Ancient Scotish Melodies, from a Manuscript of the Reign of King James VI. With an Introductory Enquiry Illustrative of the History of the Music of Scotland
Edinburgh; London: Edinburgh Printing and Publishing Company; Smith, Elder, & Co., 1838.
Folio. Full mid-tan calf with triple gilt rules to edges of boards, spine in decorative compartments gilt, dark red title label gilt, light yellow endpapers. 1f. (recto decorative half-title printed in red within decorative border by Leith & Smith, verso blank), 1f. (recto title, verso blank), 1f. (recto dedication, verso blank), [v]-x, 312 pp., 1f. (recto Appendix, verso blank), 315-339 ("Appendix. No. I. An Analysis of the Structure of the Music of Scotland by Mr. Finlay Dun"), [i] (blank) pp., 1f. (recto "No. II. Music," verso blank), 342-353 (music), [i] (blank), [355]-364 ("No. III. Extracts from Documents Preserved in the General Register House at Edinburgh"), [365]-367 ("No. IV. Information Touching the Chappell-Royall of Scotland"), [368]-372 ("Postscript") pp., 1f. (recto "Indices," verso blank), [377]-390 pp. With list of errata to foot of final page.
Provenance
From the collection of noted American musicologist and long-time Harvard faculty member John Milton Ward, with his small ownership label to front pastedown.
Binding considerably worn, rubbed, and bumped, boards detached. Scattered internal wear and light browning; occasional foxing.
Scarce.
First Edition.
"Dauney’s importance as a scholar rests on his book Ancient Scotish Melodies from a Manuscript of the Reign of James VI (Edinburgh, 1838/R), which consists of a partial transcript of the Skene Manuscript as well as a lengthy ‘Dissertation Illustrative of the History of the Music of Scotland’ and some historical documents, also transcribed. The manuscript, in mandore tablature, was compiled about 1625 by John Skene of Hallyards, Midlothian. It contains some 115 items of which over half are Scottish native airs, or folksongs, and the rest – Scottish, English, French, Dutch and Italian – comprise ballad tunes, dance tunes and partsong arrangements. ... Dauney’s transcription was valuable in drawing attention to early, simple versions of such Scottish tunes as The Flowers of the Forest and John Anderson my Jo. ... The ‘Dissertation’, largely concerned with 17th-century music, contains much valuable information and is free of the anecdotal quality of earlier treatises on the subject." W.H. Husk, revised by David Johnson, and Kenneth Elliott in Grove Music Online.
Item #40125
Price: $250.00 other currencies