The Royal Manuscript RM 24 d r (now in the British Museum) was copied by John Baldwine between 1581 and 1606, and is thus commonly known as the ‘Baldwine Manuscript’. It contains countless vocal and instrumental works by composers such as Cooper, Parsons, Woodson, Byrd, Giles, Taverner, Tye, Wood, and Baldwine himself.

A unique and interesting feature of this publication is the use of extremely complex rhythms in a number instrumental works, something found almost nowhere else in the Renaissance repertoire.  In particular, the works of John Baldwine, Nathaniel Giles and Thomas Woodson really push the boundaries in their use of irregular proportions.

The choice of these compositions from the Baldwine Manuscript is based upon these virtuosic instrumental pieces that make use of a cantus firmus as a ‘ground’ (a musical form where variations on a melody are set above a bass line that repeats), and Fantasias. Central to this project is the musical metamorphosis around themes or the cantus firmus during the composition.  These pieces have also served as inspiration for the commissioning of new compositions, and for the realisation of our own arrangements.   

The title of this project, Sit Fast, is taken from the magnum opus of Christopher Tye (ca. 1505-1572): a rhythmic and harmonic labyrinth found in the Baldwine Manuscript.  ‘Sit fast’ doesn’t refer to speed, but rather invites us to ‘sit still’ and listen. Through this innovative formula, Tye invited music lovers to dive into the enormous imagination presented in his works.At the end of ‘Sit Fast’ he wrote: Singe ye trew & care not:- for I am trew & feare not:-  In modern English” ‘Sing true and care not, for I am true and fear not’. One could not wish for a more fitting motto when performing music!