A DOCUMENTED DEFINITION AND BRIEF HISTORY OF ROUNDS: NEW ENSEMBLE MUSIC FOR BASSOONS
By Donald M. Hardisty
New Mexico State University
Las Cruces, N. M.
INTRODUCTION
Dr. Don Hardisty, associate professor, teaches bassoon, is chairman of the theory programs, and graduate advisor to
master's candidates majoring in music education at New Mexico State University, Las Cruces. He has been a musician
educator for the past twenty years and is well-known as a conductor/clinician both choral and instrumental fields. He
has become a specialist in the utilization of rounds in teaching instrumental music. Most recently, he appeared as a
guest lecturer at the Music Educators National Conference, combined Southwestern/Central meeting held in Omaha,
and at the New Mexico Music Educators Association conference in Albuquerque. He was also guest lecturer at the fifth
annual meeting of the IDRS at the University of Toronto last August. The lecture-demonstration-concert entitled: "The
Utilization of Rounds in Teaching Bassoons," was based on his doctoral thesis from the Eastman School of Music
(1969). Included on the program were nine original and transcribed compositions arranged for bassoon ensembles
which were performed by a distinguished group of bassoonists: Bruce Bower, Toronto Symphony; James Burton,
University of Georgia, Robert Danziger, Northern Michigan University, Charles Holdeman, University of Delaware; Chris
Millard, Vancouver Symphony; and Robert Williams, Detroit Symphony. The entire collection of rounds, containing over
80 works for two to twelve bassoons, is now published by the IDRS in Six Graded Collections of Rounds, each
containing performance instructions. According to Hardisty, the process of singing and playing rounds has been known
and used by music teachers for generations; however, they need to be reminded that here is an extremely valuable
source of material, basically simple in construction and relatively easy to perform which the creative teacher can
reshape, mold and adapt for use in numerous educational situations. (The collections of rounds with detailed
pedagogical and performance comments may be obtained by writing Dr. Bruce Degen, IDRS Library Distribution, 1006
North Howard, Indianola, Iowa 50125 .)
Stimulated by the availability of these collections of bassoon ensemble music, interest has been generated in a
documented survey of the technical construction and the varied history of rounds. Consequently, the
musician-bassoonist will find supplementary information in this article valuable as the rounds arranged for bassoons
become more enjoyable and instructionally useful.
DEFINING THE ROUND
A. Definitions and Forms
The unique species of canon called the round is a simple part song which employs canonic imitation at the unison
and/or octave. The round is compared with several related forms, and a survey of important factors considered in
defining the round appears at the end of this section. The forms included in the discussion are: circle canon, canon at
the unison and/or octave, fugue, roundel rota (rotte or rote), rondellus (rondel), catch, glee, caccia, and riddle canons.
As stated in The Harvard Dictionary of Music, the round is a "common name for a circle canon, i.e., a canon in which
each singer returns from the conclusion of the melody to its beginning, repeating it ad libitum." Another definition found
in Oscar Thompson's International Cyclopedia of Music and Musicians is "a canon in the unison, in which the
performers begin at set rhythmic intervals, returning again to the initial section after the melody has been sung
through, as if turning around in a circle."
Noteworthy is the description found in Webster's New International Dictionary where it is stated that the round may or
may not be repeated, and that ". . . three or four voices follow each other around in a species of canon in the unison."
In addition to these important characteristics, the round is distinctively different from all other canons in that it employs
the principle of the circle in all parts, and for this reason it is often called a "circle canon," which traditionally returns
from the end of the composition to a repeat from the beginning. Some rounds are even printed in a circle and
graphically picture this concept of perpetual motion common to the round. The photograph preceding this article
pictures a circle canon and has been taken from the cover of The Songster's Assistant by Timothy Swan (1758-1842).
The manuscript is stored in the Public Library of the City of Boston.
Perhaps the most important feature of the round, as the term applies herein, is its classification as a canon at the
unison and/or octave. Traditionally, canons which are constructed at intervals other than the unison or octave are not
called rounds, but they merely represent other types of canon defined by Apel in The Harvard Brief Dictionary of Music
as "A contrapuntal device whereby an extended melody, stated in one part, is imitated strictly and for its entire length in
one or more other parts." The round is distinguished from the fugue in that the latter is far more complex. In the fugue
the answer to the subject may be real or tonal. Furthermore, it may enter at unequal distances of time and pitch.
The diagram in Chart 1 illustrates a schematic drawing of a four-voice round and serves to clarify the discussion.
In Chart 1 the melody of the round has four sections (lines) represented by the letters A, B, C, and D. When performed
simultaneously, the harmony of the traditional round is relatively simple, often involving only tonic and dominant chords.
The voice entrances, one through four, are at equal intervals of time and each voice contains two repetitions of the
complete round. During performance, voice one begins first and, as a result, ends before the other parts; voice four
becomes a solo at the completion of the second repeat. (Other methods of performing rounds are discussed in the Six
Collections of Rounds arranged for bassoons and published by the IDRS.)
The round is also known as a roundel a diminutive of the word round, and historically the terms appear to have been
used interchangeably. Rota is another name for round, and is sometimes spelled rotte or rote. Rota is a Medieval Latin
term meaning wheel, and is used primarily in the British Isles; however, the term has received considerable use
elsewhere, especially when referring to the famous Sumer is icumen in. Galpin defines rota this way: ". . . the word
Rota, a name given by Latin writers to the Organistrum or Hurdy-gurdy, which was played by turning a wheel (rota) and
thus setting the strings into vibration." [1] This definition gives further understanding of the circular principle involved in
composing and performing the round.
The round is sometimes called a rondellus, which is Latin for rondel.[2] Harrison says: "A rondellus is a round; a rota is
a canon at the unison."[3] The latter part of his statement is in concurrence with previously given definitions - if one
agrees that the rota is also a round; however, the first portion of Harrison's statement needs further clarification:
"The distinction between rondellus and rota is not merely in the method of performance. A rondellus does not become
a rota merely by having the singers enter in succession; nor is it essential for rota to have clear successive entries -
they may be covered up . . . A rota is distinguished by the fact that some or all of the phrases of its melody extend over
at least two units of interchange, while in a rondellus each phrase is the same length as the unit" [4]
Gustave Reese, who appears to have based his definition of rondellus, in part, on a description given by Walter
Odington, quotes him as saying: a rondellus is "two or three melodies . . . sung simultaneously by as many voices and
all the voices are to sing each melody in turn." Witness Reese's explanation in the following:
"The rota (or "round") and rondellus do resemble each other to the extent that, in each, identical melodic material is
assigned to all the voices, but they are unlike in that they distribute this material differently. Thus, in the former - a true
canon - the voices enter successively with the same melody, while in the latter the voices enter simultaneously with
different portions of the common melodic material". [5]
When distinguishing between the rondellus and rota (or round), it is then concluded that Reese and Harrison do not
fully agree on the precise definition of rota, and only partially agree on the definition of rondellus.
In this study, the rota and rondellus are both considered rounds, each of a particular kind: (1) the rota is a strict canon
type of round which when scored and performed contains consecutive entrances for equal distances of usually one,
two, or three measures; (2) in the rota the canonic imitation of melodic intervals and rhythms occurs before the first
phrase has been completed, and the set pattern of entrances, in terms of the time interval, does not vary and is
maintained between each of the subsequent parts; (3) in performance the rondellus resembles the rota with
consecutive entrances; however, the entrances occur phrase by phrase and each of the phrases contains a different
part of the common melody; (4) traditionally when scored the rondellus has simultaneous entrances and resembles the
mid-section of the rota type of round where all parts operate together; (5) in performance both types have common
melodic material imitated at the octave and/or unison, and they also have phrases of the same length repeated at
liberty.
The catch is a term applied to a vocal piece in which a musical device is used whereby the melodies and words are
interrupted and passed back and forth between the different voices in such a way as to disguise the typically bawdy
text. These are frequently humorous, fascinating, appalling, vulgar, and, therefore, often socially unacceptable.
"Musically, there is no difference between a round and a catch . . . (and) in practice, the terms round and catch are
interchangeable. [6] Ravenscroft and other Tudor musicians made a practice of using the term canon as a synonym for
catch and round. [7]
The glee and the Italian caccia, which was developed from the older French chase, are similar to the round in that they
are simple part songs which employ imitation. They differ from the round in these respects: the glee displays a freer
canonic imitation with more chordal harmony and frequent cadences; the caccia has a lively hunting, fishing, or other
naturalistic text sung as a two-voice canon and accompanied by a free tenor in longer note values. The poetic form of
the caccia " . . . was irregular, though many cacce, like madrigals, had a ritornello, which was not always in canonic
style". [8]
Riddle canons of various types were written during the fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth centuries. They are
sometimes called puzzle or enigmatic canons and " . . . are notated without informing the performer about the number
of parts or the time or pitch distance between the parts." [9]
Since the glee, caccia, and riddle canon do not fit the definition of round as developed in this section, they will not be
treated further in this discussion.
B. Summary Definition of Round
Based on the author's research, the following fourteen points comprise a summary definition of the round:
(1)The round is a canon with imitation traditionally at the intervals of the unison or octave.
(2)The phrases of rounds are of equal length, and the round may vary from two to eight or eleven voices.
(3)Three or four voices are the most frequent number found in traditional rounds; however, it is possible to write many
more parts. (There is a twelve part Tuning Round in Volume VI of the IDRS collection.)
(4)The round resembles other canons and fugues in that it employs imitation.
(5)The round is different from other canons and fugues in that it employs the principle of the circle in all parts; thus, it is
often called a circle canon.
(6)The rota and rondellus are types of rounds.
(7)Rounds have common melodic material in each part- however, they are distinguished in the manner by which they
distribute the melodic material.
(8)When scored and performed, the rota contains consecutive entrances at equal distances of one, two or three
measures, usually, and the set pattern of entrances does not vary.
(9)Each entrance in the rota contains a strict imitation of the melodic intervals and rhythms of the voice which
performed first.
(10)When performed, the rondellus resembles the rota in that the voices enter consecutively; however, traditionally,
the rondellus is scored with simultaneous entrances occurring phrase by phrase, each phrase containing a different
part of the common melody. (Short rondellus types of rounds like Row, Row, Row Your Boat, or Hey, Ho! Nobody
Home, may be misleading in that they resemble rota types with short phrases of one and two measures; however, it
should be remembered that the rota has strict imitation of the melodic intervals and rhythm of the part which performed
first, and the rondellus imitates with phrases each containing a different part of the common melody.)
(11)The mid-section of the rota is a rondellus in terms of all parts operating together.
(12)The harmony of the traditional round is relatively simple, often involving only tonic and dominant chords.
(13)Rounds are generally performed with each part entering separately, and often finish with the last voice in solo. (As
discussed in the pedagogical and performance comments in each volume of the IDRS collection, rounds may also be
terminated with all the parts ending together at the fermata, and some rounds may be performed with the parts
operating together in a cumulative composition.)
(14) Rounds may be performed any number of times; however, they are usually played twice. (The Advanced IDRS
Collection (Grade V) contains two long rounds in the Style of Wagner which may be performed as cumulative
compositions.)
A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE ROUND
A. c. 1065-1453
The history of rounds discloses that very few examples have survived from the period before 1500. Therefore, study
and analysis of the genetic stages are veiled by speculation and uncertainty; however, information and musical
examples become more plentiful from the year 1509 to the present.
Several informative studies dealing with rounds have been made by English scholars. Frank Ll. Harrison, Senior
Lecturer in Music, Oxford University, has written texts on Medieval English music, and in a recent study of the rondellus,
previously cited, Harrison says that a rondellus is a round and a rota is a canon at the unison. Accepting these
definitions as valid, the author begins with significant information from Harrison's research. This reveals that three
settings of the hymn tune known as Nuc Sancte nobis spiritus were used in the late eleventh century; with the earliest
of these pieces, which is a rondellus, given the approximate date of 1065:
". . . The piece comes in the Office of St. Oswyn, a rare saint who was venerated at Tynemouth and also at St. Alban's.
Oswyn, King of Northumbria, was buried in 651 in St. Mary's churchyard, at the mouth of the Tyne. His relics were
found in 1065, and shortly afterwards Robert Mowbray, Earl of Northumberland, founded the Priory of St. Mary, where
the relics were enshrined, and made it a dependency of St. Alban's. Hence St. Oswyn also appears in the St. Alban's
calendar. The Office in which this rondellus appears may therefore have been written towards the end of the eleventh
century. . .
These three pieces (the three settings of the hymn tune Nunc Sancte) seem to be the only evidence for the possibility
that rondellus originated in England. However this may be, there is no doubt that in the century between c. 1250 and c.
1350 rondellus and rota were developed almost exclusively by English composers" [10]
An excerpt from the Nunc Sancte rondellus appears in Example 1. Harrison indicates that it was composed in two parts
with no indication of repeats, and his explanation for grouping the parts, as seen in Example 1, is that the two phrases
were " . . . sung together four times, once for each line of the hymn, with exchange of voices for each line" [11] In the
arrangement shown in Example 1, note the parallel motion between the intervals of a fourth, fifth, and octave, a technic
commonly used by composers of organum dating from the ninth century to the early thirteenth century.
Further insight into the development of the round may be derived from studying its canonic ancestors found in the
Notre Dame compositions of Perotin. Historically, canon technic is thought to have been the result of an "interchange"
of melodies between several parts, and according to Gustave Reese, the process may be traced to Perotin's Viderunt:
". . . This device canon technic may possibly, in art-music at least, be an outgrowth of interchange of melodies between
two or more voices - Stimmtausch, as the German writers call it. . . If one voice delays its entry, Stimmtausch produces
imitation with respect to one of the interchanged melodies, and canon technique has emerged". [12]
Ex. 1. Anonymous Nunc Sancte nobis spiritus (Rondellus). [13]
Speculation has been cast on the development of the round and catch as they relate to the first part-singing in
England. One such discussion appears in An Introductory Essay on the Rise and Progress of the Round, Catch and
Canon by Edward F. Rimbault. He quotes Gerald Barry's [14] description of the peculiar manner of singing used by the
Welsh and the inhabitants of the North of England during the twelfth century. Rimbault believes Barry is describing the
process of singing rounds and, for this reason, his comments may provide additional insight into the history of rounds:
"The Britons do not sing their tunes in unison, like the inhabitants of other countries, but in different parts. So that
when a company of singers meet to sing, as is usual in this country, as many different parts are heard as there are
singers, who all finally unite in consonance and organic melody, . . . In the Northern parts of Britain, . . . the inhabitants
make use of a similar kind of symphonious harmony in singing, but with only two differences or varieties of tone and
voice, the one murmuring the under part, the other singing the upper . . . This they do, not so much by art, as by a
habit peculiar to themselves, which long practice has rendered almost natural, and . . . hardly any melody is
accustomed to be uttered simply, or otherwise than in many parts by the former, and in two parts by the latter. And
what is more astonishing, their children, as soon as they begin to sing, adopt the same manner." [15]
The statements of Gerald Barry tend to support the belief that part-singing came naturally to Englishmen, and that
down through the generations they actively participated in this form of musical entertainment. Rather than describing
the performance of rounds, however, the medieval singing ". . .possibly refers to the unlimited duplication of voices in
the old organum fashion, as first described in the Musica Enchiriadis . . . and still retained as late as the fourteenth
century in a modified form." [16] The singing does resemble performance practices employed in rounds to the extent
that it was a group activity with an unlimited number of parts; however, Barry does not mention the technic of canonic
imitation, nor does he explain to what extent the parts were different - both important prerequisites to performing
rounds.
The origin, date, composers, and authenticity of the rhythmic and melodic notation of Sumer is icumen in have been
questioned in recent years. Reports appear in Music Review, and in Musica Disciplina (articles on early music), a
publication of the American Institute of Musicology. Opinions vary; however, a general date of the late thirteenth or
early fourteenth century is given for Sumer is icumen in. M F. Bukofzer published his study of the famous rota in 1944.
He presents a very convincing "re -examination of the traditional opinions," and concludes that Sumer is icumen in
dates from 1310 - 25, rather 1240. [17]
Whether composed in 1240 or 1310, it is the first known example of a round which combines rota and rondellus types,
and for this reason is assigned a place of distinction. A photocopy of the original manuscript appears in Example 2.
Ex. 2. Anonymous, Sumer is icumen in (Photocopy of the original manuscript.) [18]
It can be observed that the Latin text is written below the English, and the performance instructions are also written in
Latin. The music is skillfully composed, and the combining of the voices into a four-part canon, accompanied by two
harmonically supporting parts, makes an important specimen to include in this study.
Old Hall Manuscript provides the next round. According to Harrison, the manuscript contains four canons at the unison
by Pycard, Byttering, and an anonymous composer, and a Sanctus by Pycard. Harrison believes that the Sanctus
contains a three-voice rota over a cantus tenor, and explains that it is a very unusual discovery owing to ". . . the fact
that a part which is sung as a rota is a plainsong. . . . The construction of the rota, based on the pre-existing melody is
an ingenious feat, and one unmatched, as far as I know, for more than a century afterwards." [19]
Example 3 displays a modern scoring of the Sanctus Plainsong followed by a three voice setting of the rota. The
specimen is the first of two 15th-century examples recorded in this brief history of rounds.
Rimbault published his study of The Rounds, Catches and Canons of England in 1863. At this time he believed the
logical successor to Sumer is icumen in was a roundel entitled Row the Boat, Norman. Witness his testimony in the
following account:
I have fortunately discovered a very interesting "roundel" of the fifteenth century, of which the following is the history: -
In 1453, Sir John Norman, being the first Lord Mayor of London who "brake that anncient and olde continued custome
of riding with great pompe into Westminster, to take his charge, choosing rather to be rowed thither by water," the
watermen made of him a roundell or song to his great praise, the which began: -
"Rowe the bote, Norman,
Rowe to thy Lemman."
For this we have the. authority of a contemporary, Robert Fabyan, who was Sheriff of London in 1493-4. [20]
Ex. 3 Pycard, Sanctus (Three-voice rota). [21]
The melody accompanying Row the Boat, Norman, and appearing in Example 4 emerges as the same melody for Turn
Again, Whittington, or Heave and Ho, Rumbelow, in various collections, as for example, John Playford's 1673 edition of
the second edition of John Hilton's Catch that Catch Can (1658), [22] Rimbault's edition of English rounds and Mary
Taylor's collection of rounds. Writers are not certain which is the original set of words, and there are conjectures over
whether the melody was written for the Norman or Whittington text. Mary Taylor confirms the complexities involved in
this case, and injects a sense of consternation colored by a touch of humor as she offers this analysis of the Norman
text problem:
"Now, the tune supposedly written for John Norman's inauguration as Lord Mayor has survived to the present day with
another and much better known set of words:
Turn again, Whittington,
Thou worthy citizen,
Lord Mayor of London.
And Whittington who was "thrice Lord Mayor of London" was fist elected to the Office in 1397, fifty-six years before
John Norman was. This raises a neat little problem, something like "which came first, the chicken or the egg," and adds
one more mystery to the history of rounds". [23]
Mysteries surrounding the composition of rounds, near the time of and earlier than Row the Boat, Norman, are partially
solved as an attempt is made to determine which set of words was first used with the Norman melody. If the round was
composed for Whittington's inauguration, as has been suggested by Rimbault and Mary Taylor, the melody may have
been passed down from previous generations and sung as a folk song. According to Taylor, it became a natural choice
to be used with the new set of words celebrating Norman's inauguration 56 years later. This suggests that many of the
anonymous rounds contained in collections by Ravenscroft, Rimbault, and modem editors, are folk songs. (Row the
Boat, Norman, and several other rounds from the preceding works are included in the author's arrangements. for
bassoon ensembles.)
Ex. 4 Anonymous, Row the Boat, Norman ("Rounded - A.D. 1453"). [24]
B. c.1509 - 1611
John E. Stevens and Jill Vlasto have recently done research which has uncovered several previously unknown
16th-century English rounds. Stevens, through his study of the musical resources contained in a Court songbook
belonging to the early years of Henry VIII's reign (1509-47), has discovered 20 rounds and canons. [25] Another
source of rounds was found in a manuscript stored in the library of King's College, Cambridge. It contains 57 rounds
and canons collected by Thomas Lant in the year 1580. Forty-eight of the rounds appear in one of the three
collections made by Ravenscroft, and according to Jill Vlasto who discovered the manuscript none of the remaining
nine rounds are included in other printed collections. [26]
A prime source for studying the history of rounds during the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries is the work of
Thomas Ravenscroft, who edited and published the first collections of rounds in three volumes (Pammelia, 1609,
Deuteromelia, 1609; and Melismata, 1611).
The second collection, Deuteromelia is subtitled Catch That Catch Can. Some of its music and the "Catch Can" subtitle
were used during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries for many subsequent catch book publications of which the
following is only a partial list: (1) John Hilton's first edition of the Catch That Catch Can (1652); (2) John Playford and
his son Henry Playford's Catch That Catch Can, or The Second Part of the Musical Companion (1685), The Second
Book of the Pleasant Musical Companions (1686), The Fourth Edition (1701), and The Ninth Edition (1726); (3) John
Johnson's Musical Companion (1740). [27]
C. c. 1750 - Present
The catch was used in England as entertainment music during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and was
extremely popular with groups of male voices. Catch clubs were formed and these social organizations promoted the
composition and performance of the catch. It became one of the principal vocal forms in use in England during the
Classical era.
Interest in the catch, and especially the round, was shown by leading composers including Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven,
Schubert, and Brahms. For example, research has revealed that Georg Kinsky's catalog of Beethoven's works,
completed by Hans Halm and published in Munich (1955), includes 44 vocal canons. The Breitkopf and Härtel edition of
the complete works includes 22 vocal canons. Twelve additional canons have been located in such works as Fritz
Jode's Der Kanon (1925) and Georg Kinsky's catalog. Twenty-four of the 34 canons are rounds. In the case of
Schubert, the Breitkopf and Härtel edition of his works contains eleven vocal canons for three voices and all are
rounds. [28]
Near the end of the Classical period in the early nineteenth century, the round became less popular and gave way to
the more colorful musical extravaganzas of the Romantic period; however, Brahms continued to show an interest in the
form and composed several rounds and canons, as for example, Thirteen Canons for Female Chorus (Op. 113). Ten
of the seventeen vocal canons by Brahms included in Die Kanon-Kanone are rounds. Rounds and canons were also
composed by Luigi Cherubini (1760-1842), and Wie lieblicher Klang, Op. 49 of Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847), is a
double canon in the form of a round as stated in Musical Form by Hugo Leichtentritt. During the nineteenth and early
twentieth centuries, the forms were used by lesser-known composers such as Arnold Mendelssohn (1855-1933), Julius
Spengel (1853-1936), Raphael Gunter (b. 1903), and Kurt Thomas (b. 1904). [29]
In recent years there has been a renewal of interest in the round from the standpoints of composition, performance,
and pedagogy. This renewed interest may be attributed to a recognition of the simplicity, variety, flexibility, and
expressiveness of this musical form in its manifold uses and subsequent pedagogical implications. A fine contemporary
example of the form is the Rondels for Orchestra (1961) by Niccolo Castiglioni, and David Diamond's Rounds for String
Orchestra (1944) is "his most widely played work." [30] The republication of such collections as The Catch Club or
Merry Companions (edited by Frederick Freedman and Joel Newman, 1965) is further evidence of this renewed
interest. The popularity of rounds among contemporary musicians is noteworthy, and according to Herman
Reichenbach, editor, Modem Canons, today's interest in canons is a result of the polyphonic style of much
contemporary music. In this collection 26 of the 38 compositions are rounds. These include rounds by Vincent
Persichetti, David Diamond, Alberto Ginastera, and Randall Thompson. The Diamond, Ginastera, and Thompson
rounds, arranged for bassoons, are included in the IDRS publications.
FOOTNOTES
1. F.W. Galpin, "Rotte (Rote)," Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 5th ed. 1954, 1968 printing, VII, 258. [return]
2. The term roundelay, which some writers (Rimbault), interchange with the term rondel, is defined in The Harvard Brief
Dictionary, p. 256; "A 14th-century term, found in literary sources (Chaucer), for round dances and dancing songs
possibly in the form of the medieval French rondeau."[return]
3. Frank Ll. Harrison, "Rota and Rondellus in English Medieval Music," Royal Music Association Proceedings
86th-session (London, May 5, 1960), p. 98.[return]
4. Ibid.[return]
5. Gustave Reese, Music in the Middle Ages (New York, 1940), p. 396.[return]
6. Peter Warlock, ed. Pammelia and other Rounds and Catches by Thomas Ravenscroft (London, 1928),
Preface.[return]
7. Edmund Horace Fellowes, The English Madrigal Composers (London, 1948), p. 59. [return]
8. Donald J. Grout, A History of Western Music (New York, 1960), p. 122. [return]
9. Ralph Alan Dale, ed., Music in the Round (New York, 1965), p. 7. [return]
10. Frank Ll. Harrison, "Rota and Rondellus in English Medieval Music," Royal Music Association Proceedings 86th
session (London, May 5, 1960), pp. 99-100. [return]
11. Ibid., p. 98. [return]
12. Gustave Reese, Music in the Middle Ages (New York 1940), pp. 303-4. [return]
13. Ibid., p.100. [return]
14. Gerald Barry was also known as Giraldus Cambrensis, Archdeacon, and later Bishop of St. David's in the twelfth
century. [return]
15. J. Powell Metcalfe, and E F. Rimbault, The Rounds, Catches and Canons of England (London, 1863), pp. vii-viii.
[return]
16. Manfred F. Bukofzer, Sumer Is Icumen In: A Revision (Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1944), p. 82. [return]
17. Ibid., Preface. [return]
18. Ibid., p. 75. (The Elementary-Intermediate (Grade II) IDRS Collection of Rounds contains an arrangement of Sumer
Is Icumen In for six bassoons.) [return]
19. Harrison, pp. 105-6. [return]
20. Metcalfe and Rimbault, p. xi. [return]
21. Harrison, p. 105. [return]
22. Ibid. [return]
23. Mary C. Taylor, ed., Rounds and Rounds (New York, 1946), p. 8. [return]
24. Metcalfe and Rimbault, p. xi. [return]
25. John E. Stevens, "Rounds and Canons from an Early Tudor Songbook," Music and Letters XXXII (1951), p.29.
[return]
26. Jill Vlasto, "An Elizabethan Anthology of Rounds," The Musical Quarterly XL (1954), pp. 222-34. (All nine rounds
are included in the IDRS collections.) [return]
27. Frank Kidson, "Catch," Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 5th ed. 1954, 1968 printing, II, 120-21. [return]
28. John D. Robinson, The Vocal Canon of the Classical Era (Ann Arbor, 1959), pp. 56 and 70. [return]
29. Hellmuth von Hase and Gerd Sievers, eds., Die Kanon-Kanone (Wiesbaden, 1934), Preface. (Many rounds by
famous composers including Brahms, Beethoven, Haydn, and Schubert are included in the bassoon ensemble
collections.) [return]
30. Joseph Machlis, Introduction to Contemporary Music (New York, 1961), p. 534. [return]
CONTENTS OF THE SIX INTERNATIONAL DOUBLE REED SOCIETY PUBLICATIONS COLLECTIONS OF ORIGINAL
AND TRANSCRIBED ROUNDS
ARRANGED FOR BASSOON ENSEMBLE WITH PEDAGOGICAL AND PERFORMANCE COMMENTS
By
DONALD M. HARDISTY
* * *
ELEMENTARY LEVEL ROUNDS (GRADE I COLLECTION)
No. 1 Duet Anonymous In Spain, The Children Sing
No. 2 Trio Anonymous Christmas Is Coming
No. 3 Quartet Anonymous My Goose
No. 4 Octet Anonymous Margery, Serve Well The Black Sow
No. 5 Nonet Anonymous Hey, Ho! What Shall I Say
No. 6 Duet Hardisty Four-Note Elementary Round
No. 7 Eleven Hardisty Beginner's Round For Eleven Bassoons
No. 8 Quintet Haydn The Stag
No. 9 Quartet Mason Long Life To The Friend
No. 10 Octet Praetorius Rise Up, O Flame
No. 11 Trio Wilson Merry Christmas
ELEMENTARY-INTERMEDIATE LEVEL ROUNDS (GRADE II COLLECTION)
No. 1 Duet Anonymous Zum Gali Gali
No. 2 Trio Anonymous Row The Boat, Norman
No. 3 Trio Brant Three-Way Canon Blues
No. 4 Trio Hardisty Extending The Range Down To Great F
No. 5 Trio Mozart All Is Silent
No. 6 Trio Telemann As The Stag Cries For Fresh Water
No. 7 Quartet Beethoven To Maezel
No. 8 Quartet Hardisty Combining Four Familiar Rounds
No. 9 Quintet Anonymous Hey, Ho! Nobody Home
No. 10 Quintet Anonymous Jenkin The Jester
No. 11 Quintet Byrd Hey, Ho, To The Greenwood
No. 12 Quintet Hardisty Pandiatoluc Round
No. 13 Sextet Anonymous Sumer Is Icumen In
No. 14 Sextet Haydn I Will Not Plead
INTERMEDIATE LEVEL ROUNDS (GRADE III COLLECTION)
No. 1 Trio Anonymous Dona Nobis Pacem (Grant Us Peace)
No. 2 Trio Beethoven Abbe Stadler
No. 3 Trio Beethoven Now Comes The Hour
No. 4 Trio Schubert In May (Tu-Tu-Li-U)
No. 5 Trio Schubert Snow Is Melting
No. 6 Quartet Anonymous Allegra Anglia
No. 7 Quartet Anonymous God Be With You
No. 8 Quartet Anonymous Troll The Bowl To Me
No. 9 Quartet Diamond Three Young Rats
No. 10 Quartet Hardisty Intermediate Legato Study For Bassoon
No. 11 Quartet Hardisty Romantic Round
No. 12 Quintet Anonymous The Orchestra
No. 13 Sextet Anonymous Now Thanked Be The Great God Pan
No. 14 Octet Aldrich Count Ofsory Catch
No. 15 Ten Anonymous Sing We Now Merrily
INTERMEDIATE ADVANCED LEVEL ROUNDS (GRADE IV COLLECTION)
No. 1 Quintet Anonymous All Into Service
No. 2 Trio Beethoven Cool, Not Luke Warm
No. 3 Trio Beethoven Ich Bitt' Dich (Please Write Me A Scale)
No. 4 Trio Brahms If Grief Had Power To Kill
No. 5 Trio Cherubini Laughing Canon
No. 6 Trio Farding Hey Now Now
No. 7 Trio Hardisty Finger And Key Tapper
No. 8 Trio Purcell Drink On (Catch)
No. 9 Sextet Mozart Let Us Be Merry
No. 10 Sextet Purcell Since Time So Kind
No. 11 Septet Anonymous Laudate Nomen (Praised Be The Name)
No. 12 Octet Swan Circle Canon
No. 13 Nonet Anonymous Let's Have A Peal For John Cooke's Soul
ADVANCED LEVEL ROUND(GRADE V COLLECTION)
No. 1 Duet Gates Followup (From "Odd Meter Duets")
No. 2 Duet Gates Tag-A-Long (From "Odd Meter Duets")
No. 3 Duet Hardisty Copland-Style Round
No. 4 Trio Anonymous Follow Me Quickly
No. 5 Trio Ginastera North Argentine Folk-Dance
No. 6 Trio Kuhlau Gladly Laugh The Pagans
No. 7 Trio Thompson Lines From "The Ancient Mariner"
No. 8 Quartet Anonymous Sing After, Fellows
No. 9 Quartet Hardisty Flicking Round
No. 10 Quartet Hardisty Twelve-Tone Round
No. 11 Quartet Mozart Good Night
No. 12 Quintet Hardisty Advanced Tonguing Study For Bassoon
("The Man Of Peace")
No. 13 Sextet Anonymous Sounds Of The Singing School
No. 14 Octet Hardisty Long Round In The Style Of Wagner, Part I
No. 15 Octet Hardisty Wagner-Style Round, Part II
ELEMENTARY-ADVANCED VARIABLE LEVEL ROUNDS (GRADES I THROUGH V COLLECTION)
No. 1 Duet Anonymous Debka Hora
No. 2 Trio Anonymous Oh, How Lovely Is The Evening
No. 3 Trio Hardisty Chordalando
No. 4 Trio Haydn The Prime, The Second
No. 5 Quartet Brahms Willi Wille Will, The Man Has Come
No. 6 Quartet Haydn The Certainty
No. 7 Sextet Hardisty Tuning RoundNo. 2
No. 8 Septet Hardisty Planning Round
No. 9 Septet Hardisty Three Blind Mice For Seven
No. 10 Nonet Hardisty Aleatory Round
No. 11 Ten Hardisty Here And Now For Ten Bassoons
No. 12 Twelve Hardisty Tuning Round No. 1
All Six "Collections of Rounds" may be purchased individually or as a set by writing the International Double Reed
Society, 1006 North Howard, Indianola, Iowa 50125.
The following paper originally appeared at URL:
idrs.colorado.edu/Publications/Journal/JNL5/documented.html but is no longer available there (404 return)
I hope I have done no hurt to the paper or to its author by including it here as it is truly a superb dissertation on the
subject and I hate to see it disappear from the web.
idrs.colorado.edu/Publications/Journal/JNL5/documented.html but is no longer available there (404 return)
I hope I have done no hurt to the paper or to its author by including it here as it is truly a superb dissertation on the
subject and I hate to see it disappear from the web.
