Will Shakespeare and the Roots of the Music in his Plays
Shakespeare’s knowledge of the recorder and the use of music in many of his plays suggests that he was familiar, beginning in boyhood, with a wide variety of tunes, and that many were made up by family members, friends and Will himself.
(The following vignettte involves Will and the three young children he is tutoring at the noble house of Lord Strange. The children had been pestering and mocking Capability, the gardener. In this concluding scene of an extended conversation with the gardener, Will learns a new phrase, teaches the children, along with the gardener’s help, respect for simple tasks and those who perform them. And Will mentions his love for music, so much of which shows up in his later plays.)
Capability turned to the children and offered a friendly grin. “I believe, like people, plants, flowers, bushes, trees thrive in an atmosphere of love. I reassure them through talk and touch.” The children looked in awe at Capability. “They also have friends such as the pollinating bees and butterflies, birds that drop the seeds, the breezes that carry the old leaves away making way for new ones in the spring. Oh, it is such a wonder, there is a special providence.”
“I like to dig in dirt,” James said. “May I come to help you?”
“Of course you can, come to work at any time. I shall be here in the garden, as always.”
Will said, “Thank you, Capability I am sure we will return to learn more of your craft in the pursuit of nature’s beauty.”
The children chorused, “Thank you, Capability.” He broadly smiled and bent to his work.
As they walked towards the house, Will said, “Even tasks that may seem simple on the surface are, if done well, twined and difficult. As you saw, Capability Gardener lives up to his name, and his profession requires depth and duty. You saw how he strives for his own pleasure and to delight others. He is a contributor, which we should all aim to be.”
Will turned to leave and came back. “You three are a pleasure. I enjoy your intelligent company. We will resume our numbers tomorrow, read aloud together. And we will study languages. Tomorrow I may only speak Latin, and you might speak only French. Since French, like Latin, is a Romance language we may well be able to communicate. Cynthia, what is the French word for the Latin Romanorum?”
“Romain?”
“Good work. And finally, we will write since writing teases out thinking. Before we meet, please compose a short poem on any subject, say ten lines. I shall do the same. If you like, write about your dreams, if you remember them. If I have a good one, I write it down when I wake. It often gives you ideas for stories and poems.”
Cynthia said, “You, too, are a pleasure, Will. You led me to see, or led Capability to tell us, that even the planting of flowers has mathematical measure and a kind of governance. I shall never vex him again. Rather, I will seek his knowledge. I now wish to know the order of all blooming flowers so that I may come to the gardens and enjoy them at their peak.”
“May I compose a song to go with my poem? I learned to play the lute at court.”
“Yes, Jane, by all means, I love song. We sing much at home accompanied by my brother on the recorder. Let us sing together of all things magical.”
“I shall write and sing of fishes in the pond,” said James.
“Do not forget the ducks and perchance a snake or two.”
Jane said, “Ooh, no snakes. I have heard the tale of Medusa and do not wish to think of her as I brush my hair.”
(In the following brief vignette taken from a long scene, Will has just taken rooms in London and is home in Stratford for a few days. He and his siblings walk to market in a nearby village.)
They walked along the Avon, picking up songs, taking parts and harmonizing. Gil brought his recorder and piped them along. During a pause, Edmund asked, “Will, have you been on the sea?”
Will stopped. “Yes. Let us sit and rest a bit. We are halfway home.” They gathered around. Edmund rested his head on Will’s knee and stared at him adoringly. Will looked at his siblings. “I am so happy we are together, five berries from one stem. I wish Richard was here with us. And thank you all for helping Anne with the children; they are much the better for it.”
(In another scene from one of Shakespeare’s greatest plays, Hamlet takes a recorder from Guildenstern who claims he cannot play it. Hamlet’s instruction indicates that not only Gilbert, Shakespeare’s brother, plays the recorder, but that Will surely did as well.
Note: The use of the recorder is secondary to the scene, which is written to show that no one can fool Hamlet. See the reference to lying. But for present purposes, we insert this dialogue to further demonstrate Shakespeare’s knowledge of music and its instruments.)
Hamlet. This is as easy as lying. Govern these ventages with your fingers and thumb, give it breath with your mouth, and it will discourse most eloquent music. Look you, these are the stops.
Hamlet, 3.2
(The Garden and Avon vignettes included above were excerpted from the new novel: Discovering Will’s Lost Years and the Marlowe-Shakespeare Lost Play: Uncovering 16th and 21st-Century Mystery, Treachery and Obsession.)
