Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Brade, William
BRADE, WILLIAM (fl.. 1615), an English musician, was violist to the Duke of Holstein-Gottorp and to the town of Hamburg at the beginning of the seventeenth century. He was living at Hamburg on 19 Aug. 1609, when he dedicated a volume of his compositions to Johann Adolph, duke of Schleswig, and he probably remained at the same town until 14 Feb. 1619, when he was appointed capellmeister to Johann Sigismund, margrave of Brandenburg. His salary in this post was 500 thalers per annum, besides a thaler a week for 'kostgeld' when at court, and when following the margrave abroad, six dinners and all other meals weekly, with sufficient beer, a stoup of wine daily, free lodgings, and all disbursements. He also received two suits of clothes ('Ehrenkleid'), and his son, Christian Brade, had 300 thalers, with clothes, boots, shoes, and maintenance. Brade had full authority over the court band, but the care of the boys of the chapel was given to a vice-capellmeister. He does not seem to have remained long at Berlin, as a report on the margrave's band, drawn up in 1620, speaks of him as one of the past capellmeisters, and in the following year Jacob Schmidt is mentioned as occupying his post. Nothing more is known of him; but Dr. Rimbault (an untrustworthy guide) says (Grove, Dict. of Music, i. 269 a) that he died at Frankfurt in 1647, the authority for which statement cannot be discovered.
The greatest confusion exists as to the bibliography of Brade's works, all of which are extremely rare. Fétis and Rimbault copy Gerber's 'Lexikon der Tonkünstler' (Leipzig, 1812), i. 493, with the exception that Rimbault prints Frankfurt a. d. Oder as Frankfort, which is additionally misleading. The list given by these authorities differs materially from the following, which is taken from Moller's 'Cimbria Literata,' 1744, ii. 103, and is reprinted in the 'Lexikon der hamburgischen Schriftsteller,' 1851, i. 364: 1. 'Musicalische Concerten,' Hamburg, 1609, 4to. 2. 'Newe ausserlesene Paduanen, Galliarden, Canzonen, Alamanden und Couranten, auf allerlei Instrumenten zu gebrauchen,' Hamburg, 1610, 4to. 3. 'Newe ausserlesene Paduanen und Galliarden, midt 6 Stimmen, auf allerhand Instrumenten, insonderheit Violen, zu gebrauchen,' Hamburg, 1614, 4to. 4. 'Newe ausserlesene liebliche Branden, Intraden, Masqueraden, Balletten, Alamanden, Couranten, Volten, Aufzüge und frembde Tantze, samt schonen lieblichen Frühlings- und Sommer-Blümlein, mit 5 Stimmen; auf allerlei Instrumenten, insonderheit Violen, zu gebrauchen,' Lübeck, 1617, 8vo. 5. 'Newe lustige Volten, Couranten, Balletten, Paduanen, Galliarden, Masqueraden, auch allerlei Arten newer französischer Tantze, mit 5 Stimmen, auf allerlei Instrumenten zu gebrauchen,' Berlin, 1621, 4to. Fetis omits 4 in his list, and gives the date of 2 as 1609, and the place of publication of 5 as Frankfurt a. d. Oder. Bohn's 'Bibliographic der Musik-Druckwerke bis 1700' (p. 74) describes a copy of 2, and quotes the title-page, by which it would seem that 1609 is the right date. A manuscript 'Fancy' by Brade is in the library of the Royal College of Music.
[The authorities quoted above; Fétis's Biographie des Musiciens (1837), ii. 293 a; Mendel's Musikalisches Lexicon, i. 162; Brand's Bibliotheca Librorum German icorum Classica (1611), 555; L. Schneider's Geschichte der Churfürstlich Brandenburgischen und Koniglich-Preussischen Capelle, pp. 29, 30, 31.]