Dale Carr | Fancy in d by William Byrd performed by Dale Carr in the cathedral in Metz on 4 July, 1993 @dalecarr6361 | Uploaded March 2022 | Updated October 2024, 37 minutes ago.
Fancy in d by William Byrd from My Ladye Nevell’s Booke, performed by Dale Carr on the triforium organ in the cathedral in Metz on 4 July, 1993
Byrd's fancy is in 4 clear sections, distinguished from each other in texture and separated by clear cadences.
The 1st double section is polyphonic, with rather informal treatment of a neighboring-tone motive {d-c#-d at the beginning}. By 'informal' I mean that the 'subject' is not given a formal exposition as in a fugue, say, or the fantasias and ricercari of 17th-century Italy, but sounds at irregular intervals. From youtu.be/JjyFun0nCus?t=73 a 2nd motive, characterized by a dotted rhythm {𝅘𝅥|𝅗𝅥 𝅭 𝅘𝅥|𝅗𝅥}, is added to the 1st. The harmony remains for the most part rather severely in d minor until an unexpected B𝄬 chord @ youtu.be/JjyFun0nCus?t=119, which forecasts a change of mood before the solid cadence in D major.
The 2nd section {youtu.be/JjyFun0nCus?t=139} begins in solid chords of B𝄬 in a high register, answered by more B𝄬 chords in a lower register, before continuing in polyphony while initially maintaining the alternation of high and low registers. The end of this section uses high and low registers together, cadencing again in D major.
The 3rd section {youtu.be/JjyFun0nCus?t=219} also begins in B𝄬, adding more and more figuration and preparing what ought to be another firm cadence in d.
This cadence is however undercut at the beginning of the 4th section {youtu.be/JjyFun0nCus?t=302} by another B𝄬 chord introducing a syncopated canon. This canon strongly resembles the canon in the 3rd strain of the Pavan “Mr. W. Peter”, which is found just a few pages earlier in My Ladye Nevell’s Booke. This 4th section, which concludes the piece, is divided in 2 parts in a manner found in some other fancies of Byrd: the 2nd part {youtu.be/JjyFun0nCus?t=320} is a kind of variation of the 1st, leading to the final cadence.
A word about the scores accompanying this recording:
The earliest source for this piece is My Ladye Nevell’s Booke, a calligraphic presentation volume copied by John Baldwin in 1591. A slightly later source, probably copied by Thos. Weelkes, has a few corrections and looks much more like a copy intended for study at or playing on a keyboard. The listener can choose:
Nevell @ youtu.be/JjyFun0nCus
Weelkes @ youtu.be/gPlZ51Ba-c0
The triforium organ in the cathedral at Metz was originally made in 1537 by Jehan de Trèves, and was reconstructed in 1981 by Marc Garnier. Here’s my registration:
opening : 8’ Montre, 4’ Prestant, 2 ⅔’ Quinte;
youtu.be/JjyFun0nCus?t=142: 8’ Montre;
youtu.be/JjyFun0nCus?t=220: 8’, 4’, 2 ⅔’ as above;
youtu.be/JjyFun0nCus?t=320: the same plus Tiercelette 1'3/5 & Fourniture III/IV.
The organ case shown at the end of the music is in St. Stephen’s church, Old Radnor, Wales, and dates originally from ~1540.
More of Wm. Byrd’s music played on this organ:
youtube.com/watch?v=YBugRNwe9Ao
Frescobaldi played on this organ:
youtube.com/watch?v=wzhqj9yA2DU
youtube.com/watch?v=zoIaytgsuCw
Fancy in d by William Byrd from My Ladye Nevell’s Booke, performed by Dale Carr on the triforium organ in the cathedral in Metz on 4 July, 1993
Byrd's fancy is in 4 clear sections, distinguished from each other in texture and separated by clear cadences.
The 1st double section is polyphonic, with rather informal treatment of a neighboring-tone motive {d-c#-d at the beginning}. By 'informal' I mean that the 'subject' is not given a formal exposition as in a fugue, say, or the fantasias and ricercari of 17th-century Italy, but sounds at irregular intervals. From youtu.be/JjyFun0nCus?t=73 a 2nd motive, characterized by a dotted rhythm {𝅘𝅥|𝅗𝅥 𝅭 𝅘𝅥|𝅗𝅥}, is added to the 1st. The harmony remains for the most part rather severely in d minor until an unexpected B𝄬 chord @ youtu.be/JjyFun0nCus?t=119, which forecasts a change of mood before the solid cadence in D major.
The 2nd section {youtu.be/JjyFun0nCus?t=139} begins in solid chords of B𝄬 in a high register, answered by more B𝄬 chords in a lower register, before continuing in polyphony while initially maintaining the alternation of high and low registers. The end of this section uses high and low registers together, cadencing again in D major.
The 3rd section {youtu.be/JjyFun0nCus?t=219} also begins in B𝄬, adding more and more figuration and preparing what ought to be another firm cadence in d.
This cadence is however undercut at the beginning of the 4th section {youtu.be/JjyFun0nCus?t=302} by another B𝄬 chord introducing a syncopated canon. This canon strongly resembles the canon in the 3rd strain of the Pavan “Mr. W. Peter”, which is found just a few pages earlier in My Ladye Nevell’s Booke. This 4th section, which concludes the piece, is divided in 2 parts in a manner found in some other fancies of Byrd: the 2nd part {youtu.be/JjyFun0nCus?t=320} is a kind of variation of the 1st, leading to the final cadence.
A word about the scores accompanying this recording:
The earliest source for this piece is My Ladye Nevell’s Booke, a calligraphic presentation volume copied by John Baldwin in 1591. A slightly later source, probably copied by Thos. Weelkes, has a few corrections and looks much more like a copy intended for study at or playing on a keyboard. The listener can choose:
Nevell @ youtu.be/JjyFun0nCus
Weelkes @ youtu.be/gPlZ51Ba-c0
The triforium organ in the cathedral at Metz was originally made in 1537 by Jehan de Trèves, and was reconstructed in 1981 by Marc Garnier. Here’s my registration:
opening : 8’ Montre, 4’ Prestant, 2 ⅔’ Quinte;
youtu.be/JjyFun0nCus?t=142: 8’ Montre;
youtu.be/JjyFun0nCus?t=220: 8’, 4’, 2 ⅔’ as above;
youtu.be/JjyFun0nCus?t=320: the same plus Tiercelette 1'3/5 & Fourniture III/IV.
The organ case shown at the end of the music is in St. Stephen’s church, Old Radnor, Wales, and dates originally from ~1540.
More of Wm. Byrd’s music played on this organ:
youtube.com/watch?v=YBugRNwe9Ao
Frescobaldi played on this organ:
youtube.com/watch?v=wzhqj9yA2DU
youtube.com/watch?v=zoIaytgsuCw
