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REIGN OF CHARLES II. 483 |
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publication by Ravenscroft, in the reign of James I. In 1609 the first was issued under the title of " Pammelia: Musick's Miscellanie; or mixed varietie of pleasant Roundelayes and delightfull Catches of 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 parts in one: none so ordinarie as musicall; none so musicall as not to all very pleasing and acceptable." That many of these were "ordinary" catches and rounds is clearly proved by the words. We find among them, " New oysters, new Waylfleet oysters;" " A miller, a miller, a miller would I be; " " Jolly Shepherd ; " " Joan, come kiss me now; " " Dame, lend me a loaf;" " The white hen sho cackles;" " Banbury Ale;" " There lies a pudding in the fire ;" " Trole, trole •" the bowl;" and others of the same description. There are a hundred in the collection, and among them many of great excellence and of very early date. As a specimen of the words, I give " Hey, jolly Jenkin," the catch which Samuel Harsnet mentioned in 1604, as one which tinkers sang " as they sat by the fire with a pot of good ale between their legs,"—a not unusual accompaniment to the singing. It is the seventh in the collection.
" Now God be with old Simeon, * To whom drink ye ?'
For he made cans for many a one, * Sir knave to you ;
\ And a good old man was he ; Then, hey, jolly Jenkin,
And Jenkin was his journeyman, I spy a knave drinking,—
And he could tipple of every can, Come, pass this can to me.'"
And this he said to me :
Another copy of the above will be found in a manuscript in the library of Trin. Coll., Dublin (F. 5. 13, fol. 40).
]n the same year (1609), Ravenscroft printed " Deuteromelia; or the second' part of Musick's Melodie, or melodious musicke of pleasant Roundelaies, K[ing] H[enry's] Mirth or Freemen's Songs, and such delightfull Catches." To this he affixes the motto, "Qui canere potest canat—Catch that catch can." It contains fourteen Freemen's Songs and seventeen Rounds or Catches. His third Collection was " Melismata: Musical Phansies fitting the Court, Citie, and Countrey humours," consisting of " Court Varieties," " Gitie Rounds, " Citie Conceits," " Country Rounds," and " Country Pastimes." 4to., 1611.
After an interval of forty years, appeared John Playford's first publication containing rounds and catches, under the title of " Musick and Mirth, presented in a choice collection of Rounds and Catches for three voices" (1651). This is now a scarce book, and perhaps the only copy remaining is in the Douce Collection at Oxford. In 1652, he printed " Catch that catch can, or a choice collection of Catches, Rounds, and Canons for 3 or 4 voices: collected and published by John Hilton, Batch, in Musick;" and in the same year appeared "A Banquet of Musick, set forth in three several varieties of musick: first, Lessons for the Lyra Violl; the second, Ayres and Jiggs for the Violin; the third, Rounds and Catches : all which are fitted to the capacity of young practitioners in Music." The last is also a scarce work, the only known copy being in the Douce Collection.
Both Ravenscroft and Hilton give punning prefaces to their books. The latter speaks of his as the times " when catches and catchers were never so much in
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