Juggling life, liberty and happiness

Not to leave out the Italian fiends!
So in looking for German song books, I ran across these 16th century online books of Italian madrigals, madregali, most for 5 voices, one is for 3. They are listed in chronological order.

Perissone, Cambio: DI PERISSONE CAMBIO IL SECONDO LIBRO DI MADREGALI A cinque voci con tre Dialoghi a otto uoci et uno a sette Voci Nouamente Da lui Composti et dati in Luce, ... A CINQVE VOCI, Venedig, 1550


Guami, Gioseffo: DI GIOSEFFO GVAMI DA LVCA, IL PRIMO LIBRO DI MADRIGALI a Cinque Voci Nouamente da lui composti & per Antonio Gardano stampati & dati in Lue. (!) A CINQVE VOCI


Vecoli, Regolo: IL PRIMO LIBRO DE MADRIGALI A CINQVE VOCI, DI REGOLO VECOLI, MVSICO DELLA ILLVSTRISSIMA SIGNORIA DI LVCCA. A CINQVE VOCI 1577


Feliciani, Andrea: DI ANDREA FELISIANI .../IL PRIMO LIBRO DE MADRIGALI A CINQVE VOCI, Nuouamente composti, & dati in luce, In Venetia Appresso/Angelo Gardano./1579


Sabino, Ippolito: MADRIGALI A CINQVE VOCI DI HIPPOLITO SABINO LIBRO SECONDO, Nouamente composti, & dati in luce, Venedig, 1580


Micheli, Domenico: DI M. DOMINICO MICHELI IL QVINTO LIBRO DE MADRIGALI à Cinque Voci con vno Dialogo à dieci, Nouamente composti, & dati in luce, Venedig, 1581


Luyton, Charles: DI CARLO LVYTON ORGANISTA DELLA SACRA CESAREA MAESTA DELL' IMPERATORE RODOLFO SECONDO, IL PRIMO LIBRO DE MADRIGALI A CINQVE VOCI, Nouamente composto, & dato in luce, Venedig, 1582

Mosto, Bernardino: MADRIGALI DI BERNARDINO MOSTO ORGANISTA DEL SERENISSIMO DVCA ERNESTO DI BAVIERA, ELETTORE DI COLONIA etc: Nouamente Composti & dati in luce. A CINQVE VOCI, Antwerpen, 1588

Nola, Giovanni da: CANZONE VILLANESCHE DE DON IOAN DOMENICO DEL GIOVANE DE NOLA A TRE VOCI NOVAMENTE RISTAMPATA LIBRO PRIMO, Venedig, 1595

Here are the poetry lyrics to the long song I translated last week into prose. stitchwhich helped me on a couple of the trickier passages. I've attempted to translate it so that it would still be singable to the original music, which you can find at the link.

For kicks, I thought I'd include the Google Translation as well. :)

I'd love feedback on the translation.

Translated Lyrics to XIV: Schau ich in Eure Augen, Tune: Ich hort ein Fraulein Klagen
From pages 32-33 of Fünfzig ungedruckte Balladen und Liebeslieder des XVI. Jahrhunderts By Franz Wilhelm Ditfurth

Original	Goggle Translation	My Translation
Schau ich in Eure Augen, O schöne Fraue mein, Muss ich wie Bienlein saugen, Den süssen Hönigseim; Ja schaue drin mit Lüsten! Wenn sie mich freundlich grüssten, Könnt mir was Liebers seyn?	I look into your eyes, O my beautiful wife Do I suck as Bienlein The sweet honey Seim Yes look inside with desire When she greeted me kindly, Dear me what can be?	I gaze into your eyes, O my lovely wife, May I sip like little bees The sweet pure honey; When kindly you greeted me, Yes, gaze in there with desire! Dear me, what can this be?
Sie halten mich gefangen Mit ihrer Strahlen Licht, Dass mir auf meinen Wangen Ein Purpur herfür bricht. Mein Herz das zuckt und pochet, Das Blut in Adern kochet, Mir wundersam geschicht.	They keep me trapped With its light rays That I am on my cheeks A purple herfür breaks. My heart is shrugs and Pochet The blood in the veins kochet Miraculous happens to me	They hold me captive, with their bright flash On my cheeks, A deep blush breaks out. My heart pounds and throbs The blood seethes within my veins What a wondrous affair to me.
Ich darf es Euch wol sagen: Ihr seyd mein Königin, Für die ganz ohn Verzagen Mein Leben geb dahin! Ihr seyd mein Stern und Sonne, Auf Euc h mein Lebensbrunn, Geht all mein durst ger Sinn.	I must say you want You are my queen For all without despair My life then geb Ye my star and sun On you my life well Goes all my thirst less sense	I must say what you want You are my Queen For without despair, All my life I give! You are my star and sun, You are my fountain of life Quenching all my sense of thirst
Wollt Gott es brünn dessgleichen In Euch so lichterloh, Es wär in allen Reichen Nicht Einer, wie ich froh! Wollt Eur im Liebesgarten, Als treuer Gärtner warten, Bis an mein End also.	Will God it brno dessgleichen In you so lichterloh It would in all realms One does not like me happy Will Eur love in the garden As a loyal gardener to wait By the end of my so	In like manner, God wishes You to be ablaze within It is this way in all the world Not alone, I am so happy! Within your love garden I will wait as a loyal gardener, Until my last breath

I get wild hare ideas sometimes, and yesterday was a prime example.

I decided that I should learn some songs that my persona would sing, either for entertainment, or just doing chores around the house. I know several English songs from the 1500's, but no German songs either in English or German.

I decided that this needed to be remedied. So off I went to do some research, and found all sorts of fun stuff that I thought I'd share.

First off, its quite easy to find neat songs in lots of other languages! (I'll post the German stuff in a separate post).

The Bodleian Library Broadside Ballads collection has a nice selection of broadside ballads and song sheets. It works great if you know the title of the song or the first line because the search by date function isn't available.

A database of vocal music of the "French" Renaissance has midi files, PDF trascriptions of the modern notation and a scan of the original work in period notation.

I think this one was the coolest find though, especially if you are doing DUTCH
The Dutch Song Database contains more than 125,000 songs in the Dutch and Flemish language, from the Middle Ages through the twentieth century. Its organized quite well, so you can find all the songs that have the same tune, or have similar words. Plus there are MP3's of many of the songs.

The neatest part is that they did a recording project of the Souterliedekens, which are rhymed psalm translations in Dutch, set to popular tunes, published in Antwerp in 1540. It is the first complete Psalter in any European vernacular.

Since these psalms were set to popular songs, the tunes for lots of other songs from the same period have been saved.

When it rains it pours!

Sometimes when you prospect for information (aka data mining) you hunt and hunt and turn up nothing but empty. Other days you are practically drowning in new discoveries and can barely handle everything.

Today is a "barely keeping my head above water" sort of day, here are the gems.

First, A Atlas, dated middle 16th century, WDB,
Cod.Guelf. 4.1 Aug. 4° (Battista Agnese, Portulanatlas, Mitte 16. Jh.)
http://diglib.hab.de/mss/4-1-aug-4f/start.htm

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Then this very odd box, also from the WDB
Cod.Guelf. 90 Aug. 8° (A. Kircher, Arca musurgica)
http://diglib.hab.de/?objekte=90-aug-8f

Its a wooden box, with wooden sticks, with writing on them, that have to do with music, as the box has musical scales on the sides for four parts. Its dated to the 17th century.

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This book is a "Varia" Book, dated 15th century. Its got some really interesting writings having to do with musical composition on page 33. In the 40 page range, it looks like class notes or similar and has diagrams about the music notation in use at the time.
82.6 Quod. (8a) = Heinemann Nr. 4045 (varia de poesi, musica, astronomia, 15. Jh.)
http://diglib.hab.de/mss/82-6-quod-8a/start.htm

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One of the things that I love most about ysabelot is that even though we are polar opposites when it comes to politics and religion, we can still manage to be friends, we just agree to disagree and move on. On the occasions where one or the other gets carried away, we give out our little code word for each other for when we are getting out of control, we say "Howabout our king, Charles the Fifth? "

In honor of this, I present the following song from an embroidered song book from the Imperial collection, "Imperial Music at Ambras Castle: Written under the Emperors Charles V. and Ferdinand I." edited by Walter Salmen, ISBN 3-900590-23-0.

This is a motet written for Charles the Fifth's triumphant return from Italy and praises him as a peacemaker. Its arranged for 6 voices, Discantus, Contratenor, Contratenor secundus, Tenor, Vagans and Bassus and probably composed about 1530. I wish I knew someone who could take the music sheets printed in the book and create a midi out of them for me, I could easily sing the discantus part. There is also a song in there praising Ferdinand I's wife Anne of Hungary and Austria, for which there is no translation given unfortunatly.

Martia terque quater

Martia terque quater / Triumphans Caesar ab Italia / Carolus ecce venit!

Aurea qui terris revehat regnata / Parente secula Saturno / Carolus ecce venit!

Vana superstitio proculi discordia / Demens pacifer ac vindex / Carolus ecce venit

English translation

Applause three times, martial Germany / Look, Emperor Charles is back with triumph from Italy!

He who may bring back to the countries the Golden Ages / Reigned by Father Saturn / Look, Charles is back!

Vain is superstition, and foolish persistant discord / The peace-bringer and vindicator / Charles, look, is back!