"The Carman's Whistle" is a

song A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usu ...

of the

Tudor era In England and Wales, the Tudor period occurred between 1485 and 1603, including the Elizabethan era during the reign of Elizabeth I (1558–1603). The Tudor period coincides with the dynasty of the House of Tudor in England, which began with ...

. The title refers to the occupation of "carman" (or carter, as we would say today). Carmen were known for their habit of

whistling Whistling, without the use of an artificial whistle, is achieved by creating a small opening with one's lips, usually after applying moisture (licking one's lips or placing water upon them) and then blowing or sucking air through the space. Th ...

, which according to William Chappell was effective in the management of horses. Risqué lyrics have survived including a version entitled "The Courteous Carman and the Amorous maid: Or, The Carman's Whistle". A version of this tune for the lute has been attributed to

Robert Johnson Robert Leroy Johnson (May 8, 1911August 16, 1938) was an American blues musician and songwriter. His singing, guitar playing and songwriting on his landmark 1936 and 1937 recordings have influenced later generations of musicians. Although his r ...

or his father John Johnson. However, the best-known version is a keyboard arrangement by

William Byrd William Byrd (; 4 July 1623) was an English Renaissance composer. Considered among the greatest composers of the Renaissance, he had a profound influence on composers both from his native country and on the Continental Europe, Continent. He i ...

, who used the tune as the basis of a set of variations. Byrd's piece was included in two of the most important collections of

keyboard music A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument played using a keyboard, a row of levers that are pressed by the fingers. The most common of these are the piano, organ, and various electronic keyboards, including synthesizers and digital pianos. O ...

of the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

, ''

My Ladye Nevells Booke ''My Ladye Nevells Booke'' (British Library MS Mus. 1591) is a music manuscript containing keyboard pieces by the English composer William Byrd, and, together with the '' Fitzwilliam Virginal Book'', one of the most important collections of Rena ...

'' and the ''

Fitzwilliam Virginal Book The ''Fitzwilliam Virginal Book'' is a primary source of keyboard music from the late Elizabethan and early Jacobean periods in England, i.e., the late Renaissance and very early Baroque. It takes its name from Viscount Fitzwilliam who bequ ...

''. ''My Lady Nevells Booke'' is dated 1591, which provides a ''

terminus ante quem A ''terminus post quem'' ('limit after which', sometimes abbreviated TPQ) and ''terminus ante quem'' ('limit before which', abbreviated TAQ) specify the known limits of dating for events or items.. A ''terminus post quem'' is the earliest date t ...

'' for Byrd's composition. ''The Carman's Whistle'' was a popular work in Byrd's lifetime.

Davitt Moroney Davitt Moroney (born 23 December 1950) is a British-born and educated musicologist, harpsichordist and organist. His parents were of Irish and Italian extraction – his father was an executive with the Anglo-Dutch Unilever conglomerate. F ...

notes that nearly all the surviving sources include fingering, which suggests that the piece was used for teaching purposes. It is in

C major C major is a major scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. C major is one of the most common keys used in music. Its key signature has no flats or sharps. Its relative minor is A minor and its parallel min ...

, usually regarded as an easy key for keyboard players because its

key signature In Western musical notation, a key signature is a set of sharp (), flat (), or rarely, natural () symbols placed on the staff at the beginning of a section of music. The initial key signature in a piece is placed immediately after the cl ...

has no sharps/flats.

Arrangements in the modern era

In the twentieth century it was arranged by

Percy Grainger Percy Aldridge Grainger (born George Percy Grainger; 8 July 188220 February 1961) was an Australian-born composer, arranger and pianist who moved to the United States in 1914 and became an American citizen in 1918. In the course of a long and ...

. It appears in Act III, Number 13, The Scene of the Russalkas, of

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov. At the time, his name was spelled , which he romanized as Nicolas Rimsky-Korsakow; the BGN/PCGN transliteration of Russian is used for his name here; ALA-LC system: , ISO 9 system: .. (18 March 1844 – 2 ...

's opera '' May Night'', at the opening, as a romance sung by the character Levko.

Recordings

Recordings include: *

played the piece on the

chamber organ Carol Williams performing at the West_Point_Cadet_Chapel.html" ;"title="United States Military Academy West Point Cadet Chapel">United States Military Academy West Point Cadet Chapel. In music, the organ is a keyboard instrument of one or mo ...

in his recording of Byrd's complete keyboard works.Weatherburn, Robert. "William Byrd: The Complete Keyboard Music. Davitt Moroney Playing: Harpsichords, Muselar Virginal, Chamber Organ, Clavichord, Ahrend Organ of l'Eglise-Musee Des Augustins in Toulouse." ''

Musical Opinion ''Musical Opinion'', often abbreviated to ''MO'', is a European classical music magazine edited and produced in the UK. It is currently among the oldest such periodicals to be still publishing in the UK, having been continuously in publication ...

''. Musical Opinion Ltd. 1999. (subscription required) He plays it higher than written to give a whistling effect. *

Christopher Hogwood Christopher Jarvis Haley Hogwood (10 September 194124 September 2014) was an English Conducting, conductor, harpsichordist, and Musicology, musicologist. Founder of the early music ensemble the Academy of Ancient Music, he was an authority on h ...

recorded the complete ''My Ladye Nevells Booke'' in the 1970s. *

Julian Bream Julian Alexander Bream (15 July 193314 August 2020) was an English classical guitarist and lutenist. Regarded as one of the most distinguished classical guitarists of the 20th century, he played a significant role in improving the public perc ...

Paul O'Dette Paul Raymond O'Dette (born February 2, 1954) is an American lutenist, conductor, and musicologist specializing in early music. Biography O'Dette, who was born in Pittsburgh, began playing the electric guitar in a rock band in Columbus, Ohio, ...

and Christopher Wilson have recorded the version by Johnson (whichever one it was). * The City Waites have recorded the broadside ballad of this song sung by Douglas Wootton beginning 'As I abroad was walking/At the breaking of the day'

References

External links

The Carmans Whistle - free mp3
Songs about occupations 16th-century songs Compositions by William Byrd Variations {{Classical-composition-stub

Arrangements in the modern era

Recordings

See also

References

External links