A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Windsor

←

A Dictionary of Music and Musicians
edited by George Grove

Windsor

→

3958665A Dictionary of Music and Musicians — Windsor

WINDSOR or ETON TUNE. This is first found in Damon's music to the Psalms, 1591, harmonised in four parts, and set to Ps. cxvi. It is not in Damon's earlier work of 1579.^[1] As no complete set of parts is known to exist, the melody only can be quoted:—

${ \relative a' { \time 2/2 \cadenzaOn \override NoteHead.style = #'petrucci r\breve a1 a2 b c1. b2 a a1 gis2 r %end line 1 c2 e1 d2 c1 b2 c1 r r2 c2 e d c %end line 2 b a a gis1 r\breve r2 a2 c b1 a gis2 a1 %end line 3 r1 r2 c e d c b a a gis1 r\breve r2 a %end line 4 c b2. a4 a1 gis2 a1. a2 a\longa \bar "||" } }$

This affords an example of Damon's method of prolonging a tune by repetition, of which Hawkins speaks.

In 1592 the tune appears in Este's 'Whole Booke of Psalmes,' containing the Church Tunes, and 'other short tunes usually sung in London and most places of the Realme.' It is marked as being one of the latter, and must therefore have been in use for some little time previously. In Este's Psalter it is harmonised by George Kirby as follows, the melody in the tenor:—

${ << \new Staff << \new Voice \relative b' { \omit Score.BarNumber \key d \minor \time 2/2 \stemUp bes1 | c2 a ^~ | a g ^~ | g fis | g bes | %end line 1 a1 \bar "||" r2 f | bes1 | a2 d | c1 | bes \bar "||" %end line 2 f2 bes ^~ | bes g | d'2. c4 | bes2 c | a1 \bar "||" %end line 3 g2 a ^~ | a bes | c a | b\breve*1/2 \bar "||" } \new Voice \relative d ' { \stemDown d1 | bes2 c | d1 _~ | d2 a | d d | %end line 1 d1 | r2 d | g1 | e2 d4 f _~ | f ees c2 | d1 | %end line 2 d2 f _~ | f ees | d fis | g ees | d1 %end line 3 d2 d _~ | d d | ees d | d\breve*1/2 } >> \new Staff << \new Voice \relative g { \clef bass \key d \minor \stemUp g1^\markup \small "Tune." | g2 a | bes1 a | g2 g | %end line 1 fis1 | r2 bes | d1 | c2 bes ^~ | bes a | bes1 | %end line 2 bes2 d ^~ | d c | bes a | g g | fis1 | %end line 3 bes2 a ^~ | a g | g fis | g\breve*1/2 } \new Voice \relative g { \stemDown g1 | c,2 f | d1 _~ | d2. c4 | bes2 g | %end line 1 d'1 | r2 bes | g1 | a2 bes | f'1 | bes, | %end line 2 bes2 bes _~ | bes c | g d' | ees c | d1 | %end line 3 g2 fis _~ | fis g | c, d | g,\breve*1/2 } >> >> }$

Damon and Kirby merely harmonised the melody, but whoever was its composer, it is only an adaptation of the tune set by Dr. Tye to the third chapter of his curious work, 'The Actes of the Apostles, translated into Englyshe Metre … with notes to eche Chapter, to synge and also to play upon the Lute,' 1553. Here we find the first, third, and fourth strains of Windsor, and a fragment of the second. For the sake of comparison Dr. Tye's tune is subjoined, reduced into score in modern clefs.

A musical score should appear at this position in the text.
See Help:Sheet music for formatting instructions

The crotchet C is probably a misprint for D.

In Este's Psalter the tune has no distinctive name, but in 1615 it was inserted in the Scottish Psalter published by Andro Hart, as 'Dundie.' In Ravenscroft's Psalter, 1621, it is marked as an English tune, and is doubly named 'Windsor or Eaton.' The tune was popular in Scotland,^[2] and this, coupled with the Scottish form of its earliest name led to the belief that it was indigenous to that country.

In Hart's Psalter of 1615 the melody alone is given:—

Dundie Tune.

${ \relative d { \clef tenor \key d \minor \time 2/2 \cadenzaOn\override NoteHead.style = #'petrucci \stemUp d1 d2 e f e d d c1 r\breve %end line 1 f1 a2 g f g f1 r\breve f1 a2 g f e d d c1 r\breve %end line 2 f1 e2 d d c d\longa \bar "||" } }$

Here a slight variation occurs in the second strain, and the leading note is omitted in the first, third and fourth strains, thus giving the melody a modal form. This may have been done to assimilate its character to that of other tunes in the collection; but however this may be, the accidental was restored to the penultimate note of the last strain in Raban's Psalter, Aberdeen, 1633:—

IX. Dundie Tune.

${ << \new Staff << \new Voice \relative b' { \key d \minor \override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f \stemUp \time 5/1 \override NoteHead.style = #'baroque bes1 d2 d d a bes c d1 | %end line 1 \time 4/1 d1 f2 f d f d1 | \time 5/1 d1 f2 f d d bes ees d1 | %end line 2 d1 c2 bes c a b\breve \bar "||" } \new Voice \relative d' { \stemDown \override NoteHead.style = #'baroque d1 d2 d d f bes, g d'1 | %end line 1 d1 d2 f bes, f' f1 | d d2 a d d g, c a1 | %end line 2 d f2 d e d d\breve } >> \new Staff << \new Voice \relative g { \stemUp \override NoteHead.style = #'baroque \clef bass \key d \minor g1^\markup \small "Tune." g2 a bes a g g f1 | %end line 1 bes1 d2 c bes c bes1 | bes d2 c bes a g g f1 | %end line 2 bes a2 g g fis g\breve } \new Voice \relative g { \stemDown \override NoteHead.style = #'baroque g1 g2 d g f ees ees d1 | %end line 1 bes bes2 f' g f bes,1 | bes bes2 f' g d ees c d1 | %end line 2 bes f'2 g c, d g,\breve } >> >> }$

and throughout the hymn in the harmonised Scottish Psalter of 1635:—

Dundie Tune.

${ << \new Staff << \new Voice \relative f' { \key d \minor \override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f \stemUp \time 5/1 f1 f2 e d e f d e1 | %end line 1 \time 4/1 f2 f1 e2 f c' a1 | \time 5/1 a f2 e d e f d c1 | %end line 2 a'2 g1 f2 g4 f e2 fis\breve \bar "||" } \new Voice \relative a { \stemDown a1 a2 a f c' c, f a1 | %end line 1 c2 c1 c2 a4. bes8 c2 c1 | c c2 c a a f4 e f g a1 | %end line 2 c2 c1 a2 bes a a\breve } >> \new Staff << \new Voice \relative d { \key d \minor \clef bass \stemUp d1^\markup \small "Tune." d2 e f e d d cis1 | %end line 1 f2 a1 g2 f g f1 | f a2 g f e d d cis1 | %end line 2 f2 e1 d2 d cis d\breve } \new Voice \relative d { \stemDown d1 d2 a d c bes bes a1 | %end line 1 f2 f1 c'2 d c f,1 | f f'2 c d a d g,4 bes a1 | %end line 2 f2 c'1 d2 g, a d,\breve } >> >> }$

[ G. A. C. ]

↑ For an account of this extremely scarce work see Hawkins. Hist. of Music, chap, cxvii.
↑ Burns, in his 'Cottar's Saturday Night,' refers to this tune:—

'Perhaps Dundee's wild warbling measures rise,
O plaintive Martyrs, worthy of the name.'

Care must be taken not to confound it with the 'Dundee' of Ravenscroft, which is the 'French tune' of the Scottish Psalter.

[1] For an account of this extremely scarce work see Hawkins. Hist. of Music, chap, cxvii.

[2] Burns, in his 'Cottar's Saturday Night,' refers to this tune:—

'Perhaps Dundee's wild warbling measures rise,
O plaintive Martyrs, worthy of the name.'

Care must be taken not to confound it with the 'Dundee' of Ravenscroft, which is the 'French tune' of the Scottish Psalter.

[1]

[2]

A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Windsor

Navigation menu

Search