Cusick, S. G. Allemande [allemand, almain, alman, almond]. In: New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2001. 3M c. Guire. Ibid. 4 Digital copy of the source and details about them on the following link: http://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/MS-DD-00002-00011/124
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As an active lute player, Yavor Genov has played solo and basso continuo in most of the European countries and in some of the most important stages and opera houses: Germany (incl. Berliner Philharmonie Großer Saal), France (incl. Paris Cité de la Musique, Philharmonie de Paris), Spain (incl. Teatro Real de Madrid), Portugal (incl. Grande Auditório da Gulbenkian, Lisbon), Greece (incl. Athens Megaron), Russia (incl. Moscow’s Bolshoi Theatre, and St. Petersburg Philharmonic, Grand Hall), the Netherlands, Belgium etc. as well as the most famous early music festivals – Barcelona, Utrecht, London, Brugge. Yavor has played with some of the most well known singers like Núria Rial, Anna Prohaska, Simone Kermes, and personalities like Andrew Lawrence-King, Lars Ulrik Mortensen, Enrico Onofri and also with international groups like Cordevento, MusicAeterna, EUBO, Les Ambassadeurs among others. He has made records for Brilliant Classics, Sony Classical, National radio of Bulgaria. His two solo CD’s – “Kapsberger – Libro primo di lauto” (2013) and “Zamboni – lute music” (2014) have received international critical acclaim. Yavor studied early plucked instruments and basso continuo with Jakob Lindberg. That crucial period was preceded by sixteen years of playing classical guitar which led him to the richness and purity of the Renaissance and Baroque lute music. Yavor works also as a musicologist in the field of the Renaissance lute repertory and Latin chant. He is an author of one book and number of publications. www.yavorgenov.eu
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Also available on Brilliant Classics
Special thank you to: Jakob Lindberg, Paul Kieffer, Christhopher Wilson, Frank Schaffels, Milen Vasilev, Evgenia Bauer, Eneya Genova and Ivo Magherini
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