BY AN ARTISTIC NUN
[CATHOLIC CHURCH] Gradual
Florence, manuscript on paper, 1584
A sumptuous, illuminated gradual, in its charming, well-preserved original contemporary Florentine binding. It was produced in 1584 at the Dominican Convent of La Crocetta, one of the wealthiest in Florence, enjoying the patronage of the Medici, by a nun named Catherine who stated her scribal efforts in the colophon, and is recorded to have copied nearly 180 such mss.
PRESENTATION TO MME DE POMPADOUR
LE BEAU [LA BORDE, Jean-Baptiste] Recueil d’airs avec accompagnement & guitare
Paris, “Cloitre Saint-Germain l’Auxerrois Chez Mr Doucet Architecte”, circa 1750-60
A stunning and meticulously prepared manuscript with guitar tablature, illustrated in colour and gilt, with a dedication to Madame de Pompadour, most probably made for presentation to her. The manuscript is dedicated by a ‘Le Beau’ and is also signed in the colophon by him. The majority of the songs, however, are works by Jean-Benjamin La Borde.
EARLIEST PRINTED INDIGENOUS AMERICAN MUSIC
LÉRY, Jean de. Historia navigationis in Brasilia
Geneva, apud haeredes Eustathij Vignon, 1594
Second Latin edition of this ground-breaking, early ethnographic work on Brazil – with beautiful illustrations and the earliest printed native American music.
JACOBEAN ENGLISH MUSIC
ADSON, John. Courtly Masquing Ayres
London, T.S[nodham] for John Browne, 1621.
Very rare copy of this wonderful collection of airs to accompany masquing dances for brass instruments, specifically cornets and sackbuts, a precursor to the modern trombone, in 5- and 6-part compositions.
MUSIC INCUNABULUM
GAFURIUS, Franchinus. Theorica musice
Milan, Philippus de Mantegatiis, Cassanus, for Johannes Petrus de Lomatio, 15 Dec 1492
A very good copy, of illustrious provenance, of this ground-breaking work for the history of printed music. This second edition was revised and more complete than that of 1480. The t-p displays one of the most famous early music woodcuts, one of the earliest depictions of the organ; the four woodcuts of Pythagoras are ‘the first to portray him as a musician’.
SCARCE MUSIC FOR LADIES
LEONI, Leone. [with] BURGH, Cornelius. Sacri Flores binis, ternis et quaternis vocibus…Cantus [with] Hortus Marianus…Cantus
Antwerp, apud Petrum Phalesium, apud Haeredes Petri Phalesii, 1619, 1630
Two very scarce Italian music scores, printed in Flanders. Petrus Phalesius the Younger (1545-1629) was the second of a family of Flemish music printers and booksellers. They contributed to the diffusion of Italian music in the Netherlands, publishing scores by major authors like Monteverdi and Frescobaldi. Very near the status of ephemeral publications, they are here in remarkable condition.
APPARENTLY UNIQUE
ASOLA, Giovanni Matteo. Psalmi ad vespertinas omnium solemnitatum horas, Chorus Primus
Venice, Riccardo Amadino, 1597
The sole known, unrecorded copy of the first edition of this musical score by Asola, containing a set of Vespers psalms for three voices. The 1602 and 1608 reprints are more common. This is the part of the ‘Chorus Primus’, the first choir, usually the most important, which in this case is ‘Altus’ (high). The part of the ‘chorus secundus’ was published for the first time in 1599, with the title “Cantus (Tenor, Bassus) Secundi Chori Vespertinae omnium Solemnitatum psalmodiae vocibus ternis paribus canendae (Venice, Amadino).
THE MUSIC OF PLAINCHANT
HYMNAL AND ANTIPHONAL (Augustinian use) Illuminated manuscript on paper
[Netherlands], [last quarter of the 16th century, with later additions]This charming manuscript, with beautifully decorated initials, comprises the selection of chants for the Divine Office (Liturgy of the Hours), covering the entire duration of the liturgic year. A small and portable volume designed for personal use, it is a very unusual example containing exclusively the music and words of plainchant without any accompanying text.
SONGS FOR DRINKING AND DANCING
BOYER, Jean. Recueil de chansons à boire et danser [Chansons à 1 et 2 voix] [with] Deuxième livre des chansons à danser et à boire
Paris, Pierre Ballard, imprimeur de la Musique du Roi, 1936 and 1642
Exceptionally rare copies of the first and only editions of these “songs for drinking and dancing” by Jean Boyer. These two collections of drinking and dancing songs belong to an authentically French genre, a light-hearted derivative of the ‘Air de cour’ a secular court song, which became one of the most important vocal genres in the first third of the 17th century. Among the remaining collections of drinking and dancing songs of the period, Boyer’s are probably the most interesting both rhythmically and harmonically, and the texts he chooses to set to music are generally more refined than those of many of his contemporaries.
PYNSON SALISBURY MISSAL
MISSAL, Use of Sarum Missale ad usu[m] insignis ac preclare ecclesie Sa[rum]
London, p[er] Richardu[m] Pynson, [1512]
A extremely rare edition of the Salisbury Missal, one of the very few examples of an English printing of the work. An exceptional survival in remarkable contemporary binding.