Can you identify the composer?
In Praise of Wine, A two
part Song:
A
Process of Proper Attribution
By
David H. Smith Jr.
Choral/Theater
Director, West High School
Corning,
NY.
The Acquisition
On July 18th 2009, my wife decided to take me on her rounds to
the local rummage sales. At our last stop I noticed a nicely framed score of a
Baroque-looking piece that boasted the scripted title, In Praise of Wine, A two part Song. My eyes were drawn to the
handsome script, the figured bass, and the first words: "Bacchus He it is who
fires me brings me to these
blessed abodes..." Having been in a Phi
Mu Alpha fraternity, traveled to Italy, and read The Agony and the Ecstasy, I
was slightly familiar with Bacchus and his exploits.
"How much?", I asked plainly. "Two bucks," he replied. When I offered him five because I thought it was worth it, he said, "No, two is just fine. Its worth it to know someone will appreciate it." Off I went. Traveling home with my two dollar prize, I frantically searched the work for any signs of a composer. To my dismay, there was nothing. It was from that moment that my quest began, and remains my cross to this day.
The Research
Starting any research when not all the facts are known, one has to balance the use of conjecture carefully. The facts of course are the most important, and it is the truth that will guide any researcher in the right directions. For this reason, the facts regarding the score must be discussed first; followed by various hypotheses, and conjecture.
At this point in time there are only two known
copies of the score that exist. You can see both of them in the images
provided. The first image, [item 1]
is the property of the Durham Cathedral Library, UK. Unfortunately, the score
has been severely damaged, however this printing displays the addition of a
flute part, which obviously was meant to
be played in succession to the duet section. The score was discovered as a
result of an email sent to Dr. Todd Gilman of Yale University, who suggested we
check out a title that appeared in a Google Books search. The title was listed in the
Catalogue of Printed Music
at the Cathedral Library. Assistant Librarian, Joan Williams promptly returned my email that
contained the image of my score. In her reply she included the image shown, and
provided information on how they acquired it. The following is taken from her
email on July 22, 2009:
'The volume is part of the collection which
formed the private library of the Sharp family at Bamburgh Castle,
Northumberland, deposited at Durham Cathedral Library in 1958...It is also as
you see a different printing, and the printed number 55 suggests intriguingly
that it once formed part of a larger collection. (The later numbers 35 and 232
represent the item and page numbers in the volume respectively. In the catalogue
of our printed music in which you found the reference (by R.A. Harman, London
1968) it is given an asterisk which indicates that it is the only known copy of
the work, so it is certainly a rare item. An imprint of London c.1750 is
suggested.'
The second image, [item
2] is the property of my company, Back Porch Productions. The text of the
piece can also be found in a collection of texts entitled, A Collection of Songs, Vol.8; compiled by Rev. William Harper; A.
Donaldson and J. Reid, Edinburgh 1762 ,
80 pp. This may imply that the text of piece had been a favorite poem for years and may have
contained the same or different melody. It should be noted that during this
time in history, there were several song compilations being published in
Edinburgh; several of which focused on Scottish drinking tunes. This however,
in no way implies that this piece is Scottish in origin; merely that there is
chance this could have been a popular drinking song during the early 18th
century. The text reads as follows:
Bacchus
He it is who fires me *
brings
me to these bless'd abodes
and
with pleasures thus inspires me
that I envy not the Gods.
Sparkling
Juices still inchant me in one round of full delight.
Bacchus,
None but gratefull objects
haunt
me charm my taste and please my sight.
Bacchus,
Friends since thus I am delighted, let
us in a Chorus join,
Sing ye Deities united,
mighty Powers of love and Wine.
Then
with Laura let me ever,
all
my precious minutes pass,
But
oh! grant that I may never be
without
th' exciting Glass.
[*If
there is any question as to whether this might be "sires", It should be known that for this print, F's have a
cross line that goes completely through the downward stem. S's on the other
hand, have the cross line on the left side of the stem only.]
Parallel Love Affairs
If the text were to reveal any clues
as to the work's origin, the character of Laura must be better understood.
There is another text in the same collection by Harper 1762, that refers to
Laura and to Bacchus' triumphant march into Greece to spread the rites of Rhea.
The text on page 171 reads thus:
"Bacchus, to arms, the enemy's at
hand,
Laura appears; stand to your
glasses, stand.
The god of love; the god of wine
defies,
Behold him in full march in Laura's
eyes.
Bacchus, to arms, and to resist the
dart,
Each with a faithful brimmer guard
his heart.
Fly, Bacchus, fly, there's treason
in the cup,
For love comes pouring in with ev'ry
drop;
I feel him in my heart, my blood, my
brain;
Fly, Bacchus, fly, resistance is in
vain;
Or, craving quarter, crown a
friendly bowl
To Laura's health, and give up all
thy soul."
Even though Harper does not credit
the author of these texts, Alexander Chalmers does reveal the author to the
second. In the book, The Works of the English Poets, from Chaucer
to Cowper; including the series edited with prefaces, biographical and
critical, by Dr. Samuel Johnson: and the most approved translations. Alexander
Chalmers, 21 Vols. (London: J. Johnson, 1810), Chalmers credits the second of
our texts to Lansdowne. The title of the poem is, Bacchus Disarmed. Underneath the title it reads, "To Mrs. Laura
Dillon, now Lady Falkland" The significance of this reference is unclear at
this point.
There is
another famous Laura: Laura de Nove. Many scholars suspect that this is
the Laura that the Italian poet, Petrarch often
wrote about. Petrarch referred to his forbidden relationship with Laura as a
parallel to the tension between Bacchus and Venus. These poems were found in
his, Rime sparse. Later, the collection of these 366 poems
became know as, Il Canzoniere (song book).
Reading the text of In Praise
of Wine, it can be easily imagined that these are the words of Petrarch, speaking to Bacchus about
his resolve to spend all his time with Laura. This however is merely
conjecture, and only gives a reference point as to where to possibly continue
this line of research.
The Significance of the Flute
The following quotation was taken from www.online-mythology.com. In this story of the life of Bacchus, Bacchus is taken away by boat. Bacchus becomes angry when he awakens to find he is being kidnapped:
"A vine, laden with grapes, ran up the mast, and along the sides of the vessel. The sound of flutes was heard and the odor of fragrant wine spread all around."
The flute makes its way into other Bacchanalian songs and is sometimes placed after the singing as is done in the 18th century drinking song entitled, "The Thirsty Toper." It is taken from the book, The Musical Entertainer, 1737. Notice the shifts to major and minor tonalities, and the similar layout of the staves.
The Thirsty Toper
Score: Johns Hopkins University, Levy Sheet Music Collection, Box 010, Item 003
Audio: Baroque Bacchanalian Songs: Drinking Songs 1601-1776
The score viewed in the link above is a reprint. The originals were in color. The composer is thought to be a man named Bowman or Boman, however this composer is not listed in the M.E. The engraver is George Bickham The Younger (or sometimes seen Jr.) To view other selections from The Musical Entertainer, please click on the link below.
The Musical Entertainer: Bickham Engraving 'The Solitary Relief'
George Bickham the older was also an engraver, but he was not nearly as famous as his son. Composers listed in The Musical Entertainer include, Handel, Lampe, Gladwin, Green, Turner, Carey, Putti, Monro, Popely, Corelli, Holcombe, Stanley, Howard, Leveridge, Henry Purcell, Hudson, Festing, Vincent and Neale. He was definitely the premier engraver of his time. According to an article published at lurbranomusic.com, Bickham the younger engraved in the style of, and even copied the works of Gravelot and Watteau. In turn, engravers such as Benjamin Cole imitated Bickham.
There is no elaborate heading or frontispiece in the score, In Praise of Wine, and the script has no obvious similarities. It is merely the concept of score structure that is similar. In the Durham Score, the upper section contains the secular subject with simple voicing, followed by the simple flute solo underneath. Another source which should be studied is, Simpson's The Delightful Pocket Companion for the German Flute (c1745)." Frank Kidson et al in Grove online.
Summary
In summary, in can only be said that the search to properly attribute this work is still in progress. There is however, reason to believe that continued study of the text, and harmonic content of both scores provided, may reveal clues as to where to continue the search and perhaps one day find the work's composer.
Sources
Catalogue of Printed Music; R.A. Harman,
London 1968.
A Collection of Songs, Vol.8; compiled by Rev. William Harper;
A. Donaldson and J. Reid, Edinburgh 1762
, 80 pp.
Alexander Chalmers, The Works of the English Poets,
from Chaucer to Cowper; including the series edited with prefaces, biographical
and critical, by Dr. Samuel Johnson: and the most approved translations. 21
Vols. (London: J. Johnson, 1810)
Handel, A Symposium; editors., Gerald Abraham, Geoffory Cumberlege; Oxford University Press, London New York Toronto 1954
The Book of French Songs; Costello, Louisa Stuart, 1799-1870;
Oxenford, John, 1812-1877; New York : Scribner, Welford and Armstrong, [1872?]
Other Sources to explore:
Granville, George [1697], Heroick Love: A Tragedy. As it is Acted at The Theatre in Little Lincolns-Inn-Fields. Written by the Honourable George Granville (London: Printed for F. Saunders ... H. Playford ... and B. Tooke [etc.], 1698) [GraGeo,HeLoATr].
Contributors
and Resources
Research, Image Scanning,
Webpage Design
David
H. Smith Sr.,
Stone Cabin Technologies
www.stonecabin.com
Score
Analysis and Commentary
(contributions made via email)
Dr.
Edward Swenson
Professor of Music History
Ithaca College of Music
Dr. Mark A. Radice
Professor
of Music Theory, History, and Composition
Ithaca
College of Music
Michael
Alan Anderson
Assistant Professor of Musicology
Eastman School of Music
Web Sources and Bacchanalian Research
Timothy
M. Smith
www.110hz.com
Corning, NY
Durham Resource Discovery
Dr. Todd Gilman
Librarian
for Literature in English
Yale
University;
Professor
of Library and Information Science
Wayne
State University.
Lecturer,School of Library and Information Science
San
José State University
Durham
Cathedral Library
score image #1 provided by:
Joan Williams
Assistant
Librarian
Durham
Cathedral Library, UK
Phone Interview
J. and J. Lubrano
351 West Neck Road
Lloyd Harbor, NY 11743