Review by Ken Baddley
Henry Playford knew publishing; it had been the family business for over half a
century, since his father John had been described as ‘The Musick-seller at the
Temple Gate’, so the publishing of four editions of ‘The Divine Companion’
between 1701 and 1722 is most unlikely to have been something which Henry
undertook on a speculative basis; as a good businessman—and with no more
‘social media infrastructure’ than crude handbills—he was supplying a new
demand for music from amateur singers in church galleries throughout England.
Relatively recent research has shown that there was—well before the first
(1701) edition of the collection which Francis Roads has now published—
support from local clergy for psalmody, and also for the building of galleries
specifically to house the singers. David Spaeth offers evidence of applications
from parish churches for the granting of facilities to build galleries for local
groups of singers in parish churches from as early as 1674. This evidence (of
both the building of the galleries and of the music) goes a long way towards
supporting the opinion, set out by the editor in his foreword to this new edition
of The Divine Companion, that the singing of church music from speciallyconstructed
galleries began some 60 years earlier than has been generally
thought, and that this publication, happening at that time, was a seminal work
in the development of the music which we perform today.
This new edition which Francis Roads has edited is sturdily wire-bound, so that it
will lie perfectly flat in use, is at a convenient A4 size, and is printed on
environmentally friendly Forest Stewardship Council approved stock. There are
almost 100 pages of music, but nothing is crowded; there is sufficient white space
on every page and the music setting style will be very familiar to all who have
attended WGMA gatherings over the years; complete lyrics in every case where
space permits, but with a maximum of four verses of text underlayed. All of the
editor’s emendations are clearly explained, and full attribution and biographical
information on the composers is provided in a detailed introduction, which more
than compensates for the slight shock of an initial introduction to them (in the
Anthems section) where he mentions them simply as ‘eight contemporary London
composers’. They were all among the most distinguished musicians of their time;
almost all of the eight having been choristers and (later) gentlemen of the Chapel
Royal, three having been Composer to the Chapel Royal, and two Master of the
Choristers at St. Paul’s. Only one (Samuel Akeroyde) lacked distinction, other than
that of him having been perhaps one of the most published secular composers of
his day.
What will appeal to anyone who has attempted to transcribe from the facsimile
editions of The Divine Companion available on the internet is the trouble that this
editor has taken to explain (in detailed notes which are helpfully on the music pages
themselves rather than being indexed off to another part of the volume) those things
which Playford didn’t make clear or didn’t appreciate were not; an instance of a
long metre tune having been adapted to a common metre text; unmarked (in the
original) changes of time signature; editorial cadence points in the canons, as well
as any other matter which requires explanation or clarification in any way; it has all
been done, and explained by the editor as simply and as clearly as possible. He
suggests where bass parts are intended to be instrumental, and—in a bold
stroke—has added third editorial parts to two-part settings, where the texture might
otherwise have been thin, or simply to make them useable by smaller groups of
singers, or by quires without (for instance) male tenors. This alone makes this
edition of The Divine Companion an eminently useable resource for both quire and
choir. The book is fully indexed by title and by category (Psalms and Hymns, Songs,
Canons) and—in a generous gesture entirely fitting to the man and the movement—
the editor has completed his foreword to this edition with the words ‘copies of all
pages in this book may be freely made for amateur use’.
