Drexel 4041


Drexel 4041 is a 17th-century British music manuscript commonplace book. As described by musicologist John P. Cutts, Drexel 4041 "is a treasure-house of early seventeenth-century song and dramatic lyric worthy of the attention of any student of seventeenth-century literature and drama." It is also a major source for the work of English composer William Lawes. Belonging to the New York Public Library, it forms part of the Drexel Collection, housed in the Music Division of the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. Following traditional library practice, its name is derived from its call number.

Dating

Drexel 4041 dates from between 1640 and 1650. Royalist songs near the end of the manuscript point to its completion in the late 1640s For this reason Cutts suggests the date 1649 based on the songs' content.

Physical description

Drexel 4041 measures and is composed of 144 folios, including two leaves for tables of contents. It lacks the introductory and concluding leaves typically found in similar manuscripts on which would indicate ownership by means of signatures or similar inscriptions.
One of the manuscript's idiosyncratic features are its two tables of contents, both incomplete. The first table of contents begins on folio 1 verso and is numbered 1-79, leaving the remainder of the page blank. No table is made for the next 20 songs. The second table of contents begins on folio 2 recto with the song "Fly boy, fly boy to the sellers" and continues through number 38. Because of this peculiar numbering in the two tables of contents, Willa McClung Evans, a scholar who earlier studied the manuscript, surmised it might have been a conglomeration of several manuscripts "representing perhaps the tastes of three owners of the volume or of three periods in the life of a single owner." She considered the handwriting from several unidentified hands. Cutts believed the manuscript to be the work of a single owner.
Cutts questions why some songs are unnumbered. He surmises that, presumably, the scribe added songs after compiling the tables of contents without making additions to the table. He noted that, like British Library Add. 29481, Egerton Ms. 2013, and New York Public Library Drexel 4175, several manuscripts of this period have at least two series of contents.
In 1973 the manuscript underwent conservation by Carolyn Horton and Associates which included numbering the folios.

Handwriting

The manuscript appears to be the work of a single scribe. It is not work of a professional copyist but of a secretarial hand, consistent in its use of italics. Based on the idiosyncratic natures of letters such as "e", "r" and "c," Cutts attributes an Italian influence to the scribe. An unusual attribute of this scribe is that he tends to write v for u, resulting in words such as "thov". The calligraphy is difficult due to many cross outs and obscuring of letters due to an unsharpened quill and smudging.
The contents were entered over a period time suggesting a commonplace book. Cutts discerns that scribe must have had access to other manuscripts circulating among court and theatrical musicians based on the variety of composer names associated with both spheres.
Most of the marginalia was added by its former owner Edward F. Rimbault.

Provenance

Rimbault wrote that the earliest known owner of Drexel 4041 was Robert Shirley, 1st Earl Ferrers. The manuscript stayed within his family at their estate in Staunton Harold. Rimbault obtained it from the descendants for his own collection.
An organist and musicologist, Rimbault took a keen interest in English music and voraciously collected rare books, scores, and valuable manuscripts. Upon his death, his extensive and valuable library was auctioned by Sotheby's over the course of five days. The Sotheby catalogue entry for this manuscript reads:
Songs, by Dr. John Wilson, Henry and William Lawes, Dr. Charles Colman, Robert Johnson, Thomas Brewer, John Taylor, John Atkins, and other Composers of the 17th century, calf, folio.

The manuscript along with about 300 lots were purchased by Philadelphia-born financier Joseph W. Drexel, who had already amassed a large music library. Upon Drexel's death, he bequeathed his music library to The Lenox Library. When the Lenox Library merged with the Astor Library to become the New York Public Library, the Drexel Collection became the basis for one of its founding units, the Music Division. Today, Drexel 4041 is part of the Drexel Collection in the Music Division, now located at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center.

Attributions

Although a high proportion of songs have composer attributions, they are inconsistent and not always reliable. Already in 1856, Rimbault identified the actor "Jack Wilson" as the composer of several songs "as is proved by a book of manuscript music, as old in some parts as the time of the English Civil War, although in others it seems to have been written in the reign of Charles II of England. That song is there found with Wilson's name at the end of it, as the author of the music: unluckily the manuscript says nothing regarding the authorship of the words..."
Cutts notes the attribution of "mr Eynes" to the song "Collin say why sitts thou soe." However, he recognizes the setting is that of Nicholas Lanier, as confirmed in three other contemporaneous manuscripts, and wonders how the scribe could have derived "Eynes" from "Lanier."
As an example of a typically puzzling situation, Jorgens takes the song "O tell mee damon canst thou proue." The initials on the song are W.L., suggesting William Lawes is the composer, a hypothesis that gains weight when considering the number of songs by him in the collection. She quotes Cutts who declares the setting is "the only extant version of William Lawes's setting," pointing out further that "Drexel 4257, 161 contains William Webb's setting and it was Webb's that was published in Select Musicall Ayres and Dialogues, 1652, 1I.32 and 1653. Unfortunately Cutts is wrong; the setting in Drexel 4257 is the same as in Drexel 4041; so is the composer Lawes, or Webb?" Jorgens concludes that only with the availability of many manuscript facsimiles and early printed editions can correct composer attributions be made.
According to Lefkowitz, it is only through collation of Drexel 4041 with other allied manuscripts that attributions and correct musical texts can be determined.

Content

The contents of the manuscript suggest the owner liked the theatre, as there are lyrics to at least 30 plays. The collection is unusual in that most of the texts can be identified.
Cutts surmises that these compilations of music manuscripts, while giving the impression of commonplace books, also suggest that the music and poetry of theatre musicians were circulated among each other, influencing their compositional development.
Evans remarks upon the song "Why soe pall and wan fond louer" and notes that it was probably written and known prior to its appearance in John Suckling's play Aglaura, based on the character Orsames's comments to it: "I little foolish counsel, Madame, I gave / a Friend of mine four or fives years ago / When he was falling into a consumption." Evans notes that the song was easy to perform, so that it could be sung by regular members of the acting company. L.A. Beaurline states that this setting of "Why So Pale and Wan" is the earliest existing musical setting of this lyric.
Cutts remarks that "it is virtually impossible to be certain that particular songs are not actually separate songs but sections of others." Clearly some songs gave Cutts trouble; where he saw two songs beginning at folio 89 verso, Jorgens renders these as a single song.
Musicologist Vincent J. Duckles notes the first song, "Beauty which all men admire" must have had some currency as it is found in two other contemporaneous manuscripts. He calls it a "tour de force" of harmonic experimentation work, showing the early Baroque range of harmonic freedom to an extent rarely found in English music.
The song "Oh let us howl" from John Webster's play The Duchess of Malfi has received attention. An unnamed reviewer commented that it is the only source that provides a satisfactory thorough bass for the work. Duckles finds it "particularly interesting because it is written for a tenor voice, joined by the bass in a 2-part chorus in the last section "At last when as our quire wants breath... ", an arrangement which may well have been the one employed in the original production of the play. Furthermore, it bears a contemporary attribution to Robert Johnson as the composer. What Mr. Cutts has been able to conjecture on stylistic grounds is thus confirmed by solid documentary evidence."
Cutts regarded the marginal note on 124v "he/my/King/too" as evidence that the compiler was royalist in sympathy and identified himself with the song's denunciation of the adversaries of King Charles I of England. This evidence led Cutts to believe the collection was assembled prior to the execution of Charles I in 1649.
Evans notes that the text of "A Loose Sarabande" by Richard Lovelace offers textual variants.

List of contents

Many of the text attributions and other remarks are from Cutts and RISM.
NumberFoliosTitleComposerLyricistRemarks
13rBeuty wch all men admireJohn Wilson
23v-4r0 doe nott goe from us and bringeJohn Wilson
34rTell me nott I my time MisspendJohn WilsonJohn Dryden? Philip King?attributed to either John Eaton, John Dryden or Philip King
45r-5vThou artt nott faire for all thy red and whightNicholas LanierThomas CampionSetting of Thomas Campion's Song XII in his Booke of Ayres, 1601
56rWher did you borrow thatt last sighWilliam LawesWilliam Berkeleyfrom The Lost Lady
66r-6vWhy should greatt bewty uertuous fame desierWilliam LawesWilliam Davenant
76v-7vWee show noe monsstrous crockadellWilliam LawesJasper Maynefrom The City Match
87v-8vWhy soe pall and wan fond louerWilliam LawesJohn Sucklingfrom Aglaura
98v-9rNoe faire heritickeHenry LawesJohn Sucklingfrom Aglaura ; possibly composed by William Lawes; published in Select Musicall Ayres and Dialogues ; Select Ayres and Dialogues ; The Treasury of Musick
109r-9v0 draw your curtaines and appeareWilliam LawesWilliam Davenantfrom the play Love and Honour
1110rSom say my loue is butt a manJohn WilsonRichard BromeText from The Northern Lass
1210v-11rNor loue nor fate dare I acuseJohn WilsonRichard BromeText from The Northern Lass
1311r-11vA bony bird I haueJohn WilsonRichard BromeText from The Northern Lass
1412rSullen care why dost thou keepeWilliam Lawes
1512v-13rFill fill ye bowele ye lusty wyne will dyeWilliam LawesFor two voices
1613r-13vI am confermd a woman canHenry LawesJohn Suckling
1713v-14rDowne be still you seasJohn WilsonPublished in Wilson's Cheerful Ayres, without attribution
1814v-15v0 let mee still and silentt lyeWilliam Lawes
1915v-16rCom shepherds com, Com away with out delayWilliam Lawes?Francis Beaumont, John Fletcherfrom The Faithful Shepherdess
2016rIn enuye of the nightWilliam LawesJames Shirleyfrom The Triumph of Peace
2116vAs I was gathering aprill flowersJohn WilsonRichard BromeText from The Northern Lass
2217rCom follow me you cuntry LassesJohn Fletcherfrom Fletcher's The Maid in the Mill
2317vYou shall have crownes of roses daysesJohn Gamble?John FletcherText from The Maid in the Mill
2417v-18rWhen ye deer sun with his beames hottJohn WilsonTreble only
2518vCupids wearie of the courtWilliam LawesPublished in New Ayres and Dialogues
2619rTwas not his parson nor his partes
2719v-20rSomnus the vmble God that dwles in cottagesWilliam Lawes?John Denhamfrom The Sophy
2820v-21rI lost my hart ye other dayJohn Wilson
2921v-22rThe larke now leaues his wattry nestWilliam LawesWilliam DavenantTwo voices; published in Wilson's Cheerful Ayres
3022v-23rOf thee kind boy I aske noe red and whightNicholas LanierJohn Suckling; Text published in John Suckling's Fragmenta Aurea as Sonnet II
3123v-24rO tell mee damon canst thou proueWilliam Lawes?
3224r-24vThere is none o none but IJohn WilsonRobert AytounSetting of Ayton's "To a Scornful Mistresse"
3324vTo whome shall I complaine to men or godsWilliam LawesPublished in New Ayres and Dialogues
3425r-26vArm ye scuts are all com inRobert JohnsonJohn FletcherText from Fletcher's The Mad Lover
3526v-27rI loue alas but daire not show itJohn WilsonPublished in Select Musicall Ayres and Dialogues and Wilson's Cheerful Ayres
3627r-27vOuld poetes hippocrin admierHenry LawesThomas RandolphTreble only; Text attributed to "N.N." by Lawes in his Ayres and Dialogues and to Thomas Randolph in Wit and Mirth
3727v-28rDost see how vnregarded nowJohn Atkins?John SucklingSonnet by John Suckling
3828v-29vI obay I obay and am com to vew ye dayThomas Holmes?John Fletcher“T H” added in later hand and might refer to Thomas Holmes; from John Fletcher's The Humorous Lieutenant
3929v-30rCom heavie sepe thov image of trve dethRobert Johnson?John Lyly?Text possibly by John Lyly
4030v-31rIf to be absent were to bee away from theeH L Richard Lovelace“H L” added in later hand
4131r-31vCloris now thou art fled awayH L Henry HughesAttributed to Hughes in Lawes's Ayres and his Select Ayres and Dialogues
4231v-32vWhy slightst thov her whome I aproveJohn Atkins?Benjamin RudyerdText ascribed to Rudyerd in Pembroke and Rudyard's Poems
4333r-33vAye me ye little Tyrant TheifeHenry Lawes“A loose Saraband-Lovelace poems 12ms 1649 p. 26” – added in Rimbault's hand
4434rTake O take those lips awayJohn WilsonFrancis Beaumont & John FletcherFrom "The Tragedy of the Bloody Brother" , i.e. Rollo Duke of Normandy
4534vWhy will you sware I am forsworneThomas CharlesRichard Lovelace"Poems 12m 1649 p. 15" added in later hand
4635rIn loue away you doe me wrongJohn Atkins?Henry HughesTreble only
4735vVnfold thine armes & let me goeHenry Lawes]
4836r-36vFaire Archibella to thine eyesJohn TaylorInigo Jones
4936v-37rI coniure the I coniure the, by the skin that is so faireJ w William Cavendish of NewcastleText from William Cavendish's play "The Varietie"
5037vThine eyes to mee like sonnes appeareJohn WilsonWilliam Cavendish, 1st Duke of NewcastleText from Cavendish's play The Varietie ; published in Cheerful Ayres
5138r-38vIde haue the merry laugh and smileJohn WilsonWilliam Cavendish, 1st Duke of NewcastleText from Cavendish's play The Varietie ; published in Cheerful Ayres
5238v-39rI sawre by muscadell that I doe loue the wellWilliam Cavendish, 1st Duke of NewcastleText from Cavendish's play The Varietie ; published in Cheerful Ayres
5339r-40rDeare loue let mee this euening dieWilliam DavenantFrom Davenant's "The Dying Lover"; treble only; incorrectly numbered 54 in right margin
5440rThough cupit be a god alas hese but a boyHenry Lawes
5540v-41rFoolish boy forbeare & fleeTreble only
5641v-42rWert thou yet fairer then thou artJohn Atkins?Thomas Stanley
5742rCloris farewell I needs must goeHenry Lawes
5842vRong not deare Empresse of my hartTreble only; another copy on 46r; see no. 65
5943rGather your Rosebuds whilst you mayWilliam LawesRobert HerrickText from Robert Herrick's "Hesperides" ; published in New Ayres and Dialogues
6043r-43vSince euery wone I come amongHenry LawesBenjamin RudyerdTreble only
6144rTell me not ye I dye or lieu by theeJohn TaylorJohn TathamText from Ostella
6244v-45rOh stay by me doe not fly me
6345rTell me no more her eyes ar like towe rising sunnsWilliam LawesPublished in Select Musicall Ayres and Dialogues ; Select Ayres and Dialogues ; and The Treasury of Musick
6445vStill to be neat still to be drestBen JonsonText from Ben Jonson's Epicœne, or The silent woman ; inscription “Ben Jonson” added in later hand;
6546rWrong not deere Empress of my hartText has been attributed to Walter Raleigh, Robert Aytoun, and the Earl of Pembroke; with bass line; another copy on 42v; see no. 58
6646v-47rHaue you obserud ye hermit when he runsJohn GamblePublished in Ayres and Dialogues
6747r-47vWhat though my Mris frowne one me
6848rPleasure bewty youth attend yeWilliam LawesJohn Fordfrom The Lady's Trial; Wrongly attributed to Henry Lawes in Select Ayres and Dialogues
6948v-49vBegon thou fatall fiery feauer
7049v-50rI thought but to haue warmd me at thine eyesJohn Taylor?Inigo Jones
7150v-51rIf thou doest not loue sacke, & drinke whilst thou canst seeHenry Lawes?
7251r-51vOut upon itt I have louedHenry LawesJohn SucklingTreble only; authorial attribution added in later hand: At head of 1st system, f.51r: "Sir John Suckling ad: 1772" - p.53
7352rHarke Harke how in euery groeWilliam Lawes?James ShirleyText from Cupid's Call
-52vPage is blank
7453r-53vNo I will sooner rust the windsCharles ColemanThomas Stanley
7553v-54rTroth ladye Ile not courtText only; incomplete
-54vPage is blank
7655r-55vO my Clorissa thou crewel fayreWilliam LawesPublished in "Select ayres and dialogues"
7756r-56vThis lady ripe & fayre & fresh as eastern summers areJohn AtkinsWilliam Davenant
7856v-57vTake heede fayre Chloris how you tameHenry Hughes
7957v-58rPrethe dye & set me freeJohn DenhamBass line incomplete
8058r-59rIn faith I Cannot kepe my shepe sense first I grew to bee in loveTreble only
8159r-59vYoure loue if virtuous will shew forthHenry Lawes
8260v-61rWhen the chill cherocco blowes and winter tells a heauy taleJohn AtkinsThomas Bonham
-61v-62rPages are blank
8362vNoe twas hir eyes starrs haue noe influenceHenry Lawes
8463rDid I once say ye thou wert fayreHenry LawesHenry HughesPublished in Ayres and Dialogues
8563v-64vCome com thou glorious obiect of my sightHenry LawesThomas KilligrewText from Thomas Killegrew's Selindra; Published in Ayres and Dialogues and Select Ayres and Dialogues
8665rSweete Serena skylike flowerJohn WilsonRichard Lovelace"The Rose, Lovelace poems 12m 1649 page 11" ; 3rd verse is at the foot of 64v
8765vCom cloris high wee too ye bowerHenry LawesHenry Reynolds
8866r-66vTell me you wandering spirits of the AyreHenry LawesPublished in Select Musicall Ayres and Dialogues
8967r-67vGreat Julius was a CuckoldText only
9067v-68rFull fadam fiue thy father lyesWilliam ShakespeareText only
9168v-69rBewty and loue once fell att oddsHenry LawesPublished in Select Ayres and Dialogues
9269vHow coole and temprate I am growneHenry Lawes
-70rPage is blank
9370v-71vThov dreges of lethey O thov dullIncluded in Cleveland Revived
9471vTis now since I sate downe beforeJohn AtkinsJohn SucklingNearly illegible ascription of text to Suckling, 1772, p. 30
9572v-73rChange Platonnicks Change for shameAnother copy on 139r; see no. 145
9673v-74vSwift through ye yielding are I glideHennery LawesPublished in Select Ayres and Dialogues
9774vAlas poore Cupitt art thou blindText only
9875r-76rWrong me more in thy complaintText only
9976r-77vClose by a fringed banck I foundJohn willson
10078rFly boy fly boy to the sellers bottomeSimon Ives?Published in Select Ayres and Dialogues
10178v-79rSleepe O sleepe thou Sacrd dustJohn Taylor?Dialogue; Composer identified as John Taylor by Cutts
10280rGloria tribuatur deoThomas BrewerLatin text; trio with figured bass on facing page
10380vHallaluia hallaluiaRichard DeringAnother ascription crossed out; for two voice and two instruments
10481r-82vCleare the eyes of our watchMartin LlewellynWith chorus for three voices; ; For two voices without accompaniment
10785r-86rWhen each lynes a faithfull drinkerWilliam LawesFor three voices
10886v-87vA Health a health a health to the nut browne lasseWilliam LawesJohn Sucklingfrom The Goblins ; dialogue with chorus for three voices
10987v-88rHeres a Jolly coupleWilliam Lawes?Lacking bass for verse
11088v-89rWhat should my mistresse doe with haireWilliam LawesJames Shirleyfrom The Duke's Mistress ; With chorus for two voices
11189rAll these lye howlingWilliam Lawes?For two voices without accompaniment; from The Mad Lover
11289v-92rCome from the dungeon to the throneHenry LawesWilliam CartwrightFor varied combinations, one to five voices; in ten sections which Cutts, following Evans, divides as two separate entries, the second beginning at "Thou O bright sun." Each stanza is sung by a different voice, answered by a 5-part chorus.
11392v-94vNow the sn is fled downe to leths bedHenry Lawes?William Cartwrightfrom The Royal Slave ; dialogue in eight sections with chorus; attributed elsewhere to William Lawes
11495r-96rTo bacchus wee to bacchus sing with wine and mirth"C C"Thomas KilligrewAttribution barely legible; identified by Cutts are Charles Coleman; with chorus for three voices
11596v-97rSacred loue whose virtues powerWilliam Lawes?Dialogue
11697r-98rAway with this cash twill make us all madJohn AtkinsDialogue with chorus
11798r-98vSome loue Marce and some loue VenusHenry Lawes?Dialogue with chorus
11899r-100rI preethee keepe my sheepe for meeNicholas LanierDialogue; Published as a composition of Nicholas Lanier in Select Musicall Ayres and Dialogues
119100r-100vArise Arise fayre nymph ariseDialogue; incomplete at end
120101r-101vOn brauely on the foe is meetThomas NabbesWith chorus for three voices
121102r-103rGod morrow god morrow unto herWilliam LawesJames ShirleyDialogue with chorus;
122103r-105rCharon come heither CharonJohn WilsonAscribed elsewhere to John Hiton; dialogue with chorus
123105vTell mee dearest what is loueFrancis Beaumontfrom The Knight of the Burning Pestle dialogue with chorus
124106r-107rCome heres to ye jack tis A cup of old sackeHenry Lawes?Treble only
125107v-108rOh lett us howle som heauie noatRobert JohnsonFrom The Duchess of Malfi'' ; with chorus for two voices without accompaniment
126108r-109rOh the fickle state off LouersFrancis QuarlesText only; Music attributed to William Lawes, though in some sources also attributed to Henry Lawes
127109r-111rBringe outt ye could chineJohn WilsonWith chorus for 3 voices
128111vPox on pelfe why should wee loue itJohn Taylor
129112r-113rCome Adonis come againHenry Lawes?John TathamAttributed to William Lawes in Select Ayres and Dialogues ; The Treasury of Musick ; New Ayres and Dialogues, ; with chorus for two voices;
130113r-114rHark hark how billona thunder’sHenry LawesFor two or three voices without accompaniment
-114vPage is blank
131115r-115vAbout with this brimmer my bullyesDialogue with chorus
-116rPage is blank
132116v-117rLay yt sullen garland by theeJohn TaylorWith unaccompanied chorus for two voices
-117vPage is blank
133118r-119rThe Catts as other creates doeWilliam LawesWith chorus for two voices
134119v-120rHeere is a boule in whose wide coastsJohn AtkinsWith chorus for three voices
-120vPage is blank
135121r-122vSay puritan ist come to passé by I know not whoBass incomplete; chorus for two voices
136122v-124rBlood thirsty care goe packeWith chorus for two voices
137124v-125rCome drawer some wine or wele pull downe your signeIncluded in Thomas Weaver's "Love and Drollery", "Rump", and "Loyal Garland" ; for two voices without accompaniment
138125v-126rHast your nymphes makehast awayJohn willsonDialogue with chorus for two voices
139126v-127vYou that delight in concord listonFor three voices; incomplete
-128r-130rPages are blank
140130v-131rCollin say why sitts thow soe"Mr Eyves" The attribution of this song to a Mr. Eyves has been questioned, as it is attributed to Nicholas Lanier in at least three other sources
141131v-133vGett you hence for I must goe where it fitts not you to knowDialogue; setting incomplete: music missing after measure 19
142133vThere can bee noe glad man compared to the mad manIncomplete; another copy of no. 144 on f. 137v; Text published in "Wit and Mirth"
-134rPage is blank
143134v-137rVp vp and be gon thou wanton heateHenry LawesDialogue with chorus for two voices
144137v-138vThere can bee noe glad manWill LawesWith chorus for three voices; see no. 142, folio 133v
145139r-139vChange platonikts change for shamFor two voices without accompaniment; see no. 95 on f. 72v; Published in Select Ayres and Dialogues ; The Treasury of Musick
146139v-140vTo ye hall for Justc wee callYo. YorkneyAlexander BromeFor two voices without accompaniment; The inscription "Yo. Yorkney" may refer to John Yowckney; Cutts identified the composer as Alexander Brome
147141r-141vA pox o those od matesJohn Atkinson Henry BoldWith chorus for two voices
148142r-143vJoyne thy inameld Checke to myneJohn Pamball Thomas JordanWith chorus for two voices
149144rBe quick my boyes : Coras John AtkinsChorus for two voices
-144vPage is blank

Facsimile

Drexel 4041. Vol. 9 of English song, 1600-1675: Facsimiles of Twenty-Six Manuscripts and an Edition of the Texts, ed. with introductions by Elise Bickford Jorgens. New York: Garland, 1987.

Works cited

Additional works