Priscilla Bunbury's Virginal Book
Priscilla Bunbury's Virginal Book is a musical commonplace book compiled in the late 1630s by two young women from an affluent Cheshire family. It is important more for its fingering indications than for the quality of the music it contains. The manuscript. The manuscript is an upright volume measuring 11.5 inches by 8 inches in a tooled leather binding. The front cover bears the words "PRISCILLA BVNBURY" in tooled lettering, and the back cover the initials "PB". It contains thirty two-pages pre-ruled with six-line staves. There are thirty-five neatly written  pieces of music, but the first and last pages, together with the pieces they bore, are missing. Apart from the music, there is a medicinal recipe and other scribblings. At least two different hands can be discerned. As of 2001, the manuscript was in a private collection in England. The authors. The first owner of the book was Priscilla Bunbury (1615–1682), daughter of Sir Henry Bunbury of Little Stanney in Cheshire and his second wife Martha. The second owner was also a Priscilla Bunbury (c. 1675 – after 1707), daughter of Sir Thomas Bunbury, a grandson of Sir Henry and his  first wife, and goddaughter of the first Priscilla. Contents. Five pieces are attributed to Robert Hall, of whom nothing is known. Five are by Orlando Gibbons, and three by Randall Jewett, a member of the choir at Chester Cathedral and brother of the better-known Randolph Jewett, possibly a pupil of Orlando Gibbons. The entire "Battle" sequence by William Byrd is included as one piece (also found in My Ladye Nevells Booke). Twenty one of the pieces are not attributed. The fingering. Pieces 1-28, corresponding to the hand of the first Priscilla Bunbury, contain full fingering indications. As far  as the right hand is concerned, these follow the modern system, with the thumb numbered "1" and the little finger "5". The system is however reversed for the left hand, where the little finger is numbered "1" and the thumb "5". It is evident that the author favoured the use of the third finger for the right hand and the third finger and thumb for the left hand on "strong" notes.