Golden Guinea Collection Series, Colin Tilney plays the keyboard music of Matthew Locke, stereo GSGC 14128, production 1970
The harpsichord used for this recording is a single-manual instrument. undated by the Irish maker Robert Woffington. who worked in Dublin from about 1773 to 1813. The organ music was recorded at St. Mary’s Church. Rotherhithe. London. by kind permission of the Rector. the Rev. D. TasselI. The organ dates from 1764 and was built by John Byfield the younger.lt was restored by Noel Mander in 1959.

S i d e – 1 – H a r p s i c h o r d

SUITE NO. 3 IN C MAJOR. (12-16)
00:00 PRELUDE.
00:50 ALMAlN.
03:36 CORANT.
04:57 SARABAND.
06:45 JIG .
The third suite opens with a prelude in the stile brisé of the French lutenists. The final double trill seems to be taken from a passage in
Froberger’s third toccata : although no Froberger was in print until 1693, numerous copies of his music circulated, and he himself is known to have visited London. The Jig. like the Rant in the Fourth Suite. is a typical theatre tune, though no connection with any of Locke’s dramatic music has been found .

SUITE NO. 2 IN G MIiN0R. (B-11)
07:45 ALMAlN.
09:24 SARABAND.
10:32 VIRAGO.
11:13 ROUNDO.
Is ‘Virago ‘ merely a reference to the jerky dotted rhythms. or is a portrait intended. as in Couperin? The last movement is a rather rudimentary rondeau with only one coupiet.

12:20 SARABAND IN F MAJOR. (2B)
13:24 AYRE IN F MAJOR. (27)
Both af these pieces were included in the second (1678) edition of Playford ‘s Musick ‘s Hand-Maid. and both originally formed part of the Third Entry in Cupid 8nd Oeath.

14:28 ALMAlN IN G MAJOR. (31)
This is from Add. MS 31403.

16:07 PRELUDE IN C MAJOR. (2)
The first suite in Melothesia has two preludes. presumably alternatives. Both are basically Elizabethan in technique and stylistically could have been included. alorig with the Prelude in A minor (on Side 2) in Parthenia (1612/3).

16:27 SARABAND IN C MAJOR. (30)
17:44 AYRE IN C MAJOR. (29)
Both Dieces are to be found in Musick’s Hand-Maid (1678) . The Ayre.was a much-used tune. The Fifth Entry in Cupid and Oeath. it then
appeared in 1662 as one of Locke’s contributions to Playford ‘s Courtly Masquing Ayres (chamber music for strings).

SUITE NO. 4 IN D MAJOR. (17-21)
19:05 PRELUDE,
19:55 ALMAlN,
22:39 CORANT,
23:57 SARABAND.
25:10 RANT.
The first movement. Prelude. was another ‘Iute piece’

S i d e – 2 – O r g a n – a n d – H a r p s i c h o r d

ORGAN VOLUNTARIES. For Single (manual ) Organ :
26:18 in E minor (1) .
27:51 F major (7) ,
29:36 A minor (4) .
32:34 D minor (2),
34:05 G major (3).
35:25 A minor (5 ).
36:26 For Double Organ : in D minor (6) .
In his organ music Locke is at his most conservative. With the exception of the two best-known voluntaries (Nos. 4 and 6), all are short. little more in fact than a brief contrapuntal development of a single idea . although No. 7 has a homophonic introduction of ten bars
before the main theme is announced .No. 4 is a splendid tour de force: after a stately opening. in which trilis and prepared discords build up tension the faster ‘second subject’ finally dissolves into cascades of demi-semiquavers. The Double Organ voluntary contrasts soft flutes on the ‘Chair’ organ with the more brilliant diapason chorus of the ·Great’ .

SUITE NO. 1 IN C MAJOR. (1.3-7)
39:40 PRELUDE
40:14 ALMAlN
42:17 CORANT
43:21 SARABAND
44:25 GAVOTT
45:44 COUNTRY DANCE.
In his introduction Locke says that all unsigned pieces are by William Thatcher, but the enclosing Saraband and country Dance are firmly stamped M.L.

SUITE NO. 5 IN D MAJOR. (33-35)
47:00 ALMAlN.
49:15 CORANTO
50:23 SARABAND.
This is from Drexel MS 5611 in the New Vork Public Library.

51:35 PRELUDE IN A MINOR. (32)
From Add . MS 22099, where the Locke is sandwiched between two of Corelli’s violin sonatas!

52:10 HORNPIPE IN D MINOR. (22)
53:03 ALMAlN IN G MAJOR. (25)
54:15 AN ANTICK DANCE. (24)
54:58 SARABAND IN G MAJOR. (26)
56:07 THE SIMERONS DANCE. (23)
This piece and An Antick Dance are from the earliest edition (1663) of Musick’s Hand-Maid: also in Caurt1v Masquing Avres The
‘Simerons’ are Cimmerians, ‘dweIlers in outer darkness’ – in this instance, the natives of the Spanish New World and the dance comes from the incidental music which Locke wrote in 1658 for Davenant’s Historv ot Sir Francis Drake, produced at The Cockpit in Drury Lane. The numbers in brackets refer to the two volumes of Locke’s keyboard music published by Stainer and Bell and edited by Thurston Dart. The organ voluntaries follow the original order in Melothesia.
Colin Tilney

#RobertWoffington #ColinTilney