Musical and Poetical Relicks of the Welsh Bards: Preserved by Tradition, and Authentic Manuscripts, From Remote Antiquity; never before published. To the Tunes Are Added Variations for the Harp, Harpsichord, Violin, or Flute. With a choice collection of the Pennillion, Epigrammatic Stanzas, or, Native Pastoral Sonnets of Wales, with English Translations. Likewise a History of the Bards from the earliest period to the present time: and an account of their Music, Poetry, and Musical Instruments, with a delineation of the latter, dedicated, by permission, to His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales
London: The Author, 1784.
Folio. Attractively bound in modern brown half calf with decorative sepia paper boards, raised bands on spine in compartments gilt, black morocco title label gilt. 1f. (frontispiece), [1f.] (title), 1f. (printed dedication), [iii] (list of subscribers), [iv] (notes on the pronunciation of Welsh), 44 (text), 45-78 (music) pp. Text except dedication typeset; dedication and music engraved. With a fine frontispiece etching by Hall and Middiman after a drawing by Loutherbourg illustrating the stanza from Gray's Bard printed as a caption to foot of the page: "On a rock whose haughty brow / Frowns o'er old Conway's foaming flood, / Robed in the sable garb of woe, / With haggard eyes the Poet stood ..." Large vignette depicting Welsh musical instruments to upper half of p. 41 engraved by Thorntwaithe after a drawing by Edward Jones. Slightly browned, with occasional foxing. some annotations in pencil to music. First Edition. BUC p. 559. Lesure p. 336. RISM J607.
Together with:
JONES. The Bardic Museum of Primitive British Literature; and other admirable rarities; forming the second volume of the Musical, Poetical and Historical Relicks of The Welsh Bards and Druids: Drawn from Authentic Documents of Remote Antiquity (With Great Pains Now Rescued from Oblivion,) And Never Before Published... with English Translations and Historic Illustrations: likewise, The Ancient War-Tunes of the Bards... To These National Melodies Are Added New Basses; with Variations, for the Harp, or Harpsichord; Violin, or Flute. London: A. Strahan for the Author, 1802. Folio. Attractively bound in modern brown half calf with decorative dark green paper boards, raised bands on spine in compartments gilt, black morocco title label gilt. 1f. (frontispiece), [1] (title), [i] (blank), [iii]-xvi (preface), [xvii]-xx (index), 60 (text), 61-112 (music) pp. Text typeset; music engraved. With a fine hand-coloured frontispiece etching by Thomas Rowlandson after the drawing by Ibbetson and Smith. First Edition. RISM J612.
Quite good copies overall.
"It is for his work as a historian and recorder of Welsh music that Edward Jones is significant. In Musical and Poetical Relicks of the Welsh Bards (1784), The Bardic Museum (1802) and Hên Ganiadau Cymru (1820) he published 209 different melodies, most of them Welsh. He gathered them from manuscripts in the homes of the gentry and tune books of harpers and fiddlers; some were sent to him by his numerous correspondents and some he noted from oral tradition ... Jones was also the first to print Welsh words to Welsh folksongs." Owain Edwards and Phyllis Kinney in Grove Music Online.
Item #26089
Price: $1,850.00 other currencies