17th century European lute music anthology at risk of leaving UK

An early 17th century manuscript of Italian and French lute music is at risk of leaving the UK.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) said the anthology has been valued at £214,200 and contains some 320 pieces by composers such as English musician John Dowland, a brother of Galileo and more.

It is thought the binding is the work of the Federnelkenmeister, or carnation master, from Cologne, who was active up to 1619.

A temporary export ban has been placed on the object to allow time for a UK gallery or institution to acquire it for their collection.

During the 17th century, instrumental music was popular among the middle classes, and creating anthologies was a way of preserving the work of composers who had not created enough pieces to warrant publishing volumes of their own.

According to the DCMS, the “rich and cosmopolitan” work will help develop understanding of how cultures flourished across national boundaries despite the Thirty Years’ War, regarded as one of the most destructive conflicts in European history.

Arts minister Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay said: “Lute music is a vital part of our artistic heritage and there is much this anthology can teach us.

“This fascinating manuscript could be described as a 17th century streaming platform thanks to its ability to allow music by brilliant composers to be shared across Europe.

“I hope a buyer comes forward to save the piece for the nation.”

The export ban was placed on the object following advice from the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest.

Committee member Peter Barber said: “Little research has recently been done into this large and handsomely bound manuscript album of early lute music.

“Fascinating and evocative, it includes work, among many others, both by the English composer John Dowland and by a brother of Galileo.

“The volume promises to shed much light on the circulation of music, particularly lute music, the role of music-making, and the dance, in western Europe while the Thirty Years’ War was raging in the early and mid-17th century. One third of the music, amounting to 89 pieces, is not to be found anywhere else.

“Thoroughly pan-European, the volume was assembled by a German, mainly written out in the French style and contains music from many lands.

“The volume also has research value because of its association with the musical instrument-maker Arnold Dolmetsch (1858-1940). Dolmetsch was the leading figure associated with the early 20th-century revival of the performance of early music using instruments of the time.

“The album formed part of the collection that he assembled and his annotations suggest that he particularly valued it. Dolmetsch lived most of his life in, and was particularly associated with, England, where the largest remaining part of his music collection is still to be found.

“The album’s research value might therefore be more fully exploited, if it were to remain in the United Kingdom.”

The decision on the export licence application for the manuscript will be deferred until June 13.