Sing Joyfully: 500th Anniversary of Arundel Choir Book and Rare Manuscript Exhibition

Arundel Choir Book depicting Sanctus from Robert Fayrfax Mass setting. Published with permission from Lambeth Palace Library

'Sing Joyfully' explores various musical fragments and books in Lambeth Palace Library, some only recently discovered, highlighting polyphonic music. At the heart of this fascinating exhibition is the Arundel Choir Book, one of only two surviving pre-Reformation choir books in England. The Arundel Choir Book was written in 1525 by an unknown scribe at Arundel College, Sussex. It contains eight pieces of music not found in any other folio.

Following the Dissolution of Arundel College, the book was owned by Henry Fitzalan Howard, 12th Duke of Arundel. He bequeathed it and his vast book collection to his brother in law John, Lord Lumley. He seems to have given it to Richard Bancroft, Archbishop of Canterbury, 1604-10 for his library at Nonsuch.

Bancroft left it to Lambeth Palace. It was first listed as amongst the library contents in 1647 but seems likely to have been included since the Library's foundation in 1610. It is beautifully illuminated. On one page a fox is playing the bagpipes.

The choirbook contains seven Masses, four Magnificats, seven Votive Antiphons and one Responsory. It measures 740 x 510mm.

It includes the works of two leading early Tudor composers, Robert Fayrfax, 1464-1521, and Nicholas Ludford 1485-1557. A page from Fairfax's Mass 'O quam glorifica' shows the Sanctus with five different illuminated lettering of 'S' to mark in the start of each singer's line.

An early thirteenth century leaf has a melody for two voices singing two tunes at the same time and also at the bottom of the page is music for a third voice in Mater Dei as Maria.

Music by Thomas Tallis was used as a setting for nine psalms in a volume translated into English in the 1560's. The book is open at Psalm 2 known as The Third Mode melody and similar to a modern minor key.

The first printed music was in 1473 with movable type. Wood blocks and movable type were both used in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

Most music in service books is in plainchant with a single melodic line. However, some books particularly choir books contained more elaborate settings.

The notated York Breviary is extremely rare dating from the fourteenth or fifteenth century and includes more hymns than the Sarum and other local rites.

Another rare manuscript is of a fifteenth century musical notation of a Book of Hours sung in recitation of the Office of the Dead.

The earliest exhibit is a fascinating manuscript by sixth century official Boethius, philosopher, historian, mathematician and musician. It displays a mathematical theory of music first expounded by Pythagoras around 500 BC,

A twelfth century copy of his treatise 'De Musica' illustrates Boethius' influence on medieval music.

Medieval musicians also challenged traditional forms with the introduction of polyphony; concurrent musical lines alongside single melody plainchant was a radical innovation.

Practical ideas for training included the depicted Guidonian hand named after music theorist Guido d'Arezzo 991-before 1033.

A drawing of a hand from a sixteenth century Latin treatise on chant, 1509, reflects the memory of this training method for singers to visualize the relationship of notes on a scale and intervals. Each portion of the hand represents a note within the 'Hexachord', the six note system described by Guido around 1030.

An exciting discovery was made in 2023 when four leaves of music were discovered tucked in an envelope at the end of a fifteenth century prayerbook in the library.

The fragments were identified as late thirteenth century English provenance polyphony. Music for three voices include a Kyrie and two Marian anthems, 'Ave Maria…..Virgo Serena' and 'Ave Mundi Spes Maria'. By reporting such finds to international databases it is hoped more of the fragments will be discovered.

It was not uncommon for leaves from older books to be recycled. One such example is the cover of a 1554 printed volume of St Julian of Toledo's 'Prognostics' which was made from the leaf of a fourteenth century breviary. The hymn for Vespers from the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul and fragments of chants and texts of the Feast are preserved in this cover.

The exhibition covers later works in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and music for the Coronations of George 11 and the late Queen, Elizabeth 11 in 1953.

Two concerts in September celebrate 500 years of the Arundel Choirbook performed by The Iken Scholars, directed by Matthew Dunn.

On 20 September, a fundraising performance will be staged at St Nicholas Parish Church, Arundel in aid of the church and the Roman Catholic Fitzalan Chapel.

On 25th September the concert will be performed in Lambeth Palace's Great Hall at 7.30 pm.

Booking essential by Eventbrite. No charge but donations welcome.

For further details and other connected events see: www.lambethpalacelibrary.info/events/

Until 6 November.

Admission to exhibition free.