Christ Church Music Catalogue

Home Browse Search Contact ☰

Mus. 955

This is one of the many manuscripts of 17th-century Italian cantatas now in Christ Church Library.

Manuscript. A collection of arias and cantatas in two layers; contents partly drawn from early stage works by Alessandro Scarlatti; three unidentified Italian copyists, 1680s or later.

LAYER 1 (ff. 1-156): 30 short fascicles of arias, abutted and foliated in late 17th-century ink. The leaves of this portion were trimmed before being bound with Layer 2, and some of the ink foliation is now partly excised.

LAYER 2 (ff. 157-end): 10 fascicles of arias and cantatas, abutted and foliated in modern pencil. All have stab marks in the gutter, suggesting that this portion was bound separately before being conjoined with Layer 1.

The majority of the arias are drawn from the following three stage works by Alessandro Scarlatti:

L'Aldimiro (first performance: Naples, 6 November 1683).
Il Pompeo (first performance: Rome, 23 January 1683).
Dal male il bene (commedia; revision of Tutto il mal non vien per nuocere; first performance of revised version: Naples, 1687).

The following copyists are represented in Mus. 955:

'Copyist A': responsible for items 1-29 and 31-7. This hand also copied Mus. 952, most of Mus. 955, and some items in Mus. 948 and Mus. 956. Distinctive features of this hand include (a) a central loop in the brace connecting the staves, (b) idiosyncratic sharps with a loop on the left, and (c) distinctive looped directs at the ends of staves.
Item 30: second hand.
Items 38-40: third hand.

Table of titles and composers as shown in the manuscript. Display in modern form.

1	[Alessandro Scarlatti]	Io non sò se potrai fingere [from 'L'Aldimiro']	ff. 1^r-8^v
2	[Alessandro Scarlatti]	Impiagami tormentami [from 'L'Aldimiro']	ff. 9^r-16^r
3	[Alessandro Scarlatti]	Voglio amar chi mi disprezzai [from 'L'Aldimiro']	ff. 17^r-22^r
4	[Alessandro Scarlatti]	Due vaghe pupille [from 'L'Aldimiro']	ff. 23^r-25^v
5	[Alessandro Scarlatti]	Amor vuole cosi [from 'L'Aldimiro']	ff. 27^r-32^v
6	[Alessandro Scarlatti]	Forti Heroi la cui fè sol potea [from 'L'Aldimiro']	ff. 33^r-38^v
7	[Alessandro Scarlatti]	Fu guerriero [from 'L'Aldimiro']	ff. 39^r-42^r
8	[Alessandro Scarlatti]	È fanciullo il Dio [from 'L'Aldimiro']	ff. 43^r-45^v
9	[Alessandro Scarlatti]	Del tuo cor tempri [from 'L'Aldimiro']	ff. 47^r-49^v
10	[Alessandro Scarlatti]	È vanto Crudele [from 'L'Aldimiro']	ff. 51^r-53^v
11	[Alessandro Scarlatti]	Un Alma ch'amando [from 'L'Aldimiro']	ff. 55^r-62^r
12	[Alessandro Scarlatti]	Spade ultrici [from 'L'Aldimiro']	ff. 63^r-66^r
13	[Alessandro Scarlatti]	Questa destra [from 'L'Aldimiro']	ff. 67^r-70^r
14	[Alessandro Scarlatti]	Sentirsi lodare [from 'L'Aldimiro']	ff. 71^r-73^r
15	[Alessandro Scarlatti]	Piante voi che dalaure [from 'L'Aldimiro']	ff. 75^r-78^r
16	[Alessandro Scarlatti]	Chi l'alma m'hà tolta [from 'L'Aldimiro']	ff. 79^r-82^v
17	[Alessandro Scarlatti]	Se tù credi che veraci [from 'L'Aldimiro']	ff. 83^r-88^r
18	[Alessandro Scarlatti]	Tanto basti per farmi morire [from 'L'Aldimiro']	ff. 89^r-91^v
19	[Alessandro Scarlatti]	Spirto eccelso il cui valore [from 'L'Aldimiro']	ff. 93^r-98^r
20	[Alessandro Scarlatti]	Se di Tisbe havrò la sorte [from 'L'Aldimiro']	ff. 99^r-101^v
21	[Alessandro Scarlatti]	Tormentosa Gelosia [from 'Il Pompeo']	ff. 103^r-105^v
22	[Alessandro Scarlatti]	Se pena s'inventa che avanzi [from 'L'Aldimiro']	ff. 107^r-112^r
23	[Alessandro Scarlatti]	Lusingami speranza [from 'Il Pompeo']	ff. 113^r-118^r
24	[Alessandro Scarlatti]	Se il Ciel vi concedesse [from 'L'Aldimiro']	ff. 119^r-121^v
25	[Alessandro Scarlatti]	Chi t'intende ò nume alato [from 'L'Aldimiro']	ff. 123^r-130^r
26	[Alessandro Scarlatti]	Un vezzo un guardo [from 'L'Aldimiro']	ff. 131^r-135^v
27	[Alessandro Scarlatti]	Foglio lieve [from 'L'Aldimiro']	ff. 137^r-142^r
28	[Alessandro Scarlatti]	Trà le straggi [from 'L'Aldimiro']	ff. 143^r-146^r
29	[Alessandro Scarlatti]	Fantasmi horribili [from 'L'Aldimiro']	ff. 147^r-152^r
30		Chi d'Amor hà in sen la face	ff. 153^r-156^r
31		Amare tacere	ff. 157^r-160^r
32		Ci vuol pacienza	ff. 161^r-174^v
33		La Caggion di mie sventure	ff. 175^r-184^r
34		O che strana armonia d'amore	ff. 185^r-194^v
35		Presso un Rio che trasparente	ff. 195^r-208^r
36		Fatiga il pensiero	ff. 209^r-211^v
37		Labbretti sdegnosi	ff. 213^r-218^r
38	[Alessandro Scarlatti]	La gioia verace [from 'Dal male il bene']	ff. 219^r-223^r
39	[Alessandro Scarlatti]	Apri le luci amanti [from 'Dal male il bene']	ff. 225^r-230^r
40	[Alessandro Scarlatti]	Tu ferito da miei sguardi [from 'Dal male il bene']	ff. 231^r-236^r

Oblong format, 275 x 105 mm. Physical structure: i + 236 + i leaves. The first layer of the textblock is foliated '1-156' in late 17th-century ink; the remaining leaves are foliated '157-236' in modern pencil. The volume has been assembled from the following discrete fascicles, each of which contains a single musical work. (Collations have not been ascertained because of the tightness of the binding.)

LAYER 1 (ff. 1-156):

Item 1 (ff. 1-8).
Item 2 (ff. 9-16); unused staves on f. 16v.
Item 3 (ff. 17-22); unused staves on f. 22v.
Item 4 (ff. 23-6); unused staves on ff. 26r-v.
Item 5 (ff. 27-32).
Item 6 (ff. 33-8).
Item 7 (ff. 39-42); unused staves on f. 42v.
Item 8 (ff. 43-6); unused staves on ff. 46r-v.
Item 9 (ff. 47-50); unused staves on ff. 50r-v.
Item 10 (ff. 51-4); unused staves on ff. 54r-v.
Item 11 (ff. 55-62); unused staves on f. 62v.
Item 12 (ff. 63-6); unused staves on f. 66v.
Item 13 (ff. 67-70); unused staves on f. 70v.
Item 14 (ff. 71-4); unused staves on ff. 74r-v.
Item 15 (ff. 75-8); unused staves on f. 78v.
Item 16 (ff. 79-82).
Item 17 (ff. 83-8); unused staves on f. 88v.
Item 18 (ff. 89-92); unused staves on ff. 92r-v.
Item 19 (ff. 93-8); unused staves on f. 98v.
Item 20 (ff. 99-102); unused staves on ff. 102r-v.
Item 21 (ff. 103-6); unused staves on ff. 106r-v.
Item 22 (ff. 107-12); unused staves on f. 112v.
Item 23 (ff. 113-18); unused staves on f. 118v.
Item 24 (ff. 119-22); unused staves on ff. 122r-v.
Item 25 (ff. 123-30); unused staves on f. 130v.
Item 26 (ff. 131-6); unused staves on ff. 136r-v.
Item 27 (ff. 137-42); unused staves on f. 142v.
Item 28 (ff. 143-6); unused staves on f. 146v.
Item 29 (ff. 147-52); unused staves on f. 152v.
Item 30 (ff. 153-6); unused staves on f. 156v.

LAYER 2 (ff. 157-236):

Item 31 (ff. 157-60); unused staves on f. 160v.
Item 32 (ff. 161-74).
Item 33 (ff. 175-84); unused staves on f. 184v.
Item 34 (ff. 185-94).
Item 35 (ff. 195-208); unused staves on f. 208v.
Item 36 (ff. 209-12); unused staves on ff. 212r-v.
Item 37 (ff. 213-18); unused staves on f. 218v.
Item 38 (ff. 219-24); unused staves on ff. 223v-4v.
Item 39 (ff. 225-230); unused staves on f. 230v.
Item 40 (ff. 231-236); unused staves on f. 236v.

Items 31-7 open with strapwork initial letters added by the copyist; the remaining items open with space reserved for ornamental capital latters that were never inserted. Late 17th-century binding of limp vellum; stubs of leather ties at the upper, lower and fore edges of both the upper and lower covers. The style of binding resembles that of Mus. 957. Bookplate 2 on the inside upper cover. The name 'Caldara' is written in ink on the inside upper cover.19th-century shelfmark: E.1.20.

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. 954. In Mus. 955 itself, the shelfmark 'Q. 2. Vol. 2' is written on the front flyleaf.

Microfilm: manuscript music, reel 53.

The inventory above incorporates information kindly supplied by Michael Talbot.