The Italian melody of this work's title is the song More Palatino, which was very popular in the seventeenth century and the basis of keyboard variations by such composers as Buxtehude, Bull, Frescobaldi, and Sweelinck. Gibbons' treatment is quite brief and simple. More Palatino falls into two strains, which Gibbons initially treats simply. He quotes the stately first strain, then immediately repeats it in a highly ornate variation. Next he quotes the slightly longer and more complex second strain and immediately offers a variation on that material. In the second half of this composition, Gibbons connects the two strains; the harpsichordist plays the first strain with the right hand, with fancy passagework commenting on it in the bass, then the second strain moves to the left hand, with a florid commentary occupying the treble.

© James Reel, All Music Guide