Henry VIII’s Songbook (): secular music in the early Tudor period

This video contains a selection of 15 short pieces from the British Library Additional Manuscript #31922 also known as Henry VIII’s Songbook. It is an English chansonnier likely copied around 1518 for the court entertainers in the service of the King. It contains a broad repertoire of secular music from the late 15th and early 16th centuries. A majority of the pieces have been attributed to the King hiimself, but many are the works of Franco Flemish masters and less well-known English composers. The most famous song is the raucous “Pastyme with Good Companye“ -- a piece which expresses a lighthearted, idealistic spirit in the Eighth Henry’s long and often violent career. But at the time of this book’s copying, the brutal womanizing and murderous rampages of later years was still a decade away., All musical clips are MIDI files from that I modified using an iPhone app MusicStudio2. The electronic files were uploaded by members of the Japanese recorder ensemble Aeolian Consort. The instruments that I tried to emulate include recorders, treble viol, bass viol, lute, sackbut, crumhorn, shawm, and percussion -- all listed in the King’s inventory. A majority of the selections are so called “consort music“ -- short untitled, un-numbered instrumental pieces by various composers including the King himself. The manuscript pages in this video are cropped from the British Library’s digitized collection of rare documents. The artworks are contemporary with the music and date from 1480-1520. Below is a listing of the scanned images from various internet sources. (Abbreviations: = Henry VIII, HHY = Hans Holbein the Younger, SV = Sebastian Virdung) To skip to a different piece, click on the time stamp next to the song title. 0:10 Pastyme with good compagnye () a. Pastyme with good compagnye, MS 31922, b. Musicians in a boat, Da Costa Book of Hours, c. Landsknecht musicians, Elder, 1518 1:31 Consort 13 () a. Consort 13, MS 31922 b. Flutes, SV, 1511 c. Consort 13, details, MS 31922 2:22 If loue now reynyd () a. If loue now reynyd, MS 31922 b. Lovers, Henry VIII’s Book of Hours, France, c. If loue now reynyd, details d. The Ambassadors, HHY, 1533 e. If loue now reynyd, details f. Henry VII (forground) Henry VIII as child (background), 3:54 Consort 5 () a. Consort 5, MS 31922 b. Brass instruments, SV, 1511 c. Consort 5, details d. Henry’s writing box, 4:45 Madame D’amours (Anonymous) a. Madame Damours, MS 31922 b. Tudor rose with canon for 2, 1516 c. Madame Damours, details d. Flute player, G.G. Savoldo, 1519 6:03 Gentil prince () a. Gentil prince, MS 31922 b. Henry portrait inside the initial “h“, 1526 c. Gentil prince, details d. Marriage of St. Ursula, Anonymous, Lisbon, 7:10 Adew madame () a. Adew madame, MS 31922 b. Dejanira et Hercules, Epistulae Heroidum, 8:11 Departure is my chef payne () a. Departure, MS 31922 b. Assumption of the Virgin, detail, , Rome, c. Departure, detail d. Galley musicians at Henry’s court, HHY, e. Katherine of Aragon’s window, Chapel, Windsor 9:51 Consort 2 (John Lloyd) a. Consort 2, MS 31922 b. Madonna and Child, details, , c1498 c. Consort 2, details d. Tudor rose, Anon., 1516 e. Hampton Court Palace, Chapel f. Hampton Court Palace, Great Hall, main site of entertainment g. Hampton Court Palace, Great Hall 12:07 Consort 9 () a. Madonna with Child, B. Luini, Chiesa di San Magno, 1523 b. Consort 9, MS 31922 c. Henry VIII coin, d. Angels playing instruments, , 13:30 En vray amoure () a. Shawms, SV 1511 b. Coronation of Pope Pius III, Pinturicchio, Siena, c. Statspfeifer, Nuremberg, 1520 14:29 Consort 8 () a. Muse Euterpe with flute, Cossa, b. Thomas More note to Henry VIII and Katherine Aragon 15:12 Withowt discord () a. Initials of Henry VIII and Katherine Aragon, armor b. Henry VIII Coat of arms c. Hampton Court Palace, Great Hall entrance 16:19 Consort 22 (Anonymous) a. Consort 22, MS 31922 b. Musicians, details, Pinturicchio, c. Venetian trumpets, Bellini d. King’s Beasts, Hampton Court Palace Gateway e. Hampton Court Palace, Great Hall banquet 18:07 Taundernaken a. Taundernaken, MS 31922 b. Galley musicians, HHY c. Hampton Court Palace towers d. King’s Lion, Hampton Court Palace Gateway e. Henry VIII portrait, HHY, 1540