[Various English airs for recorder]

Scope and Content

[?English airs for recorder]. Parts (1st rec). First recorder part of dances and airs, seemingly arranged for the most part in "suites" according to key (none of these is preceded by a Prelude, and some "groups" lack the metric contrast normally associated with the suite). Also some miscellaneous pieces, keyboard exercises and instructions in harmony and figured bass. No title-page. All are anonymous in this source. The composers identified are: John Barrett (c. 1676-1719), Godfrey Finger (c. 1660-1730) and Henry Purcell (1659-1695).

Casing: leather with gold tooling. Dutch Marble endpaper. The front endpaper is inscribed, "Herbert Mackworth". 6-stave MS paper. Volume reversed from folio 42v. The suites (ff. 1 v-7v; 42r-47r) are in the same hand as 442/39g; the other items are in several hands. Stub of a missing folio between ff. 7 and 8; three stubs (with staves, some notes) between ff. 22 and 23; one stub between ff. 33 and 34, also 38 and 39. Many of the items are individually numbered, in ink; foliation added when catalogued. Concordances with 442/39g are noted in its catalogue entry, and below. These concordances may vary slightly in melodic and ornamental detail. For practical reasons, some details of ornamentation and fingering are omitted from the musical incipits. Loose, in the back of the volume, is a leaflet (printed) of chants (7 pp.), commencing with 'Vexilla Regis' ("The Royal Banners forward go").