MS in Czech on paper, Böhmen, Czech Republic, late 15th c., 1 f., 30x22 cm, single column, (30x21 cm), 6 lines in a formal Gothic book script of high grade, 7 lines in Praha rhomboid notation on a 5-line red staff with C clef.

Provenance: 1. Dr. Fritz Zeileis, Linz, Austria (-1992); 2. Jörn Günther, Hamburg.

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.

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.

MS n 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.

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

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.

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: RRussia, 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. .

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.

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.

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 –––"

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.

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.

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.

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: 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.)