Merro part books – Introduction

Solo pieces from the Merro Part Books
Oxford, Bodleian Library, Music School, volumes Ms. D.245, D.246, D.247

Treble divisions | Bass divisions | Pieces in viola bastarda style | Pieces for lyra viol
edited by Joëlle Morton

Introduction

These three volumes were compiled by John Merro (d.1639) and his name is inscribed on p. 287 of D.245. Merro was a singing man at Gloucester Cathedral starting in 1609. These present volumes are believed to have been used by Merro for his teaching of the choirboys, especially during the late 1620s and early 1630s. Cathedral accounts of 1628/29 document that he was “Repayed (10s) for a Roome which he rented of John Beames to teache the Children to playe upon the Vialls.” These books contain entirely instrumental music of one, two and three parts. After Merro’s death, they were transferred to Oxford (1673) by William Iles. They are now digitized and available in full colour at the Bodleian website (note that each book has its own link).

Informally referred to as the “Merro part books’ D.245-7 contain more than 450 pieces. Compilation took place over several decades likely starting as early as the 1610s, but was still being added to in the 1630s. Making sense of the content is challenging, since many pieces lack written titles or authors, and any piece with multiple parts requires locating the correct page in the other volume(s). Fortunately, a complete inventory, 30 pages long, has been published by the Viola da Gamba Society of Great Britain.

Consort music in these volumes (by the likes of Tomkins, Coprario, Ward, Ferrabosco ii, Byrd, Gibbons etc) is already readily known and available in published editions, so will not be included here. But a huge quantity of music for solo viol is buried among the consort pieces and has mostly been overlooked. That’s a shame, since there are many sets of extensive divisions for either treble or bass instrument that predate both Simpson and Jenkins. There are also six English examples of music in the bastarda style. The divisions and bastarda pieces are mostly written in staff notation, but occasionally also in tablature; several of these even appear twice in these part books, notated in both styles. For lyra viol(s), there are 241 pieces (some have accompaniments) exploiting 12 different tunings. Players should know about and have ready access to these many materials since much of the music is very beautiful and sophisticated. It offers a wealth of previously unexplored repertoire, and will also be a valuable resource for our understanding of the genres.

This webpage has been set up as a repository for modern pdf transcriptions. It is being ordered first and foremost by the type of music, and then according to the volume/page where it occurs in the original book(s) and the VdGS numbers that have been assigned. When a composer name is known, the VdGS number refers to the pieces within that specific composer’s list, otherwise they are to be found in the ‘anonymous’ works section of the VdGS Thematic Index pages.

Editorial comment: These playing editions have been transcribed into familiar clefs. Pieces without barlines have been reproduced in that format although modern bar numbers have been superimposed. For tablature, Merro used a five-line staff but the music is here transcribed in the usual manner, with six. An asterisk (*) in any transcription is marked to indicate that an editorial correction or interpretation needed to be made. Players are encouraged to look to the original facsimile for accidentals and ornament signs and to make their own decisions.

This webpage is a work in progress and new material will be added as it becomes available. If you have something to add or suggest, please get in touch!