Christopher Tye’s Actes of the Apostles / Laudate

The score above comprises 6 versions of the music wrote for Chapter IV of his translation of the biblical book of Acts, to show the evolution of the piece of music known commonly as Laudate.

Page 1. Version A is a scored transcription of Chapter IV from the original 1553 print. In fact the individual parts were printed separately, one after the other rather than in score; otherwise, this version depicts the original clefs, pitch, and text as shown. For fidelity to the source, the mistake in the treble part is included uncorrected.

Pages 2 and 3. Version B tranposes the 1553 version down a perfect fourth into modern clefs and applies barring, time and key signatures. The 19th century text “O come, ye servants of the Lord” is underlaid in a simplistic fashion to show how a straightforward adaptation might have looked. (In fact, the adaptation changed a variety of details, which are indicated by brackets and comments.)

Pages 4 and 5. Version C is a reproduction of a mid-19th century Novello & Ewer print of Laudate, edited by ?E. Stanley Roper. Notably, both the alto and tenor parts are notated in treble 8vb clefs, and the accompaniment appears to be for harmonium on account of the final contra G. This version is very similar to the 1970s AICSA version.

Page 6. Version D is a reproduction of a late-20th century edition by Anthony Greening. Omitted are the scholarly notes describing the source, editorial method, and performance notes. The wrong note in version A is pointed out in a footnote. As expected this version is much more faithful to the original source for the music (Tye, version A) than to secondary sources (Roper, version C) although it is from the latter that the English and Latin texts derive. Notably, the underlay of texts is slightly amended, occasionally for the worse.

Page 7. Version E is a reproduction of the manuscript version which appeared in the SUMS songbook in the late 1970s, and subsequently became the popular anthem of Australian university choral societies, replacing Gaudeamus igitur. It is fairly much a verbatim copy of later Novello versions, stripped of the accompaniment. The manuscript version was reprinted unchanged well into the 1990s before the advent of computer typesetting systems; modern editors have chosen to uncritically copy this version.

Page 8. Version F is a new, early-21st century edition by Philip Legge. Original clefs, part designations and note durations are indicated by prefatory clefs, hinting at editorial procedures which are explained at length elsewhere. The version is an attempt to obtain the best compromise between the source and the traditional adaptation. It also includes an ossia bar showing the now traditional habit of syncopating part of the second half of the piece (though the practice is frowned upon in serious contexts). (On the following page in the PDF version is the editor’s lute transcription, which Tye alluded to but omitted from the original 1553 publication.)