Anonymous Music - Non UK sources
The Nuremberg Lute Book
Fantasia 1 [PDF] [MXL] [MIDI] Grade 07
The first of four fantasias in this source from around 1600. This arrangement is a direct transcription of the tablature, except that I have raised by an octave the descending figure that finishes the piece.
Fantasia Belissima (Fantasia 3) [PDF] [XML] [MIDI] Grade 08
This fugal fantasia from the Nuremberg Lute Book seems to me entirely worthy of its name. The original is in Italian tablature (in contrast to the French tablature found elsewhere in the ms). I found it fairly difficult to make a guitar arrangement that works, partly because I decided it needed to sound at pitch (ie a minor third above a direct transcription of the tablature) and there is a section (bar 47) where the tablature appears to suggest five beats in the bar! In this arrangement I have included suggested fingering.
Fantasia 4 [PDF] [XML] [MIDI] Grade 07
This is the fourth of the fantasias from the Nuremburg Lute Book, here presented with suggested fingering.
Galliarda Frog Cantg/Galliarda Frog Pasg [PDF] [XML] [MIDI] Grade 05
These two galliards appear together in the Nuremberg with the titles given (and no other explanation). They each have the same harmonic sequence as Dowland’s Frog Galliard, but their relationship with it is unclear. They are presented together as a pair with the title Two Variations on the Frog Galliard.
Corant [PDF] [XML] [MIDI] Grade 05
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Chaconne [PDF] [XML] [MIDI] Grade 05
This anonymous chaconne comes from an out of print source which I found detached from its origin, so I can’t identify it fully. However I am fairly sure it is 17th century north German from one of the manuscripts found in the town of Schwerin, near Rostock (Schwerin Manuscript). I have changed the key (from G), written in some of the decorations and altered the octave of some of the basses to make a piece that flows more readily on the guitar. The decorations should be regarded as suggestive rather than definitive and their notation not taken too literally.
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