Hi, to all,
I don't have a source for Ford's music, alas, and agree with all that Sean said about it. However, I'm writing in my curmudgeonly persona to try to nip an understandable but bogus etymology from taking hold. To whit: the French style which Ford's songs probably do not represent are airs de cour, "songs of the court", not airs de coeur, "songs of the heart". Just sayin', that's all. Best to all, and keep playing, Chris. On Sat, Feb 25, 2012 at 6:33 PM, Sean Smith <[1][email protected]> wrote: Hi Tom, I don't see any replies to your question --"Have you driven a Ford discussion lately?"-- so here's what I know. He certainly doesn't figure prominently in the first string of late Elizabethan or Jacobean composers but one book of his survives: Musicke of Sundrie Kindes Set forth in two Bookes. The First Whereof Are Aries [sic] for 4 Voices to the Lute, Orphorion, or Basse Viol, with a Dialogue for two Voices, and two Basse Viols in parts, tunde the Lute way. The Second are Pavens, Galiards, Almaines, Toies, Iigges, Thumpes and suchlike, for two Basse-Viols, the Lieraway, so made as the greatest number may serve to play alone, very easie to be performde. Composed by Thomas Ford ... John Windet ... Fleetstreet 1607. I wrote out the entire title to give an idea of what was where in his books. They were printed together and reprinted by Scolar Press in 1978. The pieces you mentioned are in the 2nd Booke and are set for two bass viols written in lute tablature much like the Tobias Hume books (1605, 1607). He was no doubt familiar with at least the first TH book since he also gives the wide option of almost any combination (or solo). Both are printed by John Windet. Hume takes it one further by setting his second book for trios, also for viols or nearly any combination of lutes, viols and/or orpharions. The 'lira-way' tuning is similar to bandora tuning. You should be able to transcribe the bandora pieces for lute (something Nancy Carlin has been doing from the Holmes lutebooks, btw). I haven't tried Fnord's but Hume's viol music sounds very nice on lute(s) and wires. Two other English composers included lira-way viol pieces (Corkine, Maynard) so the solo viol was apparently enjoying a relative popularity at the time. I'm not sure these would join the Airs de Coeur club as the songs he wrote are very English in composition (at least the ones I know --I could be mistaken since it's been a while). I don't know of an on-line source for these so if you can't find them, let me know and I'll send you some scans. best wishes, Sean On Feb 24, 2012, at 10:07 AM, [2][email protected] wrote: Dear Lute Friends, A student of mine heard some Thomas Ford airs de coeur on public radio performed by Godelieve Monden and Narcisso Yepes. The selections are: Allemande Forget Me Not A Pavan A Galliard The Bagpipes The Wild Goose Chase Are these available anywhere in Fronimo or PDF? Thanks, Tom Tom Draughon Heartistry Music [3]http://www.heartistrymusic.com/artists/tom.html 714 9th Avenue West Ashland, WI 54806 [4]715-682-9362 -- To get on or off this list see list information at [5]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html -- References 1. mailto:[email protected] 2. mailto:[email protected] 3. http://www.heartistrymusic.com/artists/tom.html 4. tel:715-682-9362 5. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
