DATE: c1610
Page measurements: 296 x 186 mm
Pedagogical book in upright folio format. Very little is known of the provenance of the Sampson Lute Book. Its history can be traced back only as far as 1957 with some certainty, but prior to that date, its origins become obscure. It was bought at Sotheby's by Robert Spencer in 1965, having been offered for sale by LordTollemache of Helmingham Hall, Stowmarket, Suffolk and was, at that time, known as the Tollemache Lute Book. By the time of the publication of the facsimile in 1974, the contents had been examined, and the name of Henry Sampson was discovered, under a deletion on line 10 of folio 7r, (brackets thus: <> indicate deleted material):
Mrs Whites choyce <per Henricum Sampson scriptorem libri>
[i.e. "Mrs Whites Choice by Henry Sampson writer of this book"]
From the time of the facsimile publication (1975) onwards, the book has therefore been known as 'The Sampson Lute Book'. There are two library shelf marks written on the inside front cover: L.J.i.14 (cancelled) and L.J.V., both inpencil. It seems probable that both of these marks refer to positions in the Helmingham Hall Library. The mark L.J.V. is found in a catalogue of the library made by Messrs William Robinson of 16 Pall Mall, London, in 1957, when they also re-arranged the books. The entry, on page 207 of this catalogue reads:
Music
Ruled music book, on eight leaves of which is transcribed music (? for the lute), including galliards, etc., by Dowland and others.
Folio, old calf. English 16th-17th Century.
L.J.V.
This seems to be the only extant reference to the book--Four other sources were examined without offering any further information: The BriefCatalogue of the Manuscripts at Helmingham in the Library of John Tollemache Esq. (paper watermark 1871), the Sotheby 1908 list of valuable books, and the manuscript quarto catalogues of c.1910. The earliest library catalogue--a manuscript of 1762--mentions on p.8 only: "Music Tunes: a part unfinish'd" which seems unlikely to refer to the Sampson Book.
Tracing the name of the only known scribe--Henry Sampson--similarly provides no real evidence of the occupation or residence of the scribe or of the ownership of the book. The secondary scribe, on the other hand, may be Richard Allison, which implies that at least part of its compilation took place in or near London, where Allison was resident. It has been suggested that Sampson, whose signature appears on f.7r, mayhave been related to Thomas Sampson, Gentleman of the Chapel Royal, 1560-1615, andthis London connection would certainly be likely if Sampson was taught by Allison. Spencer traced the lineage of a Samuel Sampson (from a signature dated 1693) b1670: son of John Sampson (b1654), son of John Sampson (b1626), son of Henry Sampson of Bruton, Somerset. This last would have been about the right age for the scribe in the lute book, but there is no evidence to identify him as such.Further details about the book are to be found in Spencer 1974.
Bibliography: Spencer 1965
Spencer 1974
Poulton 1975A
Spencer 1975B
Poulton 1975B
folio
|
original
ascription
|
title
|
composer
|
cons.
& cogs.
|
| 3/1
|
AnAlmane.
|
Almain,
first part of duet
|
Folger
2v/1 Dd.4.22 2/1
Thysius 501
| |
| 3/2
|
the
præcedent Almane after the treble waye
|
Almain,
second part of duet
|
Folger
2v/2
| |
| 3v/1
|
Rogero
|
Ruggiero
|
Board
2/1 cf: 408/2 91/1 Dallis 20/1, 21(dvns), 92/2 (dt) and 223/2 (band.) Dd.3.18 1 (dt) Marsh 38, 39 (dt) and 305 Mynshall 3v/2 (dt) Thysius 383/1
Trumbull 25v/1 and 25v/2 (dt)
| |
| 3v/2
|
The
Spanish pavin
|
Spanish
Pavan
|
Francis
Pilkington
|
31392
25v Welde 1 Dallis 162 Dd.4.22 3 Dd.9.33 82v-83 Dd.2.11 66v/2 Nn.6.36 23v Dallis 162 Robinson 1603 22v-23 408/2 112/1 Mynshall 5/2-5v/1 Wemyss 23/3-24/1 Wickhambrook 14v-15/1 Cosens 20v-21 Folger 1v-2 (frgmt) Pickeringe 11/2 & 11v-12 (dt pts) Dd.3.18 14v-15/1 (dt) cf: Thysius 142/2 Stobaeus 22v/2 Dolmetsch 23v-25 and 25v-26 Valerius1626 258-260 Vallet1615 57 Vallet1616 6/2
Vilnius 27
|
| 4/1
|
Heaven
and earth.
|
Heavenand
Earth/ King's Pavan
|
RA58
52/4 & 55v Osborn 1v-2v/1
Thistlethwaite 87v-89
| |
| 4/2
|
Wilson's
Wild
|
Dd.2.11
68v/2 Folger 3/1
408/2 112/2
| ||
| 6/1
|
Lord
Hay's Courant
|
Board
8/1 ML 2v/2-3/1 cf: Herhold 7v/2-8/1
Folger 24v/1
| ||
| 6/2
|
Volt?
|
|||
| 6v/1
|
A
pavin
|
Pavan
|
||
| 6v/2
|
A
Galliard by Dowla:
|
Dowland's
Galliard
|
John
Dowland [20]
|
Dd.2.11
7v/3 and 67v/2 Thysius 22
cf: Osborn 10v (band.)
|
| 7/1
|
Mrs
Whites choice
|
Mrs
White's Choice/ Thing
|
John
Dowland [50]
|
ML
2/1 Sampson 7/2 Wickhambrook 15/2 2764(2) 6/2 Pickeringe 19/4 Dd.2.11 63v/2
Dd.4.23 31v
|
| 7/2
|
Mrs
Whites choyce
|
Mrs
White's Choice/ Thing
|
John
Dowland [50]
|
ML
2/1 Sampson 7/1 Wickhambrook 15/2 2764(2) 6/2 Pickeringe 19/4 Dd.2.11 63v/2
Dd.4.23 31v
|
| 7v
|
The
battaile Galliarde by Johnson
|
Battle
Galliard/King of Denmark's Galliard/ MrMildmay's Galliard
|
John
Dowland [40]
|
Dowland
1610B 22v-23 Dd.9.33 23 &94v ML 12v-13/1 Pickeringe 17v-18/1 Welde 5v Board 17v-18 Folger 10v-11 Vilnius 22v/2 and 22v/3-23/1 Fuhrmann 1615 112-113/1
Brahe 33
|
| 8
|
The
Quadran pavin
|
Quadran
Pavan
|
John
Johnson
|
Dallis
56-59/1 Mynshall 1v-2/1 Marsh 120-121 Dd.2.11 31v-32/1 Wickhambrook 10v-11/1
Ballet 8-9
|
| 8v
|
The
Galliard to the Quadran pavin
|
Quadran
Galliard
|
Marsh
289 (identical exc. bar 2)
| |
| 9/1
|
Packingtoune
galiarde
|
Packington's
Galliard, duet
|
Marsh
266 Brogyntyn 19/3 2764(2) 2v-3
Mynshall 9
| |
| 9/2
|
preludiume
|
Prelude
|
||
| 9v
|
Leueche
pavinn[e]
|
Lavecchia
Pavan
|
Welde
2v/1 ML 7 Mynshall 12 cf: Dallis 85/2 Vilnius 7 and 40/1 Dd.3.18 61v (cnst) Wickhambrook 15v/1 (dt) John Johnson Folger 12 Schele 143-144/1 Wickhambrook 14/2 (inc.) Ballet 45 [inv] (dt) Brogyntyn 28/2-29/1 (dt) Pickeringe 4/1 (dt) Wickhambrook 15v/2 [inv] (dt)
Dd.2.11 36v-37/1 (band.)
| |
| 10
|
a
allmayne by R Alisoune
|
Almain
|
Richard
Allison
|
|
| 10v-11/1
|
delatrumba
|
De
la Tromba, second part of duet
|
Brogyntyn
26-27/1
Pickeringe 6v/2-7
| |
| 11/2
|
i
/ a fancy for ii lutes by Jhon Danniell
|
Fancy,
duet part
|
John
Danyel
|
|
| 11v/1
|
ii
/ an allman for ii lutes mr Marchant
|
Echo
Almain, first partof duet
|
Marchant/
Pilkington
|
cf:
Brogyntyn 31 (2nd pt)
|
| 11v/2
|
3
lo: wi=lobies welcom hom. / by Jho Dowland
|
Lord
Willoughby's Welcome Home/ Roland, duet/consort part
|
John
Dowland [66a]
|
cf:
Dd.5.78.3 28v Euing 38/2 Mynshall 1/2 Pickeringe 25/3 and 33v/1 Vilnius 57/3 Wickhambrook 12/2 Folger 9v/1 (dt) Hove1601 107v/3 Robinson1603 40-41 Thysius 389/1 Valerius1626 83 Vallet1615 47-48 Vilnius 14v/1 Dlugoraj 372 Cologne 24 Fabritius no.9 Hainhofer IV 36 Besard1603 134v/2 Richard 24 Dd.2.11 58v/2
Dd.2.11 14v/1 (band.)
|
| 12/1
|
duncomes
galiarde for 2 lutes
|
Duncome's
galliard, duet part
|
cf:
Dd.3.18 17/2
| |
| 12/2
|
a
mery moode for 2 lutes
|
A
Merry Mood, duetpart
|
||
| 12v/1
|
bo
peep / <bo peep> for 2 lutes an allmane
|
Bo
Peep/A Toy, duet part
|
Thomas
Robinson
|
|
| 12v/2-13
|
for
ii lutes 5 / a galiard for ii lutes
|
Squire's
Galliard, duet part
|
cf:
Dd.2.11 49v-50/1 & 71v/1 Ballet 15 Stobaeus 44v-45 Eijsertt 93v-94, 94v/1 and 94v/2 Thysius 27v
Vilnius 23v
| |
| 13v
|
a
galiarde by mr Dowland
|
Earl
of Derby's Galliard
|
John
Dowland [44]
|
Schele
142 Dowland 1610B 24v Dd.5.78.3 38/2 Euing 21/3 Welde 7/3 Nn.6.36 1 and 2
Herhold 39v/2-40v
|
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