Thomas Morley: Elizabethan Music Publisher

288 Pages·2014·8.967 MB·English

by  Tessa Murray

T
h T E S S A M U R R A Y
o
m
a
s

M
T homas Morley
T

he Renaissance composer and organist Thomas Morley
(c.1557–1602) is best known as a leading member of the English o
r
Madrigal School, but he also built a significant business as a music l
e
publisher. This book looks at Morley’s pioneering contribution to y Elizabethan
music publishing in England, inspired by an established music printing :

E
culture in continental Europe. A student of William Byrd, Morley had
a conventional education and early career as a cathedral musician both li
z
in Norwich and at St Paul’s cathedral. Morley lived among the traders,
a
artisans and gentry of England’s major cities at a time when a market for b Music Publisher
recreational music was beginning to emerge. His entrepreneurial drive e
t
combined with an astute assessment of his market resulted in a successful h
and influential publishing business. The turning point came with a visit a
n
to the Low Countries in 1591, which gave him the opportunity to see a

thriving music print publication business at first hand. M
Contemporary records provide a detailed picture of the processes
u
involved in early modern music publishing and enable the construction
s
of a financial model of Morley’s business. Morley died too young to reap i
c
the full rewards of his enterprise, but his success inspired the publication
P
by his contemporaries of a significant corpus of readily available
u
recreational music for the public. Critical to Morley’s success was his b
identification of the sort of music, notably the Italianate lighter style of li
s
madrigal, that would appeal to amateur musicians. Surviving copies of h
the original prints show that this music continued to be used for several e
generations: new editions in modern notation started to appear from the r
mid eighteenth century onwards, suggesting that Morley truly had the
measure of the market for recreational music. Thomas Morley: Elizabethan
Music Publisher will be of particular interest to scholars and students of
T
renaissance music, as well as the history of music publishing and print.
E
TESSA MURRAY is honorary research fellow at the University S
of Birmingham. S
A
Front cover: Stradanus (Straet, Jan van der 1523–1605): Printing office, c.1600

©2013 Photograph: Ann Ronan/Heritage Images/Scala, Florence. M
Back cover: Detail from Morley, Madrigalls to Foure Voices; this item is reproduced by
permission of the Huntington Library, San Marino, California. U
R
MUSIC IN BRITAIN 1600–2000 R
A
Y
an imprint of Boydell & Brewer Ltd
PO Box 9, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP12 3DF (GB) and
668 Mt Hope Ave, Rochester NY 14620-2731 (US)
www.boydellandbrewer.com
Thomas morley
elizabeThan music publisher
music in britain, 1600–2000
issn 2053–3217
series editors:
byron adams, rachel cowgill and peter holman
This series provides a forum for the best new work in the field of british music
studies, placing music from the early seventeenth to the late twentieth centuries
in its social, cultural, and historical contexts. its approach is deliberately inclu-
sive, covering immigrants and emigrants as well as native musicians, and explores
britain’s musical links both within and beyond europe. The series celebrates the
vitality and diversity of music-making across britain in whatever form it took and
wherever it was found, exploring its aesthetic dimensions alongside its meaning
for contemporaries, its place in the global market, and its use in the promotion of
political and social agendas.
proposals or queries should be sent in the first instance to professors byron
adams, rachel cowgill, peter holman or boydell & brewer at the addresses
shown below. all submissions will receive prompt and informed consideration.
professor byron adams,
Department of music – 061, university of california, riverside, ca 92521–0325
email: [email protected]
professor rachel cowgill,
school of music, cardiff university, 31 corbett road, cardiff cf10 3eb
email: [email protected]
professor peter holman,
school of music, university of leeds, leeds, ls2 9jt
email: [email protected]
boydell & brewer, po box 9, Woodbridge, suffolk, ip12 3df
email: [email protected]
Previously published volumes in this series are listed at the back of this book
Thomas morley
elizabeThan music publisher
❧
Tessa murray
the boydell press
© Tessa murray 2014
All rights reserved. except as permitted under current legislation
no part of this work may be photocopied, stored in a retrieval system,
published, performed in public, adapted, broadcast,
transmitted, recorded or reproduced in any form or by any means,
without the prior permission of the copyright owner
The right of Tessa murray to be identified as
the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with
sections 77 and 78 of the copyright, Designs and patents act 1988
First published 2014
The boydell press, Woodbridge
isbn 978 1 84383 960 6
The boydell press is an imprint of boydell & brewer ltd
po box 9, Woodbridge, suffolk ip12 3DF, uK
and of boydell & brewer inc.
668 mt hope avenue, rochester, ny 14620–2731, usa
website: www.boydellandbrewer.com
The publisher has no responsibility for the continued existence or accuracy
of urls for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this book,
and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is,
or will remain, accurate or appropriate.
a cip catalogue record for this book is available
from the british library
This publication is printed on acid-free paper
For Kathleen
❧

❧ contents
List of Figures viii
List of Tables ix
Preface xi
Acknowledgements xv
Abbreviations xvi
Editorial Conventions xvii
introduction 1
chapter 1 childhood and early career 3
chapter 2 From church musician to entrepreneur 29
chapter 3 The market for recreational music 48
chapter 4 The establishment of music printing in london 69
chapter 5 morley’s monopoly 85
chapter 6 morley’s publishing business 98
chapter 7 morley’s printing business 110
chapter 8 morley and the madrigal 124
chapter 9 morley’s other publications 146
chapter 10 music publishing after morley 163
chapter 11 morley’s legacy 177
appendices
1 Dedicatees of Thomas morley’s music publications 189
2 Thomas morley’s music printing patent 192
3 conjectural lifetime income for morley from publishing his Works 194
4 little saint helens publications 196
5 Thomas morley’s publications 203
Bibliography 233
Index 249
Figures
1 map of sixteenth-century norwich; based on detail from William
cunningham, ‘nordovicum angliae civitas’, 1559; copyright norwich castle
museum and art Gallery 5
2 map of the city of london; based on detail from Georg braun and Frans
hogenberg, ‘londinum feracissimi angliae regni metropolis’, 1574;
© museum of london 30
3 map of st helen’s bishopsgate; made from the copperplate map, 1559;
© museum of london 45
4 Detail from morley, A Plaine and Easie Introduction; reproduced by
permission of the Folger shakespeare library 79
5 morley, Canzonets to Five and Sixe Voices; reproduced by permission of the
Folger shakespeare library 81
6 opening from John Dowland, First Booke of Songes; reproduced by
permission of the Folger shakespeare library 83
7 Thomas morley’s letter to sir robert cecil, requesting changes to the
wording of the music monopoly; cecil papers 62/77; reproduced by courtesy
of the marquess of salisbury, hatfield house 87
8 Detail from morley, Ayres; reproduced by permission of the Folger
shakespeare library 114
9 page from pierre attaingnant, Quatorze Gaillardes neuf ; bayerische
staatsbibliothek, münchen, musikabteilung, mus. pr. 238 115
10 page from Thomas morley, Canzonets to Three Voyces, bassus part book;
reproduced by permission of the Folger shakespeare library 130
11 Detail from npG 710, unknown artist, ‘sir henry unton’ (c. 1596);
© national portrait Gallery, london 151
12 opening from morley, Plaine and Easie Introduction; reproduced by
permission of the Folger shakespeare library 161
13 music printed in england, 1588–1620, showing each monopoly period 164
14 First editions of madrigals and lute ayres printed in england,
1588–1620 164
15 all editions of madrigals and lute ayres printed in england, 1588–1620 166
16 references to instruments on the title pages of music printed in england,
1588–1620 166
17 Detail from byrd, bull and Gibbons, Parthenia; this item is reproduced by
permission of The huntington library, san marino, california 171
Tables
1 an estimate of morley’s monopoly earnings by year 89
2 Thomas east’s estimate of the production costs for Dowland’s Second Booke
of Songs 101
3 conjectural minimum income for morley, 1593–1602 109
4 publications associated with barley, morley and little st helens 110
5 estimated profit in 1599 from the little st helens printing business 119
6 english reprints and second editions of music first published between 1588
and 1620 178
7 Dedicatees of morley’s publications 189
8 potential profit and loss for morley from his publications 195
9 contents of morley’s Canzonets to Three Voyces 205
10 contents of morley’s Madrigalls to Foure Voyces 207
11 contents of morley’s Balletts 210
12 contents of morley’s Canzonets to Two Voyces 213
13 contents of morley’s Canzonets to Five and Sixe Voices 215
14 contents of morley’s Canzonets to Foure Voyces 216
15 contents of morley’s Madrigals to Five Voyces 220
16 contents of morley’s Consort Lessons 223
17 contents of morley’s Ayres 226
18 contents of The Triumphes of Oriana 229