Drexel 4257, also known by an inscription on its first page, "John Gamble, his booke, amen 1659" is a music manuscript commonplace book.Jeffrey Pulver, A Biographical Dictionary of Old English Music, with a new introduction and a bibliography of the writings of Jeffrey Pulver by Gilbert Blount (New York: Da Capo Press, 1973). It is the largest collection of English songs from the first half to the middle of the 17th century, and is an important source for studying vocal music in its transition from Renaissance music to Baroque music in England. Many songs also provide commentary on contemporary political events leading up to the Restoration.
Belonging to the New York Public Library, it forms part of the Music Division's Drexel Collection, located at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. Following traditional library practice, its name is derived from its call number.Resource Description and Access, rule 6.2.2.7, option c (access by subscription).
The compilation of the text may have started as early as the turn of the 17th century, but the manuscript had been completed in 1659 or 1660. Some of the songs in the manuscript contain references to the then-new king Charles II of England, who assumed the throne in 1660. The watermark of the manuscript is a fleur-de-lis. The same watermark was used in at least two other English books of the 1650s, suggesting a common origin.
John Gamble is thought to have acquired an unfinished version of the manuscript in 1642 or 1643, when the musicians of the Royal Chapel were dispersed as a result of the English Civil War. He apparently made his own handwritten additions over the following years, and likely kept the manuscript in his book collection until his death in 1687. The manuscript was forgotten until 1846, when it resurfaced as part of the collection of the musicologist Edward Francis Rimbault.Philip H. Highfill, Jr., Kalman A. Burnim, and Edward A. Langhans, A Biographical Dictionary of Actors, Actresses, Musicians, Dancers, Managers & Other Stage Personnel in London, 1660–1800 vol. 5 (Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1978), p. 451.Frederick W. Fairholt, introduction to "The Civic Garland," Early English Poetry, Ballads, and Popular Literature of the Middle Ages (London: Printed for the Percy Society by T. Richards, 1846), p. xi.
Historical context Before researchers took active interest in it, the field of 17th-century British song had not been investigated. Music historian Charles Burney had a negative opinion towards British vocal music in this period. That attitude was carried through the beginning of the 20th century, where in the first edition of the Oxford History of Music, Hubert Parry stated that English composers' sense of musical line was deficient. Quoting Parry, Oxford History of Music, vol. 3.
Vincent Duckles thought one reason for the negative attitude might have been the lack of published sources: Between 1627 (the publication date of John Hilton's Ayres or Fa-las) and 1651 (John Playford's Musical Banquet), there appeared only a single publication of British vocal music: Walter Porter's Madrigales and Ayres of 1632. Duckles incorrectly states the date as 1639.
Scholarly work on Drexel 4257 was one of the major reasons for a change in attitude. With over 320 songs, 250 of which contain music, it is "the largest single body of early 17th-century English songs that we know." "The composers ... all belonged to the small world of court musicians that suffered disruption during the English Civil War and the Commonwealth of England. Some began their careers late in the reign of James I, most saw service in court of Charles I, and a few survived to return to their posts at the invitation of Charles II." For the most part, their active careers were over by 1660 or shortly thereafter.
The compiler (or compilers) was not an antiquarian: this collection of songs was intended for practical use, and represents the generation of English composers active between 1630 and 1660. As such, Drexel 4257 "stands as the record of English musical and literary taste as it developed over a period of some thirty years," moving from the late Jacobean era to Restoration periods. Though its musical contents may sometimes be variable, its main interest is that, as a document of its time, it reflects contemporary taste, offering comments on contemporary events and references to the past.
By virtue of its repertoire and of the period covered, Drexel 4257 is closely related to other 17th-century English music manuscripts: 2240 (British Library Deposit), Drexel 4041 (New York Public Library), Don.c.57 (Bodleian Library), Add. 29,396 (British Library), Add. 11,608 (British Library), MS B.1 (Bodleian Library), Add. 31432 (British Library), Add. 10337 (British Library), F.5.13 (Trinity College, Dublin), Egerton 2013 (British Library), Drexel 4175 (New York Public Library), Add 29381 (British Library), MS 1041 (Lambeth Palace Library), and MS 87 (Christ Church Library).
General and physical description
The binding of Drexel 4257 measures . It contains 227 leaves which measure (the leaves' varying length can add or subtract several millimeters to their respective measurement). As the image at left indicates, the volume was rebound on December 6, 1944, by Neumann Leathers of Hoboken, New Jersey. The folios are not numbered, but each song is numbered. Using different methods of enumeration, scholars have disagreed on how many songs are contained in the manuscript. Hughes wrote that the collection contained 246 songs, 146 of which are by unidentified composers, but he was only counting songs with "a musical setting sufficiently complete to make identification possible." Duckles claimed there were 325 different songs numbered 1 through 329: two songs occur twice ("Keepe on yor vayle and hide yor Eye" nos. 134 and 237, and "If thou wilt loue me I'le loue thee" nos. 174 and 215). Additionally, nos. 275 ("Stay, stay, prate noe more") and 324 ("I haue reason to Fly thee") are satirical replies to anti-Royalist lyrics not included in the manuscript. No. 206 is blank and not identified in the index, and the song "Why sligh'stt thou her whome I aproue" is both nos. 222 and 223. There are also two songs listed in the index for which no space was allotted. For Duckles, eighty-five of the 325 songs are lacking music and have either just titles, or titles and lyrics only. Elise Bickford Jorgens counted 327 songs, including songs listed in at least one of the two tables of contents but for which there is no music. (This article and the table below uses Jorgens' enumeration.)
The breakdown of the 97 songs by known composers is as follows: John Gamble (28), Henry Lawes (28), William Lawes (10), John Wilson (11), William Webb (8), Thomas Brewer (3), Robert Smith (2), Nicholas Lanier (2), Walter Youckney (2), Robert Johnson (1), John Withy (1), and Charles Coleman (1).
Folio 1 verso contains a bawdy lyric followed by the inscription written twice, "John Gamble his booke amen 1-6-5-9 an[n]o Domini." The material on Folio 2 recto is from a later date. The upper half of the page contains an engraved portrait of Gamble, printed by W. Richardson in 1795, pasted in. The lower portion contains a brief biographical inscription concerning Gamble in the hand of the former owner, Edward F. Rimbault. A note giving a brief description of the contents has been tipped in near the center of the binding.
There are two tables of contents. The first, with the heading "The Cattalogue" on folios 3r-5r, is a numbered list of songs from 1 through 266. Starting with song no. 201, the style of enumeration varies inconsistently: no. 201 is listed as 2001, 220 is listed as 20020. Additionally, there is a group of songs incorrectly altered to 300s. The second table, on folios 5v-8r, has no heading but is an alphabetical grouping of songs where in each letter the songs are listed sequentially. This list was apparently compiled after the manuscript was completed and includes all songs except nos. 314–317. It is written by the same hand as the enumerator of songs 177–266 in "The Cattalogue."
The manuscript as currently bound (the date accompanying the binding information on the inside rear cover is stamped Dec. 6, 1944) has some songs out of sequence (nos. 331–340), surrounded by no. 311 and 312.
Dating
The date of 1659 (from Gamble's inscription on 1v) has been a source of puzzlement to those who have studied the manuscript. Willa McClung Evans, consulting Edward Heawood's study of watermarks (used to date paper), noted the watermark, a fleur-de-lis, was of undetermined origin, but was also used in Fuller's "Holy State" of 1652, and Denis Petau "History of the World" of 1659.Willa McClung Evans, "Lawes' Version of Shakespeare's Sonnet CXVI" Publications of the Modern Language Association of America, Vol. 51, No. 1 (Mar., 1936), p. 120–122. She cites Edward Heawood's article, "Papers used in England after 1600," The Library, Fourth Series, xi (1929), p. 263. Charles W. Hughes believed the book was begun around the turn of the 17th century - a hypothesis rejected by Jorgens who notes that it contains works by Henry Lawes, born in 1596. Hughes believed the terminal date was at least 1660, as some of the songs refer to Charles II of England, who assumed the throne in the Stuart Restoration of 1660. Duckles noted that the earliest lyrics were from England's Helicon (1600) and Davison's Poetical Rhapsody (1602). Duckles felt that 1659 is close to the terminal date, noting that no songs had been added after the English Commonwealth period, and no younger composers were included in the collection.
Provenance
Though writers disagree on details of the handwriting (see the section on handwriting below), they all agree that the handwriting of the latter portion of Drexel 4257 is probably that of John Gamble, given that there is a concentration of his work in that part of the manuscript. This suggests that the book was begun by someone else (whom Lynn Hulse recognized as Thomas Jordan; see below). Duckles surmised that Gamble came into possession of the book in 1642–43 when the musicians of the Royal Chapel were dispersed as a result of the English Civil War. Although Gamble lost most of his possessions in a fire in 1666, this book appears to have survived. He made out his will on 30 June 1680, in which he bequeathed his grandson (also named John Gamble) all his books of music.Philip H. Highfill, Jr., Kalman A. Burnim, and Edward A. Langhans, A Biographical Dictionary of Actors, Actresses, Musicians, Dancers, Managers & Other Stage Personnel in London, 1660–1800 vol. 5 (Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1978), p. 451.
After Gamble's death in 1687, nothing is known of the manuscript for over 150 years. The first published reference to it comes in 1846, where it is mentioned in volume 19 of the Percy Society's Early English Poetry, Ballads, and Popular Literature of the Middle Ages as being in the possession of one of the editors of the series, Edward Francis Rimbault.Frederick W. Fairholt, introduction to "The Civic Garland," Early English Poetry, Ballads, and Popular Literature of the Middle Ages (London: Printed for the Percy Society by T. Richards, 1846), p. xi. 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 Rimbault auction catalog entry for the Gamble manuscript reads: