Alistair Warwick: Research

Sunday 7 September 2008

The Art of Music

An incomplete musical treatise The Airt of musick collecit out of all ancient doctouris, was written sometime between 1558 and 1580 possibly by John Buchan – otherwise known as 'Scottish Anonymous' – at the Edinburgh Sang School; the manuscript can now be found in the British Library in London (GB-Lbl Add. 4911). Amongst other matters, the treatise deals with the use of faburden – the way in which counter-melodies were added to a tune or air.

Although Scottish Anonymous explicitly equates the English 'faburdoun' and Continental 'faulxbourdon' (as terms, given their difference in nature), while his preference is for the English term, the aim of this treatise is to bring Scottish music theory into line with that of the Continent (cf. Allenson, Stephen, 'The Inverness fragments: Music from a Pre-Reformation Scottish Parish Church and School' in Music & Letters, Vol LXX No 1 (1989) p.11).

Examples of some of the music in this manuscript can be found on a CD entitled Graysteil - Music from the Middle Ages and Renaissance in Scotland.

Masters dissertation on the Dunkeld Music Book

Alistair Warwick received a distinction for his Masters dissertation in Music at the University of Surrey on the Dunkeld Music Book (otherwise known as the Dowglas-Fischer or Lincluden Partbooks GB-EdU MS 64); more information on this manuscript can be found here.

In the Dunkeld Music Book is an anonymous motet for eight voices, Te Sanctum Dominum. As a result of his research Alistair Warwick has provisionally identified Nicholas Gombert as the composer of this work. A critical edition of the prima pars appears in the dissertation.

Other research