Christ Church Library music catalogue: Mus. 954

Mus. 954

Manuscript. Arias for solo voice and continuo, drawn partly from operas by Antonio Giannettini, Alessandro Scarlatti and Bernardo Pasquini, but also including arias by Severo de Luca and Agostino Calderi; single unidentified Italian copyist, with pagination and index added by a second hand; 1690s or later. The same scribes were also responsible for making Mus. 957, which in many respects is a partner volume. Mus. 954 includes arias drawn from the following operas:

Antonio Giannettini, Irene e Costantino (first performance: Venice, 1681).
Alessandro Scarlatti, L'Aldimiro (first performance: Naples, 6 November 1683).
Alessandro Scarlatti, La Rosmene (first performance: Rome, 1686).
Alessandro Scarlatti,Il Pompeo (first performance: Rome, 23 January 1683).
Alessandro Scarlatti,Dal male il bene (commedia; revision of Tutto il mal non vien per nuocere; first performance of revised version: Naples, 1687).
Alessandro Scarlatti, Gli equivoci in amore (first performance: Rome, 1690).
Bernardo Pasquini, La caduta del regno dell'Amazzoni (first performance:Rome, 1690).

Table of titles and composers in modern form. Display form found in manuscript.

1	Antonio Giannettini	Voglio ostinarmi a vincere (from 'Irene e Costantino')	ff. 1^r-3^r
2	Alessandro Scarlatti	Impiagami, tormentami (from 'L'Aldimiro')	ff. 3^r-5^r
3		Bionda chioma con lucidi anelli	ff. 5^v-7^r
4		Crini vezzosi	ff. 7^v-8^v
5	Alessandro Scarlatti	Già che Amor non fu bastante (from 'La Rosmene')	ff. 9^r-11^r
6	Antonio Giannettini	I turbini dell'alma (from 'Irene e Costantino')	ff. 11^v-12^v
7		Altra che la tua bocca	ff. 13^r-14^v
8		Ch'importa, mio core	ff. 15^r-18^r
9		Va, va, mostro, saziati	ff. 18^v-20^v
10		Acquietatevi, pensieri	ff. 21^r-24^r
11	Bernardo Pasquini	Dite, o Cieli	ff. 25^r-27^r
12		Begl'occhi d'amore	ff. 27^v-28^v
13		Non voglio più scherzar	ff. 29^r-30^v
14		Ride l'alba al Gange in seno	ff. 31^r-32^v
15	Antonio Giannettini	Crudele fortuna (from 'Irene e Costantino')	ff. 33^r-35^v
16		Cosi và, cosi và	ff. 36^r-38^r
17	Alessandro Scarlatti	Un vezzo, un guardo (from 'L'Aldimiro')	ff. 39^r-40^v
18	Alessandro Scarlatti	Foglio lieve (from 'L'Aldimiro')	ff. 41^r-42^v
19	Alessandro Scarlatti	Lusingami speranza (from 'Il Pompeo')	ff. 43^r-44^v
20		A scolpire dell'alma	ff. 45^r-46^v
21	Alessandro Scarlatti	Spirto eccelso, il cui valore (from 'L'Aldimiro')	ff. 47^r-48^r
22	Alessandro Scarlatti	S'ape amante io giungo a suggere (from 'Dal male il bene')	ff. 49^r-50^v
23	Alessandro Scarlatti	Non dar più pene, o caro (from 'Gli equivoci in amore')	ff. 51^r-52^v
24	Bernardo Pasquini	Biondi crini che stringete l'alma mia (from 'La caduta del regno dell'Amazzoni')	ff. 53^r-54^r
25	Severo de Luca	Vieni, o mia cara	ff. 55^r-56^v
26	Alessandro Scarlatti	Amor seconda il bel desir (from 'La Rosmene')	ff. 57^r-58^v
27	Alessandro Scarlatti	Di morir già non paventa (from 'La Rosmene')	ff. 59^r-60^v
28		Bambino spietato	ff. 61^r-64^r
29		Vi sento, soavi contenti	ff. 65^r-68^v
30	Alessandro Scarlatti	Due vaghe pupille (from 'L'Aldimiro')	ff. 69^r-70^v
31	Alessandro Scarlatti	Questa destra (from 'L'Aldimiro')	ff. 71^r-73^r
32		Opri il fato	ff. 73^v-75^v
33		Nò, nò, nò, non amerò	ff. 76^r-77^v
34	Alessandro Scarlatti	Se versasti da tuoi lumi (from 'La Rosmene')	ff. 79^r-80^v
35		S'il mio labro un 'sì' dicesse	ff. 81^r-82^r
36	Alessandro Scarlatti	Chi l'alma m'ha tolta (from 'L'Aldimiro')	ff. 83^r-84^r
37		Bella bocca di cinabro	ff. 84^v-85^v
38		Tu fuggisti, o cara notte	ff. 86^r-88^r
39		Memorie dolenti lasciatemi	ff. 88^v-90^v
40	Alessandro Scarlatti	Tanto basti per farmi morire (from 'L'Aldimiro')	ff. 91^r-92^v
41		Amare, tacere	ff. 93^r-95^r
42		Val più un vezzo	ff. 95^v-97^r
43		Volante arciero che così fiero	ff. 97^v-99^v
44		Occhi belli, rubelli d'amore	ff. 100^r-101^r
45		Che ti giova l'esser bella	ff. 101^r-102^v
46		È dolce, mio core	ff. 103^r-105^r
47		Non paventa dolori o tormenti	ff. 105^v-110^r
48		Non hai più strali	ff. 111^r-112^v
49	Alessandro Scarlatti	Taci, o crudo (from 'Dal male il bene')	ff. 113^r-114^r
50		Begli occhi, perdonatemi	ff. 115^r-117^r
51		Che ne dite, o miei pensieri	ff. 117^v-119^r
52		Crudel, mi vuoi morto	ff. 119^v-120^v
53		Aspre pene, deh cessate	ff. 121^r-125^v
54		La saëtta del nume volante	ff. 126^r-127^v
55		Fiero Amor nell'alma mia	ff. 128^r-129^r
56	Agostino Calderi	Per far certa la vittoria	ff. 131^r-134^r
57	Agostino Calderi	Resisto ma in vano	ff. 135^r-137^r
58		Fra tanti contrasti	ff. 137^v-140^r
59	Agostino Calderi	Chi non sa che sia l'amare	ff. 141^r-143^r
60		Non t'el diss'io	ff. 145^r-151^v

Oblong format, 277 x 110 mm. Physical structure: i + 152 + i leaves, foliated in late 17th-century ink. Collation: largely gatherings of two quired bifolia (A4, B4, etc), interspersed with unquired bifolia. The quires were formerly numbered in ink on the top right-hand corner of their first pages; traces of these numbers are visible throughout the volume. Some of the arias are copied across quires, but elsewhere pages of unused ruled staves occur at the ends of quires, as if marking the ends of layers; the unused pages occur at the following places: ff. 24v, 38v, 64v, 78r-v, 82v, 110v, 114v, 128v-130v, 134v, 140v, 143v-4v and 152r. Small segments of blank stave precede each aria, on which ornamental capitals could have been added. The hand that foliated the volume (and also Mus. 957) also added a contents list on f. 152v and the recto of rear flyleaf [i]. Late 17th-century binding of cream vellum; edges stippled in red and black. (The binding of the partner collection of arias, Mus. 957, is similar but not identical.) Annotation in 18th-century ink on inside upper cover: 'Caldara'. Bookplate 2 on inside upper cover. Annotation apparently by Malchair at the end of item 21 (f. 48v): 'In the 2d V[olume]. p. 93 the same cantata apears - but in the kay of C'; this refers to Mus. 955, item 19.19th-century shelfmark: E.1.19.

Provenance: from the Aldrich bequest, listed in Dowding at shelfmark Q2 as 'Airs in parts / 4 Vols.'; this entry also covers Mus. 939, Mus. 940 and Mus. 955. In Mus. 954 itself, the shelfmark 'Q. 2. Vol. 1' is written on the front flyleaf.

Microfilm: manuscript music, reel 53.

The inventory above incorporates information kindly supplied by Michael Talbot.