My Lady Carey's Dompe


My Lady Carey's Dompe is a Renaissance musical piece, most probably written for lute and harpsichord. A traditional English dance tune, it was written by an unknown composer during the time of Henry VIII of England, who played various instruments, of which he had a large collection.

History

My Lady Carey's Dompe is sometimes attributed to English innovative composer of the early Tudor period, Hugh Aston. It is in G Dorian mode and consists of an improvisatory treble line over a drone alternating between two bass notes, G and D. It may have been written for the death of William Carey, a courtier and favorite of Henry VIII, who died on 22 June 1528, and in this case, Lady Carey may refer to his wife Mary Boleyn, one of the mistresses of Henry VIII and the sister of Henry's second wife, Anne Boleyn, but also to Carey’s mother, sisters and sister-in-law. Dompe, which may come from Irish dump that means lament, can refer to a dance, a dirge, a lament or a melancholic love song.
The work appears in a single source written around 1530, British Library, manuscript Royal Appendix 58.

Notable recordings

My Lady Carey's Dompe is in the repertoire of many artists including Igor Kipnis, Guy Bovet, Rafael Puyana, Ton Koopman, Peter Watchorn, André Isoir, Liuwe Tamminga, Paul O'Dette, David Munrow, Eduardo Paniagua, Brett Leighton, Grayston Burgess, Claudio Brizi.
YearAlbumPerformerTrack #LengthRecord label
1990Lullabies and DancesBill Crofut and The Crofut Consort162:56Albany Music Distribution
1994A Treasury of Harpsichord FavoritesIgor Kipnis41:50Music & Arts
1995English Virginals MusicSophie Yates71:50Chandos
1995Flower of All Ships: Tudor Court MusicCirca 1500121:51CRD
1995Guy Bovet à L'Orgue de la Basilique de Valère, Vol. 1Guy BovetGallo
1995The Golden Age of Harpsichord MusicRafael Puyana11:28Mercury
1996The Organ at Adlington HallTon Koopman11:47Capriccio
1997The Mystic and the MuseEnsemble Galilei
Nancy Karpeles
Sue Richards
Erin Shrader
Carolyn Anderson Surrick
Sarah Weiner
Dorian
1998Millennium of Music, Vol. 1172:25Valley Entertainment
1999Guide des Instruments de la RenaissanceEnsemble la FeniceRicercar
1999Shakespeare: The Greatest Hits7 4:02Reference Recordings
1999Vox VirginalisRachelle Taylor12:13ATMA Classique
2000Alessandro Orologio: Primo Libro delle Canzonette; Intrade a Cinque VociIl Terzo Suono
Ensemble 1492
Dià-pasòn
Gian Paolo Fagotto
Arts Music
2001Court Jesters: Tudor Minstrel MusicSirinu32:20Griffin
2001Music of Tudor and Jacobean EnglandPeter Watchorn15 2:27Musica Omnia
2001Wondrous Machine: Early English Keyboard Music on the Organ of the Ospedaletto in VeniceChristopher Stembridge41:21Quilisma
2002Airs & Danses de la Vieille EuropeAndré IsoirDisques Pierre Verany
2003BasilicataLiuwe Tamminga31:59Accent
2003L'Essor de l'Orgue en Europe de la Renaissance au BaroqueJacques Kauffmann52:11Skarbo
2003The Classic OcarinaChuckerbutty Ocarina Quartet feat. Michael Copley82:51Dorian
2003The Royal LewtersPaul O'Dette52:49Harmonia Mundi
2004David Munrow: Henry VIII and His Six WivesDavid Munrow182:00Testament
2005Dictionary of Medieval & Renaissance Instruments7 1:47Cantus
2005Madame d'Amours: Songs, Dances & Consort Music for the Six Wives of Henry VIIIMusica Antiqua of London72:21Signum Classics
2005Musica cortesana en la Europa de Juana I de CastillaMúsica Antigua, Eduardo Paniagua14:32Karonte / Pneuma Classics
2005Musik für Orgel und Zink auf der ältesten spielbaren Orgel der WeltBrett Leighton252:10Motette
2007Music to Entertain Henry VIIIGrayston Burgess, Purcell Consort of Voices170:55Argo
2008The World's Greatest Composers 9 1:09Madacy
2010Les Grandes Orgues de GérardmerJacques Kauffmann11:52Skarbo
2011Tears of Joy: English Lute Songs and Secular MusicZefiro Torna13 2:14EtCetera / Klara
2012Renaissance & Danses BaroquesBarok Ensemble101:33Loreley
2013Claviorgan WonderlandClaudio Brizi52:28Camerata Records
2013Mercury Living Presence: The Collector's Edition, Vol. 2Rafael Puyana1 1:29Decca / Mercury
2018An Evening HymnAnton Batagov125:23JSC "Firma Melodiya"