Mus. 688

Manuscript. Performing parts for two motets, both with (incorrect) attributions to Giacomo Carissimi. Copyist unidentified, possibly English, c. 1700.

1. 'Ego sum panis vivus'; correctly by Orazio Benevoli.

Six single sheets, all upright format, c. 325 x 210 mm. Unfoliated; the numbering system 'a-f' was introduced in August 1990, and will not be present in microfilms made before that date. Each sheet is pasted to a modern leaf to form a bifolio, and mounted impermanently on a cord. An annotated 18th-century wrapper of thick paper encloses all six leaves (see below). The entire contents are now enclosed within an early 20th-century folder of red fabric over boards, half-bound in red leather. No early bookplate. 19th-century shelfmark: K.2.60.

Provenance uncertain, but most likely from the Aldrich bequest. Formerly two separate items, which matched one another closely in terms of (1) music copyist; (2) original paper wrappers; (3) annotations on the upper wrapper by an unidentifed hand.

Sheets a-d belong with the paper wrapper in Mus. 688, which has been annotated by an unidentified early 18th-century hand: 'Ego sum panis vivus. à 3. 2. C.C. & Bass. di Jacob. Carissimi'. This item was first catalogued by Hind in Archives 1717 at position G34: 'Ego Sum Panis vivus. di Jacob Carissimi'; the shelfmark 'G.34' is written on the upper paper wrapper.

Sheets e-f properly belong to the matching paper wrapper for 'Non turbatur' that is now bound into Mus. 763 (q.v.); this item can be linked more confidently with the Aldrich bequest. Of the three performing parts that correctly belong to the latter folder, only the Basso remains in place, as Mus. 763, p. 54. The removal to Mus. 688 of the other two sheets (now sheets e-f) must have occurred by the time of Malchair, who has annotated the upper wrapper of Mus. 688 with the words 'Non turbatur trible and Bass'.

Microfilm: manuscript music, reel 49.