Mus. 351-2

Manuscript. Two instrumental partbooks from a set of probably four, containing untitled suites and sonatas, at least some of which began life as incidental music for spoken plays for the London stage in the late 17th century. Two unidentified copyists; English, early 18th century. Mus. 351 is labelled 'Tenor' and contains parts in C2 clef; Mus. 352, labelled 'Basso', contains unfigured basses; the missing parts were probably two trebles. In the inventory below, items 1-5 were copied by the first unidentified scribe, items 6-12 by the second unidentified scribe.

Mus. 351-2 has been conjecturally linked with Thomas Britton (1644-1714), the small-coal dealer of Clerkenwell, but as yet without proof to support that hypothesis. The set may contain repertory performed at his music-meetings; or it might have been copied by him; or it could derive from his music library, which was auctioned after his death. For further information, see the various sheets of notes largely by Peter Holman that are now loose within Mus. 351-2 (and from which some information in the inventory below is derived).

Table of titles and composers in modern form. Display form found in manuscript.
The first column gives the modern numbering of the pieces; the second shows numbering used by the copyist(s).

Oblong format, 275 x 140 mm. Each partbook contains 56 folios, with the following collation: A6, B6, C6, D2 (all used by the first copyist); E6, F6, G6, H6, I6, J6 (all used by the second copyist). Paginated in ink by the copyists, commencing on the verso of the first folio (i.e. f. [1r] of each partbook is unpaginated; f. [1v] is page '1'; thereafter, rectos bear even numbers and versos odd numbers). In Mus. 532, the bifolio comprising sig. D2 has been folded inside out, with the result that the pages are bound in the following order: pp. 38-9, 36-7. This suggests that copying took place before binding. Pages of unused staves as follows: Mus. 351: pp. [0], 10, 18, 36, 40 and 82; Mus. 352: pp. [0], 10, 18, 36, 40 and 82. 18th-century covers of thick light-blue card; spines of brown leather. The part-names 'Tenor' and 'Basso' are written on p. [0] of each respective partbook, and 'Tenor' is additionally written on the outside upper cover of Mus. 351. Bookplate 3 in both partbooks. 19th-century shelfmarks: I.4.63-4.

Provenance: apparently part of the Christ Church music collections by the 18th-century (on grounds of the bookplate), but not listed in any of the 18th-century music catalogues, and therefore almost certainly not from the Aldrich bequest; more likely from the Goodson bequest, but without markings that would confirm this.

Microfilm: manuscript music, reel 48.