Pastime with Good Company

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Original score of Pastime with Good Company (c. 1513), held in the British Library, London.
Original score of Pastime with Good Company (c. 1513), held in the British Library, London.

"Pastime with Good Company", also known as "The King's Ballad" (The Kynges Balade), is an English folk song written by King Henry VIII in the first years of the 16th century, shortly after being crowned. It is regarded as the most famous of his compositions,[1] and it became a popular song in England and other European countries during Renaissance times.

Contents

[edit] Historical context

The early years of Henry VIII's reign marked a distinctive character of exuberance and extravagances in the English court, made possible by the political stability of the kingdom and wealth of the state's finances. Royal banquets and feasts were held on a continual basis, as were outdoor sports and pastimes, such as hunting, hawking, and jousting and archery tournaments. The young King himself was a skilled sportsman, excelling in horse riding, archery, wrestling and real tennis. The song was penned during this period, and presents a general praise to all these entertainments and diversions, depicting the general state of mind of leisure and unconcern that prevailed in the royal court at the time. At the same time, the text provides a moral justification for all this merriment: company is preferable to idleness; for the latter breeds vice.

[edit] The song

Eighteen year-old King Henry VIII after his crowning in 1509, around the date he composed Pastime with Good Company.
Eighteen year-old King Henry VIII after his crowning in 1509, around the date he composed Pastime with Good Company.

As with every man of noble birth in Renaissance times, Henry VIII was expected to master many skills, including fencing, hunting, dancing, writing poetry, singing, and playing and composing music, and was educated accordingly as a prince. Henry was considered a talented composer and poet by his contemporaries.[2]

The song is supposed to have been played in court, along with all the other of the King's compositions.[3] However, due to its simple and catchy melody, it became a popular tune and was soon afterwards interpreted frequently at English fairs, taverns and events. It is also believed to have been one the favourite musical pieces of Queen Elizabeth I.[4] The song is referred to in a number of contemporary documents and publications, attesting to its popularity, and was subject of a wide number of variants and instrumental rearrangements by different musicians in the following years.[5] In the 1548 work The Complaynt of Scotland, the anonymous author mentions "Passetyme with gude companye," as being among the popular songs within the kingdom of Scotland in the early part of the 16th century.

The oldest known version is part of the Henry VIII Manuscript (c. 1513), a collection of 14 works of his authorship currently preserved at the British Library (BM Addl. MSS. 31,922; Addl. MSS. 5,665; MSS. Reg. Appendix 58),[6] which are signed: "By the King's Hand". The manuscript also includes two masses, a motet, an anthem, and other songs and ballads, both vocal and instrumental.

Pastime with Good Company remains a favourite piece in choral repertoires, and has been recorded in many variants that include lute, recorder, trombone, percussion and flute, among other instruments. Because of its distinctive early Renaissance melody, it has also been included in different movies and documentaries based on the figure of Henry VIII and the Tudor era.[7][8]

The song was also the third track on Under a Violet Moon, the second album by Renaissance-inspired folk rock group Blackmore's Night.

[edit] Lyrics

Original Translation
Passetyme with gude companye, Pastime with good company,
I love, and shall until I dye. I love, and shall until I die.
Gruch who wyll, but none deny, Grudge who will, but none deny,
So God be pleeyd, thus lyfe wyll I. So God be pleased, thus live will I.
For my pastaunce: For my pastance:
Hunt, syng, and daunce, Hunt, sing, and dance,
My hert ys sett! My heart is set!
All gudely sport, All goodly sport,
Fore my comfort, For my comfort,
Who shall me lett? Who shall me let?
   
Youth wyll have nedes dalyaunce, Youth must have some dalliance,
Of gude or yll some pastaunce, Of good or ill some pastance.
Companye me thynketh them best, Company methinks them best,
All thouts and fansyes to dygest.                  All thoughts and fancies to digest.
For ydleness, For idleness,
Ys chef mastres Is chief mistress
Of vyces all: Of vices all:
Than who can say, Then who can say,
But myrth and play But mirth and play,
Ys best of all? Is best of all?
   
Companye with honeste, Company with honesty,
Ys vertu, vyce to flee. Is virtue, vice to flee.
Companye ys gude or yll, Company is good and ill,
But ev'ry man hath hys frewylle. But every man has his free will.
The best ensyue, The best ensue,
The worst eschew, The worst eschew,
My mynd shall be: My mind shall be:
Vertue to use, Virtue to use,
Vyce to refuse, Vice to refuse,
Thus shall I use me! Thus shall I use me![9]

[edit] References

  1. ^ The Music of Philip Sparke. Pastime with good company. Anglo Music. Retrieved on 2007-04-27.
  2. ^ King Henry VIII. The times and works of Henry VIII. Luminarium. Retrieved on 2007-05-03.
  3. ^ The Cardinal Wolsey history. Cardinal Wolsey House. Retrieved on 2007-04-26.
  4. ^ King Henry VIII. Stainer & Bell. Retrieved on 2007-04-27.
  5. ^ Pastime with good company - arr. for Countertenor, Consort of Viols and Clavichord by Gerald Manning (1527) by Henry VIII. Sibelius Music. Retrieved on 2007-04-27.
  6. ^ English 362: The Lyrics of Henry VIII. R. G. Siemens. Retrieved on 2007-04-26.
  7. ^ Henry VIII (2003). Internet Movie database. Retrieved on 2007-04-27.
  8. ^ The Tudors (2007). Internet Movie database. Retrieved on 2007-04-27.
  9. ^ Henry VIII. Lyrics for Pastime with good company. Pastime with good company. Choral Wiki. Retrieved on 2007-04-26.

[edit] Media

[edit] Recordings

  • Viva l’amore. Bassano, 1999, Flanders Recorder Quartet and Capilla Flamenca, 1999 (OPS 30-239). Contains a recordig of Pastime with good company.
  • Pastyme With Good Companye. Music at the Court of Henry VIII, Ensemble Dreiklang Berlin, 2004 (CHAN 0709).

[edit] External links

  • The Works of Henry VIII. Includes MIDI files and other multimedia. Accessed on April 27, 2007.
  • Choral Wiki, Pastime with good company (Henry VIII). Includes scores for different versions and MIDI files. Accessed on April 27, 2007.