John Playford

The paper takes an anthology of pieces published by John Playford in 1670, Apollo’s Banquet for treble Violin, containing an anthology of country-dances, theatre tunes, jigs, marches, hornpipes, broadside ballads, and French dances. Whilst music disseminated in the form of manuscript copies existed prior to Playford’s publication, it was the first time that English popular music was published with such volume and frequency. According to Frank Kidson, an important figure in folk song revival in the nineteenth-century, Playford was the greatest pioneer in music publications in England.[1]

Among the articles written about Playford, very few discuss the musical content of his collections in as much depth as Margaret Curti[2]. Curti provides an extensive research on the different musical styles included within Playford’s Apollo’s Banquet 1670. She highlights the relevance of Playford’s publications in this own time, and helps us to contextualise the music.

‘If one wishes to know more about the usually unspecified “tunes” or “jigs” that are called for so often in Restoration plays; if one wishes to know what the courantes, Sarabands, etc. were like that were actually used for social dancing, as opposed to the ones transferred to the ensemble of keyboard dance suites; if one wishes to know what sort of music people sang and played for their own amusement; then one cannot neglect the music of Apollo’s Banquet’. [3]

Summary

Apollo’s Banquet for treble violin was selected to suggest a new way of finding more baroque violin repertoire. Playford was a pioneer in terms of music documentation, however most significantly for this paper, Playford’s published music that was popular when it was published. His publications reflect political and religious grievances at all levels of society. The music was popular on the streets and in the houses of people living in the seventeenth century and thus leaves behind the heart and soul of England at this time. The context of the publication for violin also illuminates the rise of its popularity and therefore an important documentation for the history of the instrument. The popular songs aimed at the amateur violinist tend to be catchy, with simple melodies; rhythms and length that are suitable for teaching young students. 

Playford in the historical context

Playford began his publishing business in London in 1647, during the English Civil War (1642-1651). This war highlighted the large-scale disagreements between parliamentarians and royalists over society and how the country should be ruled. It later became the subject for many of the broadside ballads, part of the street music that fills Playford’s publications. The wars result in Charles I tried for treason and beheaded in 1649 and Oliver Cromwell, victorious in the English Civil war, taking political center stage as protector of the Commonwealth. Oliver Cromwell, as a Puritan believed that one should lead one’s life strictly adhering to what was written in the Bible, and thus the excesses of life were restricted. Holidays such as Christmas and Easter were suppressed, theatres were closed down and music in public places banned. Charles Burney spoke of the troubled times for musicians:

‘Ten years of gloomy silence seem to have elapsed before a string was suffered to vibrate, or to breathe aloud, in the kingdom; as we hear of no music-meetings, clubs, or concerts, till the year of 1656.’[1]

Roger North, referring to this time wrote:

‘During ye troubles & when most other good arts languished musick held up her head, not at Court nor (In ye cant of those times) profane theatres, but In private socaity, for many chose rather to fiddle at home, then to goe out & be knockt on ye head abroad; and the enterteinem was very much courted & made use of not only In country but citty familys’[2]

 With such a slump in creativity, actors, musicians and playwrights suddenly all found themselves unemployed. Thus as North shows, musicians were forced to move into the private sphere and seek work outside of their traditional avenues. They began to teach privately and give house performances. The unrest and the ban on music in public places itself created a demand for self-taught manuals and song books which could be used for music making in homes and taverns. This demand shapes Playford’s publications and the use of popular music that would suit his amateur customers.

Playford’s Publications

The first edition of Apollo’s Banquet was published in 1670, and it comes out of a long process of understanding the consumer market for Playford. As is explained, this collection can be seen as a result of everything he published prior to it.

Playford’s connections with composers such as Matthew Locke and Henry Purcell not only provided useful repertoire for his books but also worked as an endorsement for sales. Purcell met Playford when he was just nine years old and Playford published a three part song by him called “Sweet Tyraness I now resign” in his 1667 edition of The Musical Companion although its authorship is still a contentious issue.[1]

Playford’s first musical publication was The English Dancing Master (1651), a collection of 104 English country dances, each containing the musical notation and dancing instructions. Between 1651 and 1728, a further 18 editions were published under the title of The Dancing Master which demonstrates the immediate success Playford enjoyed. Recognising this success, Playford continued to use this same formula in his following publications. 

The Musicall Banquet, also dated to 1651, was his second publication. Here Playford divides the book into three sections. The first included lessons for the Lira Viol; the second included “Allmans, Corants, and Sarabands, for Treble and Basse Viol composed by William Lawes and other excellent masters”, and third included “the New and Choyce Catches and Rounds, to which is added some new Rules and Directions for such as learne to sing or to play the Viol” [2]. With the success of these publication Playford decided to separated the three parts and sell them individually. Editions were published as Musick’s Recreation on the Lyra Viol Courtly Masquing Ayres and The Musical Companion. He would often single out an instrument (lyra, cithren, flute, flagelet, recorder, theorbo-lute, bass viol, treble violin, virginal) and include rudimentary theoretical instructions to notation or tablature.

This well thought-out business plan of including basic technical advice to make the specific instrument more accessible to the amateur musician is one of the reasons for Apollo’s Banquet’s success. Playford also often included prefaces directly addressing the “ingenious lovers” and “practioners of musick” as he often called his customers[3]. We can therefore we see the development of Playford’s publications, extending the successful dance instructions to different musical instruments such as Apollo’s Banquet.

The Broadside ballad

Many of the songs included in Apollo’s Banquet originated from the streets, known by many and passed down through oral traditions. The broadside ballad is one of the popular forms of song that was printed seventeenth century and thus a cultural medium for sharing ideas. Ballads covered a wide range of topics, stories with moral meanings, popular legends, current political agendas, religious topics.[1] For the duration of the Civil War, ballads would often use political and religious topics, often engaging the public with a satirical and critical tone. As ballads were printed on a single sheet of paper, they were the most inexpensive form of printing available. Many of the ballads were printed with the phrase “to the tune of” a common practice in Europe. Thus ballads were sung to an already well-known tune and different ballads would often share the same tune.[2]

Ex. 1: The Protestant-Flayl. To the Tune of Lucy’s Maggot; Or The Hobby-Horse

Illiterate people could learn the words through listening and singing, adding any adjustments as they fancied. Therefore broadside ballads were also extremely accessible and could permeate different strata of society.[3]

Due to much of the oral traditions surrounding these ballads many of the tunes would have been lost had it not been for Playford, who began printing many common ballad tunes in musical instruction guides, song and dance books. The successes of Playford’s publication demonstrate that the popularity of these ballads was not only limited to the illiterate class but also included at least a portion of the literate class. Therefore his publications can be seen as a works that interacts with different social strata and therefore one that transcends both cultural and social hierarchies.

Naturally the political and religious upheavals of the seventeenth century had financial implications on the production and market of printed music. With Playford, we see the beginning of a commercial industry allowing a wider group to have access to printed music. Furthermore, as Playford published “popular” works such as ballads, it is possible to see a clear exchange between popular and elitist culture. Playford’s publications therefore left a large footprint on the publishing and printing of music.

Rise in popularity of the violin

With the restoration of the monarchy in 1660, the arts flourished under the personal interest and support of Charles II. During his exile, Charles II had spent much of his time in France with his cousin Lully XIV who was an enthusiastic patron on the arts. With rich musical experiences offered at the French court, the restoration of Charles II brought about significant social change. Eager to popularise his reign, all art forms were encouraged: restoration comedies began to appear in theatres; support was given to science groups such as the Royal Society, and his own imitation of Lully XIV’s orchestra, the four-and-twenty fiddlers was founded. It was under these favorable circumstances and the rise in popularity of the violin that Playford’s Apollo’s Banquet was sold.

The repertoire used in this paper, from Apollo’s Banquet for treble Violin, is a collection that differs from its contemporary music publications in that it was specifically for amateur violinists. The first edition of Apollo’s Banquet was published in 1670 but preceded by a number of other successful Playford publications including the violin. For example Court Masquing Ayres for Viols or Violins (1655) and in his second edition of A Brief Introduction to the Skill of Musick (1658), there is a section entitled ‘A brief introduction to the play on the Treble-violin’. This section is absent in the first edition published just four years earlier; a reason for this addition was perhaps due to growth in popularity of the violin, as Playford states that the treble violin is ‘a cheerful and spritely instrument, and much practiced of late’[1]. Playford then goes on to explain that some people learn through books and others by ear; he believes that one should learn by book to master the rules instead of by ear where things will soon be forgotten. Whether this statement is true or not is unimportant in the context of this paper. This gives a reason for his publications, believing such a book to be necessary for the amateur musician.

These publications reflect the rise in popularity of the violin and Apollo’s Banquet can be seen as a product of the growing demand for violin publications. It was printed with nine editions up until 1710, which further illuminates its popularity.