A Harpable Danserye:
Solos & Duets for Folk Harps from Tielman Susato's Work of 1551 A.D. with the original harmonies retained.
by Vanessa Layne, ed.
The book A Harpable Danserye is a book of Renaissance music prepared for the folk harp: no levers or pedals or manual sharping techniques required. The majority of pieces will fit on a nineteen string harp with a low note of F; a few pieces go a note or two higher.
All of the music comes from Tielman Susato's famous collection of 1551 AD, often called Danserye. This book contains that subset of pieces in the original Danserye which could be presented with any accidentals pre-set from the beginning of the piece: twenty-three pieces, or about one third of all the pieces in the original.
The Sound of the Renaissance
This book is a special treat for the harper who would play the music of the Renaissance for themselves. Many modern arrangements of early music for folk harp use old tunes, but modern-style accompaniments in the left hand. Not so, this edition! Based on fully realized instrumental part music from the 16th century, this edition retains the original Renaissance harmonies. Quite literally, not one note has been added; the harmony is as it was in the original.
How is it different? For one thing, the left hand is not arpeggiated, it's contrapuntal — it's just about always doing something interesting rhythmically and harmonically. (See the sample piece below!) This is music which cultivates hand separation. The chord typically changes on every beat, or even twice a beat. This is heard as the shifting, dappled moods and sonority which give Renaissance music its characteristic loveliness and energy.
Most of the pieces are quite short, eight to twelve bars, some as short as four and as long as sixteen, as was typical for dance tunes, which these are. Tuneful and lush, they are amenable to slow, expressive treatments. Even more, these pieces intended for the ball and revel really sparkle when taken at the swift, driving tempos — and played with the exuberance and zest — of dances.
Please note: this book is not a good source of dance music for popular Renaissance dancing today. Only one of the pieces has a known extant choreography. That is the free sample piece below; please help yourself. If you are interested in forthcoming Renaissance dance music for harp that can be used with dancers today, please contact the author.
Ordering from the author
The book is $21, plus S&H.
It is available via First-Class US Postal Service anywhere in the US or its territories for an S&H of $5 (totalling $26). Order two or more books at a time and S&H is a flat rate of $7.
For shipping outside the US , please get in touch. I will find out how much it will cost for me to ship it to you, and quote you a price.
Books are normally shipped within a week or two.
Under no circumstances will the seller entertain requests for rush orders. It took the music four hundred and sixty years to get this far; haste seems unwarranted under the circumstances.
Between These Covers
All of the twenty-three pieces are presented as solos. In addition most are also presented in duet form, and three pieces (in both their solo and duet versions) are also presented in a transposition into a more convenient key.
The pieces are grouped together by tuning (key + pre-set accidentals), so the reader may quickly find all the pieces that may be played without retuning their harp.
Also included are several instructional essays and appendices, such as "Simplifying 16th Note Runs", "What is a Ficta and Do I Have To Care?", and "How Did We Get In This Wonky Key Signature?"
The book has 45 pages, and is GBC ("comb") bound so it will lie flat on your music stand. It is 9 inches by 11 inches and weighs 7.9oz.
