Citation information:
Berz, William, "The Battell by William Byrd freely transcribed by Gordon Jacob." Paper presented the CBDNA Eastern Division Conference at the Yale University, March 31, 2000.
The Battell
by William Byrd
freely transcribed by Gordon Jacob
Published by Boosey & Hawkes
Duration: approximately 18 minutes Grade 4
This thirteen-movement suite is a free transcription of works originally composed by William Byrd (1543-1623). The movements and approximate durations are listed below.
- The Souldiers' Sommons (33 measures) (1:10)
- The Marche of Footemen (32 measures) (:50)
- The Marche of Horsmen (40 measures) (1:10)
- The Trumpetts (48 measures) (1:15)
- The Irishe Marche (48 measures) (1:35)
- The Bagpipe and the Drone (34 measures) (1:10)
- The Flute and the Droome (75 measures) (2:35)
- The Marche to the Fighte (73 measures) (2:10)
- The Retraite (27 measures) (1:00)
- The Buriing of the Dead (32 measures) (1:35)
- The Galliarde for the Victorie (49 measures) (1:35)
- The Morris (33 measures) (:55)
- The Souldiers' Dance (35 measures) (1:15)
My Ladye Nevells Booke
The Battell is a grouping of fifteen pieces originally composed by Byrd for virginal, and is unusual in being an early example of programmatic music portraying a conflict as well as events preceding and following the actual battle. It is found in the manuscript My Ladye Nevells Booke dated 1591, copied by a musician named John Baldwin. This manuscript is one of the earliest surviving sources to include music by Byrd specifically composed for virginal, distinct from music for the organ.
The manuscript consists of 32 pieces in three groups: grounds, dances, and programmatic pieces; pavans and galliards; and fantasias and variations. The composition of the works in the collection are thought to span some twenty years. Even the composition of individual pieces within The Battle spans some period of time. It is thought that the Irish march might have been inspired by the Irish rebellions of the 1570s or early 1580s. Harley (see bibliography) feels that the galliard was newly composed specifically for the manuscript.
The Battle is certainly a very important work historically. Harley (p. 267) makes the following observation:
Byrd's Battle sequence is the first English example of a whole genre of pieces descriptive of battles. It can claim additional distinction as the first English keyboard suite. The main sequence consists of nine short pieces in the key of C. The materials are simple, and though they are restricted, Byrd manages to extract a good deal of variety from very unpromising stuff. The Retreat shows Byrd in an atypically humorous mood, and the whole suite must have seemed highly entertaining in its day. The Battle is framed in Nevell by a march and a galliard, both in G and both numbered separately. The March Before the Battle has the title The Earle of Oxford's Marche in Tregian's manuscript, and its insistence on the tonic and dominant suggests that it may be a setting of a march originally conceived for trumpets and drums. It was presumably associated with Edward de Vere, The Earl of Oxford.
The Battle for Wind Band
This setting for band was published in 1964, and lists Byrd as composer and Gordon Jacob as having freely transcribed the work. The Battell, as scored by Jacob, does not include the first movement of the original suite, The Earle of Oxford's Marche, or as it is subtitled The Marche before the Battell, a work that is also found separately in the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book. The last movement is also omitted from JacobÕs arrangement since it is simply "another version" of the previous movement. Conductors might want to include the opening march which can be found in Jacob's arrangement, The William Byrd Suite. In this way, the originally conceived battle suite can be programmed in its entirety, save the repeated last movement. Likewise, conductors might eliminate some movements from the performance if certain ones are problematic for a particular group.
The eighth movement, The Marche to the Fighte, serves as a center of the suite, for it is in the midst of this movement where "the battels be joyned." Trumpets and cornets are prominently employed, sounding the call to battle. Music before this eighth movement illustrates activities before the battle, music afterwards portrays the mourning and celebrations that might expectedly follow.
Most of the movements are short (see above), and most feature quite regular structure and phrasing. Jacob uses different orchestrational techniques to highlight structure. For example, the second movement, The Marche of Footemen, is four repetitions of an eight-bar phrase, the second half of which is varied somewhat on each repetition. Jacob employs different instrumental resources for each phrase, in order: brass, woodwind, middle and low brass with the addition of trumpets in mid-phrase, and finally full band.
Obvious instrumental references are made in a number of the movements. Trumpets and cornets are prominently featured in the fourth, The Trumpetts, which is scored for brass and percussion only. Flutes and drums are the central instruments in the seventh, The Flute and the Droome; clarinets are added in gradually as the movement progresses. The twelfth movement also does not employ brass instruments. The ninth movement, The Retraite, features a procedure where an arpeggio is sounded loudly by the woodwinds and then echoed softly in the brass.
Rationale for Study and Performance
Some conductors might question the general principle of transcription. There is some tradition of successfully transcribing keyboard works for the orchestra. Pictures at an Exhibition (Moussorsky/Ravel) and the toccatas and fugues of Bach arranged by Leopold Stokowski might be some of the most famous examples.
It is difficult to imagine two more different performance outlets than the virginal and the symphonic band. Gordon JacobÕs setting, much like Busoni's piano arrangement of the Chaconne from the d minor Violin Partita, is almost a new piece. When The Battle was performed by the Rutgers Wind Ensemble in 1997, critic and orchestral conductor Robert W. Butts remarked in his Classical New Jersey review that "Elizabethan purists might frown at the Elgarization of Byrd" (emphasis added). Conductors who choose to perform The Battle must accept that although the transcription is an aesthetic reach from the original, the enterprise is still valid and acceptable.
The Battle is very similar to the William Byrd Suite also arranged by Jacob. The William Byrd Suite has become a staple of the band's repertoire while The Battle is seldom performed, and is unfortunately out-of-print.
In the educational setting, the work holds considerable value. Performing a major work by a significant composer is certainly a valuable experience, this is especially true in this case given the historical period of the suite. This arrangement is particularly accessible by student performers.
The Battell is recorded by the Rutgers Wind Ensemble on its compact disc, Transformations, Mark #2291-MCD (1997). It is available through Rutgers Music Department (732-932-8860), West Coast Music Sales, Shattinger Music, or Mark Custom Recording. See http://musicweb.rutgers.edu/windband/ for more information, including web addresses for the listed distributors.
Bibliography
Dvorak, Thomas L., Grechesky, Robert, and Ciepluch, Gary M. Best Music for High School Band. Brooklyn, NY: Manhattan Beach Music, 1993. (page 45)
Harley, John. William Byrd: Gentleman of the Chapel Royal. Brookfield, VT: Ashgate Publishing Company, 1997.
Holst, Imogene. Byrd. New York: Praeger Publishers, 1972.
Howes, Frank. William Byrd. New York: E. P. Dutton, 1928.