Fitzwilliam Virginal Book

views updated

Fitzwilliam Virginal Book. Remarkable MS coll. of early 17th-cent. Eng. mus. for kbd. by (mostly) Eng. composers, comprising 297 pieces. Coll. orig. made by Francis Tregian in 17th cent. Bears present title because it became property of the mus. antiquarian Richard, Viscount Fitzwilliam (1745–1816) who bequeathed it, together with the annual interest on £100,000, to Cambridge Univ. where it is preserved in Fitzwilliam Library. Pubd. 1894–9 in edn. by Fuller Maitland and Barclay Squire.

About this article

Fitzwilliam Virginal Book

Updated About encyclopedia.com content Print Article