Mus. 279-82

Printed. Four partbooks (Canto, Alto, Tenore, Basso) from an otherwise lost set of six.

Mus. 279-82 Monteverdi, Claudio, 1567-1643 Di Claudio Monteverde maestro della musica del sereniss. S. Duca di Mantoa. Il quinto libro de madrigali a cinque voci. Con il basso continuo per il clavicembano, citharone od altro simile istromento. Antwerp: Appresso Pietro Phalesio, 1615 RISM A/I M3482 Mus. 279: Canto; Mus. 280: Alto; Mus. 281: Tenore; Mus. 282: Basso. Lacks: Quinto; Basso continuo. See other copies of this work.

Provenance: from the Aldrich bequest. The entries for this item and several others that resemble it are in disarray in Archives 1717 and Dowding, on account of the fact that various sets - some of them exact duplicates - fitted the catalogue descriptions of 'Monteverde's 5 parts ... Madrigali. Antw. 1615'; there is evidence of sets having being moved to new shelfmarks in a bid to distinguish them from one another. This set probably occupied shelfmark K5, listed in Archives 1717, item K5, as 'Monteverdes 5 parts', qualified in Dowding (main hand) as 'Antw. 1615', and in Burney (entry on f.2v, adjacent to the item identifiable as K6) as 'Il quinto Libro'.

Oblong format, 217 x 165 mm. Early C17th wrappers of grey paper, now within early C20th bindings of limp vellum with ties. On the original upper wrapper of each partbook, an unidentified English hand, mid C17th, has written the voice-name, followed by 'Monteverde 5. Parts', and a descending spiral flourish; for other sets of partbooks in the collection annotated by the same hand, see Mus. 320-3, which is the only one of those sets not to have been subsequently rebound. Bookplate 2 in Mus. 280 only. C19th shelfmarks: I.3.186-9.

Microfilm: The printed music of Christ Church, Oxford, reel 11.
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For other copies of this edition, see Mus. 283, Mus. 533-7 and Mus. 881-6.