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British Library, Add MS 29987

Folio 1 of the manuscript, bearing the coat-of-arms of the de' Medici family

Add MS 29987 is a mediaeval Tuscan musical manuscript dating from the late fourteenth or early fifteenth century, held in the British Library in London. It contains a number of polyphonic Italian Trecento madrigals, ballate, sacred mass movements, and motets, and 15 untexted monophonic instrumental dances, which are among the earliest purely instrumental pieces in the Western musical tradition. The manuscript apparently belonged to the de' Medici family in the fifteenth century, and by 1670 was in the possession of Carlo di Tommaso Strozzi; it was in the British Museum from 1876, where it was catalogued as item 29987 of the Additional manuscripts series. It is now in the British Library.[1][2]

The manuscript

The manuscript appears to have belonged to the de' Medici family of the Republic of Florence in the fifteenth century – the first folio has the de' Medici arms in red, gold, blue and green;[3]: 7–8  these are in the "augmented" form granted by Louis XI in 1465, with the arms of France in the upper central ball.[4] By 1670 it was in the possession of Carlo di Tommaso Strozzi. On 8 April 1876 it was acquired by the British Museum from the antiquarian bookseller Bernard Quaritch;[5] it was catalogued as item 29987 of the Additional manuscripts series. It is now in the British Library.[1][2]

The manuscript measures approximately 26 × 19.5 cm, and consists of 88 parchment leaves in 11 quaternio gatherings.[6] There are six flyleaves at the front, one from 1957, three from 1876 and two from the seventeenth century, of which the first has a list in the hand of Carlo di Tommaso Strozzi of the composers represented; two flyleaves at the back date from 1876 and 1957. The binding in half leather is from 1957, over older thick wooden boards.[3]: 7–8 

Add 29987 is a part of a larger manuscript of at least 185 pages, as the surviving leaves were originally numbered 98–185.[1] The pages are ruled with eight five-line staves in red, and the music is written in full (black) mensural notation, with only occasional use of void ("white") notes and red colouration.[6] It is carelessly written in one principal and several other scribal hands; the musical text is corrupted in many places by a later hand, which altered the rhythms and added inappropriate rests.[1]

The exact date of the manuscript remains uncertain; estimates range from the late fourteenth century to about 1425. The music dates from 1340–1400;[1] one piece, number 118, is clearly of later date, and numbers 115–117 may also be somewhat later than most of the others.[6] The geographical origin of the manuscript is equally uncertain; it is thought to be either Tuscany or Umbria. The titles of two of the instrumental pieces, "Isabella" and "Principio di virtù", may suggest a connection to Perugia, which was ruled between 1400 and 1402 by Gian Galeazzo Visconti;[6] Visconti was, through his marriage to Isabella, Countess of Vertus, the comte de Vertus, or, in Italian, the Conte di Virtù. However Visconti was also Duke of Milan, and the manuscript may thus be connected with that city.[7]

The works

Transcription in reduced note values of the Trotto on f. 62v, showing aperto and chiusso endings

Add MS 29987 contains 119 pieces of music; however, three of them are copied twice, so there are 116 different pieces.[3]: 9  Of these, 45 are ballate, 35 or 36 (if a fragment is counted) are madrigals, 15 are instrumental pieces under the general title of "istampitta" or estampie, 8 are cacce and 3 are virelais. There are also a motet and a "Chançonete tedesce" or canzonetta tedesca, and 7 liturgical works, kyrie, gloria, credo, antiphon, two sequences and a hymn; the last piece is untexted, but may be a madrigal.[1][3]: 10  Forty-three of the pieces, including all the instrumental works, are unica.[3]: 13 

Eighty-two of the pieces, all but one of them polyphonic, can be attributed to their composers, either because the composer's name is given in the manuscript or by comparison with other sources. Half of these are by either Francesco Landini (29) or Niccolò da Perugia (12 and a fragment). There are seven works by Jacopo da Bologna, five by each of Bartolino da Padova, Giovanni da Cascia and Lorenzo da Firenze, and three by each of Bonaiuto Corsini, Donato da Cascia, Gherardello da Firenze and Vincenzo da Rimini. Andrea da Firenze, Jacopo Pianelaio da Firenze, Paolo da Firenze, Rosso de Collegrana and Thomas de Celano are each represented by a single piece. There is one ballata by Guglielmus and Egidius de Francia, and a madrigal by Guglielmus alone.[3]

List of contents of the manuscript

The 119 pieces in the manuscript are:[3]: 18–26 

Recordings

The following discs contain some of the instrumental dances found in this manuscript:

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Kurt von Fischer, Gianluca D’Agostino (2001). Sources, MS, §VIII. Grove Music Online. Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.50158. (subscription required).
  2. ^ a b MADRIGALS, ballads, and motets by Italian composers, viz.: Jacobus de Bolonia. Johannes de Florentia. Franciscus de Florentia. Frater Bartolinus de Padova. Giovanni de Chascina. Ser Lorenzo, prete di Firenze Ser Gheradello. Bonavitus Corsini, pitor. Frate Andrea de ser Vi. Donato da Chascina. Frate Vincenzo. Nicholo del Proposto. Frate Guigliemo di S. Spirito. Francescho degli Organni. Don Paghollo. Rosso de Chollegrana. Vellum; ff. 88. early xvth cent. On f. 2 are the arms of Medici. Belonged in 1670 to Carlo di Tommaso Strozzi. Quarto. Western Manuscripts: Add MS 29987. British Library. Accessed February 2014.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Gilbert Reaney (1965). The Manuscript London, British Museum, Additional 29987: A Facsimile Edition with an Introduction. Musicological studies and documents: 13. [s.l.]: American Institute of Musicology. Introduction previously published as: Gilbert Reaney (1958). The Manuscript London, British Museum, Additional 29987 (Lo). Musica Disciplina 12: 67–91 (subscription required). (page references are to 1965 edition)
  4. ^ Giovanni Carsaniga (1994). An Additional Look at London Additional 29987. Musica Disciplina 48: 283–297. (subscription required)
  5. ^ One of the 1876 flyleaves carries the inscription "Purchased of B. Quaritch 8 Apr. 1876"
  6. ^ a b c d GB-Lbl Add. 29987: RISM description. Digital Image Archive of Mediaeval Music. Accessed February 2014.
  7. ^ Timothy J. McGee (1990). "Dança amorosa: A Newly-Discovered Medieval Dance Pair", in Beyond the Moon: Festschrift for Luther Dittmer. Ottawa: Institute for Mediaeval Music. pp. 295–306. ISBN 0931902657

Further reading

External links

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