User talk:DaveF

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And very tangled it is too! --Pml 19:58:56, 2006-05-04 (PDT)

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Tristis est anima mea

Dear David

a while ago, you very kindly made one of your Byrd scores available to me as a Sib file (I wanted to transpose it and change a clef, to suit the particular singers I have). I wonder whether you might be able to do so again for Tristis est anima mea, please? I'm also unsure whether this is the best way of contacting you with such an enquiry - please put me right if there is a better way. I have Sib4, but the way, but not yet 5 or 6.

All best wishes,

Keith Wright Durham Cathedral Keith Wright 13:48, 7 January 2010 (UTC)

PS - of course, what I meant to say was Tristitia et anxietas (Cantiones Sacrae 1589), not what I wrote above. Less haste, more care required! KW Keith Wright 19:06, 10 January 2010 (UTC)


Alleluia. Cognoverunt discipuli (William Byrd)

Dear David Fraser, Do you have a capella-Version of "Alleluia. Cognoverunt discipuli" - I wanted to use a version, where the second voice doesn't have a "8" below the key. many thanks Rabe19 10:45, 20 February 2010 (UTC)

Byrd Mass a5 Sanctus opening

Dear David,

Just a small correction for you in one of your editions - the Superius part in the opening of the Sanctus in Byrd's Mass for Five Voices currently contains an A in the 3rd bar and not a C a third above it (as it should be). I've just checked my PDF of the publication, and a C is indeed what is required. Many thanks once again for your editions, many of which are creeping into the choir library here at Westminster Cathedral!

Best wishes,

Edward Tambling 17:14, 11 March 2010 (UTC)

Transposed scores

Dear David,

Your scores are very much appreciated, but for our current project it would be handy to be able to transpose you scores to a lower pitch for those annoying singers with perfect pitch who find it hard to read at the pitch i give them! Is there any chance of you providing versions in E flat, or even providing the source files of the following 3-part works: Alleluia Vespere autem Sabbathi, Haec Dies a 3, Angelus Domini descendit and the 3-part mass?

Thanks in advance,

Edwardac 20:18, 22 March 2010 (UTC)

More transposed scores

Hello Dave, a guy named Robert Gehrenbeck is also asking at the forum for transpositions of two of your editions. Can you please check if the transpositions are possible and reply him there? Here's the link: http://forums.cpdl.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=323#p13263

Thanks, —Carlos Email.gif 06:52, 29 March 2010 (UTC)

Apology

Hello everyone - sorry for the long lay-off from work here, caused solely by volume of work elsewhere. I think the best I can do to provide transposing editions for anyone that needs them (since I will continue to have difficulty replying to individual requests) is to post a complete set of "anonymous" Sibelius source files with all editorial information removed, which should allow other users to alter them as required to their individual needs. My original reason for withdrawing all my .sib files from this site was that I had come across edited versions of them elsewhere on the Web that I felt misrepresented my own reasonably painstaking editorial work. However, I realise that the lack of source files is not helping other users and not serving Byrd adequately, so I hope the "anonymous" route will work for all, while keeping my editorial conscience quiet!

I shall start work on posting these .sib files within the next few days, although it may take a few weeks to complete them. I will try to deal with the above requests first.

A happy and blessed Easter to all,
--DaveF 09:11, 3 April 2010 (UTC)

Thank you for everything! If I might make one last imposition on your generosity, though, "save as Sib.2 file" would make them even more widely available. Richard Mix 21:05, 3 April 2010 (UTC)
No, I'm sorry; I don't know what features of formatting would be lost by saving as an older version. I'm not the greatest admirer of the Sibelius Corporation, but nevertheless I'd recommend you upgrade to version 4 or 5.--DaveF 21:55, 4 April 2010 (UTC)

The forgotten sharp...

Dear David,

Following on from your paragraph on your User Page concerning augmented sixth chords as a result of 'misplaced' sharps in a handful of motets in the print of Byrd's Cantiones sacrae, there appears to have been one other printed piece (outside the CS collection) which contains a similar problem. Watkins Shaw mentions it briefly in the article that you cite, and I mention it myself only because you have taken the liberty in your own editions of removing the relevant sharps from your editions of the CS motets, but have perhaps overseen the other piece. The piece in question is How shall a young man from Psalmes, Sonnets & Songs, and the point of query is I.14.1, with the Superius' C# against the Tenor's Eb. However, and I'd be interested to see what you think about this, I think the solution would be more easily resolved by making the Tenor's Ebs into E naturals (although denoted by ficta), and preserving the Superius' C#. The semitone point is set up by the Contratenor and Tenor anyway, and answered by the Medius (all on 'that thy' of the text) - it would be an obvious move to retain the semitone in the Superius for this reason alone. Moreover, the preponderance of E naturals that follow for a short period thereafter seem to indicate a move in that direction. What do you think? I'm not sure whether this example has had as much discussion given to it as the others!

As a footnote to the other instances of augmented sixths, surely the reference to the chord in question in Tristitia et anxietas on your User Page should read (II.102.1) and not (II.103.2)? This would make more sense in light of the other examples.

With all best wishes,
Edward Tambling 14:55, 4 August 2010 (UTC)

Edward,
No, this one certainly hasn't had so much discussion, nor is it so easy to resolve into the "correct" harmony (surely those two points can't be connected?) The problem is first of all, as you say, that the Superius C# seems correct contrapuntally. It is also transmitted in numerous sources - a quick glance finds it in 3 different editions of the Psalmes and in the Dow Partbooks (which appear to be copied from a voice-and-viols source independent of the 1588 print). So it doesn't seem that we can get around the problem by deleting a rogue sharp only transmitted in one source. So to the Tenor E flat(s) - again, the key-signature in all the sources is explicit about the low E flat. My best guess is that the sharp before IV.13.2 in my edition should also be assumed to apply to IV.13.4, thus "forcing" IV.14.1-2 to be naturals. Byrd and his printers hardly ever think it necessary to insert a sharp simply in order to avoid an augmented second: throughout his publications you find the C#-B-C# cadence figure in a key of one flat with no accidental before the B (and there are at least 3 F#-E(natural)-F# ones in this very piece). I'd be interested to know what Jeremy Smith does with the problem in BE12, a copy of which you may have closer to hand than I do. Anyway, thanks for a most interesting observation. And yes, the reference to the note in Tristitia was wrong.

--DaveF 21:02, 7 August 2010 (UTC)

Dear David,

Many thanks for your thorough reply! When I'm back at work in a few weeks I'll be able to check the Dow version from my facsimile volumes and look up Byrd's print from one of the PDFs I've got of the complete printed works of Byrd, and probably fish out a copy of BE12 if the Cathedral Choir library has it (which I suspect it does). I'm not sure about your opinion on the sharp before IV.13.2 and its conjectural application to more than the note it precedes. I think you are correct in your transcription in assuming that the following F is indeed a natural, but I think that the melodic contour is common enough in this sort of music to have a number of variants. I agree, the Es should be naturals and not flats (if one should want to suppress the augmented 6th), but I'm not sure that the F# beforehand makes this necessarily so. You're absolutely right about the C#-B(flat)-C#, where the B flat in the key signature is assumed to be a natural in this melodic progression - I've seen a lot of this in editing Byrd, Sheppard, Tye, Parsons, White, Tallis, Mundy, Strogers et al. from the Dow partbooks. There are very few singers I know who would wish to negotiate the interval of an augmented second in performance! The long and short of it is that I'm just over 6,500 words into writing an article defending the inclusion of augmented sixths in Byrd (and a rebuttal of Watkins Shaw's article condemning them). I'm by no means finished, but there'll be much more to write once I've delved into the relevant musical sources...

Best wishes,
Edward Tambling 10:46, 9 August 2010 (UTC)

Miserere mihi Domine (William Byrd)

Dear David,

Many thanks for you excellent work on the Byrd scores. We are using some of them for a Compline service this Sunday as part of the annual William Byrd festival in Portland, OR. I believe I have found a note mistake in the "Miserere mihi Domine" score. In measure 32 in the "Tenor Secundus" part, I believe the second note should be a semitone higher (Ab not G in the transposed version we are using), to match the same sequence found in measure 23.

Kind regards,
Tenortim 21:26, 13 August 2010 (UTC)

Yes, you're quite right - thank you. Both versions corrected now.
--DaveF 18:26, 15 August 2010 (UTC)

MIDI of Beati Mundo Corde?

Dear David,

Hi, I'd like to request a MIDI file of your edition of Beati Mundo Corde. I am conducting a lower-level collegiate chorus this academic year, and I will likely need to offer MIDIs to those singers whose reading ability isn't up to snuff. Thanks, and thank you for all of the work you've put forth on CPDL—your editions are of professional quality and are a real asset to the community.

Best, Bram Wayman (The Realms of Gold 19:12, 23 August 2010 (UTC))

Easter Mass

Dear David,
I love your Byrd editions!
I wanted to ask you whether you could give me a Sibelius file of the Easter Mass (Resurrexi, Haec dies - Alleluia - Pascha nostrum, Victimae paschali laudes, Terra tremuit, Pascha nostrum) because I want to transpose it a bit. That would be really great, thank you!
My mail is neumimartin@web.de.

--The law 14:12, 9 September 2010 (UTC)

You have a new message

Hi Dave, there's a message for you at the forum: [1]

Best, —Carlos Email.gif 23:25, 22 September 2010 (UTC)

Dear Dave,

I had initially left a message for you on the open forums, but, after help from Carlos and Chuck Giffen, found out how to do it directly.

I'll paste it here:

I'm very impressed with your editions of the Byrd masses - they're very clear to read, well laid out, and you've obviously taken a lot of care in preparation. Thank you for making them available here. I'm looking to perform the 5 part mass, and the questions relate to that:

1: Why is the text sometimes italicised? 2: Where could I find information relating to current performance practice and realisation of Byrd's music? I'm living in Finland (working as a church musician and completing a masters in church music at the Sibelius Academy), so would primarily be interested in WWW info, but can also arrange inter library loans, and have access to most of the current journals online etc.


With thanks,

Richard NRichard N 19:18, 26 September 2010 (UTC)

Regarding the above: Byrd mass in 5 voices

Apologies, am new to this talk section, and forgot the above heading to my question.

Richard NRichard N 19:21, 26 September 2010 (UTC)

Current plans (September 2010)

Dear all,

Sorry for not responding to these requests and questions sooner; my wife has recently come out of hospital following surgery for suspected cancer, and is facing a long period of convalescence. So, while it would not be strictly accurate to say I have no time to devote to work on this site, I would suggest that my activities will be curtailed for some time to come. But to answer one easy question: Richard N - you will find the reason for the italicised text in my general editorial notes on the 'user page' tab. --DaveF 20:34, 27 September 2010 (UTC)

Re: italics

Thank you, and best wishes to your wife.

Richard N 17:22, 28 September 2010 (UTC)

Source files

Sibelius 4 files for nearly all my Byrd editions should now be available. The few that are missing are either (a) ones I've forgotten, or (b) those where my original source has got lost or corrupted and I'm resetting them. --DaveF 18:58, 26 November 2010 (UTC)

Thanks a lot, Dave! —Carlos Email.gif 15:16, 28 November 2010 (UTC)

Correction in Tallis: In jejunio

Firstly, thank you for all your hard work, Dave, it's great to see so many well-edited scores on CPDL for several very important composers. I just noticed a wrong note in your editions of 'In jejunio et fletu'. In bar 67 the baritone has a D (in the low version), entering during a chord of C minor, and clearly should be a C. Similarly in the high version, the tenor should have a A rather than a B.

Best wishes, Daniel Rollison 18:45, 19 February 2011 (CST)

Well, at least I was consistent. Fixed now - thank you. --DaveF 15:00, 21 February 2011 (CST)