The sixteenth century brought increased English military occupation and settlement to Ireland. Members of the invading nobility, who consequently came into contact with the native culture, were seduced by the sound of the Irish harp and took the instrument from its roots in Gaelic society and placed it in the setting of European courtly music. My aim is to examine this process, the resulting developments which took place in the evolution of the Irish harp, and compositions associated with its usage in the 'art' music of England and the Continent. Particular reference is made to the 'Harpe' Consorts of William Lawes together with their sources and resulting implications when considering the capabilities of the instrument employed. The harp's role within this music is also analysed and a complete set of transcriptions of Lawes' consorts is included. Works by other musicians associated with the Irish harp during the period 1550-1650 are also discussed with specific reference to the compasses and accidentals of the instruments required by the composers where appropriate. Transcriptions of works attributed to Cormack MacDermott and the anonymous harp parts located at the back of Ch Ch Mus MS 5 are included. Martin Peerson's 'Mottects or Grave Chamber Music' and a collection of works for 'Treble Bass Viol and Harp', included in the back of the 1687 edition of Christopher Simpson's A Compendium of Practical Music are also discussed. A major part of the research involved the reconstruction of an Irish chromatic harp (presented as part of this thesis) capable of playing the music examined. An account of this is given in a report which looks at the decisions and processes involved, difficulties encountered, as well as some recommendations for future experimental directions.

This thesis focuses on the flourishing music-publishing industry in England in the second half of the seventeenth century, and examines its relationship to and influence on the activities of professional musicians. Music publishing as a commercial entity developed in England during this period, particularly, but not exclusively, through the endeavours of the Playford family. By placing the printed music books within the social and cultural contexts in which they were produced, this thesis explores the consequences of printing on the musical text, understanding the purposes for which the printed book was created and how different functions of print affected the musical texts that they contained. A detailed examination of the printed music sources sheds light on how publication (including posthumous publication) related to the image and status of the composer, and draws attention to the interaction between public music-making, compositional activity and music publishing during this period. Through an investigation of the contemporary printed outputs of five case-study composers - William Lawes, Henry Lawes, Matthew Locke, Henry Purcell and John Blow - this thesis explores the individual nature of the composers' relationships with the printed music book trade and how their contemporary printed outputs relate to their overall compositional output. This is followed by a detailed analytical study of specific compositions by the five case-study composers, examining both contemporary manuscript and printed sources, in order to determine to what extent the commercial print market influenced professional musical creativity. Different versions of compositions of certain genres, particularly secular vocal works, were disseminated via print as opposed to manuscript, and these alternative versions appear to have been instigated by both composers and stationers. This approach to examination of contemporary sources calls for the contextual consideration of sources and the musical texts within them.

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