Galliards, Pavans and Other Keyboard Works

The virginal was a type of harpsichord enormously popular in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and virginal books were all the rage, representing every important composer writing for the instrument – including such giants as William Byrd, Thomas Morley, John Bull, and Orlando Gibbons. All devotees of early keyboard music will welcome this attractive compilation of the best known pieces from the classic Fitzwilliam Virginal Book, a remarkable collection of Elizabethan and Jacobean keyboard music.

Although composed for the virginal, these pieces can be played without difficulty on the piano or any other keyboard instrument. They have been painstakingly set into modern notation, with careful preservation of the composers’ intentions. Contents include such courtly dances as the galliard and pavan, ingenious preludes, fanciful fantasias, and many other works to delight players and listeners.