Реферат: Purcell

Реферат: Purcell

5.1.02

Yevgenia Semeina

Handel and Purcell sources, spring 2002

Henry Purcell’s Voluntary in D minor

This piece- Z718- occurs without title in British Museum manuscript Add.

31446, ff 9v-10v. The piece starts with a terse fugal exposition in the

traditional manner of voluntaries, almost the same with the Voluntary in for

Double Organ, which appears in the same manuscript. These piece are very

alike for the first page, but then gradually diverge until about halfway

through, they go completely separate ways. According to Shay and Thompson’s

book the copyist of the manuscript was George Holmes (1680-1721), pupil of

John Blow, organist of Lincoln Cathedral from 1704 to 1720.

I would like to compare the manuscript of the Voluntary in D minor with one

of the modern editions of this piece – The Novello edition of 1957, made by

Hugh McLean, and with the edition of The Purcell Society made by Edward John

Hopkins.

In the original the both hands are written on six-line stave, the right it is

in treble clef, except for the very end, where it is in the alto clef. The

left hand starts in tenor clef. A few times during the piece it will change

to bass clef in which the piece ends. The key signature has B flat but it is

missing in couple places thought the piece: bar 17 (left hand), bar 20 (left

hand), bar 52 (left hand). There is also an Alla Breve sign in the beginning.

1. Hugh McLean changed the Alla Breve sign to the 4/4 sign, while

Hopkins’s edition has Alla Breve in it.

2. In McLean’s edition in bars 8-9 the rhythm and the harmony was

changed. In the manuscript the last beat of bar eight is the resolution of

the previous dominant chord to the tonic sixth chord. It follows by a

modulation through Major tonic sixth chord and the Subdominant to the A

Major. This progression sounds very interesting with its natural seventh.

The editor takes away the resolution on the last beat of bar eight, he puts

it on the first beat of bar nine. And then he puts the G sharp on the third

beat and resolve it to the A minor chord on the last beat of this bar. By

doing this he completely changes the color and the character of the cadence.

The editor does not put these changes in brackets and in the editorial notes

he does not explains why he did them.

In Hopkins’s edition rhythm of bar eight stays the same as in the manuscript.

In bar nine the editor suggests to put g sharp for the third note in bass.

3. In bar thirteen in the manuscript the fifth note in soprano is F

sharp, which is changed to F natural in the McLean’s edition.

4. In bar nine of the Hugh McLean’s edition rhythm of the second beat in

right hand is changed.

5. Hugh McLean adds a few trills through the piece, but he put all of

them in brackets. And it was very frequent at that period to put some

additional ornamentation for the performance.

There are no additional ornaments in the Edward J. Hopkins’s edition.

6. In bar twenty-seven of the original there is a little cross above the

f sharp in bass. Hugh McLean decided that this was an indication for the

mistake, like it will be later in bar forty-seven, so he takes away the shake

on that note. In the edition of Purcell Society nothing is left out in this

bar.

7. In bar forty-seven is another cross mark but here both editions

agreed that it was a mark for the mistake made by copyist of manuscript, he

put in the wrong note.

8. In the same bar Mr. Hopkins adds the quarter rest for the last beat

in left hand.

9. In McLean’s edition it is without rest like in the manuscript.

In general, edition of The Purcell Society is more accurate and less edited

although Hugh McLean’s edition is also very close to the original and except

for the changes in bars 9-10 there are not that many differences.

5.01.02

Yevgenia Semeina Handel and Purcell

sources, spring 2002

Bibliography

Downes, Ralph. “An organist’s view of organ works.” Henry Purcell.

London: Oxford UP, 1959.

Holman, Peter. Henry Purcell.Oxford UP, 1994.

Hopkins, Edward John, ed. The works of Henry Purcell. Vol. 6, London and

New York: Novello, Ewer and Co, 1895.

McLean, Hugh, ed. Henry Purcell’s organ works. London and New York:

Novello & Company, 1957.

Purcell, Henry. British Museum Manuscript, Add.31446.ff9v-10v.

Shay, Robert, and Thompson. Purcell manuscripts. The principal musical

mources. Cambridge UP, 2000.