Fitzwilliam Virginal Book (Full Album)

Tracklist below.
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The extraordinary Fitzwilliam Virginal Book is a fascinating document housed in the Fitzwilliam Library in Cambridge, UK. It was probably compiled by Francis Treggian in the early 17th century, while he sat in prison for refusing to renounce his Catholicism. Whatever its origins, the exceptional manuscript contains almost 300 pieces, including many by known Roman Catholic sympathisers. In this, the fourth volume of the series, Pieter-Jan Belder focuses on the works by Giles Farnaby and John Bull, with Farnaby being one of the few Protestants represented in the manuscript. It’s likely that the two composers knew each other, as there are a number of clear similarities between their two styles, and the keyboard figurations of the two composers are at times indistinguishable. For this reason, Pieter-Jan Belder decided to group the two composers together for this release. The harpsichord pieces vary from Pavans and Galliards to Fantasias and Maskes (short interludes), as well as transcriptions of and embellishments on traditional folk tunes. The release concludes with Bull’s Quadran Pavan and Galiard, probably the longest piece in the entire Fitzwilliam Virginal Book, with an extensive variation of the pavan followed by a galliard made up of three distinct and varied sections.

Pieter-Jan Belder is a prolific recording artist, with over 130 CD recordings to his name. This is the fourth volume in his acclaimed series of recordings from The Fitzwilliam Virginal Book, with the first praised by Fanfare, who said ‘this is one complete recording series that I want to see to completion’. Joined by his student Gerhard Boogaard for one track – who also built the Ruckers harpsichord featured on this disc – Belder tackles the diverse and complex world of Elizabethan harpsichord music with ease.

00:00:00 Farmers Pavan CCLXXXVII
00:05:41 Galliarda CCLXIX
00:07:18 Fantasia CCXXXVI
00:11:18 Mal sims CCLXXXI
00:12:52 Pavana XXXIX
00:17:19 Meridian Alman CCXCI
00:19:00 A Maske CXCVIII
00:21:31 Quodlings Delight CXIV
00:24:08 Fantasia CCXXXII
00:30:27 A Maske CCIX
00:32:07 Wooddy-Cock CXLI
00:38:23 Fantasia CCXXXVII
00:42:23 Giles Farnabys Dreame CXCIV
00:43:44 His Rest Galiard CXCV
00:44:35 Farnabyes Conceit CCLXXIII
00:45:28 His Humour CXCVI
00:46:58 Fantasia CCXXXI
00:50:10 Rosasolis CXLIII
00:52:40 Lachrimae Pavan CCXC
00:59:46 A Toye CCLXX
01:00:56 A Maske CXCIX
01:02:27 Tell mee Daphne CCLXXX
01:03:52 Loth to Depart CCXXX
01:07:16 For Two Virginals LV
01:08:25 Pavana of my L.[ord] Lumley XLI
01:12:39 Galliarda to my L.[ord] Lumley’s Pavan XI
01:15:00 Praeludium in A Minor, FWB CCX
01:15:43 Fantasia CVIII
01:20:12 Pavana CXXXVI
01:24:34 Galliarda CXXXVII
01:26:32 Pavana XXXIV
01:33:13 Galiard to the Pavan XXXV
01:35:04 Prelude CXCII
01:35:56 Ut re mi fa sol la LI
01:41:39 St Thomas Wake XXXVI
01:45:07 The Duke of Brunswicks Alman CXLII
01:46:39 Pipers Galiard CLXXXII
01:48:55 Variatio Ejusdem CLXXXIII
01:51:54 The Quadran Pavan XXXI
01:58:54 Variation of the Quadran Pavan XXXII
02:07:05 Galiard to the Quadran Pavan XXXIII