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Mus. 1140

Manuscript. A miscellany of instrumental movements (including sketches and drafts) copied either in parts or in score; English, probably early 18th century. The majority of the sheets transmit movements or sets of movements in three-part texture (two trebles and bass); sheet 4 includes music in four-part texture. These works probably formed part of the repertory of the Oxford city/university waits or 'musick'. The copyists/composers, who have not been identified, are here designated as Copyists 'Z', 'Y' and 'X'; they were also responsible for other autograph scores and/or sets of performing parts within the Christ Church collection. For further details, see the entry for Mus. 34-6.

Mus. 1140 comprises 14 separate sheets, bound in largely random order within an early 20th-century guardbook of stiff card and vellum (upright format, 690 x 485 mm). The sheets are numbered in modern pencil.

In the descriptions of contents below, sets in the same key are distinguished from one another by means of roman numerals (I, II, etc), using and extending the numbering sequence of Mus. 34-6. Within each set, the number of movements is shown in round brackets: '(1-5)', etc.

  • Sheets 1-3 and 12-14: upright format, 475 x 290 mm. Set of three performers' parts for an unidentified 'Chacone' in C major for three instruments, copied by Copyist X. The pages are to be read in the following order: [first treble:] sheets 12r, 1r; [second treble:] sheets 14r, 2r; [unfigured bass:] sheets 13r, 3r. All six sheets are blank on their versos; sheet 1v is annotated 'Chacone' in the hand of Richard Goodson Jr.
  • Sheet 4: oblong format, 387 x 185 mm. Movements 3 and 4 of the set in g minor a4/II, copied in score by Copyist Y. Performing parts for this work, also copied by Y, are in Mus. 1217(A-D)/2.
  • Sheets 5-10: oblong format, 445 x 345 mm. Set of three instrumental partbooks (sheets 5-6: 'First Treble'; sheets 7-8: 'Second Treble'; sheets 9-10: 'Base') containing either extracts from or complete single-key sets, copied by Copyist Z. Items 2-5 in the inventory below were also copied into Mus. 34-6 (q.v. for a complete listing of the sets composed/copied by Copyist Z, together with their manuscript sources).
Table of titles and composers in modern form. Display form found in manuscript.
1 Set in e minor/I (1-5) f. 5r f. 7r f. 9r
2 Set in D major/III (3 only), here labelled 'a' f. 5v f. 7v f. 9v
3 Set in D major/IV (4 only), here labelled 'b' f. 5v f. 7v f. 9v
4 Set in D major/V (2-3 only), here labelled 'c/d' f. 5v f. 7v f. 9v
5 Set in D major/VI (1-2 only), here labelled 'e/f' ff. 5v-6r ff. 7v-8r ff. 9v-10r
6 Movement in D major, here labelled 'g' f. 6r f. 8r f. 10r
7 Set in A major/VIII (1-3), here labelled 'h/i/k' ff. 6r-v ff. 8r-v ff. 10r-v
8 Set in e minor/II (1-4), here labelled 'l/m/n/p' f. 6v f. 8v f. 10v

  • Sheet 11: upright format, 690 x 445 mm. Recto: three movements in e minor, copied in score by Copyist Z. The first of these movements, which has not been traced elsewhere, may be a rejected opening movement for the set in e minor/1; it is followed by movements 2 and 3 of the set in e minor/1, performing parts for which are copied into the partbooks bound as sheets 5-10 above. Verso: set in g minor/IV (1-4), copied in score by Copyist Z; this is the only known source for this set.
  • Sheets 12-14: see sheets 1-3 above.
Provenance: probably from the Goodson bequest, together with all other manuscripts related to Mus. 34-6 (q.v.). Formerly Mus. 1046 (see the printed label pasted to the verso of sheet 14).

Microfilm: manuscript music, reel 37.