Dow Partbooks

The five Dow Partbooks, named after their scribe Robert Dow (1553–88), originated from Oxford ca. 1581–88. Dow himself was a master calligrapher and his exceptional virtuosity can be admired in the black ink on red lines. For a manuscript from the 16th century, it is unbelievably exact and legible. Numbers 53 and 54 originate from the hand of John Baldwin (pre–1560–1615) and an unknown scribe is responsible for numbers 99 and 100. The manuscript remains in Oxford today, proudly housed in the magnificent collections of the Christ Church Library.

An Important Source of Tudor Music

Not only are the Dow Partbooks some of the most beautiful manuscripts containing music from Tudor England, in many cases they are the only source for the pieces, making it an exceptionally authoritative collection of documents. The five parts of the book come together on 960 impressive pages with a diverse repertoire suitable for both vocals and violin. One finds among them simple Latin motets, English doxologies, and a selection of textless chansons by famous composers like William Byrd, Thomas Tallis, Robert White, Robert Parsons, Philip van Wilder, and Alfonso Ferrabosco.