User:David Fraser: Difference between revisions

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All editions are at the original pitch and, where possible, in the original note-values.
All editions are at the original pitch and, where possible, in the original note-values.


Translations of Latin texts have various sources: biblical passages are taken from the Douai-Rheims Bible (1582 & 1609-10, with spelling modernised by the editor), other liturgical but non-biblical material from various apparently freely-available breviaries and missals.  Translations of more obscure originals (e.g. the one Italian piece in Byrd's œuvre) are noted in the individual editions.
Translations of Latin texts have various sources: biblical passages are taken from the Douai-Rheims Bible (1582 & 1609-10, with spelling modernised by the editor), other liturgical but non-biblical material from various apparently freely-available breviaries and missals.  Where the source of a text is not noted, it is either anonymous free text (in non-liturgical items) or a non-bibilical liturgical text.  Translations of more obscure originals (e.g. the one Italian piece in Byrd's œuvre) are noted in the individual editions.


The usual conventions of early music editing apply throughout the editions: editorial additions such as suggested modern voicing, missing lyrics supplied editorially, indications of proportional tempi between sections in different time-signatures, are enclosed in square brackets.  Lyrics added editorially where one of the standard repeat-signs (ij, &c. .//.) are in use are shown in italics.  Small accidentals are editorial; normal-sized bracketed accidentals are purely cautionary.
The usual conventions of early music editing apply throughout the editions: editorial additions such as suggested modern voicing, missing lyrics supplied editorially, indications of proportional tempi between sections in different time-signatures, are enclosed in square brackets.  Lyrics added editorially where one of the standard repeat-signs (ij, &c. .//.) are in use are shown in italics.  Small accidentals are editorial; normal-sized bracketed accidentals are purely cautionary.

Revision as of 08:15, 28 September 2008

"Daddy with a tangle in his hair" by William Fraser, aged 2¾

General Information

Country of origin: UK

Contributor since: 2002-07-10

Number of scores on CPDL: 260

List scores by this editor

Contact Information

To contact me, please leave a message on the discussion tab of this page or send a personal message via the CPDL forums.

William Byrd

For some years now I have been, with numerous interruptions, preparing a complete edition of the vocal works published in Byrd's own editions. The rationale for this, besides the simple love of Byrd's music, is a dissatisfaction with a situation where the complete works of Britain's greatest writer appear online in dozens of free editions, while those of (one of the strongest candidates for the title of) our greatest composer are available either in old and often inaccurate editions or in expensive scholarly publications.

General editorial notes to the Byrd edition

All pieces are newly edited from the original sources. Where possible, a number of alternative sources have been collated. All editions are at the original pitch and, where possible, in the original note-values.

Translations of Latin texts have various sources: biblical passages are taken from the Douai-Rheims Bible (1582 & 1609-10, with spelling modernised by the editor), other liturgical but non-biblical material from various apparently freely-available breviaries and missals. Where the source of a text is not noted, it is either anonymous free text (in non-liturgical items) or a non-bibilical liturgical text. Translations of more obscure originals (e.g. the one Italian piece in Byrd's œuvre) are noted in the individual editions.

The usual conventions of early music editing apply throughout the editions: editorial additions such as suggested modern voicing, missing lyrics supplied editorially, indications of proportional tempi between sections in different time-signatures, are enclosed in square brackets. Lyrics added editorially where one of the standard repeat-signs (ij, &c. .//.) are in use are shown in italics. Small accidentals are editorial; normal-sized bracketed accidentals are purely cautionary.

Voices are referred to by Roman numerals from highest to lowest, bars and notes within bars by Arabic numerals: hence the dotted minim a in the Contratenor bar 8 of Adoramus te, Christe is referred to as III.8.2. Notes tied over from previous bars are not numbered separately, so the quaver d' in the following bar in the Superius part is I.9.6.

Current situation and progress

Pieces have been appearing over the past six years at various standards of editorial quality. Anything whose source file is still in version 2 of Sibelius is likely to be quite old and not up to a standard to which I would now wish to work. Rather than withdrawing all old pieces, I would prefer to ask anyone interested in using them (or indeed, while work is still in progress, any of the other pieces) to contact me to ensure that they get the newest and best possible version.

As part of a final(!) revision, I will be withdrawing Sibelius source files and making items available as .pdf and MIDI files only. This change has unfortunately been forced by the discovery of editions in circulation that have been edited from my originals, sometimes quite poorly, and that still bear my name.

Feedback

It is always good to hear of performances or recordings of these editions (the latest Stile Antico disc, Heavenly Harmonies, uses a lot of them). If there is anything in any of the editions that doesn't seem quite right, I can do no better than quote Byrd himself:

"If... there bee any fault by mee committed, I desire the skilfull, eyther with courtesie to let the same bee concealed, or in friendly sort to bee thereof admonished: and at the next Impression he shall finde the error reformed."

John Dowland

I appear also to have begun a complete edition of Dowland's four songbooks, plus some of his contributions to other publications. Editions are as presented in Dowland's own publications, with lute tablature throughout, 1-4 voices and sometimes viols, although the songs may be performed by a variety of forces as noted on the individual pages. (N.B. the lute is always required.) Editorial practice is as for the Byrd edition. As a non-lutenist, I would especially welcome any comments from lutenists regarding the quality and usability of the tablature in my editions.

The Dowland edition is dedicated to the memory of my dear friend, the composer, writer and artist Mark Edgley Smith (20.3.1955 - 26.7.2008).