The clarinet in England

In his article 'What happened to El grillo' in Early Music, xxxi/3 (Aug 2003), pp.390-99, David Fallows discusses the many problems Josquin's ever-popular song El grillo poses to musicologists and performers. Fallows's edition of the piece, contained in his article, derives from several working hypotheses that, in my opinion, are open to question. I would like to draw the attention of EM's readership to my forthcoming study in the Tijdschrift van de Koninklijke Vereniging voor Nederlandse Muziekgeschiedenis, lv/2 (2005). The article, 'Fresh light on Josquin Dascanio's enigmatic El grillo', tries to elucidate some elements that are vital to a better understanding—and hence to better performances—of the piece. The article offers a new edition, and deals with the following issues: (1) the possible cultural context and meaning of the poem, and the reason why the enigmatic word 'beve' should be read as 'breve'; (2) the reason that has led to the omission of one semibreve in the piedi, and the rhythm that results from this emendation; (3) a different (more Italianate) syllable underlay in the piedi and volta; and (4) the curious double repeat sign after bar 17, and the question about how much of the ripresa should be sung when it returns after the stanza.