Dale Carr | Pavan Sr. Wm. Petre by William Byrd, performed by Dale Carr on a harpsichord by Hendrik Broekman @dalecarr6361 | Uploaded May 2022 | Updated October 2024, 5 hours ago.
Pavan Sr. Wm. Petre, for harpsichord, by William Byrd, performed by Dale Carr in the Pelstergasthuiskerk in Groningen on 2 October, 1993 on a harpsichord built in 1975 by Hendrik Broekman, modeled on an instrument by Michel Richard, 1688
Peacefull musicke for these distracted tymes.
This pavan was one of the latest entries into My Ladye Nevell's Booke, a collection assembled in 1591 by Byrd for Ms. Nevell. There it's called "the tennthe pavian: mr:w:peter". It was printed & published already in Byrd's lifetime in "Parthenia or the Maydenhead of the first musicke that ever was printed for the Virginalls", ~1612, in a slightly altered form. Its harmonic luxury - even voluptuousness - and its motivic subtlety are without parallel.
A pavan is a rather stately dance form in 3 sections, each of which is normally marked with repeat-signs, often with {written-out} divisions. Dance forms tend to be {sym}metrically well-organized, with even numbers of measures, although in stylized musical compositions theses norms are frequently relaxed ; the 1st strain of this pavan conforms to this structural norm, presenting a long melody in 2 phrases, motives from which are used to unify the texture of the whole. Byrd was a master of such enriched textures. The harmonic richness manifests itself early, with accents on B𝄬 {0’12”} & F major {0’45”} before closing in the home key of g minor. The written-out ornamented repetition {1’13”} enlivens the texture with passages of running sixteenth-notes {𝅘𝅥𝅲} in a single voice at a time.
The 2nd strain {2’05”} remains true to the metrical norm of even numbers of measures, and accents the harmonic richness {B𝄬} with textural subtleties {2’21”} in the form of arpeggiation from bass to treble, a remarkable effect that I think Byrd invented himself. This is what I call voluptuous. The repetition {3’02”} has sixteenth-note {𝅘𝅥𝅲} passages of greater complexity and vigor than before.
The 3rd strain {3’56”} departs from the metrical norm : it begins with a clear melody lasting 7 whole-notes {𝅝} that ends with a clear cadence followed by an abrupt new harmony {B𝄬 again}. It sounds so normal that it almost escapes notice, despite being quite unusual. This is followed {4’21”} by a remarkable 3-voiced canon which recalls in texture the arpeggiation of the previous strain. It is also quite similar to the one toward the end of the d-minor fantasia {youtu.be/JjyFun0nCus?t=302}, which was added to My Ladye Nevell's Booke at the same late stage of its compilation. As if to compensate for the ‘missing’ eighth whole-note {𝅗}, Byrd adds a coda {5’43”} making use again of the textural complexity heard in the 2nd strain {2’34”ƒƒ}.
When the piece was printed in ‘Parthenia’, the coda was omitted; but I prefer the earlier version’s luxurious conclusion.
Pavan Sr. Wm. Petre, for harpsichord, by William Byrd, performed by Dale Carr in the Pelstergasthuiskerk in Groningen on 2 October, 1993 on a harpsichord built in 1975 by Hendrik Broekman, modeled on an instrument by Michel Richard, 1688
Peacefull musicke for these distracted tymes.
This pavan was one of the latest entries into My Ladye Nevell's Booke, a collection assembled in 1591 by Byrd for Ms. Nevell. There it's called "the tennthe pavian: mr:w:peter". It was printed & published already in Byrd's lifetime in "Parthenia or the Maydenhead of the first musicke that ever was printed for the Virginalls", ~1612, in a slightly altered form. Its harmonic luxury - even voluptuousness - and its motivic subtlety are without parallel.
A pavan is a rather stately dance form in 3 sections, each of which is normally marked with repeat-signs, often with {written-out} divisions. Dance forms tend to be {sym}metrically well-organized, with even numbers of measures, although in stylized musical compositions theses norms are frequently relaxed ; the 1st strain of this pavan conforms to this structural norm, presenting a long melody in 2 phrases, motives from which are used to unify the texture of the whole. Byrd was a master of such enriched textures. The harmonic richness manifests itself early, with accents on B𝄬 {0’12”} & F major {0’45”} before closing in the home key of g minor. The written-out ornamented repetition {1’13”} enlivens the texture with passages of running sixteenth-notes {𝅘𝅥𝅲} in a single voice at a time.
The 2nd strain {2’05”} remains true to the metrical norm of even numbers of measures, and accents the harmonic richness {B𝄬} with textural subtleties {2’21”} in the form of arpeggiation from bass to treble, a remarkable effect that I think Byrd invented himself. This is what I call voluptuous. The repetition {3’02”} has sixteenth-note {𝅘𝅥𝅲} passages of greater complexity and vigor than before.
The 3rd strain {3’56”} departs from the metrical norm : it begins with a clear melody lasting 7 whole-notes {𝅝} that ends with a clear cadence followed by an abrupt new harmony {B𝄬 again}. It sounds so normal that it almost escapes notice, despite being quite unusual. This is followed {4’21”} by a remarkable 3-voiced canon which recalls in texture the arpeggiation of the previous strain. It is also quite similar to the one toward the end of the d-minor fantasia {youtu.be/JjyFun0nCus?t=302}, which was added to My Ladye Nevell's Booke at the same late stage of its compilation. As if to compensate for the ‘missing’ eighth whole-note {𝅗}, Byrd adds a coda {5’43”} making use again of the textural complexity heard in the 2nd strain {2’34”ƒƒ}.
When the piece was printed in ‘Parthenia’, the coda was omitted; but I prefer the earlier version’s luxurious conclusion.
