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Anthony Holborne (ca 1545 – 1602) was a composer of music for lute, cittern, and instrumental consort during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.
His first known book was the Cittarn Schoole of 1597, consisting of compositions for the cittern. The preface indicates the pieces were composed over a number of years. He writes that the musical compositions are “untimely fruits of my youth, begotten in the cradle and infancy of my slender skill.”
The Pavans, Galliards, Almains and other short Aeirs, both grave and light, in five parts, for Viols, Violins, or other Musicall Winde Instruments was published in 1599 and consisted of 65 of his own compositions. It is the largest surviving collection of its kind. Most are of the pavan-galliard combination. Other pieces are of the allemande style. The rest are unclassified.
On the title page of both his books, he claims to be in the service of Queen Elizabeth.
Dedication Page Text: “In a continued observation of your virtuous constancy in the love of Music, I have long and with great increase of reason honoured you most gentle Sir: for, even but part of my poor labours speaking in their kindly voice, from the experience of many years can feelingly witness and sing with what graceful favours they have been nourished at your hands. With this regard, I have distinctively bundled them up into a catalogue volume, accompanied with a more liberal and enlarged choice than hath at any time as yet come to your refined ears: and withal, have now made bold to present them as things not altogether unnecessary to do you pleasing service, but also to live and dwell with you under the protection of your good allowance, and the testimony of my ever-bounden thankfulness.”
Pavans and Galliards
The pavan is a slow processional dance common in Europe during the 16th century. The decorous sweep of the pavan suited the new more sober Spanish-influenced courtly manners of 16th century Italy. It appears in dance manuals in England, France, and Italy. It has a slow duple metre with two strains of eight, twelve, or sixteen bars each. The pavan’s popularity was from roughly 1530 to 1676. As a musical form, the pavane survived long after the dance itself was abandoned, and well into the Baroque period.
In Holborne’s publication, the pavans are paired with galliards.
The galliard was a form of Renaissance dance and music popular all over Europe in the 16th century. It is mentioned in dance manuals from England, France, Spain, Germany, and Italy. It is an athletic dance, characterised by leaps, jumps, hops and other similar figures in a series of choreographed patterns of steps. After the dance fell out of popular use and, in musical compositions, the galliard often filled the role of an after dance written in 3 or 6, which followed and mimicked another piece (sometimes a pavan) written in 2 or 4.
Almains
An allemande (allemanda, almain(e), or alman(d), French: “German (dance)”) is a Renaissance and Baroque dance, and one of the most common instrumental dance styles in Baroque music
The allemande originated in the 16th century as a duple metre dance of moderate tempo, already considered very old, with a characteristic “double-knocking” upbeat of two or occasionally three sixteenth notes. It appears to have derived from a German dance but no identifiable dance and no German dance instructions from this era survive.
The 16th-century French dancing master Thoinot Arbeau and the British Inns of Court therefore preserve the first records of the allemande, in which dancers formed a line of couples who took hands and walked the length of the room, walking three steps then balancing on one foot. A livelier version, the allemande courante, used three springing steps and a hop. Elizabethan British composers wrote many “Almans” as separate pieces.
Other Aeirs
There are five additional pieces in Pavans, Galliards, Almains and other short Aeirs: Wanton, The Widowes Myte, The Fairie-round, As it Fell on Holy Eve, and Heigh Ho Holiday (numbered 61 to 65). They are available for free by clicking here.
Selection of Pieces for Inclusion in this Book
All of the pieces are from the publication Pavans, Galliards, Almains, and other short Airs both grave and light, in five parts for viols, violins or other musical wind instruments, London 1599, made by Anthony Holborne, gentleman and servant to her most excellent Majesty (spelling modernized).
The pieces are numbered to correspond to the numbering in the original folio. Only the first 60, of a total of 65 pieces, have been arranged.
Ukulele Ensemble
The pieces are arranged for ukulele ensemble but the parts can be combined if there are fewer instruments performing a piece:
- Cantus (ukulele 1) can be a concert/soprano/tenor ukulele
- Altus & Quintus (ukuleles 2 & 3) can be a concert/soprano/tenor ukulele with linear tuning using a low G string
- Tenor (ukulele 4) can be a baritone ukulele or classical guitar
- Bassus (ukulele 5) can be a ukulele bass tuned up an octave (to E2-A2-D3-G3), a classical guitar or a tenor ukulele with two added lower strings (E2 and A2)
How to adjust the arrangements for the available instruments
Three of the parts may have notes that are be below the lowest sounding string on the selected instrument.
Usually a note a 3rd, 4th or 5th above the note works as an alternative to fit in with the harmonic structure of the affected bar of music.
For the Altus or Quintus parts with notes below G (namely G3) when using a soprano/concert/tenor ukulele in linear tuning with a low G string, the following are recommended:
- For F (i.e. F3), play A (i.e. A3)
- For E (i.e. E3), play B-flat (i.e. Bb3)
Here is a sample passage and recommended alternative:
For the Tenor part with notes below D (namely D3) when using a baritone ukulele, the following are recommended:
- For C (namely C3), play E (i.e. E3)
Here is a sample passage and recommended alternative:
For the Bassus part, there is sometimes a low D note (i.e. D2). This normally requires an alternative or “drop D tuning” by tuning the 6th string down a tone from E to D in order to play that note. However, in these arrangements, such notes have been transposed to be an octave higher so that no alternative tuning is required and a notation of “8vb” is made in the score (8vb is derived from “ottava bassa,” meaning “low octave” in Italian).