ABSTRACT
A single autograph organ part survives in the hand of Matthew Locke, one of the most important composers at the English court during the early years of the Restoration. Written for his verse anthem 'How doth the city sit solitary', Och 1219(D) is preserved as an unbound single sheet, copied stratigraphically on both sides of the paper. The nature of the relationship between Locke's accompaniment and the vocal parts is sufficiently complex to warrant detailed analysis. Locke's fully notated organ part for 'How doth the city' suggests that he differentiates on principle between solo verses and ensemble verses or choruses: in the two solo-treble verses he writes largely independent accompaniments, resembling written-out figured-bass realizations, with very limited doubling. In ATB verses the added part is written above the highest vocal line; one result is that the register of the right-hand part in the organ remains quite consistent throughout the piece, regardless of the number and type of voices singing.
