Sir

Oxford Nov^r: 7 1776

On my Return here last Tuesday I received your Favor, for which I have taken the first Opportunity to return you my sincere thanks as well as for the Trouble which you have so obligingly taken respecting the M.S. I delivered your Compliments to M^r Price and also communicated to him the Particulars of M^r Morris's Letter. M^r Price is extremely sorry to find that the M.S. is not yet returned, and the more concerned for the Delay as he was the Cause of it's [sic] being first parted with. He purposes to write immediately to S^r Watkin Williams on the Subject to reques[...] it may be return'd immediately.¹

I have lately perused that ^part of the Appendix to Dr Davies's Grammar which treats of Welch Music. I find therein the Names of 104 Pieces of Music, and of the Keys they are to be played in. I do not find any Account of the three first Pieces in M^r. Morris's Book, but there are several by David Athro the Author of the first Piece.² It appears by this Book that the Britains divided their Musicians into eight Classes. – The four first are called graduate Classes all the Members of them being Graduates. In the first Class were the Bards who[...] were further subdivided into three Classes. – In the 2^d Classes were those who were professed Players upon the Harp. In the third Class those that were profes[...]sed Players on the Crooth [sic].³ The Vocal performers made up the fourth Class. These were required to understand Welch perfectly, and to write it correctly; the four and twenty Measures of vocal Song, the Different metres used in Poetry. They were also required to be Masters of tuning the Harp or Crwth⁴ and to be able to play all the Accompanyments of "vocal song". On the Marriage of any of the royal Family they were to wait on the Bride at Dinner. The four other Classes were called the inferior Classes.⁵
Of the first Class were those who played upon the different Sorts of Pipes as Bagpipe &c. I am not clear what the second Class consisted ^of, but I am inclined to think they were the vocal Performers of these Classes who sung to the Pipe, &c.
the third Class consisted of those ^who played upon the Tabor.
The fourth class contained the Fiddlers i:e: those that played upon the three stringed Crooth [sic]. –⁶

I have taken the Liberty to send you the above Account of the British Musicians, presuming that upon this Occasion it would not prove unacceptable and am with M^r Price's Compliments with the profoundest Respect

Sir
your much obliged humble Servant

Jno Jones

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Editorial notes

1. The identity of the manuscript in question is uncertain. The reference to Richard Morris suggests that it may have been the Robert ap Huw manuscript, somewhat more clearly referenced in the second paragraph of this letter. Morris had possession of this compilation of Welsh music in tablature form at this time and is known to have lent it to others in an attempt to find a satisfactory interpretation of its contents. Watkin Williams Wynn's harpist, John Parry, had already seen the manuscript in 1771, as had John Jones the previous year. Note, however, that Jones gives the impression of having newly acquired the manuscript (or acquired it anew) in letter 1427, dated 23 April 1777. See further Stephen P. Rees and Sally Harper, 'Aspects of the Palaeography and History of the Robert ap Huw Manuscript', in eadem (ed.), Welsh Music History 3: Robert ap Huw Studies (Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1999), pp. 54–65. For a reference to another manuscript containing 'ample instructions for understanding the old Welsh musical notation, written about the time of Elizabeth', see Iolo Morganwg's account of manuscripts viewed at Hafod in 1799, in Iolo Morganwg to Owen Jones, 28 May 1799, in Geraint Jenkins, Ffion Mair Jones and David Ceri Jones (eds.), The Correspondence of Iolo Morganwg, 3 vols. (Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 2007), II, p. 172.
2. Dafydd Athro is named as the author of the 'Gosteg' which opens the Robert ap Huw manuscript (B.M. Add. 14905).
3. 'crowd'.
4. 'crowd'.
5. The information on the required accomplishments of the class described by Jones as 'the Vocal performers' is echoed by Pennant in his discussion of the 'datceiniad'. See A tour in Wales 1770 [1773] (2nd edn., 1784), pp. 475–6.
6. 'crowd'.