J. Playford. Musick's Recreation on The Viol, Lyra-way...The Second Edition, 1682

Playford, John

Musick's Recreation on The Viol, Lyra-way: Being a choice Collection of Lessons Lyra-way...The Second Edition, Enlarged with Additional New Lessons, London: by A.G. and J.P. for J. Playford, 1682

[8], 88 pages, 4to (16.6 x 21.6cm), engraving of a viol and bow on title, woodcut initials and type-set tablature, advertisement on A4v, Dolmetsch Library stamp and pencil shelfmark ("II B 41") to verso of title, faded Dolmetsch library label to head of spine, old faded label to lower cover, nineteenth-century calf, gilt lettering to spine ("Playford's Lyra - Viol. 1682."), outer edge and corners of title restored, a number of other corners restored, browning and dust-staining

EXTREMELY RARE. We have traced no copy of the present edition at auction in modern times.

Four editions of Musick's Recreation are recorded by TNG, of which this is the last (the first is believed to date from 1652, the next two from 1661 and 1669). A modern facsimile edition was produced in 1960 by Nathalie Dolmetsch (1905-1989), one of four children born to Dolmetsch by his third wife Mabel. It was Nathalie who founded the Viola da Gamba Society in 1948, and also edited a great deal of viol music. Her major study of the viol, The Viola da Gamba: its Origin and History, its Technique and Musical Resources, was first published in 1962. 

The so-called lyra viol appears to have differed little from the standard consort bass viol. Playford himself, in his A Brief Introduction of 1667, described the lyra viol as being the smallest of three kinds of bass viol (consort bass, division viol and lyra viol). A C17th performer would most likely have played lyra viol music on any bass viol instrument to hand. Thus, as Frank Traficante has noted, it is 'more to the point to speak of a tradition of playing the viol 'lyra-way' rather than one of playing the lyra viol'.

LITERATURE:

ESTC R216987; TNG, xv, pp.418-419; TNG, xix, p.913