Schein: Banchetto Musicale à5 recorders

Description

These arrangements by Bernard Thomas of two of Schein’s finest suites (6 and 16 from his collection Banchetto Musicale) come with 2 sets of parts for SSATB and AATBGb; the lower pitch sets sound particularly good.

Johann Hermann Schein’s Banchetto Musicale was published in Leipzig in 1617. It consists of 20 “suites” each consisting of Paduana, Galliarda, Corrente and Allemande/Tripla, though the word “suite” (or any other similar word) is not used. Music historians have described Schein as the “inventor” of the dance suite: this makes little sense, as composers were doing similar things before Schein, for example Paul Peuerl. What is remarkable about Banchetto Musicale is the size of the collection and the quality of the music.
The whole collection can be found in our MP5

The works in Banchetto Musicale were probably intended primarily for violin consorts, though the printed books were much more likely to be bought by rich amateurs who played viols. Transferring these pieces to recorders sometimes has a slightly shrill aspect, which is why we have provided an alternative set of parts transposed down for AATBGb.

Suites 6 and 16 have the same sequence of five dances.

1. Padouana
2. Gagliarda
3. Courente
4. Allemande
5. Tripla