7. Music
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This collection comprises 191 items of which 43 are listed here, including the 4 earliest ones. The presentation here aims at giving a fairly comprehensive overview of the main types of musical notation in Europe in the period 9th to 15th c, with some Asian notations added.
While the national or regional scripts were mostly standardized with the Carolingian reform around 800, musical notation continued to be regional during most of the remaining medieval ages. There are no standardized consequent designations. The notation is named after countries, regions, cities and even monasteries, scriptoria or monastic orders, while others are named according to their appearance. The following presentation is mainly based on the tables in Riemann: Musiklexicon, and The new Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2nd ed. The presentation will complement the materials in the palaeography and liturgical collections.
7.2. Old Babylonian cuneiform tablature music notation
- MS 5105 Babylonia, 2000-1700 BC
7.3. Ancient Greek music notation
- MS 2260 Egypt, ca. 300
- See also MS 2858, Byzantine Empire, late 10th c.
- MS 2033 Greece, ca. 1100
- See also MS 1982, Turkey, 11th c.
- MS 1979/07 Greece or Sicilia, 13th c.
- MS 1897 Serbia, 18th c.
- MS 096 France, late 9th c.
- MS 1275/19 France (or Germany?), ca. 950
- MS 630 France, mid 11th c.
- MS 658 France, ca. 1030
7.8. Palaeo-Frankish (St. Amand) music notation
- MS 5284/1 France, 11th c.
- MS 1664 Germany, ca. 1000
- MS 098 Germany, 1st half 11th c.
- MS 1574 Austria or Southern Germany, 1st half 12th c.
- MS 1670 Germany, ca. 1150
- MS 1665 Italy, ca. 1000
- MS 105 Bologna, 11th c.
- See also MS 063, Italy, late 11th c.
- MS 1681 Montecassino, 2nd half 12th c.
- See also MS 055, Italy, early 12th c.
- MS 1275/21 Spain, 11th c.
- MS 2059 England, late 12th c.
7.16. Metz-German Gothic notation
7.17. Hufnagel notation (German Gothic notation)
7.18. "Tête de Marteau" notation
- MS 1281 Norway (or Denmark?), 15th c.
- See also MS 222, France, 1300-1325
- MS 1275/28 France, ca. 1400
- MS 034 Italy, mid 15th c.
- See also MS 198, Germany, 1430
- MS 1782 Hungary 15th c.
- MS 670 Poland, mid 15th c.
- MS 5404 France ca. 1700
See also MS 5406 Germany, ca. 1550
7.26. Osmanic letter music notation (abced — notasi)
- MS 5279 Turkey, ca. 1900
7.27. Vedic numeric hand gesture music notation
- MS 5292 India, 1583
- MS 5332 Japan, 1811
7.29. Chinese Gongchi notation
- MS 5280/1 Tibet, 19th c. (Yang-Yig graphic music notation)
- MS 5270 Italy, 1969 (modern graphic notation)
LEXICAL LIST OF 9 TYPES OF MUSICAL STRINGS, 23 TYPES OF MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS AND MUSIC, INCLUDING DIFFERENT TYPES OF STRINGED INSTRUMENTS SUCH AS HARP AND LYRE, AS WELL AS HITHERTO UNKNOWN INSTRUMENTS; FURTHER LAPIS LAZULI, BEDS, COPPER UTENSILS, TEXTILES, DOMESTIC ANIMALS AND SINEWS, JEWELLERY, WEAPONS, LEATHER PARTS OF YOKE, STRAPS, SACKS, TYPES OF SHEEP, KNIVES, AROMATICS AND PERFUMES, REED OBJECTS, GRAINS AND FLOURS, ETC.
MS in Sumerian on clay, Sumer, 26th c. BC, upper half of a huge tablet + fragment of lower part, 20x30x5 cm + 9x18x5 cm, originally ca. 40x30x5 cm, 16+9 and 7+7 columns, 437+ ca. 100 lines remaining in cuneiform script, circular depressions introducing each new entry.
Binding: Barking, Essex, 1996, green quarter morocco gilt folding case by Aquarius.
Context: Similar, smaller tablets are known from Fara or Tell Abu Salabikh. 3 compilations all from 26th c. BC have music instruments. The present tablet is almost a duplicate of a relatively well-known lexical list, discussed by Miguel Civil in Cagni, Ebla 1975-1985, pp. 133 ff. The obverse is an abbreviated recension with minor changes in the sequence of the entries. The reverse is the continuation of the unfinished Fara recension.
Commentary: The earliest known record of music and musical instruments in history. The name of one of the stringed instruments is a Semitic word, ki-na-ru, the later kinnaru known from the Mari letters and Ras Shamra texts (13th c. BC, cfr. MS 1955/1-6), and the still later Biblical Hebrew kinnor. The system of phonetic notation in Sumer and Babylonia is based on a music terminology that gives individual names to 9 musical strings or "notes", and to 14 basic terms describing intervals of the 4th and 5th that were used in tuning string instruments (according to 7 heptatonic diatonic scales), and terms for 3rds and 6ths that appear to have been used to fine tune (or temper in some way) the 7 notes generated for each scale. The combination of string names and interval terms is used to describe the tuning procedure and the generation of the 7 scales and form a skeletal phonetic notation. (The New Grove, 2nd ed., vol. 18, p. 74.) The oldest musical instruments known are a ca. 41 000 BC flute made of bear bone, found in 1995 at a Neanderthal site in Slovenia, and 6 intact and 30 fragmentary crane bone flutes from Jiahu, in the Chinese province of Henan, dated to 9000-7700 BC. One crane bone flute is still in playing order, the earliest instrument possible to play.
HEBE-ERIDU THE SON OF ADAD-LAMASI SAT WITH IL-SIRI IN ORDER TO LEARN MUSIC. AT THAT TIME, IN ORDER TO STUDY SINGING, THE TIGIDLU-INSTRUMENT, THE ASILA, TIGI INSTRUMENT, AND THE ADAB INSTRUMENT SEVEN TIMES, ADAD-LAMASI PAID IL-SIRI 5 SHEKELS OF SILVER. ILI-IPPALSANI, THE SCHOOLMASTER
MS in Neo Sumerian on clay, Babylonia, 1900-1700 BC, 1 tablet, 6,5x4,4x2,0 cm, single column, 13 lines in cuneiform script.
Binding: Barking, Essex, 2000, blue cloth gilt folding case by Aquarius.
Context: Cf. MS 2340 listing 23 types of musical instruments.
Commentary: There are texts of dialogues between a teacher and a scribe, (Schooldays, see MS 4481) and between an examiner and a student, but a text concerning music lessons is so far unique.
7.2. Old Babylonian cuneiform tablature music notation
MUSICAL NOTATION OF 2 ASCENDING CONSECUTIVE HEPTATONIC SCALES TO BE PLAYED ON A 4 STRINGED LUTE TUNED IN ASCENDING FIFTHS: C - G - D - A, USING FRETS; SCHOOL TEXT
MS in Old Babylonian on clay, Babylonia, 2000-1700 BC, 1 lenticular tablet, diam. 9,0x3,2 cm, 2 double columns, each of 7 ruled lines with numbers in Old Babylonian cuneiform tablature notation, with headings, "intonation" and "incantation", respectively.
Context: The only other complete music text is a later Hurrian hymn written in the mode of nidqibli, which is the enneatonic descending scale of E.
Commentary: The oldest musical notation known so far. Lutes are not preserved from the Old Babylonian period. The earliest known description of a lute dates from the middle of the 10th c., of a 9th c. instrument, Oxford, Bodleian library MS Marsh 521. The present notation system gives contemporary information on the Old Babylonian 4 stringed lute. It further attests that frets were used, and that their values, tonal and semitonal, were purposely calculated. Most significantly the discovery of this text attests of a music syllabus in educational institutions about 4000 years ago.
Published: To be published by Richard Dunnbrill: An Old Babylonian music text, from where the information has been taken.
7.3. Ancient Greek music notation
DRAMATIC ARIA, PROBABLY FROM A LOST TRAGEDY, SET TO MUSIC
MS in Greek on papyrus, Egypt, ca. 300, 1 fragment from a scroll, 6x3 cm, part of 1 column, 3 lines in Greek semi-cursive book script, above the text 4 lines in Greek vocal musical notation in the diatonic Hyperionian scale, including the diseme, stigme and hyphen.
Binding: London, 1996-2000, black folding case, together with MSS 2261-2264.
Context: Only 35 Greek papyri bearing texts with musical notation are known. All except the present papyrus are in public collections, extending from ca. 250 BC to ca. 300 AD. One of these, from the 1st-2nd c., is in Oslo, University Library, P.Osl.inv.no. 1413.
Provenance: 1. Professional musician, Egypt (ca. 300); 2. Mohammed Sha'ar, Cairo; 3. Issa Marogi Collection, Jerusalem (ca. 1955-1990); 4. Heirs of Marogi family (-1996); 5. Sam Fogg Rare Books Ltd., London.
Commentary: The preserved notes extend over the range of an octave, and would suit a tenor voice. The ability to read the musical notation was, we assume, largely limited to professional musicians. The 35 existing papyri were prepared by and for them. The notation fell out of general use in the 4th c. About 600 years older than any other musical MS in private hands, cf. MS 96, Antiphonal leaf, France, 9th c., one of the 3 dozens earliest European music MSS on vellum. The above information kindly supplied by Dr. Martin L. West, All Souls College, Oxford.
Published: E. Pöhlman and M.L. West: Documents of Ancient Greek
Music, Oxford 2001, p. 195, no. 60.
Papyrologica Florentina, vol. XXXV.
Rosario Pintaudi: Papyri Graecae Schøyen. Firenze, Edizioni Gonnelli, 2005
(Manuscripts in The Schøyen Collection V: Greek papyri, vol. I), p.
35.
See also MS 2858, Bible: John, Byzantine Empire, late 10th c.
BIBLE: GOSPEL LECTIONARY
MS in Greek on vellum, Greece, ca. 1100, 10 ff., 26x23 cm, 2 columns (26x17 cm), 25 lines in Greek minuscule, heading and small capitals in red, 19 large decorated initials in red or in brown infilled with blue, red and green, including hands pointing, blessing, holding scrolls, and with birds, dragons, flowers and a fish, all finely drawn, ecphonetic notation in red.
Provenance: 1. Sotheby's 20.6.1995:61.
Commentary: Ecphonetic notation was partly a forerunner of the neumes. It is the use of accents for the cantillation of texts. A system of nine accents existed for Hebrew texts in the 6th c. and subsequently taken up in the liturgical monophonic repertories of the Byzantine, Syrian and Armenian churches. Aland l. 2407, text category 5 (Byzantine recension).
Exhibited: Oslo Katedralskole 850 år, Jubileumsutstilling 10. - 14. March 2003.
See also MS 1982, The Agia Sofia Lectionary, Turkey, 11th c
HYMNS FOR THE FEAST OF ST. GEORGE
MS in Greek on vellum, Greece or Sicilia, 13th c.(?), 1 f., 32x23 cm, single column, (25x17 cm), 21 lines in Greek minuscule, staffless Byzantine notation, 3 initials including a fish.
Provenance: 1. Sotheby's 5.12.1994:50/12.
PAPADIKE, TREATISE ON BYZANTINE CHURCH MUSIC, INCLUDING CITATIONS OF THE WORKS OF JOHANNES GLIKEOS, PETER DANILO, CHRISAPHOS TUNEU, AND PETER LAMPADARIUS
MS in Greek on paper, Serbia, 18th c., 150 ff. (complete), 16x11 cm, single column, (11x8 cm), 18 lines in a late Greek minuscule, headings in red, staffless Byzantine notation with pitch marks in red, 2-to-4-line decorated initials in margins, a half-page circular design of the 8 musical modes.
Binding: Mt. Athos?, Greece, 18th c., blind-stamped leather on wooden boards, sewn on 3 cords.
Provenance: 1. A Monastery of the Holy Mountain, Mt. Athos, Greece? (18th c.); 2. Pavougades and Jonas the priest, Monastery in Macedonia (19th c.); 3. Carla Signorini, Venezia (20th c.); 4. Jeremy Griffiths, Oxford.
Commentary: Johannes Glikeos lived in the 14th c., Peter Danilo in the 15th c., Chrisaphos Tuneu in the 17th c., and Peter Lampadarius in the early 18th c.
ANTIPHONAL: OFFICE OF ST. REMIGIUS (1 OCTOBER)
MS in Latin on vellum, France, late 9th c., 1 f., 18x15 cm, single column, (13x10 cm), 13 lines in a small Carolingian minuscule with Metz linear staffless neumes, initials in red.
Context: Other ff. possibly from the same antiphonal: 2 ff. Harward University, Houghton Library, 1 f. Yale University library and 1 f. University of Virginia.
Provenance: 1. Bernard Rosenthal Collection, San Francisco, I/239 (1976-1987); 2. Quaritch Cat. 1088(1988):31.
Commentary: A rare survival from a very early French musical liturgy, among the earliest extant. Only 3 dozens other European musical MSS from 9th c. are known; none are earlier. Of these only 2 are antiphonals, fragments of late 9th c. with Breton and German neumes. Linear, staffless neumes represent the most primitive stage of notation, without any cue to the pitch of each neume, making performance fully dependent on oral tradition.
Published: The Story of Time, ed.: Kristen Lippincott, with Umberto Eco, E.H. Gombrich. London, Merrell Holberton in association with National Maritime Museum, 1999, p. 219.
Exhibited: "The Story of Time", Queen's House at the National Maritime Museum and The Royal Observatory, Greenwich, Dec. 1999 - Sept. 2000.
MISSAL: TEMPORAL, MASS FOR PASSION SUNDAY, WITH READING: BIBLE: HEBREWS 9:15
MS in Latin on vellum, France (or Germany?), ca. 950, 1 partial f., 9x12 cm, 1 of 2 columns, (9x11 cm remaining, column width 11 cm), 9 lines in an upright square Carolingian minuscule in 2 sizes, 6 lines of diastematic (heightened) staffless Metz neumes, liturgical headings in red.
Context: Inserted in the Le Moine palaeography handbook, MS 1275/01.
Provenance: 1. Cathedral of Toul, Lorraine (ca. 950-1761); 2. Pierre-Camille Le Moine, archivist and secretary of the cathedral of Toul (1761-1789); 3. M. le baron de Tremont, no. 1253; 4. M. Marchant, Saint-Mihiel; 5. François-Jean Baptiste Noël, Nancy, no 6205 (-1856); 6. Bruce Ferrini, Akron, Ohio.
ANTIPHONAL: SANCTORAL, THE OFFICE OF ST. PAUL, COMMEMORATION CHANTS FOR THE OCTAVE OF SS. PETER AND PAUL, AND THE OFFICE OF ST. MARY MAGDALENE
MS in Latin on vellum, Northern France, mid 11th c., 1 f., 28x16 cm, single column, (22x13 cm), 21 lines in a regular late Carolingian minuscule, North French linear staffless neumes, incipits and initials in red.
Provenance: 1. Gerd Rosen, Berlin (1957); 2. L'Art ancien, Zürich (1957) 3. Bernard Rosenthal Collection, San Francisco, I/48, (1957-1989); 3. Quaritch Cat. 1147(1991):30.
Commentary: Linear, staffless neumes represent the most primitive stage of notation, without any cue to the pitch of each neume, making performance fully dependent on oral tradition.
ANTIPHONAL: OFFICES OF ST. PAUL, COMMON OF AN EVANGELIST, OF A CONFESSOR, AND OFFICE OF ST. MARTIAL AT VESPERS
MS in Latin on vellum, Limoges, France, ca. 1030, 1 f., 36x20 cm, single column, (27x17 cm), 12 lines in an elegant Carolingian minuscule, some incipits in red uncials, 12 lines of early Aquitanian neumes on a 1-line ruled F-staff, 4 initials in red or brown.
Context: This Abbey had the richest library of music in France. It was sold in 1730 to the Bibliothèque Royal, now Bibliothèque Nationale de France. However, only one Antiphonal was in the library.
Provenance: 1. Benedictine Abbey of St. Martial, Limoges (ca. 1030-1730); 2. Private Collection, Oxford (until 1990); 3. Sam Fogg Rare Books Ltd., London.
Commentary: The Abbey of St. Martial de Limoges was founded in 848, secularised in 1535, dissolved in 1781 and demolished in 1792. The scriptorium of the Abbey is arguably the most important for the history and development of liturgical music in France in the Middle ages. A decisive advance in the development of notation was made when the scribe drew a horizontal red line to represent the pitch F, and grouped the neumes about the line. In time a second line, usually yellow, was drawn for C'. This invention of the staff made it possible to note precisely the relative pitch of the notes of a melody, and freed music form its hitherto exclusive dependence on oral tradition. It was one of the most important events in the history of music. (D.J. Grout: A History of Western music. London 1962, pp. 55-56.)
7.8. Palaeo-Frankish (St. Amand) music notation
MISSAL
MS palimpsest in Latin on vellum, France, 11th c. & 14th c., 2 ff., 33x24 cm, single column, (31x20 cm); underlying text and music: 8 lines in a rounded late Carolingian script, alternating red and blue initials, palaeo-Frankish (St. Amand) music notation on a single red stave; overlying music: polyphonic setting of the mass in square music notation on a red 5-line staff with F-clef.
Binding: London, 2005, cloth boards by Celia Alberman.
Provenance: 1. Sotheby’s 5.7.2005:2.
Commentary: The present palimpsest was originally written in 11th c. in the rare Palaeo–Frankish, or St. Amand, music notation on a single red staff. In the 14th c. the text and single red staff was kept, while the rest of the music was partly erased and rearranged with the same music, but in a partly polyphonic setting of the mass in square music notation with 4 red lines added. Unusual in showing the change in music notation as well as an early attempt at polyphonic setting. 1 p. was erased but with no new music added.
BREVIARY: SERVICE FOR MONDAYS AT MATINS AND LAUD, WITH ANTIPHONS, CHAPTER, PSALMS (MUCH OF PSALM 36) AND COLLECT
MS in Latin on vellum, Germany, ca. 1000, 1 f., 32x21 cm, single column, (26x14 cm), 21 lines in a late German Carolingian minuscule, 7 lines of St. Gallen linear staffless neumes, red capitals.
Provenance: 1. J. Voerster Collection, Stuttgart (-1993); 2. Bernard Quaritch Ltd., London.
Commentary: Linear, staffless neumes represent the most primitive stage of notation, without any cue to the pitch of each neume, making performance fully dependent on oral tradition.
ANTIPHONAL: SANCTORAL, OFFICES OF ST. PAUL THE APOSTLE (30 JUNE) TO ST. PANTALON (7 JULY), AND ST. MAURICE (22 SEPT.) TO ALL SAINTS (1 NOV.)
MS in Latin on vellum, Southern Germany, 1st half of 11th c., 2 ff., 22x16 cm, single column, (17x10 cm), 25 lines in Carolingian minuscule, initials in red, psalm tone differential musical cues in the margins, St. Gallen linear staffless neumes.
Provenance: 1. Internationaal Antiquariaat Menno Hertzberger, Amsterdam 22.6.1966:1126; 2. Ludwig Rosenthal, Hilversum (1966); 3. Bernard Rosenthal Collection, San Francisco, I/203 (1966-1987); 3. Quaritch Cat. 1088(1988):35.
Commentary: Linear, staffless neumes represent the most primitive stage of notation, without any cue to the pitch of each neume, making performance fully dependent on oral tradition.
MISSAL: FERIA I - VI, AND SABBATO, DE APOSTOLIS, MARTIRIBUS, VIRGINIBUS, IN DEDICATIONE ECCLESIE, DE ST. MARIA, MARTA, SANCTO SPIRITUS, CROCE, AFRA, JOHANNE, INNOCENTIBUS, DONAT PER NATALE DOMINI, IN VIGILE EPIPHANIE DOMINI, WITH 2 ADDED OFFICES FOR ST. THOMAS OF CANTERBURY (CA. 1200 AND 14TH C.), IN DIE SANCTORUM, DONAT PER EPIPHANIA, DONAT II + III, GALLI CONFESSORES, LUCAS EVANGELISTA, IN VIGILE SYMONIS ET JUDE, IN DIE SANCTORUM, IN VIGILE OMNIS SANCTORUM, WITH ADDED OFFICES, PRAYER AND COLLECT FOR ST. BARBARA
MS in Latin on vellum, Lambach area, Austria or Southern Germany, 1st half of 12th c., 8 ff. and flyleaf, 29x20 cm, 1 and 2 columns, (22x17 cm), 21+27 lines in Romanesque book script of medium quality, display capitals/minuscule in alternating red and black, 21 lines of St. Gallen diastematic (heightened) staffless neumes, 33 decorated 3-line initials, 1 decorated 6-line initial with leafy infill in red and mauve with green contour, 1 2-line historiated initial with face infill.
Context: From a grand MS that once contained about 150-200 ff., sewn in quires of eight, of which 46 leaves and 1 flyleaf survive.
Provenance: 1. Antique shop, Linz, Austria; 2. Dr. Fritz Zeileis, Linz, Austria (-1992); 3. Jörn Günther, Hamburg.
Commentary: Diastematic (heightened) neumes, is a first step further from the primitive linear notation. It gives an indication of the relative height among the neumes, but not the exact pitch, as a staff or clef will do.
Exhibited: Oslo Katedralskole 850 år, Jubileumsutstilling 10. - 14. March 2003.
TONARY
MS in Latin on vellum, Germany, ca. 1150, 1 f., 21x16 cm, 2 columns, (19x12 cm remaining), 14 lines remaining in Romanesque book script of medium quality, 11 lines of St. Gallen diastematic (heightened) staffless neumes with C and F clefs indicated for each line, red initials.
Provenance: 1. J. Voerster Collection, Stuttgart (-1993); 2. Bernard Quaritch Ltd., London.
Commentary: The tonary sets the musical modes for the Psalms, Benedictus, Magnificat, and Nunc dimittis.
SERVICE FOR THE DEDICATION OF A CHURCH, INCLUDING LARGELY THE HYMN, AD TEMPLI HUIUS LUMINA DEDICATA
MS in Latin on vellum, Italy, ca. 1000, 1 partial f., 24x15 cm, single column, (21x11 cm remaining), 11 lines remaining in Carolingian minuscule, 12 lines of Toscana diastematic (heightened) staffless neumes with the C clef indicated for each line, initial A in red filled with yellow and green wash, smaller red initials, some uncial, filled with yellow.
Provenance: 1. J. Voerster Collection, Stuttgart (-1993); 2. Bernard Quaritch Ltd., London.
Commentary: A very early example of the use and indication of the clef. "Clefs were first systematically used in functional liturgical MSS of the 11th century" (David Hiley in Grove's Dictionary, 1980, vol. 4, p. 473). Concerning the hymn, cf. U. Chevalier: Repertorium Hymnologium, no 295, where the piece is said to date from the 10th c. Toscana neumes are heavily influenced from Beneventan neumes. The main differences are in the epiphonus and the cephalicus.
MISSAL: THE MASSES FOR ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST AND HOLY INNOCENTS
MS in Latin on vellum, Bologna, Italy, 11th c., 1 f., 31x21 cm, 2 columns, (27x19 cm), 34 lines in an archaistic Carolingian minuscule of 2 sizes, headings in red, Bologna diastematic ( heightened) staffless neumes, 9 initials in red or marked with red, of these 2 5/6-line initials "I", a Maltese type cross.
Provenance: 1. Bernard Rosenthal Collection, San Francisco, I/196 (1966-1987); 2. Quaritch Cat. 1088(1988):39.
Commentary: Location and dating is difficult. Marvin Colker suggests France; John A. Emerson suggests Beauvais, Senlis or Soissons, both 12th c. Bologna region 11th c. is suggested by K.D. Hartzell, cf. Vat. lat. 4770 or Angelica 123 for similar notation. Bologna notation and North Spain notation have many neumes in common, present here, while the pes, clivis and torculus present here are distinctively North Spain notation.
See also MS 063, Missal, Italy, late 11th c.
ANTIPHONAL: FEAST OF ST. GREGORY AND VIGIL OF ST. BENEDICT
MS in Latin on vellum, Montecassino, Italy, 2nd half of 12th c., 1 partial f. (ca. 1/2 f.), 13x21 cm, single column, (13x15 cm remaining, column width 15 cm), 6 lines remaining in a very fine Beneventan minuscule of the Montecassino type, 6 lines of Beneventan neumes on a single line red F-staff, 6 initials in red, 3-line initial in leafy design in black infilled with yellow-brown, 5-line initial B in very fine interlaced design of multiple spirals with entwined leaves and plants drawn in pale and dark brown and infilled in yellow-brown.
Provenance: 1. Benedictine Abbey of Monte Cassino (ca. 1150-); 2. Sotheby's 22.6.1993:14.
Commentary: The Vigil is of St. Benedict himself, the founder of Montecassino in 530. Though on a much smaller scale, the interlaced initial is of very high quality and can be compared with those in the Montecassino Breviary dated 1153, now J.P. Getty Museum MS. Ludwig IX.1. (Virginia Brown: A second new list of Beneventan manuscripts (III) p. 317; in Medieval studies, vol. 56 (1994).) A decisive advance in the development of notation was made when the scribe drew a horizontal red line to represent the pitch F, and grouped the neumes about the line. In time a second line, usually yellow, was drawn for C'. This invention of the staff made it possible to note precisely the relative pitch of the notes of a melody, and freed music form its hitherto exclusive dependence on oral tradition. It was one of the most important events in the history of music. (D.J. Grout: A History of Western music. London 1962, pp. 55-56.)
See also MS 055, Missal, Italy, early 12th c.
MISSAL OR GRADUAL: TEMPORAL, MASS FOR 1ST SUNDAY IN ADVENT
MS in Latin on vellum, North Spain, 2nd half of 11th c., 1 partial f., 8x13 cm, part of 1 column, (8x13 cm remaining), 3 lines in Carolingian minuscule, 4 lines of Catalan neumes on a single-line red F staff, a large, 7x7 cm, initial A in blue and red with red flourishing.
Context: Inserted in the Le Moine palaeography handbook, MS 1275/01.
Provenance: 1. Cathedral of Toul, Lorraine (2nd half 11th c.-1761); 2. Pierre-Camille Le Moine, archivist and secretary of the cathedral of Toul (1761-1789); 3. M. le baron de Tremont, no. 1253; 4. M. Marchant, Saint-Mihiel; 5. François-Jean Baptiste Noël, Nancy, no 6205 (-1856); 6. Bruce Ferrini, Akron, Ohio.
BREVIARY: LESSONS FROM SERMONS AND SCRIPTURE, VERSICLES, RESPONSES AND AN ANTIPHON FOR THE FEAST OF ST. PETER AND PAUL (29 JUNE)
MS in Latin on vellum, France(?), mid 12th c., 1 f., 33x30 cm, 2 columns, (29 remaining x23 cm), 36 lines remaining in Romanesque book script of medium quality, Cistercian neumes on a 4-line staff, red F-line and occasional green line, 4 5-line penwork initials of ornamental leafy designs in red, green, blue, and yellow.
Provenance: 1. Bernard Rosenthal Collection, San Francisco, I/4(?) (until 1987); 2. Quaritch cat. 1147(1991):46.
GRADUAL: SERVICE FOR GREGORY (12 MARCH), BENEDICTI ABBATIS (21 MARCH), ANNUNCIATION OF THE VIRGIN (25 MARCH) AND HOLY CROSS (3 MAY)
MS in Latin on vellum, St. Denis/St. Evrault region, Northern France, 12th c., 2 ff., 28x20 cm, single column, (25x15 cm), 10 lines in a formal Romanesque book script, Cistercian neumes on a 4-line staff, (yellow, green, red, green) with C- and F-clefs indicted,, 15 initials in red, blue or green, 2 large decorated initials in red.
Provenance: 1. Bernard Rosenthal, San Francisco.
MISSAL: MASS FOR THE EASTER VIGIL
MS in Latin on vellum, England, late 12th c., 2 ff., 28x21 cm, 2 columns, (23x15 cm), 25-26 lines in Romanesque book script of good quality, English neumes on a 4-line red staff with C clef, 2-to-5-line initials in red or green.
Provenance: 1. James Thomlinson; 2. English college or cathedral library (until ca. 1920-30); 3. Anthony Birdsall, Birdsall and Son, Northampton ( from ca. 1920-30); 4. Bernard Quaritch Ltd., London.
Commentary: 16th-17th c. pen-trials, and a note "After many combates the minde waxeth fainte and dull".
7.16. Metz-German Gothic notation
MISSAL: SERVICE FOR THE DEDICATION OF A CHURCH
MS in Latin on vellum, Germany, mid 14th c., 1 f., 37x26 cm, 2 columns, (28x19 cm), 33 lines in a formal Gothic book script of high grade, Metz-German Gothic notation on a 4-line staff with C clef, 1- to 6-line initials in red or blue, 2 3- to 4-line initials in burnished gold.
Provenance: 1. J. Voerster Collection, Stuttgart (-1993); 2. Bernard Quaritch Ltd., London.
MISSAL: TEMPORAL, FOR WEDNESDAY AFTER PALM SUNDAY TO MAUNDY THURSDAY, AND GOOD FRIDAY
MS in Latin on vellum, Germany, late 14th c., 2 ff., 25x25 cm, 2 columns, (25x18 cm remaining), 31 lines remaining in a formal Gothic book script of medium grade, Metz- German Gothic notation on a red 4-line staff with C and F clef, headings in red, a 3-line and a 6-line initial in green, 1-line initials in red and green.
Provenance: 1. Theodor Ackermann, München (1984); 2. Bernard Rosenthal, San Francisco.
7.17. Hufnagel notation (German Gothic notation)
ANTIPHONAL: 3 SETTINGS OF THE INVITATORY PSALM, VENITE EXULTEMUS
MS in Latin on vellum, Germany, 14th c., 1 f., 33x24 cm, single column, (29x18 cm), 14 lines in a formal Gothic book script of medium quality, 14 lines of Hufnagel notation on a 4-line staff, C- and F-clefs indicated, rubrics in red, 2 2-line initials in blue or red.
Provenance: 1. Dr. Fritz Zeileis, Linz, Austria (-1992); 2. Jörn Günther, Hamburg.
ANTIPHONAL USE OF LIèGE: OFFICES FOR ST. GERVACIUS, ST. GANGULFO, ST. PETRONILLA, THE HOLY CROSS AND ST. VALERIANUS
MS in Latin on vellum, Liège, Belgium, 15th c., 2 ff., 35x23 cm, single column, (32x18 cm), 12+12 lines in Gothic book script of high grade and medium quality, music in Hufnagel notation on a red 5-line staff, C- and F-clefs indicated, 8 painted initials, 2 initials with penwork.
Provenance: 1. Erik von Scherling, Leiden, Rotulus 7: 2539, 2551, 2564; 2. Maggs Bros., London.
7.18. "Tête de Marteau" notation
CANTORINUS: READINGS FOR THE OFFICE OF THE DEAD, TAKEN FROM JOB 7, 10, 14, AND 19
MS in Latin on vellum, Norway (or Denmark?), 15th c., 1 f., 21x14 cm, single column, (19x14 cm), 8 lines in Norwegian cursive book script, + 8 lines of "Tête de marteau" notation on a 4-line staff, of a Scandinavian type, with C-clef indicated.
Provenance: 1. Sotheby's 19.6.1990:3.
Commentary: The Cantorinus is a very rare liturgical book. It was formed in the 14th or 15th c. after the Tonary. It is the booklet containing the musical (not liturgical) classifications of the Gregorian antiphons and responsories with addition of the soloists' songs. In "Tête de Marteau" notation the notes are shaped like hammer heads.
See also MS 222, Missal, France, 1300-1325
PAULUS DIACONUS: HYMN TO ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST
MS in Latin on vellum, France, ca. 1400, 1 partial f., 13x10 cm, 1 of 2 columns, (13x10 cm remaining, column width 10 cm), 5 lines in a formal Gothic book script of medium grade, 4 lines of square notation on a 4-line red staff with C clef, headings in red, single red vertical red bounding lines, 1 red initial, a large, 3x3 cm, initial U in gold and blue, patterned in white, purple and black.
Context: Inserted in the Le Moine palaeography handbook, MS 1275/01.
Provenance: 1. Cathedral of Toul, Lorraine (ca. 1400-1761); 2. Pierre-Camille Le Moine, archivist and secretary of the cathedral of Toul (1761-1789); 3. M. le baron de Tremont, no. 1253; 4. M. Marchant, Saint-Mihiel; 5. François-Jean Baptiste Noël, Nancy, no 6205 (-1856); 6. Bruce Ferrini, Akron, Ohio.
Commentary: The text of the famous hymn to St. John the Baptist is attested from about 800. In the 11th c. Guido of Arezzo named the notes of the musical scale after the opening syllables of each line: Ut - Re(sonare) - Mi(ra) - Fa(muli) - Sol(ue) -La(bii). The syllables were by chance distinctive, and operated by reference to a textual order. In addition the first 6 lines of the hymn's melody began successively on the degrees of the scale c - a. The present MS has the same text, but a different musical setting.
- CONSTITUTIONES MONALIUM SANCTE MARIE MAGDALENE DE SENIS ORDINIS EREMITARUM SANCTE AUGUSTINI (THE RULE OF THE NUNS)
- CEREMONIAL WITH DIRECTIONS HOW THE LITURGY IS TO BE CONDUCTED AND SUNG, DEMONSTRATED WITH SEttingS OF MUSIC, ANTIPHON SINGING AND WESTMENTS, TONES AND CHANTS
- MUSICAL SEttINGs DEMONSTRATING THE TONES AND OTHER CHANTS FOR THE DIVINE OFFICE
- CONSTITUTIONES MONALIUM SANCTE MARIE MAGDALENE DE SENIS (THE RULE OF THE NUNS)
MS in Latin and Italian (text 4) on vellum, Siena, Italy, mid 15th c., 68 ff. (complete), 23x16 cm, single column (17x12 cm), 24-34 lines in a rounded semi humanistic book script, text 4 in a fine sloping calligraphic italic 16th c. book script, written by order of Girolamo of Napoli, Augustinian Provincial General, 21 ff. of square notation on a 3- and 4-line red staff, with C- and F-clefs indicated.
Binding: Siena, Italy, mid 15th c. blindstamped calf over wooden boards, sewn of 3 cords, lower cover inset with contemporary Siennese painting of St. Maria Magdalene holding her jar of ointments, finely painted in colours and gold within pink border (once covered with horn), in the style of Guidoccio Cozzarelli (1450-1495) or by Andrea di Niccolo or his school. 5 brass bosses.
Provenance:1. Augustinian Hermetical Convent of Santa Maria Maddalena, Siena (ca. 1450-1782 or later); 2. Richard Bladsworth Angus (emigrated to Canada in 1857); 3. Sotheby's 26.11.1985:99; 4. H.P. Kraus, New York.
Commentary: Contemporary accounts of how to perform medieval music are rare, and important for our understanding of how we shall perform it today.
See also MS 198, Antiphonal, Germany, 1430
ANTIPHONAL OR GRADUAL
MS in Czech on paper, Böhmen, Czech Republic, 14th c., 1 f., 30x22 cm, single column, (30x21 cm), 6 lines in a formal Gothic book script of high grade, 7 lines in Praha notation on a 5-line red staff with C clef.
Provenance: 1. Dr. Fritz Zeileis, Linz, Austria (-1992); 2. Jörn Günther, Hamburg.
METRICAL HYMNS
MS in Latin on paper, Czech Republic, 1481-1500, 2 ff., 29x21 cm, single column, (23x13 cm), 27 lines in a cursive Gothic liturgical book script, later Praha notation on a 4-line staff in brown with C and F clefs.
Context: 16 further ff. bound at the end of: Psalter, Magdeburg: Bartholomaeus Ghotan 1481, Proctor 2753, bound in 1481 by Blasius Orger, Praha, with MS 88 as pastedown, Sotheby's N.Y. 12.12.1991:36.
Provenance: 1. Björck & Börjesson, Stockholm, Cat. 520(1987):128; 2. H.P. Kraus, New York.
MISSAL: CALENDAR, TEMPORAL, CANON OF THE MASS, DEDICATION OF A CHURCH, SANCTORAL FROM ST. ANDREW TO ST. KATHERINE OF ALEXANDRIA, THE COMMON OF SAINTS, MASSES FOR THE DEAD, AND OTHER SPECIAL OCCASIONS
MS in Latin on paper, Hungary, 15th c., 212 ff. (-15), 30x21 cm, 2 columns, (23x16 cm), 32 lines in an angular Gothic book script of medium grade and quality, late Esztergom notation on a 4-line staff with C-clef, with surface appearance of some German Hufnagel features, 1-to 3-line initials throughout in red a few in blue, some with penwork or simple pictures, 11 large initials in 2 colours with decorative penwork.
Binding: Hungary, 15th c., thick wooden boards covered with yellow-green reversed leather, sewn on 4 double thongs, metal corner-pieces, catch on upper cover; sewing guards of 15th c. documents, one signed by the notary Johannes Rosencrantz; lining inside spine from a 13th c. liturgical MS, rear pastedown of a 15th c. Kyrie-Gloria in late Esztergom notation on a 4-line red staff with C and F clefs and bar lines with surface appearance of some German Hufnagel features.
Context: Scraps of 15th c. paper used as markers are still left between the pages: one cites Augustine, bishop of Jauriensis (Raab/Györ), 1447-65, another mentioning the parish priest Johannes.
Provenance: 1. Parish church, Hungary (15th c.); 2. Bibliothek Juliusburg, Hungary(?); 3. Sotheby's 6.12.1993:64. Commentary: Hungarian medieval MSS are rare, even in public collections.
MISSAL: SANCTORAL, SERVICES FOR POPE STEPHEN, INVENTION OF STEPHEN PROTOMARTYR, AND FOR NICHODEMUS AND GAMALIEL, SIXTUS, DONATUS AND COMPANIONS
MS in Latin on vellum, Wroclaw, Silesia, Poland, mid 15th c., 1 f., 32x21 cm, 2 columns, (31x18 cm, originally 31x21 cm), 32 lines in Gothic liturgical book script, Wroclaw notation on a single red F staff, 15 1-to 2-line initials in alternating red and blue with flourishes.
Provenance: 1. Synodus Wratislavensis, Silesia, Poland (16th c.); 2. Bernard Rosenthal Collection, San Francisco, I/282 (until 1989); 3. Quaritch Cat. 1147(1991):68.
TWO-PART SETTING OF 152 PSALMS IN MENSURAL NOTATION, TENOR AND BASS PARTS
MS in French on paper, France, ca. 1700, 154 ff. (-1) (text complete), 14x31 cm, single column, (11x28 cm), 1-2 lines in cursive script, 2-3 staves with 5 lines each in mensural notation, tenor parts with coloured note-heads and polychrome decorated line-fillers on the left pages, bass parts with white-head notation on the right pages.
Binding: France, ca. 1700, sheepskin with blind-ruled borders, sewn on 3 cords. Provenance: 1. Sotheby's 4.12.2007:109.
Commentary: Mensural notation, mainly used ca. 1250-1700, was the first system in European music that systematically used individual note shapes to denote duration. The note-heads were diamond- or rhombic-shaped rather than oval. They had their stems perched directly on top or from bottom, rather than to one side. Black mensural notation with note-heads filled in solid black was used up to about mid-15th c.; white mensural notation with void note-heads was used after that time. The present MS seems to be in white (void) mensural notation; the coloured note-heads for the tenor parts seem to be for decoration and easier reading purposes mainly. Usually red- or blue-coloured note-heads were understood to have 2/3 of their normal duration. The present note-heads in black, grey, blue, red, yellow and green, and some times in 2 colours, varying from Psalm to Psalm, is highly unusual.
See also MS 5406 Germany, ca. 1550
See also "MS 5105 Babylonia, 2000-1700 BC
TABLATURE NOTATION FOR 4-STRINGED KLUCHIR SOPRANO LUTE AS ACCOMPANIMENT TO ORAL STORYTELLING MS in Mongolian on paper, Mongolia or Tibet, ca. 19th c., 2 ff., 5x14 cm, single column, (4x13 cm), 3+3 lines in Tibetan dbu med script, 3 lines and 17+22 vertical lines in tablature notation for 4-stringed Kluchir soprano lute and for another string instrument.
OCTOECHOS: THEOTOKIA, HEIRMOI, PRAYER SERVICE, TRIOD, AND MENAION, AND VARIOUS PRAYERS INCLUDING THE MAGNIFICAT OF ST. ALEXEI AND PENITENTIAL STICHERA
MS in Russian Church Slavonic on paper, Russia, early 17th c., 169 ff. (complete), 15x9 cm, single column, (10x5 cm), 13 lines in Cyrillic half-uncial, staffless diastematic (heightened) Old Russian neumes, with occasional pomety in red, headings in red, first few words in gold, 4-line initial in floral design, illuminated opening page with headpiece in Neo-Byzantine style, containing lush foliage with decoration extending along the lower and outer margins all highlighted with gold, a full-page miniature of the Crucifixion in muted colours, haloes in gold, in very fine iconographic style, border in gold with a scrolling pattern.
Binding: Russia, 17th c., blindstamped calf over wooden boards, sewn on 3 cords, gauffered edges.
Provenance: 1. The Paul M. Fekula Collection, New York, MS 603 and F-XIV (until 1990); 2. Sotheby's 29.11.1990:75; 3. Sam Fogg Rare Books Ltd., London.
Commentary: The present MS exemplifies the archaic style of singing, known as khomoniya or razdel'norechie, retaining the reduced vowels of Church Slavonic. This style of singing was shortly to be abolished in the Orthodox Church in the latter part of the 17th c., but is retained by some Old Believer communities to this day. The pomety is marks indicating the pitch.
STICHERARION: THE FESTAL HYMNS OF THE BIRTH OF THE MOTHER OF GOD, THE ELEVATION OF THE HOLY CROSS, THE PRESENTATION OF THE MOTHER OF GOD TO THE TEMPLE, THE ROYAL HOURS ON CHRISTMAS EVE, AND THE OFFICE OF THE NATIVITY, EPIPHANY, THE PRESENTATION OF CHRIST IN THE TEMPLE, ANNUNCIATION, PALM SUNDAY, THE ASCENSION OF CHRIST, PENTECOST, THE TRANSFIGURATION, AND THE DORMITION OF THE MOTHER OF GOD
MS in Russian Church Slavonic on paper, Russia, mid 17th c., 141 ff. (complete), 20x15 cm, single column, (14x10 cm), 16-18 lines in Cyrillic half-uncial, staffless diastematic (heightened) Old Russian neumes with pomety in red, headings, initials and marginal flourish at opening of text in red, a full-page illuminated miniature of the Annunciation pasted onto f.1, with the Virgin enthroned in a Byzantine room with Gabriel appearing from the left, painted in soft browns, greens, red, blue, highlighted with gold.
Binding: Russia, 17th c., blindstamped calf gilt over wooden boards in Western European style, sewn on 3 cords.
Provenance: 1. Ignaty, son of the priest Nikita, Village of Veden'ya; 2. The Paul M. Fekula Collection, New York, MS 626, and F-XVII (until 1990); 3. Sotheby's 29.11.1990:78; 4. Sam Fogg Rare Books Ltd., London.
Commentary: The present MS exemplifies the archaic style of singing, known as khomoniya or razdel'norechie, retaining the reduced vowels of Church Slavonic. This style of singing was shortly to be abolished in the Orthodox Church in the latter part of the 17th c., but is retained by some Old Believer communities to this day. The pomety (marks indicating pitch) corresponds to the normal pronunciation of Church Slavonic, instead of the archaic singing tradition.
7.26. Osmanic letter music notation (abced — notasi)
AL-URMAWI: AL-RISALAH AL SHARAFIYYAH FI NISAB AL-TA 'LIFIYYAH; TREATISE ON MUSIC
MS in Arabic, Turkish, French and Greek on paper, Turkey, ca. 1900, 64 ff. (complete), 35x23 cm, single column (23x15 cm), 27 lines in Naskh script, headings in red, extensive commentaries and corrections, 72 tables and diagrams in red, 10 pp. with blank tables, Osmanic letter music notation, or abced-notasi (ABECEDARY notation).
Binding: Turkey, ca. 1900, brown morocco gilt with flap, sewn on 4 cords.
Provenance: 1. Sam Fogg, London.
Commentary: This is an expanded working copy of al-Urmawi's celebrated theoretical treatise on music. The treatise expands on al-Urmawi's first work, the Kitab al-Adwar, written ca. 1242-1258. It represented one of the most successful attempts to systematise Arabic music, influenced by Greek musical theory. Both of al-Urmawi' works quickly became classics, particularly in the Islamic East, being the major sources for the maqams or modes which govern the Arabic music. One of his achievements was a commatic theory and system of notation standardising the intervals between the notes in the various maqams. While in the Arabic world from 18th c. onwards, a scale dividing the octave into 24 quarter-tones was increasingly in use, in the Ottoman Empire and the East, the commatic system was largely retained as in the present MS.
7.27. Vedic numeric hand gesture music notation
UHAGANA; BOOK OF CHANTS OF THE LITURGICAL KAUTHUMA SAMHITA OF THE SAMAVEDA
MS in Sanskrit on paper, India, 1583, 81 ff. (complete), 11x24 cm, single column, (9x20 cm), 7-9 lines in archaic Devanagari book script, 7-9 lines in Vedic numeric hand gesture music notation.
Binding: India, 1583, pothi paper covers with framed title.
Provenance: 1. Sam Fogg, cat. 17(1996):55.
Commentary: The Uhagana is a work in 7 parvans (chapters) containing details of the chants used in sattras (the 10 central days of a long soma sacrifice), in the year long sacrifice, in one day rites, in rites of 2 to 10 days, in expiations prayascittas and rites for special wishes. It is one of the 4 ganas (song-books) of the liturgical Kauthuma Samhita of the Samaveda, providing details of the particular melodies to be employed in the rendition of the samans. Both the Gramageyagana (detailing songs which can be practised in the village) and the Aranyagana (containing esoteric songs meant for study in the forest), belong to the Purvarcika, the first book of the Samaveda. The 2 other ganas, the Uhagana and the Uhyagana are associated with the Uttararcika and were essential for chanters performing Soma sacrifices. In their ritual practice the Uhagana and the Uhyagana follow the Puspasutra. The music notation goes back to the ancient Vedic period. The numbers above the text lines correspond to specific hand gestures from which the correct tone of the chant could be interpreted.
1. KOTO MUSIC, COLLECTION OF 40 KOTO SONGS COMPOSED BY MIJI SHINSHI TO POETRY BY OSAWA YAMATOSHI AND YATSUHASHI KENGYO
2. YAMADA SHOKOKU: THE KOTO INSTRUMENT, BUILDING, TUNING AND THE ART OF PLAYING IT
Blockprint in Japanese on paper, Edo, Japan, 1811, 6 vols. (complete), 27x17 cm, (25x29 cm woodblock size), vols. 1-5 in 6 columns of Koto music notation, poems at top of the page, up to 26 columns in Shodo (calligraphic cursive script); vol. 6 in 5 and 10 columns in Shodo and 10 columns of 19 Kanji (Chinese characters) each, woodblocks unsigned, but numbered, 21 illustrations of the Koto instrument, its parts and making, 3 red owners’ seals: 2 in seal script and 1 very large (diam. 6 cm) illustrated, seal script.
Binding: Edo, Japan, 1811, blue paper covers, stitched on 4 stations (Xian Zhuang).
Context: This is the 3rd edition of this classical Koto song collection which was first printed in 1779.
Provenance: 1. Private owners, Japan (19th c. - 20th c.); 2. Kimio Koketsu, Ohya-Shobo Ltd, Tokyo. Commentary: The Koto notation is written vertically in columns in a combination of numbers and characters divided by 3 different circles, while the corresponding Guzheng notation in China is notated horizontally with numbers, dots, lines and at times with some graphic notation added. The instrument is about 180 cm long with 13 strings across 13 movable bridges. Tuning is made by moving the bridges before playing, using 3 finger picks on thumb, forefinger and middle finger to pluck the strings. The Koto came to Japan around 700 from China via Korea, largely deriving from the Chinese Guzheng with 21 strings. In Korea there are 5, 10 and 12 string versions. In Japan there is also a 17 string bass Koto. The Koto was initially played only in the Imperial court, this changed primarily because of the influence of the blind Yatsuhashi Kengyo (1614-1684), who invented a new plain tuning (hira joshi) to play the common people’s songs more naturally. He composed songs that are still irreplaceable staples of the Koto repertoire to-day, of which several are included in the present books.
From the introduction: "The Koto music makes men and women excited, and clear the clouds, and make the water run, and make the birds fly, and makes the fish dance –––"
7.29. Chinese Gongchi notation
ZHUFO SHIZUN RULAI PUSA ZUNZHE SHENSENG MING JING
Blockprint in Chinese on paper, China, 1417, 446 pp. (complete), stitched format (jingzhe zhuang), 52x27 cm, 16 columns, (29x18 cm), 30 characters in Chinese book script, Gongchi notation of music, decorated title page, 3 full-page illustrations, the frontispiece depicts Buddha preaching to Bodhisattvas, arhats and guardian deities, 2 prominent disciples, Ananda and Kasyapa flanking him, following the frontispiece is a stele containing a praise of Buddha.
Binding: China, 1417, stitched on 3 thick paper thongs through 3 double stations. Context: MS 2596 is the same sutra.
Provenance: 1. Ekky Chung collection, Indonesia/Beverly Hills, California (-1997); 2. Sam Fogg, London.
Commentary: This sutra contains the names of various Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Arhats and famous patriarchs. It is believed that by chanting their names, the devotees will be blessed by those deities. The devotees should also recite the text while practising meditation, because it would help them to speculate about the images behind those names.
At the end is a very detailed portrait of the guardian deity Weituotian. According to the quality of the illustrations and carving of the text, it has probably been commissioned by the emperor or one of the royals.
1. LING MENGCHU: A PRAISE TO VIMALAKIRTI
2. WEIMOJIE SUOSHUO JING; VIMALAKIRTI-NIRDESA-SUTRA. TRANSLATED BY KUMARAJIVA
Blockprint and MS (5 pp.) in Chinese on paper, China, 17th c., 4 vols. (complete), 27x17 cm, up to 17 columns, (19x14 cm), 18+3 characters in Chinese book script, additions in red on top of every page, Gongchi notation of music in red; MS: 10 columns, (26x12 cm), 26 characters in Chinese script; 1 full-page frontispiece depicting an arhat, probably Bodhidharma a famous Chan master from India, with curly hair seated next to his bag under a pine tree, painted by Wang Wenhen.
Binding: China, 18th c., stitched on 4 stations (xiang zhuang), dark blue paper covers.
Context: Another translation of the same sutra is MS 2488/3. MS 2597/5 is a fragment from the same sutra in the same translation.
Provenance: 1. Ekky Chung collection, Indonesia/Beverly Hills, California (-1997); 2. Sam Fogg, London.
Commentary: The sutra is an apocryphal account of conversations between Sakyamuni and some residents of Vaisali, and a debate between Manjusri and Vimalakirti, telling the story of Vimalakirti, a well-known lay Buddhist philosopher, who was unwell one day. Sakyamuni requested one of his disciples to comfort this wise man. Everyone declined because in the past they had all been reproached by him for their faults, and the thought of facing him again filled them with dread. Eventually, this task was bestowed upon Manjusri, who was the most eloquent and erudite Bodhisattva. The contents of these conversations are both philosophical and highly regarded for their literary content. Particularly it creates a rich and enlightened lay Buddhist image that had boosted the popularity of the Mahayana Buddhism among the upper class in China. – Ling Mengchu, a famous novelist from the late Ming Dynasty.
YANG CHANTS WITH TIBETAN YANG-YIG GRAPHIC MUSIC NOTATION
MS in Tibetan on paper, Tibet, 19th c., 22 ff. (complete), 9x22 cm, single column, (7x19 cm), 4 lines in Tibetan dbu can book script, with Tibetan Yang-Yig graphic music notation in red and yellow
Binding: Tibet, 19th c., cream silk covers, sewn on 3 cords, red and black diagram on upper cover.
Provenance: 1. Sam Fogg, London.
Commentary: The MS belongs to the "Yang" tradition, the most highly involved and regarded chant tradition in Tibetan music, and the only one to rely on a system of notation (Yang-Yig). The chant consists of smoothly effected rises and falls in intonation, which are represented by complex curved lines. The notation also frequently contains detailed instructions concerning in what spirit the music should be sung (e.g. flowing like a river, light like bird song) and the smallest modifications to be made to the voice in the utterance of a vowel. On the whole, Yang chants are sung at an extremely low pitch and at a lingering and subtly changing pace, allowing full expression of the chanted text. Such texts as these would have been used as a mnemonic device by the Master of Chant in a monastery in leading the monastery in the performance of a chant.
The type of graphic notation of the melody line goes back to the 6th c. It does not record neither the rhythmic pattern nor duration of the notes.
SYLVANO BUSSOTTI: RARA: ROMAMOR (DESSIN D'ANALYSE), FROM THE RARA REQUIEM FOR SOLOISTS, VOCAL SEXTET, CELLO, GUITAR, WINDS, HARP, PERCUSSION AND PIANO
MS in Italian and French on paper, Italy, 1969, upper 1/3 of 1 f., 12x26 cm, graphic notation of music on 9 staves, with title, autograph, signed Syl B/1969.,
Provenance: 1. Sylvano Bussotti, Italy (1969-); 2. Sotheby's 7.12.2004:38.
Commentary: Sylvano Bussotti (1931–), Italian composer, was early known for the visual aestheticism of his graphic scores which is regarded as art objects in their own right. His concert work The Rara Requiem (1969), was also incorporated as act 4 and 5 of his 5 act opera Lorenzaccio, based on Alfred de Musset's play of the same name written in 1834. His integration of concert, ballet, opera and theatre prompted Bussotti to adopt the designation Bussottioperaballet as a genre description of his entire production. Many compound works were produced in co-operation with Romano Amidei. His initials and name are echoed by the omnipresent rara-based titles of Bussotti's output. (The present information is taken from the article on Bussotti in The New Grove, vol. 4, pp. 678-682.)