 |
| A collection of psalms and hymns, both plain and fuguing, The Lord's Prayer, three catches, and two glees, one sacred, one secular from the West Gallery tradition.
From Gordon's introduction:
The music in this book covers a wide period in time from roughly 1660 to 1860, and a broad spectrum of musical styles ranging from relatively simple melodic material to contrapuntal music of some complexity. Some of it is of, or derived from, written art-music genres of various periods - equally, it may come from the work of relatively unlettered village musicians. It is folk music in the sense that it belongs to the people and often carries strong elements of oral transmission, but it may equally be art music in the sense of being composed in the high art fashion of its day and written down. What is common to every item in the book is that it is a joy to perform - and to hear, we are told.
It is a singers' and instrumentalists' collection and, above all else, a book of music which we have performed with immense enjoyment whether it be at our major Association gatherings or in our scattered local quires and performing groups.
|
