It
Was a Lover and his Lass
A late 16th Century English Lute Ayre by Thomas Morley
This song is sung in Shakespeare's "As you like
it" which was first performed in 1599 or 1600.
"As you like it" is set in a "once upon a time"
era, and so modern Elizabethan clothing would not be appropriate for a singer
in this play.
Primary
Sources
There
is no extant written manuscript, however, an original printed book from 1600
is held by the British Museum.
Secondary
Sources
A
facsimile of the original held by the British Museum was released in 1970 by
The Scholar Press Limited, edited by F. W. Sternfeld.
Primary
sources of material related to the performance practice of the work
The
performance practice of the lute is fairly easy to establish, there are many
instruments extant from the late renaissance and there is a significant body
of writing on and for the lute. Dowland
says in the introduction to his book of lute ayres, "…I purpose shortly
my selfe to set forth the choicest of all my Lessons in print, and also an
introduction for fingering, with other books of Songs, whereof this is the
first…"
The
human voice is an elusive creature, and before the treatises of the classical
period, most decisions about the proper performance practice of songs must be
speculative and instinctive.
While
there is no definitive work which describes the performance practice of
English Lute Ayres, contemporary writers in France, Germany, and Italy did
write about vocal qualities. "Because
of the agreement - or lack of disagreement - in the various instructions and
their fairly wide geographical distribution, they can probably be taken as a
general European view of singing in the late Renaissance."(McGee,
55) McGee further gives a summary
of the writings of three authors, Hermann Finck (1556, Wittenberg), Giovanni
Maffei (1562, Naples), and Conrad von Zabern(1474, Heidelberg).
These points, which are highly indicative of a vocal style which is
obviously practical for performing renaissance vocal music are:
"1.
Sing with the mouth open only as wide as in casual conversation.
Do not open it wide or close the teeth.
2.
Place the singing tone in the front of the mouth.
Avoid singing from the back of the throat or through the nose.
3.
Use a moderate tone. Do
not force the voice.
4.
Sing with a steady tone that does not change in pitch, volume, or
intensity.
5.
Rapid notes should receive clear articulation.
Passages with text should receive clean articulation with the tongue,
and untexted passages should be articulated clearly in the throat
However, Finck warned against sounding like a goat.
6.
Avoid excessive body motion while singing."
However, this seems to be a major point of contention between critics
Additional
points given by these writers are to lighten the voice as it rises,
pronouncing vowels clearly, avoiding aspirated vowels, and singing without
vibrato (Conrad, to choral singers)
Historical
materials related to the Historical and Cultural context of the first
performances of the work
The
venue of this work is the private home. It
is very much a genre meant for a small intimate group to sing for each other.
This style is hinted at in Moreley's A plaine and easie guide to
Musick but it's hardly discussed.
In
Small Proportions: A Poetics of the English Ayre, 1596–1622. By Daniel
Fischlin. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1998.
Fischlin is a lutenist.
P.
250 Robert Spencer said,
"Elizabethan comment on singing itself is sparse, but even that tells us
something. That writers equated
learning to sing only with learning to sight-read, indicates how little
attention was paid to voice production."
P.
250 little evidence exists regarding lute accompaniment
P.
250 suggests Tune thy Musicke to thy Hart, which is in OU
P.
250 suggests Performance:: Revealing
the Orpheus within
P.
251-2 Tofts suggests,
"First, consider the passions of the poem.
Note the dominant affection and determine how the main parts of the
text relate to this central passion.
Then study individual sentences to discover the specific affections
embodied in them. At the same
time, observe the figurative language with which sentences have been decorated
and decide which words require emphasis.
Do not overlook the punctuation, for it is the vehicle through which
the structure of the discourse is articulated, and the observance of it
enables listeners to comprehend the thoughts and emotions of the texts easily.
At this point the study of the structure of the text should be
complete."
P.
252: Fischlin quotes Thomas
Campion's sarcastic description of the old style of theatrical declamation,
which Fischlin suggests indicates a contrary performance practice for the ayre.
"But there are some, who to appeare the more deepe and singular in
their judgement, will admit no Musicke but that which is long, intricate,
bated with fuge, chaind with syncopation, and where the nature of everie word
is precisely exprest in the Note, like the old exploided action in Comedies,
when if they did pronounce Memini, they would point to the hinder part
of their heads, if Video, put
their finger in their eye. But
such childish observing of words is altogether ridiculous, and we ought to
maintaine as well in Notes, as in action, a manly carriage, gracing no word,
but that which is eminent, and emphaiticall.
By
far the most difficult issue of performance practice is vocal style, followed
by the style of accompaniment. The
notation and text are easily read.
It is generally accepted that the appropriate voice for
late 16th century English song is free from vibrato and excess air
(a very "silver" sound as compared to "white") with a very
focused tone.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Harrán,
Don. In Defense of Music.
The Case for Music as Argued by a Singer and Scholar of the Late
Fifteenth Century. University of
Nebraska Press, Lincoln, Nebraska. 1989.
Mackerness,
E.D. Social History of English Music. Readers Union, Routledge and Kegan Paul.
London: 1966.
Fenlon,
Iain. The Renaissance, From the
1470s to the end of the 16th Century. Prentice
Hall, New Jersey:1989A
Cowling,
G. H. Music on the Shakespearian
Stage. University Press,
Cambridge. 1913
Dorian,
Frederick. History of Music in
Performance. Norton.
New York. 1971
Brown,
Howard Mayer. Music in the
Renaissance. Prentice Hall.
New Jersey. 1976
Dorian,
Frederick. History of Music in
Performance. Norton.
New York. 1971
McGee,
Timothy. Medieval and Renaissance
Music, a Performer's Guide. Scolar
Press, Toronto, 1990
Sherman,
Bernard D. Inside Early Music:
Conversations with Performers. Oxford,
New York, 1997
Hubler,
Edward. Shakespeare's Songs and
Poems. Mc Graw, New York.
1959
Brown,
Howard Mayer. Embellishing 16th
Century Music. Oxford, London.
1976
Pilkington,
Michael. Campion, Dowland and the
Lutenist Songwriters. Indiana
University, Bloomington. 1989