Early Music History, Vol. 15 (1996)

EARLY
MUSIC
HISTORY
Studies in
medieval and
earlv modern
music
Edited by iain Fenlon

E A R L Y M U S I C HISTORY 15
EDITORIAL BOARD
W u L F A R L T , University of Base1
M A R G A R EB T E N T ,All Souls College, Oxford
LORENZO B I A N C O N University
I, of Bologna
B O N N I EJ . B L A C K B U R University
N, of Oxford
D A v I D F A L Lo w S, University of Manchester
F . A L B E R T o G A L L 0, University of Bologna
J A M E S H A A R , University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
K E N N E T HL E V Y ,Princeton University
L E w I s L Oc K w o o D, Harvard University
F R I T z R Ec K O W, Christian Albrecht University, Kiel
E D W A R DR O E S N E RNew , York University
C o L I N S L I M ,University of California at Irvine
R EI N H A R D S TR o H M , King's College, London
EARLY M U S I C H I S T O R Y 15
STUDIES IN MEDIEVAL
AND
EARLY M O D E R N M U S I C
Edited by
I A I NF E N L O N
Fellow of King's College, Cambridge
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CONTENTS
RICHARD J . A G E E(The Colorado College)
Costanzo Festa's Gradus ad Parnassum
M AR K E v E R I s T (University of Southampton)
T h e polyphonic rondeau c. 1300: Repertory and
context
B E T H L . G L I x 0 N (Lexington, Kentucky)
Scenes from the life of Silvia Galiarti Manni, a
seventeenth-century virtuosa
P AT R I c K M A c E Y (Eastman School of Music, University of
Rochester)
Galeazzo Maria Sforza and musical patronage in
Milan: CompCre, Weerbeke and Josquin 147
JAM Es W . M c K I NN 0 N (University of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill)
Preface to the study of the Alleluia 2 13
REVIEWS
Facsimiles of the Squarcialupi MS and other sources
( T h e Lucca Codex, ed. J . Nhdas and A. Ziino; I1 Codice
Rossi 215, ed. N. Pirrotta; 11 Codice T.111.2, ed. A. Ziino;
Il Codice Squarcialupi, ed. F. A. Gallo)
MARGARET B ENT 25 1
M A R TI N A DA M S, H e n v Purcell: The Origins and Develop-
ment o f H i s Musical Style
REBECCAHERISSONE 270
Dedicated to the memory o f Thomas Walker
NOTES FOR CONTRIBUTORS
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EarCy Music History (1996) Volume 15
COSTANZO FESTA'S
GRAD US A D PARNASSUM*
In September of 1536, the papal singer and composer Costanzo

Festa wrote a letter to his Florentine patron Filippo Strozzi.
Festa, having heard about a music printer in Venice, hoped to
contact him there through one of Strozzi's agents. He continued:
Have him [the printer] understand that if he wants my works, that is,
the hymns [and] the Magnificats, I do not want less than one hundred
fifty scudi and, if he wants the basse, two hundred in all. If he wants
to print them, he can place the hymns and Magnificats in a large book
[choirbook format] like that of the fifteen Masses [Antico's Quindecim
missarum, RISM 1516l], so that all choirs would be able to make use
of them. The basse are good for learning to sing in counterpoint, to
compose and to play all instruments.'
Two years later the composer once again referred to his works
in a petition to secure a printing privilege from the Venetian
Doge and Signoria:
* I would like to thank Msgr Richard J. Schuler for allowing me access to materials he
possessed on microfilm; I am also indebted to Tim Barnes, Jane A. Bernstein, Bonnie
J. Blackburn, the late Howard Mayer Brown, Herbert Kellman, Lewis Lockwood, Carol
L. Neel, Anthony A. Newcomb, Jessie Ann Owens, Richard J. Sherr and Claudio Simoni
for assistance, and to the Executive Committee of the Humanities at The Colorado
College for financial support. Earlier versions of this paper were presented during 1991
at a meeting of the Seventeenth Century Group of Colorado College; the Rocky Mountain
Chapter meeting of the American Musicological Society, University of Northern Colorado,
Fort Collins; the 26th Annual International Congress of Medieval Studies, Kalamazoo;
and the annual meeting of the American Musicological Society in Chicago.
' 'Intendere che se vole le mie oppere cio e li hymnj li magnificat chi0 non voglio
mancho de cento et cinquanta scutj et se vole le basse ducento in tutto et volendo
stampare potra meter li hymnj et li magnificat in un libro grande come quello de
le .15. mjsse per che tuttj li chorj se ne potranno servire le basse sono bone per
Imparare a cantar a comtraponto a componere et a sonar de tuttj li strumentj'; letter
of 5 September 1536, now in Florence, Archivio di Stato, Carte Strozziane, Ser. v,
1209, I, 84, reproduced and transcribed in my 'Filippo Strozzi and the Early Madrigal',
Journal of the American Musicological Societi, (hereafter JAMS), 38 (1985), pp. 232-4;
recently reprinted in Venice: A Documentary Histoyy, 145&1630, ed. D. Chambers and
B. Pullan with J. Fletcher (Oxford, U.K., and Cambridge, Mass., 1992), pp. 374-5.
Richard J. Agee
With humility Your Serenity is asked to deign to concede to the very
loyal and most virtuous domino Costantino Festa, musician and singer
of O u r Lord, that he be allowed to have printed his musical works -
that is, masses, motets, madrigals, basse, Eontraponti, lamentations and
any of his compositions - with a privilege [and] that anyone else, for
a period of ten years, may not print the aforesaid works, nor sell prints
[of them] in this city, nor in any other part of the territory or locations
of this Illustrious Dominion.'
Festa's mention of his musical compositions, such as hymns,
Magnificats, masses, motets, madrigals, and lamentations, seems
straightforward enough, but the identification of the basse and
contraponti has proven elusive.
Nevertheless, a theoretical source from the following century
provides valuable evidence about these mysterious, apparently
unpublished compositions by Festa. I n the second part of his
Prattica di musica of 1622, Lodovico Zacconi acknowledged the
long-departed Costanzo Festa for having supplied a cantus firmus
with which the theorist published a second voice in invertible
counterpoint at the tenth. Zacconi discussed the history of this
melody in his chatty way:
Note that the above cantus firmus, made of breves, is called 'Bascia'.
I could not have investigated why it is so called and has such a name,
were it not that one day, [when I was] discussing [this] with a professor
of music, he told me to notice that it must be a certain cantus
firmus on which the aforementioned Costanzo Festa once wrote 120
counterpoints. If students were able to get hold of them, it would be
very useful to put them into score to learn about many beautiful things
that must be contained and hidden therein3
An appendix to the supplication carries the date of 29 March 1538, and indicates
that on this day the Venetian Senate voted in favor of Festa's ten-year privilege, 125
for, 4 against, with 4 abstentions. The document may be found in Venice, Archivio
di Stato, Senato Terra, registro 30 (1538-9), fols. 9'-9" (30'-3OV), as transcribed by
Richard J. Agee in 'The Privilege and Music Printing in the Sixteenth Century',
diss., Princeton University, 1982, pp. 208-9: 'humilmente si supplica vostra serenita
si degni conceder a1 fidelissimo et molto virtuoso, Domino Constantino festa musico,
et cantore di Nostro Signore ch'el possi far stampar le sue opere di musica, cio 6 messe,
mottetj madrigali, basse, contraponti, lamentation, et qualunque delle composition sue,
con privilegio che alcun altro per anni .X. non possi imprimer, ne impresse vender
in questa cita o in qua1 si voglia delle terre, et luoghi di questo Illustrissimo Dominio
le opere preditte.' See also R. J. Agee, 'The Venetian Privilege and Music-Printing
in the Sixteenth Century', Early Music History, 3 (1983), p. 28; and another transcrip-
tion in M. S. Lewis, Antonio Gardano Venetian Music Printer, 153S1569, vol. r (New
York, 1988), p. 673.
'Nota che il superior Canto fermo fatto di Breue chiamandosi Bascia, non hb potuto
inuestigare per che lo chiami cosi, ed habbia tal denominatione, se non che; vn di
ragionando io con vn profossor [sic] di Musica mi disse, auertite, che debb'essere vn
certo Canto fermo, sopra il quale il predetto Costanzo Festa fece vna volta cento e
Constanzo Festa's Gradus ad Parnassum
However vexing the term 'Bascia' might have been for Zacconi,
the tune had been around for centuries and can easily be ident-
ified. This cantus firmus was a basse danse tenor, a musical line
on which to improvise or compose polyphonic elaborations. T h e
basse danse (It. bassadansa) had become popular in court circles
both in France and in Italy by the middle of the 1400s and
disappeared about a century later.4 Most of the music preserved
for the basse danse appears slow and monophonic, but scholars
now believe that instrumentalists would have improvised more
rapid counterpoints above this slow tenor cantus fir mu^.^ Zac-
coni's cantus firmus had been employed as the basis for elabor-
ation since the middle of the fifteenth century. The internationally
known melody existed incognito as (among other designations)
'La Spagna', 'Spanier tantz', 'Tenore del re di Spagna', 'Castille
la novele', and - more important for our purposes - 'La basse
dance de Spayn' and 'La bassa castiglya' (see Example
venti Contrapunti. Cosa che se li Scolari li potessero hauere, vtilissimo li sarebbe i

partirli per impararui sopra molte belle cose che dentro vi debbano esser contessute
e nascoste', from L. Zacconi's Prattica di musica seconda parte (Venice, 1622; repr.
Bologna, 1967: Bibliotheca Musica Bononiensis, sez. rr, no. 2), p. 199.
See D. Heartz, 'The Basse Dance: Its Evolution circa 1450 to 1550', Annales Musicolo-
giques, 6 (1958-63), pp. 287-340, and his article 'Basse danse', The New Grove Dictionary
of Music and Musicians (London, 1980), vol. rr, pp. 257-9. Heartz maintained that
after the middle of the sixteenth century the basse danse had virtually disappeared
(the well-known French dance commentator Arbeau had remarked around 1588 that
'les basses dances sont hors d'usage depuis quarante ou cinquante ans'; see Heartz,
'The Basse Dance', p. 312).
' In publications from 1929, both Erich Hertzmann and Otto Kinkeldey proposed that
the basse danse melodies were simply tenors used as the basis for polyphonic improvis-
ation; see the former's 'Studien zur Basse danse im 15. Jahrhundert, mit besonderer
Berucksichtigung des Brusseler Manuskripts', Zeitschrift fur Musikwissemchaft, 11 (1929),
pp. 41 1-12, and the latter's 'A Jewish Dancing Master of the Renaissance (Guglielmo
Ebreo)', Studies in Jewish Bibliography and Related Subjects in Memory of Abraham Solomon
Freidus (New York, 1929; repr. Farnborough, Hants, England, 1969), p. 355. Willi
Ape1 discussed some surviving examples of the polyphonic treatment of these tunes
in 'A Remark about the Basse Danse', Musica Disciplina, 1 (1946), pp. 139-43. See
also M . Bukofzer, who explored the tune as the basis of polyphonic variations in 'A
Polyphonic Basse Dance of the Renaissance', Studies in Medieval @ Renaissance Music
(New York, 1950), pp. 190-216. In his edition entitled Compositione di Meser Vincent0
Capirola, Lute-Book (circa 1517) (Neuilly-sur-Seine, 1955), pp. xxxvi-lxiii, 0 . 0 . Gombosi
detailed many of the uses for this melody from the fifteenth century onward, not
only as a basse danse but also as a cantus firmus for pedagogical purposes. Daniel
Heartz approached the performance practice of basse danse realisation in his 'Hoftanz
and Basse Dance', J A M S , 19 (1966), pp. 13-36.
It seems that this melody was the only tune to bridge the French and Italian basse
danse repertories; see Bukofzer, 'A Polyphonic Basse Dance', passim; Frederick Crane,
Materials for the Study of the Fifteenth Century Basse Dame, Institute of Medieval Music
Musicological Studies, 16 (Brooklyn, 1968), esp. pp. 72-5.
Richard J. Agee
Example 1. 'La Spagna' as it appears in Bologna C36
Zacconi, writing as he did very late in the history of the 'La

Spagna' tune, seems legitimately to have had no knowledge of
the tenor's identity, the basse danse tradition having been largely
forgotten by the seventeenth century. The theorist puzzled over
the name given to the melody, 'Bascia', although in retrospect
we can easily recognise it as a corruption of the Italian word
bassa, derived from the melody's original use as a basse danse.
Unfortunately, Zacconi's words strongly imply that he had never
actually seen Festa's 120 variations himself, but had only heard
of their possible pedagogical and artistic value. I t appears reason-
able to identify these 120 counterpoints on a cantus firmus,
referred to in passing by Zacconi in 1622, with the 'basse'
mentioned in Festa's letter of 1536 and the 'basse, contraponti'
in his petition of 1538. The two documents tell us that these
works had already been written or at least conceived of by the
1530s. However, as far as we know, the compositions were never
published before Festa's death in 1545 and have never surfaced
until now.
Most early theorists and composers who linked Festa's name
with 'La Spagna' mistakenly believed him to be its composer;
only Zacconi revealed that Festa had composed a series of contra-
puntal exercises based on this cantus firmus.' Less explicit was
' Apparently Zacconi borrowed the added invertible contrapuntal line(s) from Scipione
Cerretto, who also deemed the cantus firmus to be Festa's 'Bascia' (i.e. the 'La
Spagna' tenor) in his Della prattica musica vocale, et strumentale (Naples, 1601; repr.
Bologna, 1969: Bibliotheca Musica Bononiensis, sez. 11, no. 30), pp. 2 9 3 4 ; unfortu-
nately, Cerretto did not elaborate any further on the possible origins of the pre-existent
melody. In addition, both Giovanni Trabaci and Ascanio Mayone attributed the
composition of the cantus firmus to Festa in their own variations on the 'La Spagna'
the papal singer and composer Giovanni Maria Nanino (c. 1545-
1607).8 In the dedication to his book of three- and five-voice
canonic motets of 1586 (RISM N24), Nanino expressed keen
admiration for the earlier composer's musical style: 'There exist
many [works] - both by that author most distinguished among
musicians, Constantius Festa, and by other such outstanding
men - carefully developed on some ecclesiastical theme.'g Nanino
followed the preface with his twenty-eight sacred motets, all
cantus-firmus works based on the basse danse tenor 'La Spagna.'
I t seems unlikely that Nanino, a singer in the papal chapel after
the reforms instituted under the auspices of the Council of Trent,
would have openly published a sacred motet collection that used
a secular tune as its foundation. Perhaps he was unaware of the
tune's secular origins, or maybe he simply lied in implying that
his cantus firmus was in reality an 'ecclesiastical theme'.
Over the centuries, Nanino's own reputation as a composer of
pieces based upon this cantus firmus gradually eclipsed Festa's
role in the popularisation of 'La Spagna' for written polyphonic
elaborations. T h e origins of a fanciful myth that eventually devel-
oped in this regard can be traced back to D. Romano Micheli,
in the preface to his Musica vaga, et artzJiciosa of 1615 (RISM
M2683, 16 153). Micheli mentioned only that the Spaniard Sebas-
tiano Raval, having arrived in Rome, considered himself the
greatest musician in the world until Nanino and Francesco Sori-
ano humbled him." Giuseppe Pitoni, one of Italy's first well-
tenor (see Gombosi, Compositione, p. lx). Rocco Rodio, in his Regole di musica (Naples,
1609 [colophon 161 I]; repr. Bologna, 1981: Bibliotheca Musica Bononiensis, sez. 11,
no. 56), pp. 6ff, employed 'La Spagna' as a cantus firmus for various original canons.
Although he lavished praise on Festa's contemporary Willaert, he did not acknowledge
Festa's use of this cantus firmus in any way.
For a brief summary of Kanino's life and works, see A. A. Newcomb, 'Nanino,
Giovanni Maria', The N e w Grove Dictionary, vol. xrrr, pp. 20-1, or R. J. Schuler, ed.,
Giovanni Maria Nanino: Fourteen Liturgical Works, Recent Researches in the Music of
the Renaissance, 5 (Madison, Wisconsin, 1969), pp. vii-xi; for a more expansive view
of Kanino's role in the musical world of the late Renaissance, see R. J. Schuler, 'The
Life and Liturgical Works of Giovanni Maria Kanino (1545-1607)', 2 vols., diss.,
University of Minnesota, 1963, passim.
RISM S24, I-Bc exemplar, Cantus partbook, presents the text as follows: 'Extant
tum Constantij Festae auctoris in musicis grauissimi, tum aliorum in eo genere
praestantium virorum multa, diligenter varieq; super Ecclesiastico quodam cantu
elaborata'. I would like to thank Prof. Carol L. Nee1 for her assistance in developing
an appropriate English translation for this passage.
'O
On A2' of Musica vaga et artzjciosa, D . Micheli related the incident as follows: 'non
rester6 dirui di quell'intelligentissimo musico Sebastiano Raual Spagnolo, il quale
Richard J. Agee
known musicological figures (active in the seventeenth and early

eighteenth centuries), quoted verbatim from the 1615 preface."
Neither source gave any date or described the exact nature of
the competition, and no mention was made of any surviving
music.
Nevertheless, later treatments of the story began to embroider
its essence. In the 1740s, Padre Martini, evidently familiar with
D. Romano Micheli's narrative, attributed to Nanino 157 contra-
puntal pieces on 'La Spagna' found in a manuscript in his
personal library. He believed their composition to have been the
consequence of the alleged showdown between Nanino and
Raval.I2 Giuseppe Baini broadened the scope of the incident to
include improvisation upon themes - both Nanino and Soriano
composed so quickly and adorned their works with such artifice
that Raval blanched.13 Gaetano Gaspari, following the lead of
Martini, also explicitly linked the Roman incident to the manu-
script of the 157 counterpoints, indicating in his 1890 catalogue
venne in Roma, attribuendosi di essere il primo musico del Mondo, non hauendo
trouato in alcuna parte d'Italia alcun suo pari: venendosi alle proue in Roma con li
Signori Francesco Soriano, e Gio: Maria Nanino, restb chiarito alla prima esperienza,
nondimeno volsero sentire tutto il suo sapere, si che detto Sebastiano Raual, non
chiamb mai li detti Signori Francesco Soriano, e Gio: Maria Nanino, che per nome
di Sig. Maestro, cib sentito da me mille volte, con l'occasione che eramo insieme in
Roma'.
" As found in G. 0. Pitoni's Notitia de' contrapuntisti e compositori di musica, ed. C. Ruini,
Studi e Testi per la Storia della Musica, 6 (Florence, 1988), p. 155.
l2
See the Carteggio inedito del P. Giambattista Martini coi pi3 celebri musicisti del suo tempo
(1888; repr. Bologna, 1969: Bibliotheca Musica Bononiensis, sez. v, no. 22), pp. 42-
3, 159.
l3
As related by G. Baini in Memorie storico-critiche della vita e delle opere di Giovanni Pierluigi
da Palestrina (Rome, 1828), vol. rr, pp. 39-40: 'Nel passaggio ch'ei [i.e. Raval] fece
per Roma, vi si trattenne, non saprei dir la ragione, parecchi mesi: e qui ne' ritruovi
de' musici attribuivasi il vanto di primo musico del mondo, non avendo trovato in
tutta Italia, com'ei diceva, alcun suo pari. V'ebbe finalmente chi nauseato di tanto
orgoglio gli propose di provarsi pur una volta con i due fratelli Nanini, e Francesco
Suriano maestri di Roma. Ed egli tosto sfidb il Nanini Gio. Maria come fratel
maggiore di Bernardino, ed il Suriani [sic] a comporre estemporaneamente sopra
temi da proporsi a vicenda. Fu accettata da' romani la disfida, e trovatisi tutti tre
insieme, e propostisi a vicenda i temi, mentre il Raval ancora studiavasi di accozzare
la prima idea, il Nanini, ed il Suriano gli presentarono compiute le respettive
composizioni adorne di tanti artifizi, e con tanta chiarezza disposti, che il Raval
impallidito dimandb loro perdono del suo ardire e manifestato avendo ai medesimi,
siccome quegli vollero ch'ei facesse, gli angusti limiti delle sue cognizioni, pregolli a
non escluderlo dalla loro scuola, e per tutto il tempo che continub a dimorare in
Roma, a1 dir di D. Romano Micheli, che trovossi presente a questa disfida non chiamb
mai li detti signori Francesco Suriano, e Gio. Maria Nanini, che per nome di signor maestro'
(italics original). Baini quoted D. Micheli Romano's letter as well on p. 40, n. 478.
of the Bologna Conservatory library that 'Gio. Maria Nanino

and Francesco Soriano of Rome were challenged by the Spaniard
Sebastiano Raval to [a contest in] musical composition. Francesco
Soriano, with 110 counterpoints on Ave maris stella, and Gio.
Maria Nanino, with these 157 [counterpoints] on the same cantus
firmus [i.e. 'La Spagna'], surpassed the Spaniard.'14 In the follow-
ing year, F. X. Haberl repeated the story as previously
embellished and maintained that the portion of Martini's manu-
script containing the compositions based on 'La Spagna' was a
Nanino autograph. H e also fixed the date of the Roman compe-
tition at 1593, evidently on the basis of Raval's first publication,
the Motectorum quinque vocum . . . liber primus (RISM R439), issued
that year in Rome.15 Little more has been added to the fable
from then to the present.16
Without a doubt the characteristics of the principal manuscript
containing the 157 counterpoints, now known as Bologna C36,I7
contributed to the development of this myth. Folios 1-128, copied
in a single hand during Nanino's lifetime, contain 125 works
followed by Nanino's twenty-eight published canons and four
other pieces, presumably by Nanino, all based on the same
cantus firmus, 'La Spagna'. The page with the last of these 157
See G. Gaspari, Catalogo della Biblioteca Musicale G. B. Martini di Bologna, ed. N. Fanti,
0. Mischiati, L. F. Tagliavini, Studi e Testi di Musicologia, 1 (Bologna, 1961), vol.
1, pp. 301-2: 'Gio. Maria Nanino, e Francesco Suriano di Roma furono da Sebastiano
Raval Spagnuolo sfidati a comporre in musica. Francesco Suriano con centodieci
Contrappunti sopra I'Ave Maris Stella, e Gio. Maria Nanino con questi centocinquanta-
sette sopra un medesimo Canto Fermo superarono lo spagnuolo.'
I'
See F. X. Haberl, 'Giovanni Maria Nanino: Darstellung seines Lebensganges und
Schaffens auf Grund archivalischer und bibliographischer Dokumente', Kirchenmusikal-
isches Jahrbuch, sechster Jahrgang (1891), pp. 91, 95, although he incorrectly listed the
call number of Bologna C36 as C35. R. Giraldi, in 'Nanino, Giovanni Maria',
Enciclopedia Italiana di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti (Rome, 1934-43), vol. xxrv, p. 198,
mistakenly asserted that Bologna C36 was in the Liceo Musicale of Mantova. Casimiri
suggested 1592 as a possible date for the competition between the Spaniard and the
Italians (R. Casimiri, 'Sebastiano Raval musicista spagnolo del sec. XVI', Note
d'Archivio per la Storia Musicale, 8 (1931), pp. 1-2), but with scant justification.
l6
Much of the relevant bibliography connected to the Roman incident is covered by

Schuler in 'The Life', vol. r, pp. 21-2.
"
Martini's manuscript now forms part of the Civico Museo Bibliografico Musicale
( I - B c ) collection, call number C36. Another manuscript containing this music, appar-
ently copied directly from C36, also survives at I-Bc as T225 (as listed in Gaspari,
Catalogo, vol. I, pp. 301-2). Gaspari believed T225 to be in the hand of Girolamo
Chiti (1679-1759 - see S. Gmeinwieser, 'Chiti, Girolamo', The New Gro~leDictionay,
vol. IV, p. 289). Nonetheless, owing to the relatively poor transmission of the musical
text in T225, all references here will be to the more accurate Bologna C36.
Richard J. Agee
counterpoints (fol. 128') carries the rubric 'Finis 1602 Mantuae

Die 23. Octobris +', and the hand shows no characteristics
incompatible with that date. The probable scribe of these first
128 folios has recently been identified, through a comparison
with many other manuscripts in Bologna, as Pietro Martire
Balzani, who can be placed in Mantua during 1602." Although
Haberl believed this part of the manuscript to be a Nanino
autograph,lg such a n identification seems highly unlikely. I t is
true that Nanino had dedicated his motet book of 1586 to the
Mantuan Duke Guglielmo Gonzaga and had visited Mantua for
several weeks on papal business late in the same year,20but we
have no evidence of any trip that Nanino might have made to
Mantua in 1602. Besides, the shape of many of the letters found
in the rubrics of the 157 counterpoints in Bologna C36 fails to
match those in Nanino's extant autograph letters."
The remainder of Bologna C36, including the title page with
the introductory folios as well as the conclusion of the manuscript
with Soriano's 110 counterpoints on Ave maris stella (through fol.
264), is eighteenth-century in origin." The title page reads 'One
Hundred Fifty Seven Counterpoints upon a Cantus Firmus
Entitled La Base of Costanzo Festa, Works by Gioan Maria
Nanino da V a l l e r a n ~ ' . ' The
~ eighteenth-century scribe's opinion
notwithstanding, Festa's contribution to this collection clearly did
not lie with his composition of this cantus firmus (here called
'La Base'), since, as we have seen, the tune originated well before
Festa was even born. Further, given that twenty-eight pieces in
See 0 . Mischiati, La prassi musicale presso i canonici regolari de Ss. Saloatore nei secoli XVZ
e XVZZ e i manoscritti pol$onici della Biblioteca Musicale 'G.B. Martini' di Bologna, Istituto
di Paleografia Musicale, Documenti, 1 (Rome, 1985), pp. 81-2, where a full description
of the manuscript is given; p. [I321 presents a facsimile of the last two pages of
Balzani's portion of the manuscript, including the final rubric. Unfortunately, Mis-
chiati mistakenly identified all 157 compositions in Bologna C36 as canons. While
Nanino's published pieces are indeed canons, few of the remaining 129 compositions
are canonic; see the Appendix below.
See Haberl, 'Giovanni Maria Nanino', 95.
20
A number of letters survive from Nanino's journey to Mantua; see the transcriptions
from the papal archives in Schuler, 'The Life', vol. r, Appendix I , pp. 345ff.
'' Facsimiles of Nanino's writing may be found in Schuler, 'The Life', vol. I, pp. 346-76.
See Mischiati, La prassi, pp. 81-2.
23 ' C E N T 0 CINQVANTASETTE ( CONTRAPUNTI ( SOPRA DEL CANTO
FERMO INTITOLATO 1 LA BASE di Costanzo FESTA 1 OPERA DI ( Gioan
Maria ( NANINO 1 DA VALLERANO 11' .
8
the manuscript (Counterpoints 126-53) constitute the music

printed by Nanino in his motet book of 1586, albeit without
the full Latin texts, musicians must have assumed that Nanino
composed all 157 pieces in the c ~ l l e c t i o n Yet
. ~ ~ none of the first
125 pieces, the bulk of the manuscript, appears ever to have
been published.
I n all likelihood Nanino failed to publish the initial 125
counterpoints because he did not compose them. T h e distinct
structure of the opening section of 125 pieces in Bologna C36
strongly implies that these works were conceived independently
from the following compositions by Nanino. Also, certain refer-
ences in the manuscript point to the authorship of a n earlier
composer, and the musical style of the first 125 pieces seems
more compatible with the 1530s than the 1580s. Indeed, these
125 compositions must be the lost counterpoints of Costanzo
Festa, mentioned in Festa's letter and petition from the 1530s
and casually numbered at 120 by Zacconi, who had never seen
them but had only heard of the legendary compositional prowess
they exhibited.
Certainly the structure and contents of Bologna C36 substan-
tially support the hypothesis that identifies these pieces as Festa's
lost counterpoints. The works contained within the manuscript
progress almost symmetrically (see the inventory of Bologna C36,
Appendix below), from a pair of two-voice pieces to eighteen
three-voice works, and then on to the largest section of eighty-one
four-voice pieces. Thereafter, corresponding to the gradual
addition of voices and enlargement of groups of pieces at the
opening, the number of variations in the remaining groups of
24
Gombosi, in Compositione, p. Ivii, suggested that Costanzo Festa may well have been
responsible for transforming the tune into a cantus firmus for contrapuntal exercises,
although he never questioned the attribution of all 157 counterpoints to Nanino. He
also related that Banchieri had termed the 157 counterpoints 'opera degna di essere
in mano di qual[siasi] musico e compositore' (p. lvii), but in truth Banchieri had
referred instead to published collections by Fulgenzio Valesi, Nanino and Cima -
'hanno in stampa [italics mine] vn libro per ciascuno di questi Contrapunti obbligati
sopra il Canto fermo in Canon, opere degne in mano di qualsiasi Musico, &
Compositore' (A. Banchieri, Cartella musicale nel canto jgurato fermo, @ contrapunto
(Venice, 1614; repr. Bologna, 1968: Bibliotheca Musica Bononiensis, sez. I t , no. 26),
p. 234). No doubt Banchieri was referring in part to the Nanino canonic motets
published in 1586 (RISM N24), the pieces which follow the first 125 compositions
of Bologna C36.
Richard J. Agee
works declines as more voices are added. Thus there are only
seventeen variations in five voices, three in six voices, one in
seven voices, and two in eight voices, followed by one eleven-voice
variation - 125 in all.25A distinct change occurs with Counter-
point 126, where we find Nanino's canons with sacred text
incipits. The three-voice canons proceed, at least initially, with
some regularity from the unison to the second, third and so
forth, much like the canons of Bach's Goldberg Variations, and the
five-voice pieces, not all canonic, conclude this portion of the
manuscript. I t is onl3, the canons from the three- and five-voice
series that Nanino published under his own name in the musical
print from 1586 previously mentionedeZ6
Unlike Nanino's compositions, the opening 125 counterpoints
of Bologna C36 exhibit techniques that clearly address Festa's
stated intention for his pedagogical works: 'The basse are good
for learning to sing in counterpoint, to compose and to play all
instruments.' In addition to employing virtually every possible
clef in this collection, the composer specifically designed certain
counterpoints to exercise a student's mastery of clef changes
(Counterpoints 2 and 83, where individual lines feature myriad
changes of clef), Other compositions address mensural problems,
with a few constructed to demonstrate particularly difficult pro-
portions (Counterpoints 79, 80, 84). Strict rhythmic stratification
of texture, a n important basis for Fux's formulation of species
counterpoint in the eighteenth century, also makes an appearance
(Counterpoints 12, 88). Additional techniques necessary for a
thorough contrapuntal education abound - these works address
the use of plainchant paraphrase (Counterpoints 93, 94, 95, 115),
25
Gombosi, in Compositione, pp. Ivii-lviii, also enumerated the contents of Bologna C36
as I have done here; but he casually assumed all 157 pieces to have been composed
by Nanino. Gombosi (p. Iviii) mistakenly transcribed a number of rubrics in the
manuscript - Counterpoint 129, rendered by Gombosi as 'canon ad subditonum',
should read 'canon in subdiatessaron'; Counterpoint 134, given as 'canon ad subsex-
tam', reads in the manuscript 'canon ad essacordum'; and for Counterpoint 151, a
double canon, Gombosi correctly transcribed 'canon ad unisonum' but neglected the
second rubric, 'canon in diapason'. See the Appendix, below, for a complete transcrip-
tion of all rubrics in the first 128 folios of Bologna C36.
26
The last four counterpoints in this portion of the manuscript, 154-7, although presum-
ably by Nanino, were not published in N24. Of these, only Counterpoint 156 is a
canon, while, unlike the twenty-eight canons in the motet book, the other three use
imitation alone. The publication concludes with two four-voice canons that have no
reference to any cantus firmus.
- Constanzo Festa's Gradus ad Parnassum
Figure 1 Bologna, Civico Museo Bibliografico Musicale, MS C36, fol. 1'. The first of
Festa's 125 pieces on the basse dame "La Spagna"; Counterpoint 1 for two voices
Richard J. Agee
soggetti cavati (Counterpoints 96, 104), and quodlibet

(Counterpoint 98), as well as augmentation (Counterpoints 116,
117, 118, 121) and retrograde (Counterpoint 62). Too, we find
ostinato, imitative and non-imitative counterpoint, composition
within restricted as well as more ample ranges, cantus firmus in
every possible location in the texture, and canonic writing (see
the Appendix below for a detailed analysis of the techniques
used). Indeed, the attribution of these compositions, and the
massive arsenal of contrapuntal devices they contain, to a contra-
puntal genius of Festa's generation would be entirely justified."
In contrast, the three- and five-voice compositions by Nanino
(Counterpoints 126-57) that follow the first portion of Bologna
C36 emphasise far fewer compositional techniques, concentrating
only on canon at various intervals, imitative polyphony, and
diminution.
Certain textual and musical references in the first 125 counter-
points of Bologna C36 provide further sources of speculation.
Counterpoint 36 pays homage to a predecessor of Festa in the papal
choir, Josquin des Prez. The lowest part of this four-voice compo-
sition carries the motive la-sol-fa-re-mi as an ostinato, the same theme
that formed the basis for the famous mass by Josquin; a second
unidentified ostinato on fa-mi-la-mi-sol-la occupies the uppermost
voice (see Example 2) According to Heinrich Glarean in his Dodek-
achordon of 1547,Josquin had invented la-sol-fa-re-mi as a soggetto cavato
on the promise of his procrastinating patron to take care of his salary,
'Laise faire moy' or 'Lascia fare a me', and yet the subject may well
have been based upon an earlier barzelletta or a popular song."
Although the influence ofJosquin's music was strongest in the first
'' For general comments on Festa's musical style and technical abilities, see Reese,
Music in the Renaissance, pp. 362-4; E . E. Lowinsky, The Medici Codex of 1518: A
Choirbook of Motets Dedicated to Lorenzo de' Medici, Duke of C'rbino (Chicago and London,
1968), vol. I, pp. 42-51, 78; A. Main, 'Festa, Costanzo', The Nem Grove Dictionay,
vol. VI, pp. 501-2; Main, 'Costanzo Festa: The Masses and Motets', diss., New York
University, 1960, pp. 67-173; and H . Musch, Costanzo Festa als Madrigalkomponist,
Sammlung Musikwissenschaftlicher Abhandlungen, 61 (Baden-Baden, 1977), pp. 69-
147.
A modern edition of the mass may be found in Josquin des Prez, Missen, ii: Missa
la sol f a re mi, ed. A. Smijers (1926; repr. Amsterdam, 1969).
*' See James Haar, 'Some Remarks on the Missa La sol f a re mi', Proceedings of the
International Josquin Festival-Conference, ed. E . E . Lowinsky and B. J. Blackburn (London,
1976), pp, 564-88.
half of the sixteenth century, when Festa was active, and underwent
a decline in the second half of the century,30this particular subject
was used throughout the period. Most ofthe pieces based on la-sol-fa-
re-mi seem to have been written in the middle decades ofthe sixteenth
century, but the soggetto was used even by Froberger a century later.31
Consequently, other evidence aside, it is conceivable that either
Festa or Nanino might have composed this particular work. FVhile a
very young Festa might have actually met Josquin or even studied
with the old master, we have no evidence of Josquin's presence in
Italy in his later years. I t seems far more likely that Festa became
familiar with Josquin's reputation while a member ofthe papal choir
itself. Naturally Festa's sophisticated use of counterpoint, both in his
sacred works and here in Bologna C36, would suggest that he studied
with some great northern master: if not Josquin, then perhaps a suc-
cessor ofJosquin, such as M ~ u t o n . ~ ' Othe
n other hand, by the 1580s,
when Nanino published his canons on 'La Spagna', although Jos-
quin would no longer have been looked upon with the same awe as he
had been in previous decades, no doubt Nanino would have known or
at least heard ofJosquin's music in his position as a papal singer.
Some of the other textual and musical references in this collec-
tion, however, less ambiguously suggest the hand of Festa. For
instance, Counterpoint 104 weaves in two ostinato soggetti cavati
dubbed 'Ferdinandus' and 'Isabella', presumably the monarchs of
Spain who died in 1516 and 1504 respectively (see Example 3) .33
Nanino was born much later, c. 1544, and died in 1607;34however
famous the Spanish king and queen, one can only assume that they
30
As indicated by Gustave Reese in 'Josquin Desprez', The New Grove Dictionay, vol.
rx, p. 718.
31
Haar, in 'Some Remarks', pp, 583-8, documents the long history of this soggetto.
32
Main, in 'Costanzo Festa' (pp. 7-10), and Lowinsky, in The Medici Codex (pp. 49-
50), suggested the possibility that Festa had travelled north to France. In any case,
Main attributed Festa's mastery of the art of counterpoint to possible musical studies
with Josquin; while Lowinsky mentioned Josquin as a possibility, he favoured the
hypothesis of a period of study with another great northern master, perhaps Mouton.
33
See G. Reese, Music in the Renaissance, rev. ed. (New York, 1939), p. 578. Bonnie J.
Blackburn kindly pointed out to me that these themes were soggetti cauati. The soggetto
'Isabella' is formed in the natural hexachord on mi-ja-re-ia, that on 'Ferdinandus' in
the hard hexachord on re-mi-ja-ut. Gombosi, in Compositione, p. lviii, n. 1 , unaware
that these were soggetti cauati, misread the references to the Spanish monarchs as
'Rosa bella - Ferdinandus'!
34
Schuler, in 'The Life', vol, I, pp. 43-4, mentions a lost inscription indicating Nanino
to be about sixty-three years old at his death, thus placing the year of his birth at
c. 1544.
Richard J. Agee
Example 2. Counterpoint 36, from Bologna C36
Richard J. Agee
Iloll = 0
Example 3 (cant.)
Richard J. Agee
dren's older cousin, Ferdinand0 Francesco d'Avalos, the Marquis

of Pescara and commander of Spanish troops, married Vittoria
Colonna, a woman later to gain fame as a poet.37Another compo-
sition in Bologna C36, Counterpoint 96, opens with the textual
incipit 'Victoria sola colurnna', and I have identified the
accompanying theme as another soggetto cavato (see Example 4).38
Without a doubt the incipit refers to this famous poet, friend to
Castiglione and Michelangelo, who died in 1547, only two years
after Festa. Festa and Vittoria Colonna might have met in Rome,
since she was a n important member of Roman intellectual and
literary circles, the same ambience that gave birth to the new genre
of the Italian madrigal, of which Festa was the first important
Italian composer. Nanino, on the other hand, was only an infant
at the time of Vittoria Colonna's death.
Another telling piece of evidence from Bologna C36 concerns the
quotes from secular pieces in Counterpoint 98, a quodlibet. All
the Superius musical incipits that constitute the upper line (each
accompanied by its corresponding textual incipit) had already been
published by the late 1530s in the first book of four-voice madrigals
by Jacques Arcadelt (see Example 5).39I n this piece, the cantus
firmus has been transposed upward a fourth to allow each quote
to retain its original pitch level, although the composer has made
slight alterations in the incipits from their original rhythmic values
and has added an occasional ornament. Arcadelt, along with Festa,
had been among the earliest composers of the Italian madrigal and
had been a papal employee, like Festa, from at least 1540 (Arcadelt
may have arrived in Rome as early as one or two years before).*'
37
For this and the other data concerning the life of Vittoria Colonna discussed below,
see G. Patrizi, 'Colonna, Vittoria', Dizionario biograJico degli italiani, vol. XXVII (Rome,
1982), pp. 448-57.
38
This soggetto utilises only the first two words of the subject. Based on the natural
hexachord, 'Victoria sola' may be read as mi-sol-mi-Ja (albeit sharped!) sol-la.
39
See M . S. Lewis, 'Antonio Gardane and his Publications of Sacred Music, 1538-55',
diss., Brandeis University, 1979, p. 589, and also her Antonio Gardano, vol. I, p. 182;
see also T . W. Bridges, 'The Publishing of Arcadelt's First Book of Madrigals', diss.,
Harvard University, 1982, pp. 6 7 q E. Vogel, A. Einstein, F. Lesure and C. Sartori,
Bibliograja della musica italiana uocale profana pubblicata dal 1500 a1 1700 (Pomezia, 1977),
vol. I, pp. 67-8 (no. 98); and Jacobi Arcadelt Opera Omnia, ed. A. Seay, Corpus
Mensurabilis Musicae, 31, ii (N.p., 19701, pp. xv-xvi and passim.
The appropriate documentation may be found in Bridges, 'The Publishing', pp. 48ff.
Edmond Vander Straeten placed Arcadelt in Rome by 1539, but without clearly
indicating his sources; see La musique aux Pa+-Bas avant le X I F siicle (1867-88; repr.
New York, 19691, vol. vr, pp. 358-60.
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Richard J. Agee
IHl = 0
Richard J. Agee
Example 5. Superius line from Counterpoint 98 in Bologna C36
Raggion b ben
Vostra fui.
0 felici occhi miei.
10 hb nel cor un gelo. Alma perchb si trista.
Se per colpa del vostro fiero sdegno.
I1 bianco e dolce cigno. Felice
me. Che pih foc'al mio foco. oime.
dov'el be1 viso.
Nor was this Festa's only use of quodlibet: a manuscript source in

the Vatican attributes a rare example of a quodlibet mass to Festa
as well.41
Another argument for Festa's authorship of the first 125 vari-
ations in Bologna C36 would be the explicit reference to sacred
and secular elements, a mixture probably more common before
than after the Council of Trent, the church body that strove to
41 The Missa carminum a 4; see Costanzo Festa, Opera Omnia, Corpus Mensurabilis
Musicae, 25, i, ed. A. Main (N.p., 1962), pp. viii-ix. See also Main, 'Costanzo Festa',
pp. 16-17.
22
banish secular elements from sacred works. The council was con-
vened around the same time that Festa died and Nanino was born.
Nanino's works in the Bologna collection have no textual references
at all to secular pieces or subjects, and those published in his print
of 1586 carry only sacred texts. As previously mentioned, the quote
from the preface to that collection would suggest either that Nanino
was not aware of the secular origins of the cantus firmus on which
he based his twenty-eight sacred canons, or that he deliberately
misled the public by suggesting that his secular cantus firmus was
an 'ecclesiastical theme'. O n the other hand, the first 125 pieces
do contain, as we have seen, secular themes - such as those from
Arcadelt madrigals and soggetti cavati based on the names or actio.ns
of monarchs, a poet, and possibly a patron - as well as sacred
quotations in the paraphrases of plainchant.
The treatment of the cantus firmus also differs considerably
between the first 125 pieces and the last 32, thus strongly suggest-
ing the hand of a different composer. Diminution of the cantus
firmus never occurs in the first 125 counterpoints, yet it is used
seven times in the last 32 pieces (in Counterpoints 126, 129, 131,
132, 136, 140, and 145).42Such diminution from breves to semi-
breves as is found in Nanino's compositions clearly exhibits the
rhythmic inflation seen later in the sixteenth century. I n contrast,
cantus-firmus augmentation appears four times in the first 125
variations, all near the end of this section of the manuscript (in
Counterpoints 1 16, 117, 1 18, 12l ) , but not at all in Nanino's com-
positions that follow. I n addition, one finds only two transpositions
of the cantus firmus in the first 125 variations, and those are pre-
sumably to facilitate the combination of the cantus firmus with
other fragments at their original tonal position (in Counterpoint
99 with incipits from Arcadelt madrigals, and in Counterpoint 98
with a text and scrambled incipit yet to be identified). O n the
other hand, a total of twelve transpositions of the cantus firmus
may be found in the last 32 pieces; the composer of the first 125
works just seems to have been less willing to manipulate the cantus
firmus in this fashion. Retrograde of the cantus firmus appears
only once in the first part, at number sixty-two, almost exactly
42
In Counterpoint 147, each note of the cantus firmus appears as a pair of semibreves
tied across the bar. I have not included this among the examples of diminution.
Richard J. Agee
halfway through the initial group of 125 pieces - thus in a n abstract

way defining the first large section as a n entity distinct from the
last 32 pieces composed by N a n i n ~ . ~ ~
Some archaic musical features can also be cited from the first
125 pieces of the collection, traits which might have been accept-
able early in the sixteenth century but were clearly uncommon by
the end of the Renaissance. One such characteristic is the use of
mixed key signatures (Counterpoints 39, 42, 82). Also archaic
would be the octave-leap cadence, where a lower voice jumps from
the fifth of the mode up a n octave while two other voices produce
the standard major-sixth-to-octave (or minor-third-to-unison) cad-
ential formula to the modal final (see Examples 6a-d).44None of
these characteristics may be found in Nanino's contributions to the
manuscript. Another archaic anomaly in the first 125 counterpoints
is the relatively frequent appearance of the old F5 clef (i.e. the F
clef on the topmost line). I t occurs fourteen times in the first 125
compositions of the collection, but it never occurs in the last 32
pieces by Nanino; at the same time, the high G2 clef makes its
appearance in only four of the first 125 compositions, but also in
four of the last 32, thus reflecting the somewhat more common use
of that clef in the latter decades of the sixteenth century.
Many of the first 125 works in Bologna C36 exhibit deep sonorit-
ies and closely written counterpoint similar to many compositions
by Festa and others of his generation, such as Willaert, Gombert
and Clemens. C3 is the highest clef in the 105 compositions for
four or more voices. Such a low and concentrated range may be
found in almost two dozen other compositions of four or more
voices by F e ~ t a .Yet ~ ~ Nanino (with the exception of his
Lamentations) seems rarely to have used a clef lower than C1 in
the uppermost voice of his compositions for four or more voices,
43
In the last section, at the final Counterpoint 157, the cantus firmus does appear
once in retrograde inversion.
44
This cadence was already archaic even in Festa's day. Anthony Newcomb advised
me that Festa's contemporary, Pietro Aaron, no longer included the octave-leap
cadence in his theoretical writings. See, for instance, the facsimile edition of Aaron's
Toscanello in Musica of 1529, ed. W. Elders, Bibliotheca Musica Bononiensis, sez. 11,
no. 10 (Bologna, 1969), cap. XVIII, or P. Aaron, Toscanello in Music, Book II, Chapters
I-XXXVI, trans. P. Bergquist, Colorado College Music Press Translations, 4 (Colorado
Springs, 1970), pp. 30-1.
45
AS noted in a perusal of Festa, Opera Omnia, Corpus Mensurabilis Musicae, 25,
i-viii, ed. A. Main and A. Seay (N.p., 1962-78).
Example 6a. Excerpt from Counterpoint 10 (bars 36-7) in Bologna C36
Ildl = 0
Example 6b. Excerpt from Counterpoint 16 (bars 5-6) in Bologna C36

Iloll = 0
Example 6c. Excerpt from Counterpoint 18 (bars 5-6) in Bologna C36
Example 6d. Excerpt from Counterpoint 19 (bars 5-6) in Bologna C36

Richard J. Agee
and all of Nanino's five-voice motets found in Bologna C36,

Counterpoints 150-7, have a C 1 clef in the upper voice.46
The need for extensive use of musica jcta in the first 125 works
would also tend to imply a date of composition significantly earlier
than Nanino's maturity. For instance, the F-B tritone in the cantus
firmus itself must be altered with an editorial flat forty-six times
in this opening portion of the manuscript (in Counterpoints 9-1 1,
14-21, 23-50, 52-5, and 75-7), while such a notated flat is lacking
in only one of Nanino's 32 compositions (in Counterpoint 154, not
published in Nanino's motet book, RISM N24). Further, an analy-
sis of the accidentals actually written into the score shows that
notated sharps are two-thirds more frequent in Nanino's 32 pieces
at the end of the manuscript than in the first 125 pieces, thus
mirroring the increased use of written sharps as the sixteenth cen-
tury p r ~ g r e s s e d . ~ '
Another application of musicajcta may be seen in Example 7a,
an excerpt from Counterpoint 111. This composition employs five
voices, with the cantus firmus the second voice down. Appropriate
cadences can be created by the application of editorial sharps in
the single voice above the cantus firmus, as illustrated. Example
7b is an excerpt from the second part of Costanzo Festa's motet
Sancto disponente spirit^.^' Like Counterpoint 11 1, this piece is also a
cantus-firmus composition, and it too uses five voices. Here the
application of unwritten accidentals proves quite similar to the
Festa motet, although now they are spread out over both voices
above the cantus firmus rather than a single voice as in the Bologna
C36 excerpt. Such practice may be seen as standard procedure in
the first half of the sixteenth century, although as the century drew
to a close - that is, during Nanino's maturity - such accidentals
tend more often to be explicitly written. In Nanino's pieces
46
See Schuler, 'The Life', vol. 11, passim; Schuler, Giovanni Maria Nanino, passim; and
Luigi Torchi, L'arte musicale in Italia dal secolo X I V a1 X V I I I (?1898-1907; repr. 1968,
Milano), vol. 11, pp. 1-30.
47
I recorded 239 instances of notated sharps in the first 125 pieces, and 102 instances
in the last 32 - in other words, an average of slightly less than two sharps per piece
in the first section to somewhat more than three sharps in each of the closing pieces
(any sharp used in place of a natural sign was excluded from these calculations).
48
Although the motet is anonymous in its source (Rome, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana,
Cappella Sistina 20), both Seay (Festa, Opera Omnia, Motetti, i, p. vii) and Main
('Costanzo Festa', p. 39) argue persuasively if not definitively for Festa as its composer.
Example 7a. Excerpt from Counterpoint 11 1 in Bologna C36
Iloll = 0 Y
Richard J. Agee
Example 7b. Excerpt from Costanzo Festa, Sancto disponente spiritu, secunda pars; from
Opera Omnia, ed. A. Seay, Corpus Mensurabilis Musicae, 25, iii: Motetti, i, pp. 84-5
Iloll = 0 95 100
(Counterpoints 126-57), most of the accidentals deemed necessary

to effect the suspended cadences are written in the score at the
appropriate point.49
I n addition to very similar cases of musica jicta, the cadential
structures and indeed the very composition of Examples 7a and 7b
49
Only Counterpoint 155 bears similarity in terms of its application of accidentals to
the Festa motet and Counterpoint 11 1. A sharp appears in the manuscript at each
suspended cadence in the analogous excerpt (bb. 12-25), with the exception of b. 24
in the second voice down, where the scribe incorrectly entered a C2 rather than a
C3 clef, thus transforming what would have been a c(#)' into an e'. Schuler, in
'The Life', vol. 11, p. iv, indicated that most of the sources for Nanino's liturgical
music usually provide written accidentals at least somewhere in the same chord
also exhibit remarkable similarities. Bars 14-16 of Counterpoint

11 1 resemble the approach to the cadence at bars 97-9 of the Festa
motet, with the same pitches in the cantus firmus and the use of
a similar motive with falling stepwise motion in the added voices.
Counterpoint 11 1, at the cadence in bars 20-2, displays another
parallel to bars 101-3 of Festa's motet, again with similar motion
in both cantus firmi as well as surprising analogies in the
descending motive used. The similarity of compositional tech-
niques in the excerpts 7a and 7b demonstrates without a doubt
that these passages could have been written by the same composer;
since Festa composed the latter, its resemblance to Counterpoint
11 1 represents a n argument for Festa as the composer of the former
as well.
I n stylistic terms alone, many of the profound musical ideas
expressed in the first 125 compositions in Bologna C36 stand in stark
contrast to the facile and occasionally even awkward canons com-
posed by Nanino that conclude the collection, many of which are
based on the overuse of parallel sixths and thirds. Compare, for
instance, some of the previous examples, such as Example 2
(Counterpoint 36)) Example 3 (Counterpoint 104), and Example 4
(Counterpoint 96) from the initial group of pieces, with Example 8
(Counterpoint 148) from the following portion of the manuscript, an
invertible canon at the unison with a sacred text, 'Surge propera'
(also published in Nanino's motet book of 1586).Note the rich, dense
counterpoint of the former examples, so characteristic of the post-
Josquin generation ofwhich Festa was a part, as well as the complex
rhythmic variation in the added voices that often tends to hide the
plodding breves of the cantus firmus. Nanino's composition stands
in stark contrast. Although each voice in this piece can be inverted
to create a second composition, in both forms its repetitive use of
thirds and sixths suits the generation of Gastoldi and Monteverdi
rather than that of Festa. Note as well the repetitive melodic motion
in each of the added voices and the occasional awkwardness in voice-
leading (see, for example, the implied direct fifths in bars 21-2, or
the implied parallel fifths in bars 22-3 and 25-6). The rhythmic
subtleties of the former examples here give way to an unfortunate
where an editorial accidental had to be added. Obviously this would not have been
the case during Festa's generation.
Richard J. Agee
Example 8 (cont.)
Richard J. Agee
reinforcement of the incessant regularity of the breve motion in the
cantus firmus.
The evidence, then, for Festa's authorship of the first 125
counterpoints on a cantus firmus in the manuscript Bologna C36
can be summarised as follows:
(1) Festa himself searched for a publisher and applied for a
printing privilege for his counterpoints. Zacconi's testimony gives
their number as 120, even though it seems as if the theorist had
never seen the works. Thus it is conceivable that Festa's collection
consisted of 125 pieces in all, as in the first section of Bologna
C36.
(2) Contrary to the testimony of Zacconi and the title page ofBol-
ogna C36 (a later addition to the manuscript), Festa did not compose
this cantus firmus. Festa's link to the collection almost assuredly
must be as composer of the first 125 works. T h e names given to the
cantus firmus, 'La Base', 'Bascia' and 'Basse', all appear to be cor-
ruptions ofwhat was originally a reference to the tune's descent from
the basse danse tenor 'La Spagna'.
(3) Nanino keenly admired the works of Festa, as he claimed in
the preface to his canonic motet book of 1586. I n this publication,
he printed only 28 of the last 32 pieces from the opening 157
counterpoints contained in Bologna C36. IYhy didn't Nanino pub-
lish any of the first 125 pieces, many of which are excellent - and
better than Nanino's own? Quite simply put, the testimony of later
commentators notwithstanding, Nanino did not publish them
under his name because they were not his compositions.
(4) Finally, the music itself implies through its clear pedagogical
intent (reinforced by Festa's own words in his letter to Filippo
Strozzi in 1536), the nearly symmetrical ordering in the number of
voices, the retrograde cantus firmus halfway through, biographical
references, various archaic musical features, and general stylistic
traits that the first 125 pieces form a separate collection altogether,
one likely written earlier than the last 32 works, and in all prob-
ability composed by Festa himself.
Thus, the first 125 compositions of Bologna C36 almost certainly
constitute Festa's legacy for the teaching of counterpoint - his very
own Gradus ad Parna~surn.'~Palestrina, of course, had been the pri-
My edition of Festa's 125 counterpoints will be published in the series Recent Researches
in the Music of the Renaissance, A-R Editions, Madison, Wisconsin.
mary. representative
- of the Roman school in the renewal of Catholic
church music that followed the conclusion of the Council of Trent
in 1563. The pure, detached contrapuntal style of Palestrina's
sacred compositions served as the perfect conservative model for
Catholic church music from the sixteenth century, through the
Palestrina-inspired Gradus ad Parnassum of Fux in the eighteenth
century, to the present day.51Nevertheless, Roman counterpoint
did not begin with Palestrina; if the first 125 counterpoints of Bol-
ogna C36 indeed represent the work of Festa, as they almost assur-
edly do, then quite literally one can see in the ascending number
of voices the steps to Parnassus taken by Festa in Rome a full
generation or two before Palestrina realised the flowering of his
own contrapuntal genius. Too, we can rejoice in the discovery of
125 'lost' works written by the first great Italian composer of the
High Renaissance.
The Colorado College
j'
S. Durante, in 'On ArtzJicioso Compositions at the Time of Frescobaldi', Frescobaldi

Studies, ed. A. Silbiger (Durham, North Carolina, 1987), p. 196, placed the 157
variations in Bologna C36 at the beginning of a long sequence of pedagogical
counterpoint collections leading from c. 1592 to 1655. Obviously, Nanino's canonic
motets, published in 1586, were written at least six years earlier than the putative
date of 1592, and of course Festa's contributions to Bologna C36 were probably
composed about half a century earlier.
APPENDIX
Inventory of Bologna C36, fols. 1-128
The counterpoints are numbered according to the scheme in the manuscript itself. Since the music is copied across
from verso to recto, a piece occasionally begins on a recto page but continues on the facing verso; however, the
'Folios' column simply gives the first and last pages on which each composition is found. Voices are referred to
by clef; voices using the same clef are distinguished by letters according to positions in the score, with 'Cla' above
'Clb' and so on. The cantus firmus (= c.f.) begins in the first bar of each piece and proceeds in single breves
unless indicated below to the contrary. Unless specific mention is made of the c.f., comments under 'Mensuration
and procedures' refer only to the additional voices.
To simplify typesetting, some mensuration signs are rendered schematically: the circle and 'semicircle' appear as
0 and C, the barred versions as 01 and CI; the semicircle enclosing a dot is C-
No. Folios Initial clefs Annotations Mensuration and procedures
1 1' C4a [Below C4a] Prima CI; free counterpoint against the c.f.
C4b(c.f.)
2 C3 [Below C3] Seconda CI; a clef and metre exercise - the added voice changes clef
C4(c.f.) 24 times, among C1, C2, C3, C4, F4; the metre changes
from CI to 3 and back.
3 2'3' Cla [Below C l a ] Terza CI; imitative counterpoint.
Clb
C4(c.f.)
4 3'+ Cla [Below C l a ] Quarta CI; imitative counterpoint.
Clb
C4(c.f.)
[Below C2] Trigesima cI; non-imitative counterpoint with rhythmic stratification;
Sesta F4 carries the motive la-sol-fa-re-mi(the subject of Josquin's
famous Mass) in ostinato; another unidentified ostinato
figure, fa-mi-la-mi-sol-la, dominates C2; C2 and F4 move
mostly in breves with occasional smaller values, while C4a,
apparently the only freely written voice, moves considerably
faster.
[Below C2] Trigesima CI; non-imitative counterpoint; C2 carries a brief ostinato
settima figure, f '-el-df-6'-b-6'-d' with occasional rhythmic variation;
after opening, F4 moves mostly in breves.
[Below C4a] Trigesima CI; non-imitative counterpoint; in C1, repetition mostly

ottava between e' and a', mimicking cadential motion, with varied
rhythms.
[Below C 11 Trigesima CI; mixed key signature, with one b in C1, C4a, F4, but
Nona none in C4b; freely imitative counterpoint.
[Below C4b] CI; c.f. now moves to the lowest voice as the range of all
Quadragesima voices stays within a n extremely limited compass; imitative
counterpoint.
[Below C2] Quadragesima CI; non-imi tative counterpoint.

prima
[Below C3] Quadragesima CI; mixed key signature, with one b in both C3, F4;
seconda non-imitative counterpoint; in C3, cadential-like ostinato,
6'-dry'-el-dr-cr-bb/bh-c' (in one statement the entire motive is
transposed to begin on f '), with varied rhythms.
[Below C3] Quadragesima CI; imitative counterpoint on the same three-minim upbeat
Terza subject throughout.
Appendix (cont.)
No. Folios Initial clefs annotation.^ Mensuration and procedures
[Below C4a] CI; c.f. once again in the lowest voice; imitative
Quadragesima quarta counterpoint within a restricted range.
[Below C3] Quadragesima Cl; imitative counterpoint; massive sequence a t the

quinta conclusion.
[Below C4a] CI; ostinato of the opening motive re-mi+-sol used in both
Quadragesima sesta C4a and C4b throughout, in varied rhythms; F4 imitates
the ostinato a t the opening before it assumes a largely
non-imitative role.
[Below C4a] CI; C 3 employs the motive sol-sol-(sol)-mi$-sol as an
Quadragesima settima ostinato with melodic and rhythmic variation; C4a and F3
use the ostinato figure as the basis for imitative
counterpoint.
[Below C4a] CI; c.f. again moves to lowest position, and the initial
Quadragesima Ottava imitative counterpoint takes place within a very restricted
range; the last half of the piece consists mostly of
non-imitative counterpoint.
[Below C3] Quadragesima CI; imitative counterpoint.
Nona
[Below C3a] CI; imitative counterpoint.

Quinquagesima
Appendix (cont.)
No. Folios Initial clefs Annotations Men.ruration and procedures
[Below C4] CI; imitative counterpoint in a somewhat restricted range.
Quinquagesima Nona
[Below C4] CI; imitative counterpoint in a low range

Sessagesima
[Below C4] Sessagesima CI; free imitative counterpoint in a low range; lethargic
Prima motion consists mostly of breves and semibreves.
[Below C2] Sessagesima CI; c.f. returns to the Tenor, but in retrograde (for the only
seconda time in the first group of 125 counterpoints); non-imitative
counterpoint.
[Below C3] Sessagesima CI; non-imitative counterpoint; lethargic rhythmic motion,

Terza mostly breves and semibreves; extended sequence among all
voices a t the conclusion.
[Below C4a] Sessagesima CI; imitative counterpoint; again lethargic rhythmic motion,
quarta mostly breves and semibreves with the exception of decorated
suspended cadences.
[Below C4a] Sessagesima CI; imitative counterpoint.

quinta
[Below C3] Sessagesima CI; imitative counterpoint.
sesta
[Below C2] Sessagesima CI; imitative counterpoint.

Settima
[Below C4a] Sessagesima CI; imitative counterpoint based on a motive of falling thirds.
Ottava
[Below C I] Sessagesima CI; imitative counterpoint with pseudo-augmentation of initial

Nona motive a t opening of F4; massive sequence among all voices
at the conclusion.
[Below C2] CI; non-imitative counterpoint a t the opening, although some

Settuagesima imitation develops later.
[Above C3a] Ressolutio CI; simultaneous canon in inversion between F5 and the
[below C3a] Settuagesima resolution in C3a a t the upper major third two octaves
Prima removed; C3b remains a free contrapuntal line.
[Below C3] Settuagesima CI; imitative counterpoint; in F4, a continually occurring

seconda motive appears from bar 9 onward, on f-e-d-f-c-c-B-A-c-G,
apparently derived from the opening imitative motive.
[Below C3a] Settuagesima CI; free imitative counterpoint.

Terza
Appendix (cont.)
[Below C3] Settugesima CI; canon of the c.f. material a t the upper fifth, distance of
[sic] quarta 1 bar, C4b (dux), C3 (comes); only the rests added in bars
14-16 of C 3 and seven subsequent changes in mensuration
in the same voice enable the counterpoint to work; the
other two voices engage in free imitation of one another.
[Below C3al Settuagesima CI; the same motive continually returns in all three added
quinta voices, re-fa-sol-la-mi-sol-re; the motive acts as a virtual
ostinato in F4.
[Below C3] Settuagesima CI; ostinato figure of ut-re-mi in both soft and natural
Sesta hexachords, with rhythmic variation, in C4a; the remaining
two voices imitate one another freely.
[Below C 11 Settuagesima 0 ; imitative counterpoint; some coloration used in all

Settima added voices.
[Below C3] Settuagesima CI; F4 states six ostinato figures, each repeated a number
Ottava of times before moving on to the next; C1 also exhibits a
few such figures, but they are not used as strictly or
consistently as those in F4; C 3 engages in free counterpoint.
[Below C4a] Settuagesima CI; imitative counterpoint; after 9 bars, the piece becomes a
Nona mensural exercise in all added voices with numerous, and
sometimes bizarre, proportions, such as 1/4, 5/4, and 8/2.
[Below C I] Ottuagesima Three different mensurations: 0 in C l , C. in C4a, 0

1 3/2
[sic] in C4b and F4; non-imitative counterpoint.
[Below C3] Ottogesima CI; canon at the unison, F4a (dux), F4b (comes), distance of
Prima a quarter-bar; the plodding breves and limited range of C 3
would suggest a quotation from plainchant, but the melody
has not been identified.
[Below C2] Ottogesima CI; mixed key signature, with one b in C4a, F4, but none
seconda [below C4a] Bis in C2, C4b; all voices, non-imitative, work well as written;
dicitur primo ut iacet following the instructions of the rubric, C2 and F4
secondo quinta supra transpose up a fifth and work fine with the untransposed
c.f., but C4a appears to have been corrupted in
transmission, since in the transposed position it clashes with
the c.f. about a dozen times (unprepared sevenths and
ninths, and forbidden parallels); the results are even worse
when the voice is left untransposed or is transposed to yet
another pitch level.
[Below C2] Ottogesima CI; imitative counterpoint; a n exercise in clef changes in all
Terxa added parts.
[Below C 11 Ottogesima CI; imitative counterpoint; a study in bizarre mensuration

quarta changes and proportions in all added voices, including (for
instance) 8 / 1 , 1 / 8 , and 5/2.
[Below C 11 Ottogesima CI; non-imitative counterpoint; tricky syncopations in all

quinta added voices, especially F4.
[Below C3] Ottogesima CI; non-imitative counterpoint; steady semibreve motion in

Sesta F4; triplets appear for 1; bars in C3.
[Below C 11 Ottogesima CI; non-imitative counterpoint; F4 moves in steady dotted

settima semibreves throughout.
Appendix (cont.)
112 93'-94' C1 [Below C I ] Centesima CI; very free imitation; C1 presents all double breves
C3 Duodecima almost in the manner of a second c.f., but the irregular
C4a contour of the melody suggests that it was not prius factus.
C4b(c.f.)
F4
113 94'-95' C3 [Below C3] Centesima CI; imitative counterpoint; opening imitative motive,
C4a Terxadecima ut-mi-mi-sol-re, is used as an ostinato in F4.
C4b
C4c(c.f.)
F4
114 94:-95' C1 [Above C I] Ressolutio CI; canon a t the upper eleventh, distance of 1 bar, F4
C3 [below C I ] Centesima (dux), C I (comes); remaining voices mostly non-imitative.
C4a Quartadecima
C4b(c.f.)
F4
115 95"-96' Cla [Below C l a ] Cente- CI; extremely free paraphrase of the hymn Ut quuent laxis
Clb sima quintadecima (LU1504) in C l b; C l a presents the natural hexachord in
C4a [below C l b] Ut stepwise ascending motion with various rhythms
C4b(c.f.) queant laxis throughout; otherwise, mostly non-imitative or freely
F4 imitative counterpoint.
116 96'-98' C1 [Below C 11 Centesima CI; augmentation of c.f. in double breves in C4b, so that
C3 sesta Decima this piece and the next two (which present the c.f. in
C4a augmentation) are longer than most of the others; imitative
C4b(c.f.) counterpoint; F4 presents a series of four ostinato figures,
F4 repeating each several times before moving on to the next.
117 97'-99' C1 [Below C l ] Centesima C ( ; again, augmentation of c.f. in double breves; imitative
C3 Decima settima counterpoint.
C4a
C4b(c.C)
F4
118 99"-101' C1 [Below C 11 Centesima CI; once again, augmentation of c.f. in double breves;
C3 Decima Ottava imitative counterpoint.
C4a
C4b(c.f.)
F4
119 101"-102' C4(c.f.) [Below C41 Centesima CI; c.f. returns to breve values; first six-voice piece in the
F3a Decima nona collection; imitative counterpoint; a single cadential-style
F3b motive acts as an ostinato in F3a, F3b, and F4.
F4
F5a
F5b
120 102'-103' C1 [Below C 11 Centesima CI; like the c.C, F4 also moves in steady breves; remaining
C3 Vigesima voices are freely imitative.
C4a
C4b
C4c(c.f.)
F4
121 103'105" C1 [Below C 11 Centesima CI; each pitch of c.f. is now augmented to triple-breve
C3 Vigesima Prima values, making this piece the longest in the collection;
C4a imitative counterpoint.
C4b(c.C)
F4a
F4b
122 106'107' C1 [Below C 1] Centesima CI; the only seven-voice piece in the collection; C1 sustains
C3 Vigesima seconda an a' whenever it is harmonically possible, but otherwise it
C4a rests; imitative counterpoint among the other voices.
C4b
C4c(c.f.)
F4a
F4b
[Below C 11 Centesima C ( in C1, C in C3a, C3b; diminution of c.f. to semibreves;
Vigesima sesta [below 3a] canon a t the unison, distance of 1 bar, C3a (dux), C3b
Canon ad Unisonum (comes). The first of Nanino's twenty-four three-voice
[below canonic motets, all found printed in Nanino's motet book of
C3b] Letamini in 1586 (RISM N24); the Latin rubric below C3b and all
Domino those following in this inventory (except for those that give
the number of the counterpoint or identify the canonic
technique used) refer to the texts added in Nanino's
publication.
[Below G21 Centesima CI; the c.f. returns to breve values; canon a t the lower
Vigesima settima [below major second, distance of 1 bar, G2 (dux), C l a (comes);
C l a ] Canon. Ad Tonum published in N24.
[below C 1b] Hi sunt qui

cum Mulieribus
[Below C 1] Centesima CI; canon a t the upper major third, distance of a half-bar,
Vigesima Ottava [below C2 (dux), C1 (comes); published in N24 with motet text
C21 Canon: Ad Ditonum 'Decantabat populus Israel'.
[Below C 11 Centesima CI in C1, C in C2, C4; diminution of c.f. to semibreves in
Vigesima Nona [below C1; canon a t the lower fourth, distance of a half-bar, C2
C2] Canon in (dux), C 4 (comes); published in N24.
subdiatessaron [below C4]

Benedicam
Dominum
[Below C 11 Cen tesima C ( ; canon a t the lower fourth, distance of 1 bar, C1 (dux),
Vigesima ['Nona' C3 (comes); published in N24.
expunged] Trigesima
[below C3] Canon in
Diatessaron Remissum
[below C4] Miserere mihi
domine
Appendix (cont.)
[Below C 11 Centesima C; diminution of c.f. to semibreves, and c.f. embellished in
Trigesima Prima [below bars 4-5, where the word 'Maria' may be found in N24, in
C31 Canon in imitation of the two canonic voices; canon a t the lower
subdiatesaron [below C4] fourth, distance of a half-bar, with C 3 (dux), C 4 (comes);
Gaude maria Virgo published in N24.
[Below C 1] Centesima C; diminution of c.f. to semibreves in C I ; canon a t the
Trigesima lower fifth, distance of 1 bar, C 3 (dux), C 4 (comes);
seconda [below C3] published in N24.
Canon in sub Diapente

[below C4] Videte manus
meas
[Below C 1] Centesima CI; c.f. returns to breve values; canon a t the upper fifth,
Trigesima Terza [below distance of 1 bar, C 3 (dux), C1 (comes); published in N24.
C3] Canon in Diapente

Intensum [below C4]
Lapidabant stephanum
[Below C 11 Centesima CI; canon a t the lower major sixth, distance of a half-bar,
trigesima quarta [below C1 (dux), C 3 (comes); published in N24.
C3] Canon a d
Essacordum [below
C41 Exultent et
letentur
[Below G21 Centesima CI; c.f. is transposed up a n octave from its usual position,
Trigesima quinta [below to a'; canon at the upper minor seventh, distance of 1 bar,
C 11 Ecce ego mitto vos C3 (dux), G2 (comes); published in N24.
[below C31 Canon ad

Eptacordum
[Below G2] Laudate C; diminution of c.f. to semibreves in C I , and c.f.
Dominum omnes transposed up an octave; canon a t the upper octave,
gentes [below C l ] distance of 1 bar, C 4 (dux), G2 (comes); published in N24.
Centesima Trigesima sesta
[below C4] Canon in
Diapason Intensum
[Below C3] Canon in CI; c.f. returns to breve values; canon a t the lower octave,
Diapason remissum [below distance of a half-bar, C 3 (dux), F4 (comes); published in
C4] Centesima Trigesima N24.
settirna
[below F41 Hic [estl
Beatissirnus
[Below C3] Canon Ad CI; canon a t the upper major ninth, distance of 1 bar, F4
Nonam [below C4] (dux), C 3 (comes); published in N24.
Centesima Trigesima
Ottava [below F4] Fuit
Homo
[Below C3a] Canon ad C ; even with this rnensural sign, diminution of the c.f. to
Unisonum [below C3b] semibreves does not occur in C4; canon a t the unison,
Venite filij distance of a half-bar, C3a (dux), C3b (comes); published in
[below C41 Centesima N24.
Trigesima nona
[Below C3] Canon ad C; diminution of c.f. to semibreves in C4; canon in
Tonum per oppositum inversion, beginning a whole tone below, distance of a
[below C4] Cen tesirna quarter-bar, C 3 (dux), F3 (comes); published in N24.
quadragesima [below F3]
Cantate Domino
[below C31 Versa est in CI; canon a t the upper major third, distance of a half-bar,
luctum [below C4al Canon C4a (dux), C 3 (comes); published in N24.
ad Ditonum [below C4b]
Centesima quadragesima
Prima
[Below C I] Centesima CI; c.f. transposed up an octave; canon a t the lower fourth,
quadragesima distance of 1 bar, C 4 (dux), F3 (comes); published in N24
seconda [below C4] with motet text 'Surge illuminare Hierusalem'.
Canon in
subdiatessaron
[Below C3a] Canon ad C; c.f. returns to a single breve per bar; canon a t the
Unisonum [below C3bl unison, distance of a quarter-bar, C3a (dux), C3b (comes);
Surge propera [below C4] published in N24.
Centesima quadragesima
ottava
[Below C21 Centesima C ; a n inversion of Counterpoint 148, with all voices now
quadragesima beginning u p a fifth from their previous positions and each
Nona [below C3a] line inverted; published in N24.
Canon ad Unisonum.
alio mod0 [below C3b]
Surge Propera
150 121'-122" Cla [Below C la] Canon ad C ( ; the first of Nanino's series of four five-voice canonic
Clb Unisonum [below C l bl motets published in N24 (Counterpoints 154-7, only one of
C4a(c.f.) Verbum caro factum est them a canon, were not published with the others); a
C4b [below double canon - one canon a t the unison, distance of 3
C4c C4a] Centesima quin- bars, C l a (dux), C l b (comes), and another a t the unison,
quagesima [below distance of 3 bars, ~ 4 (dux),
b C4c (comes); published in
C4b] Canon. a d N24.
Unisonum
151 122"-123' Cla [Below C l a ] Canon. Ad CI; another double canon - one canon a t the unison,
Clb Unisonum [below C l b] distance of a half-bar, C l a (dux), C l b (comes), and another
C3 Gavisi sunt Discipuli. at the lower octave, distance of a half-bar, C3 (dux), F4
C4(c.f.) [below C3] (comes); published in N24.
F4 Canon in Diapason [below
C41 Centesima
quinquagesima prima
152 123'124' Cla [Below C l a ] Canon ad -
CI; another double canon one canon a t the unison,
Clb Unisonum [below C lc] distance of 3 bars, C l a (dux), C l b (comes), and another a t
Clc(c.C) Centesima quinquagesima the unison, distance of 3 bars, C4a (dux), C4b (comes);
C4a seconda [below C4a] published in N24.
C4b Monstra te esse matrem
Appendix (cont.)
153 126125' C l a [Below C l a ] Quinta pars C ( ; three-voice canon with optional fifth voice; C 4 followed
Clb(c.f.) si placet [below C l b] after a half-bar by C2 a t the upper fifth, and a half-bar
C2 Centesima quinquagesima later by F4 a t the lower fourth; published in N24.
C4 terza
F4 [below C2] Canon in
Diapente et in Diatesaron
[sic; below C41 Qui vult
venire post me
154 124'-126' Cl [Below C 1] Centesima CI; free imitation; not published in N24.
C3 quinquagesima
C4a quarta
C4b(c.f.)
F4
155 125'-126' C1 [Below C 11 Centesima CI; imitative counterpoint; not published in N24.
C3 quinquagesima
C4a quinta
C4b(c.f.)
F4
156 126'-127" C1 [Below C 11 Centesima CI; canon a t the upper fifth, distance of a half-bar, F4
C3 quinquagesima (dux), C4a (comes); the remaining two voices are freely
C4a sesta [below F4] imitative of the canon and one another; not published in
C4b(c.f.) Canon in Diapente N24.
F4 intensum
157 127'128' Cla(c.f.) [Below C l a ] Centes- CI; one b key signature in all voices; c.f. in retrograde and
Clb ima quinquagesima transposed upward to b e g n on d"; imitative counterpoint;
C3 settima not published in N24.
C4
F4
[This portion of the manuscript ends with the following inscription]
Finis 1602 Mantuae I Die 23. Octobris.+
Early Music History (1996) Volume 15
T H E P O L Y P H O N I C R O N D E A U C. 1 3 0 0 :
REPERTORY AND CONTEXT*
Any explanation of the emerging polyphonic chanson in the years

before 1330 must negotiate varied repertories and compositions.
One of the central genres in such a study would be the polyphonic
rondeau.' It is characterised by a musico-poetic structure more or
less analogous to the rondeau of the later fourteenth century, but
also by three-part music - mostly syllabic, note-against-note -
that is copied in score. Our view of these sorts of compositions
is dominated by the works of Adam de la Halle, whose sixteen
score-notated polyphonic settings of vernacular lyrics are pre-
served in a manuscript now in the Biblioth?que Nationale (F-Pn),
MS fr. 25566.2 This manuscript contains sections dedicated to
* Earlier versions of this article were read at the Humboldt Universitat, Berlin, June
1994, and at a Conference on Medieval and Renaissance Music, Glasgow, July 1994. It
forms part of larger study of the emergence of polyphonic song in the early fourteenth
century. The sources that might be considered in such a study were outlined in M.
Everist, 'The Origins of Polyphonic Song 11: Sources and Repertories', colloquium, King's
College London, 19 October 1988, and some methodological problems were adumbrated
in Everist, 'The Origins of Polyphonic Song I: Citation, Motet, Rondeau', Colloque: La
musique a Auignon au XIV siicle, Abbaye de Royaumont, 8-12 July 1988. I am grateful to
Margaret Bent, Lawrence Earp and Sylvia Huot for reading drafts of this article and
for their comments on the text.
' The wide range of genres that would constitute such an inquiry are discussed in
Everist, 'Origins of Polyphonic Song 11'.
Diplomatic facsimiles, texts and music of these compositions are given in C. E. H.
de Coussemaker, ed., Oeuvres complites du trouvire Adam de la Halle (palsies et musique)
(Paris, 1872), pp. 207-35 and, more recently, N. Wilkins, ed., The Lyric Works of Adam
de la Hale (Chansom, jeux partis, rondeaux, motets), Corpus Mensurabilis Musicae, 44
([Rome], 1967), pp. 49-59. Texts alone are found in G . Raynaud, ed., Recueil de
motets fran~ais des xii' et xiii' siicles publib d'apris les manrcrcrits, avec introduction, notes,
variantes, et glossaires, 2 vols., Biblioth2que Franqaise du Moyen Age (Paris, 1881-3;
R Hildesheim and New York, 1972; R Geneva, 1974), vol. 1 1 , pp. 108-14, and N. H .
J . van den Boogaard, Rondeaux et refrains du xi? siBcle au dibut du xive: Collationnement,
introduction, et notes, Bibliothtque Franqaise et Romane, D:3 (Paris, 1969), pp. 51-6.
The dating of the manuscript is problematic. A secure terminus post quem is provided
by a reference in the Dis du Vrai Aniel ( F - P n fr. 25566, fols. 232-235) to the capture
of Acre by Moslem forces under Sultan al-Ashraf on 18 May 1291 after six weeks
of siege (S. Runciman, A History of the Crusades, 3 vols. (Cambridge, 1954; Harmonds-
Mark Everist
Adam's grands chants, jeux partis, motets and rondeaux, as well as
to other compositions that did not involve music directly, and
works of which Adam was not the a ~ t h o r . ~
This immaculate presentation of Adam's polyphonic rondeaux
is at once fortunate and problematic: fortunate because we have
apparently the complete works in the genre by one of the few
named composers from the end of the thirteenth century, and
possibly in a format that could have been authorised by the
composer himselc4 problematic because the works of Adam not
only dominate our view of the polyphonic rondeau of this period
but are almost the only representatives of the genre.5 O n the
basis of an analogy with his highly idiosyncratic motets, for
worth, 1971), vol. 111, pp. 412-23: page numbers refer to the 1971 edition); the
manuscript must therefore have been copied after that date. The editor of the Roman
de Renart, Henri Roussel, further noted that the full-page miniature of the Wheel of
Fortune ( F - P n fr. 25566, fol. 175') was decorated with the arms of Guy de Dampierre,
Count of Flanders, and those of the Hangest family. If such a conjunction of arms
represented cordial relations between the Hangest and Dampierre families, these
could not have lasted beyond 1297. Although this latter date is more speculative
than the former, together they seem to imply a time between 1291 and 1297 (H.
Roussel, ed., Renart le nouvel par Jacquemart Gielee publii d'ap?es le manuscrit La Vallidre,
SociCtt des Anciens Textes Franqais (Paris, 1961), pp. 8-9).
Summary lists of contents in C. Segre, ed., L i Bestiaires d'amours di Maistre Richart de
Fomival e L i Response du Bestiaire, Documenti di Filologia, 2 (Naples and Milan,
1957), pp. xxxiii-xxxvii, and G. Reaney, Manuscripts of PolyPhonic Music (11th-Early
14th Centuryl, Repertoire International des Sources Musicales, BIV, (Munich and
Duisberg, 1966), pp. 395-40 1.
Such a position is familiar from work on the Machaut manuscripts. See S. J. Williams,
'An Author's Role in Fourteenth-Century Book Production: Guillaume Machaut's
"Livre ou je met toutes mes choses"', Romania, 90 (1969), pp. 433-34. See also S.
Huot, From Song to Book: The Poetics of Writing in Old French Lyric and Lyrical Narrative
Poetry (Ithaca, N.Y., and London, 1987).
j
In this respect, the position is similar to the organa quadrupla ascribed to Perotinus
by Anonymous I V (F. Reckow, ed., Der Musiktraktal des Anonymus 4, 2 vols., Beihefte
zum Archiv fur Musikwissenschaft, 4-5 (Wiesbaden, 1967) vol. I, p. 46. Indeed, the
absence of any comparative material has meant that the chronological implications
of the dates apparently associated with these works (see most recently M. Everist,
Polyphonic Music in Thirteenth-Century France: Aspects of Sources and Distribution (New York
and London, 1989), pp. 5-6) have been hotly debated. See, for a representative
sample of this argument, H . Tischler, 'The Dates of Perotin', Journal of the American
Musicological Society, 16 (1963), pp. 240-1; idem, 'Perotinus Revisited', Aspects of Medieval
and Renaissance Music: A Birthday Offering to Gustave Reese, ed. J . LaRue (Oxford, 1967),
pp. 803-17; E. Sanders, 'The Question of Perotin's Oeuvre and Dates', Festschrift fur
Walter Wiora Zum 30. Dezember 1966, ed. L. Finscher and C.-H. Mahling (Kassel etc.,
1967), pp. 241-9. At the time of writing, a further contribution to the question is
forthcoming (S. Pinegar, 'Between Pope and Monarch: A Return to Dating Ptrotin's
organa quadrupla', American Musicological Society Annual Meeting, Minneapolis, 26-
30 October 1994).
60
The polyphonic rondeau c. 1300
example, we might be tempted to think that his rondeaux also

explore atypical compositional p r ~ c e d u r e s The
. ~ absence of com-
parable repertories means that we cannot answer such questions
as whether Adam's treatment of poetry or music in these works
is typical or not.
For most of this century, material that could contextualise
Adam de la Halle's polyphonic rondeaux has been readily available
but little explored. Carefully concealed in the footnotes of
accounts of the composer and his music are occasional references
to a contemporary manuscript in the Biblioth6que Nationale,
F-Pn fr. 12786.' This is an important source for, among other
texts, the Roman de la rose and Messire Thibaut's Roman de la
Adam de la Halle's motets - edited in Wilkins, Lyric Works, pp. 58-69 - have received
less attention than they deserve. They exhibit large stylistic inconsistencies both
within the group and between Adam's works and the rest of the thirteenth-century
motet repertory. For a view of the texts of Adam's motets, see S. Huot, 'Transform-
ations of Lyric Voice in the Songs, Motets and Plays of Adam de la Halle', Romanic
Review, 78 (1987), pp. 148-64.
' The poems were edited in Raynaud, Recueil de Motets, vol. rr, pp. 94-107. Friedrich
Ludwig mentioned them briefly (Repertorium organorum recentioris et motetorum vetustissimi
stili, vol. I , part 2, pp. 616-171, and Friedrich Gennrich published as much of the
musically related material as was known in 1921 (Rondeaux, Virelais und Balladen, vol.
r, pp. 74-87). F. Ludwig, Repertorium organorum recentioris et motetorum vetustissimi stili, 2
vols.: vol. r, part 1, Halle, 1910; R ed. L. A. Dittmer, Musicological Studies, 7
(Brooklyn, N.Y. and Hildesheim, 1964); vol. 1, part 2, pp. 345-456, ed. F. Gennrich,
Summa Musicae Medii Aevi, 7 (Langen bei Frankfurt, 1961; including reprint of
Ludwig, 'Die Quellen der Motetten altesten Stils', Archiu fur Musikwissenrchaft, 5 (1923),
pp. 185-222 and 273-315); vol. I, part 2, pp. [345-4561, [457-783, R e d . L. A. Dittmer,
Musicological Studies, 26 (Binningen, 1978); vol. 11, pp. 1-71, ed. F. Gennrich, Summa
Musicae Medii Aevi, 8 (of which pp. 65-71 in page proof only) (Langen bei Frankfurt,
1962); R pp. 1-155 (of which pp. 65-71 corrected), ed. L. A. Dittmer, Musicological
Studies, 17 (Brooklyn, N.Y., and Hildesheim, 1972). F. Gennrich, Rondeaux, Virelais
und Balladen aus dem Ende des xii., dem xiii., und dem ersten Drittel des xiv. Jahrhunderts
mit den iiberlieferten Melodien, 3 vols.: vol. I, Gesellschaft fur Romanische Literatur, 43
(Dresden, 1921); vol. rr, Gesellschaft fur Romanische Literatur, 47 (Gottingen, 1927);
vol. rtr (titled Das altfranzbj.ische Rondeau und Virelai i m 12. und 13. Jahrhundert), Summa
Musicae Medii Aevi, 10 (Langen bei Frankfurt, 1963). Both Ludwig (Repertorium,
vol. I, part 2, p. 616) and Gennrich (Rondeaux, Virelais und Balladen, vol. 11, p. 90)
noted that the music for these lyrics would have been in three parts. The poetry is
also edited, with no indications of music, in van den Boogaard, Rondeaux et Refains,
pp. 81-90. The dating of the manuscript is much less specific than that of F-Pn fr.
25566. The early fourteenth-century date advanced in L. Walters, 'ChrCtien de Troyes
and the Romance of the Rose: Continuation and Narrative Tradition' (Ph.D. diss.,
Princeton University, 1986), pp. 363-87, is based on a private consultation with
Franqois Avril of the Bibliothkque Nationale. This dating cannot be supported by
the decoration in the manuscript (because it was never executed), and is therefore
based mostly on precarious paleographical assessments. Raynaud (Recueil de Motets,
vol. rr, p. xii) places the manuscript at the end of the thirteenth century.
Mark Everist
p ~ i r e I. t~ also contains a collection of over thirty lyrics similar in

style to those of Adam de la Halle's polyphonic rondeaux. Indeed,
there are four concordances with Adam's poems. Furthermore,
these lyrics were designed to be copied with polyphonic music
that was never inscribed, so they now survive with large amounts
of white space between lines of poetry. All the music that was
destined for these compositions was probabIy similar to the three-
part homophonic score-notated music that characterises the ron-
deaux of Adam de la Halle. This similarity may be demonstrated
by a comparison of leaves from F-Pn fr. 25566 and F-Pn fr. 12786
(Figure 1). O n the leaf from F-Pn fr. 12786 are the texts of four
rondeaux, and on the one from F-Pn fr. 25566 are five rondeau poems
with their music. The text and notation in both manuscripts are
black, the stave-lines red; the initials alternate red with blue. I n
both manuscripts, the refrain of the rondeau is, or would have
been, set polyphonically, and the rest of the text (the additamenta)
including cues for the repetition of part or all of the refrain, is
given at the right of, or underneath, the n ~ t a t i o n .The ~ main
difference in layout between the two manuscripts is that F-Pn
fr. 25566 is set out in columns whereas F-Pn fr. 12786 uses the
entire width of the written block. The third rondeau on the leaf
from F-Pn fr. 12786, 'Diex comment porroie', is a concordance
to the second one on the leaf from F-Pn fr. 25566. The two
readings of this poem may be compared in Figure 1; they preserve
interesting textual - and even structural - variants.''
The Roman de la rose is edited by E. Langlois, Le Roman de la rose par Guillaume de

Lorris et Jean de Meun publid d'aprzs les manuscrits, SociCtC des Anciens Textes Fran~ais,
5 vols. (Paris, 1914-24); the Roman de la poire is edited by C. M. Nizia, Le Roman de
la poire par Tibaut, SociCtC des Anciens Textes Francais (Paris, 1984).
The term additamenta originated with Johannes de Grocheio (Ernst Rohloff, ed., Der
Musiktraktat des Johannes de Grocheo nach dem Quellen neu herausgegeben mit obersetzung ins
Deutsche und Revisionsbericht, Media Latinitas Musica, 2 (Leipzig, 1943), pp. 50-1; idem,
ed., Die Quellenhandschriften zum Musiktraktat des Johannes de Grocheio i m Faksimile herausgeg-
eben nebst Ubertragung des Textes und t'bersetzun! ins Deutsche, dazu Bericht, Literatur~chau,
Tabellen und Indices (Leipzig, [1972]), pp. 74-5 and 132). See also C. Page, 'Johannes
de Grocheio on Secular Music: A Corrected Text and a New Translation', Plaimong
and Medieval Music, 2 ( 1993), pp. 17-4 1.
'O The text of the poem's three-line refrain is the same in the two versions; so is that
of lines 4 and 5. In place of the following three lines in F-Pn fr. 25566 ('Ne m'en
partiroie1Pour les iex creverlse s'amour n'avoie'), F-Pn fr. 12786 has two lines only
('Jamais cuer n'avroieIDe nule autre amer'). Both poems close with a full statement
of the refrain.
62
T h e polyphonic rondeau c. 1300
The overall dimensions of the manuscripts are similar, and

the amount of space left for the polyphony in F-Pn fr. 12786 is
proportionally the same as in the rondeaux from F-Pn fr. 25566.
Furthermore, in the version of Thibaut's Roman de la poire also
copied in F-Pn fr. 12786, the space left for the music of the
refrains - which, as in the rondeaux, is left blank - is exactly what
would be needed for monophony: in other words, one-third the
depth of the spaces left for the three-part polyphonic music."
T h e presence in F-Pn fr. 12786 of concordances to four poems
from the Adam de la Halle rondeau collection strongly suggests
that the polyphonic music for all four would have been the same
in the two sources. This is also the case for another manuscript
that preserves Adam's rondeaux: Cambrai, Biblioth?que Munici-
pale 1328 ( F - C A 1328)." Four of Adam's rondeaux (not the same
compositions that are concordant in F-Pn fr. 12786) are preserved
in this manuscript also. Comparison with F-Pn fr. 25566 shows
that one of these, 'Li dous regars', varies its outer voices substan-
tially in addition to transposing the entire texture up a step. T h e
middle voice in both versions is essentially unchanged, and,
although the melodic profiles of the outer voices are modified,
the overall contrapuntal structure is identical (Example 1). T h e
only exception concerns the final cadence, where the antepenulti-
mate sonority is different. The final progression is identical in
the two versions.13
The scribe has left 16mm for the notation of the monophonic refraiw and 48mm for
the three-part notation of the polyphonic rondeaux.
The section of F - C A 1328 devoted to the four polyphonic rondeaux by Adam has little
to do with the rest of the manuscript, for which see I. Lerch, Fragmente aus Cambrai:
Ein Beitrag zur Rekonstruktion einer Handschrift mit spatmittelalterlicher Polyphonic, 2 vols.,
Gottinger Musikwissenschaftliche Arbeiten, 11 (Kassel etc., 1987), which supersedes
previous accounts of the subject. Coussemaker, Histoire de l'harmonie au moyen age (Paris,
1852; R Hildesheim, 1966), p. xxxi, gives a facsimile of the recto of the leaf on which
'Li dous regars' is found, and a transcription on p. xxxv. Both versions of the
composition are edited in Wilkins, Lyric Works, p. 50.
l3
In Example 1, all three voice-parts have been reduced to a single stave for each
version of the piece, and doublings are not noted (hence the apparent mixture of
two- and three-part sonorities). The reduction also filters out middleground voice-
leading and foreground ornamentation; it is in these domains that the two versions
differ greatly. The criteria for executing such a reduction as this are problematic in
mode I1 compositions, even (as here) where the text declamation follows the modal
rhythms of the music. Example 1 uses sonorities on the longa for its principal entries,
and those on the second brevis for its single subsidiary entry. What the graph does
not show, for reasons of space, is a comparison between the two versions that takes
account of all the sonorities on the second brevis. Differences between the two versions
Mark Everist
Figure 1 Comparison of F-Pn fr. 25566, fol. 34', and F-Pn fr. 12786, fol. 78'
spill over into this dimension. Users of the edition in Wilkins, Lyric Works, p. 50,
should note that the final pitch in the top part of the version from F-Pn fr. 25566
is given as d (thus creating a 6-5 sonority). The manuscript evidence that it should
be f is clear. See pp. 93-5 below for a consideration of the tessitura of the voice
parts in the two versions.
mon orcr c
mat)uQm
Figure 1 (cant.) Photos: Biblibthtque Nationale de France
This variant in one of the concordances between F-Pn fr. 25566

and F-CA 1328 is important for our discussion of the concord-
ances between F-Pn fr. 25566 and F-Pn 12786, because if these
sorts of variants are demonstrably possible in one pair of sources
Mark Everist
Example 1. 'Li dous regars': contrapuntal summary of versions in F-Pn fr. 25566, fol.
32", and F-CA 1328, fol. 3' (transposed down a step)
F-CA 1328
k d
(F-Pn fr. 25566 and F-CA 1328) they may occur in a further pair
of sources (F-Pn fr. 25566 and 12786) where the surviving mater-
ial does not allow exact verification. Although the versions of
the Adam rondeaux shared between F-Pn fr. 25566 and fr. 12786
may have exhibited the same sorts of variants found between
F-Pn fr. 25566 and F-CA 1328, they would have been essentially
the same compositions.
The immediate significance of the rondeaux in F-Pn fr. 12786 is
that they increase the number of such works that are known to
have existed: the total of 16 works - all by Adam de la Halle -
should be enlarged to 47. Furthermore, the context in which these
compositions are found - as part of an anonymous anthology - at
least leaves open the possibility that other composers might have
been involved in composing these works. Table 1 gives infor-
mation about the entire repertory, beginning with the works by
Adam and moving on to the texts in F-Pn fr. 12786.14
In the table, a number is assigned to each work in the left-hand
column. The second column gives the incipit of the work; the
third indicates the work's poetic structure (R,, R, and so on
standing for rondeau simple, rondeau tercet etc.). I n the last column,
concordances in other manuscripts are noted; the four pieces that
appear in both the principal manuscripts are listed twice, once
in F-Pn fr. 25566 and once in F-Pn fr. 12786 (thus no. 20, 'Bonne
Amourete', is the same as no. 14).
l4
The table also includes, for the sake of completeness, the well-known rondeau by
Jehannot de L'Escurel and the two less well-known anonymous works in Paris,
Bibliothkque Nationale, Collection de Picardie 67; the latter are edited in Gennrich,
Rondeaux, Virelais und Balladen, vol. 11, pp. 262-4. They are excluded from the current
discussion because, despite their superficial similarity to the works by Adam de la
Halle, they exhibit different patterns of texting and, in one case, an initial polyphonic
melisma that invites comparison with later fourteenth-century chansons. They are
important witnesses in an ongoing study of the emergence of polyphonic song in the
early fourteenth century.
The Adam de la Halle manuscript, F-Pn fr. 25566, is one of

the Biblioth2que Nationale's most prized possessions; beautifully
decorated, it is complete in all details. F-Pn fr. 12786 is very
different. I n addition to the absence of music for the polyphonic
rondeaux, the monophonic interpolations in the Roman de la poire
were not furnished with music. Furthermore, a sequence of decor-
ated initials was planned for the manuscript, but, like the music,
they were never executed. Despite these differences, there are
ways in which the two books emerge from the same literary and
bibliographic culture. I n the study of vernacular lyric and narra-
tive of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, the value of
manuscript sources has increased, as they are seen to be not
merely vehicles of text transmission but objects of inquiry in
their own right. Thirteenth- and fourteenth-century manuscripts
emerge as sophisticated compilations of texts in which specific
intertextual themes are developed according to the will of the
patron or the intellect of the compiler. Both F-Pn fr. 12786 and
fr. 25566 have been at the centre of these recent discussions of
the poetics of thematicism in manuscripts with Old French lyric
and narrative.I5
Adam de la Halle and Thibaut de Champagne were treated
to single-author manuscript collections in the thirteenth century
in the same way as were Machaut and Froissart in the fourteenth.
T h e Adam de la Halle collection is particularly significant
because it is composed of a number of different genres whereas
those of Thibaut de Navarre contain grands chants only.I6 The
l5
The most complete statement, and most articulate elaboration, of this position is
Huot, From Song to Book. The discussion of F-Pn fr. 12786 is on pp. 16-19, and that
of F-Pn fr. 25566 on pp. 64-74.
l6
Thibaut de Navarre's collections are discussed in G. Raynaud, Bibliographic des chanson-

niers frangais des xiii' et xiv' siicles comprenant la description de tous les manuscrits, la table
des chansons classhs par ordre alphabHique de rimes, et la liste des trouvires, 2 vols. (Paris,
1884), p. v, and in the introductions to the inventories of the several manuscripts,
passim, and also in A. Wallenskold, ed., Les chansons de Thibaut de Navarre, Roi de
Champagne: Edition critique, Socittt des Anciens Textes Francais (Paris, 1925),
pp. xxviii-xxxviii and xli. I t should also be noted that examples of the grouping of
Adam de la Halle's chansons alone survive (most notably the single eight-leaf quire
that constitutes fols. 2'9" of F-Pn fr. 25566, but also F-Pn fr. 1109, fols. 311-325,
F-Pn fr. 847, fols. 211-218, and F-Pn fr. 12615, fols. 224-233). Although John Stevens
('The Manuscript Presentation and Notation of Adam de la Halle's Courtly Chansons',
Source Materials and the Interpretation of Music: A Memorial Volume to Thurston Dart, ed.
I. Bent (London, 1981), pp. 29-64) gives much attention to the sources for the grands
chants of Adam de la Halle, the concept of an author corpus is avoided.
Mark Everist
Table 1 Repertov of rondeaux: F-Pn f r . 25566, 12786, 146; F-Pn

Collection de Picardie 67
Adam de la Halle: rondeaux in F - P n fr. 25566, fols. 32'-34'
No. Title Structure Concordances
1. 'Je muir' R,(C) F - C A 1328, fol. 3"
2. 'Li dous regars' R2 F - C A 1328, fol. 3"
3. 'Hareu, li maus' R2 F - C A 1328, fol. 3'
4. 'Fines amouretes' F F - C A 1328, fol. 3'
5. 'A Dieu commant' R j NONE
6. 'Fi, maris' R, NONE
7. 'Dame, or sui' Rj F-Pn fr.12786, fol. 80"; I-Rvat Reg.
Lat. 1490, fol. 55'*
8. 'Amours' R, F-Pn fr.12786, fol. 78'
9. 'Or est Baiars' R, NONE
10. 'A jointes mains' R2 NONE
11. 'HC, Diex!' R, NONE
12. 'Diex comment' R j F-Pn fr.12786, fol. 78"
13. 'Trop desir' R, NONE
14. 'Bonne amourete' R2 F-Pn fr.12786, fol. 77"
15. 'Tant con je vivrai' R, NONE
16. 'Dieus soit' F NONE
Anonymous rondeaux in F - P n fr. 12786, fols. 77'42'

17. 'Je ne deffendrai' R, NONE
18. 'Amours sont' R, NONE
19. 'Ainssi doit' R, NONE
20. 'Bonne amourete' = 14
21. 'Or ni serai' R, NONE
22. 'Or ai ge trop' R, NONE
23. 'Vous arez' R, NONE
24. 'Amours' =8
25. 'J'ai un pansi' R2 N O N E
26. 'Hareu, je ne cuidai' R, NONE
27. ' H i , mesdisans' R, GB-Ob Douce 308, fol. 2 4 8 (poetry
only)
28. ' H i , biaus cuers' R, NONE
29. 'Toute seule' R, I-Roat 1543
30. 'Diex comment' = 12
31. 'Je chanterai' R, I-Roat Reg. Lat. 1490, fol. 1 lav*
32. 'J'ai donnC' R2 NONE
33. 'Amours ne m'ont' R, GB-Ob Douce 308, fol. 248" (poetry
only)
34. 'Se li max d'amer' R, NONE
35. 'Jol[i]ement' R2 N O N E
36. 'J'aim par amours' R, NONE
37. 'Diex, vez les ci' F NONE
38. 'Nus n'iert' R, NONE
39. 'HC Diex, J'ai' R2 NONE
40. 'Est il paradis' R2 NONE
T h e polyphonic rondeau c. 1300
Table 1 (cont.)
- - -
41. ' H i Diex, quant' R, NONE

42. 'Qu'ai je forfet' F NONE
43. 'Vos n'alez' R, NONE
44. 'Dame or sui' =7
45. 'Hareu commant' R, I-Rvat Reg. Lat. 1490, fol. 118"*
46. 'En ma dame' R, NONE
47. 'Aymi, Dieus' R, NONF.
48. 'Trop mi resgardez' F NONE:
49. 'Ovrez moi l'uis' R, NONE
50. 'Li jorz m'a trovi' F NONE
51. ' H i , que me demande' R, NONE
Anonymous rondeaux in F-Pn Collection de Picardie 67, fol. 68'

NO. Title Structure Concordances
52. 'Hilas, tant vi' R, NONE
53. 'J'ai desir' R, NONE
Jehannot de 1'Escurel: rondeau in F-Pn fr. 146, fol, 57'

54. 'A vous' R, F-Pnfr.l46,fol.57'*
Key:
R, rondeau simple
R, rondeau tercet
R, rondeau quatrain
F free structure
(C) curtailed structure; e.g. R,(C) = rondeau quatrain with adjusted internal
repetitions
* Monophonic
multi-generic nature of the presentation of Adam de la Halle's

works in F - P n fr. 25566 is outlined in Table 2.1. T h e basic
division in the manuscript falls between the Adam corpus and
the rest of the book. The Adam corpus ends on fol. 67. T h e rest
of the manuscript is focused on one of the four surviving copies
of Jacquemart GielCe's Renart le nouvel." Around it are deployed
Richard de Fournival's Bestiaire d'amours, its response, and other
works by Fournival, poems by Jean Bodel, and a number of
didactic and sacred compositions.
Within the corpus of Adam's works, there is a division between
the musical and non-musical, and the musical compositions are
arranged generically: grands chants are followed by jeux partis;
rondeaux are followed by motets. Some see this arrangement as
" Roussel, Renart 1e nouvel.

Mark Everist
Table 2.1 Contents of F-Pn fr. 25566

Les cancons Adan de la Hale fols. 10'-23'
Les partures Adan fols. 23"-32"
L i rondel Adan fols. 34'-37'
Le jus du pelerin fols. 37"-39' centre of
author corpus
L i gieus de Robin et de Marion fols. 39'49'
Le Jeu de la Feuillie fols. 49r-59"
Le Roy du Sezile fols. 59"-65'
L i vers d'amours fols. 65'-66'
L i congies Adan fols. 66"-67'
L i uers de le mort fols. 67L68'
L i Jus de Saint LVicholai Wean Bodel] fols. 68'-83'
L i Bestiaire d'Amour [Richard de Fournival] fols. 83'-98'
L i Resfionse du Bestiaire fols. 98'- 106"
Comment Dieu fonna Adan fols. 106"-107'
D u Cors et de 1'Ame fols. 107'-109'
L'Equivoque [Baudouin de Condi] fol. 109'
Renart le ,Vourlel fols. 109'-177' centre of
text = centre
of MS
Les I V Evangelistes fols. 179'-182'
L i Tournoiemens Antecrist fols. 182'-207"
L i Consaus d'Amours [Richard de Fournival] fols. 207'-2 17'
L i III Mors et li III Ms [Baudouin de fols. 217'-218'
Condi]
L i I I I Mors et li 111 Vis [Nicole de Margival] fols. 218'-219"
L a Chace du Cerf fols. 221'-223'
L i III Mors et li III Vis fols. 223"-224'
Le Roi qui racata le laron fols. 225'-227'
De le Homme fols. 227"-229"
Des Trois Signes fols. 229"-231'
D u Honteus Menestrel fols. 23 1'-232'
Le Dis du Vrai Aniel fols. 232'-235'
Le Dis de la Lampe fols. 235'-237'
De le Brebis des Reubee fols. 237"-239"
Des Eskies fols. 239"-241"
Dou Faucon fols. 242'-244'
Le Cointise fols. 244'-245'
L i Dis dou Pre fols. 245'-247'
D u Courtois Donneur fols. 247'-248
D u Sot le Conte fols. 248"-250"
Le Songe dou Castel fols. 250"-253'
L i Congies d'Arras [Baude Fastoul] fols. 253'-258'
L i Poissance d'Amours [Richard de fols. 258'273'
Fournival]
L i Honneurs et li Vertus Wean Petit d'Arras] fols. 273"-278'
Dit d'Amours [Nevelos d'Amiens] fols. 278'-280'
L i Congie Wean Bode1 d'Arras] fols. 280'-283'
70
being made 'in ascending order of difficulty'.18 This is certainly

true in musical terms: polyphonic works follow monophonic ones,
and the more complex motets follow the simpler rondeaux. But
priority is given to the aristocratisant grand chant, whereas the
rondeaux and motets, whose texts veer towards the popularisant,
are placed at the end. The dramatic works follow, and the corpus
is concluded by strophic narrative. T h e musical and non-musical
sections of the author corpus are approximately the same length,
and in terms of the number of folios the Jeu du pe'lerin assumes
a central position in this pattern. This work may not be by
Adam and may have been written, or at least adapted, specifically
for this book; its relationship to the Jeu de Robin et de Marion that
follows, unique to this manuscript transmission of the text, is
reinforced by its final line which rhymes only with the first line
of the first song of the Robin et Marion play that follows immedi-
ately.'' In the Jeu du Pe'lerin, Adam moves from being the author
of the lyric works to becoming the protagonist - a role fully
developed in the Jeu de la feuille'e. At the same time, the plays
dramatise the shift from the pastoral ( L ejeu de Robin et de Marion)
to the bourgeois ( L e jeu de la feuille'e) to the courtly ( L e Roi de
Seiile). Furthermore, the author corpus is symmetrical and is
generically balanced around Le jeu du Pklerin.
In the rest of the manuscript, the concepts of symmetry,
balance and generic diversity are worked out on a larger scale.
I n the same way that the Jeu du pe'lerin articulates the central
point of the author corpus, Renart le nouvel assumes a central
position in the manuscript as a whole. The central point is fol.
146; the central point of Renart le nouvel is fol. 143. This is not
an argument for any kind of mathematical proportion, but it
shows that the overall structure and symmetry of the book place
Renart le nouvel at the centre, in the same way that the Jeu du
pe'lerin stands at the centre of the author And as Sylvia
Huot has shown, the move from lyric to drama found in the
Huot, From Song to Book, p. 68.
Ibid., p. 70 (whence most of the ideas in this paragraph are also taken). The suggestion
that these lines were part of the conjunction of these two texts in this manuscript
alone was made in E. Langlois, ed., Le jeu de Robin ef .Marion par Adam le Bossu,
trouvin artisien du xiii' siicle (Paris, 1896), pp. 76-82.
20
Huot, From Song to Book, p. 73 n. 37.
Mark Everist
author corpus of the first part of the manuscript is reflected -

in the codex as a whole - in the progression from Adam's output
and its lyric texts through Renart le nouvel to the didactic works
and dits at its end.21
Renart le nouvel is a work that encapsulates the concepts and
structures of other poetry in the manuscript. At the very centre
of text and manuscript is the passage in the romance in which
are found varied types of discourse about love: prose, song, verse
and a sort ofjeu ~ a r t iThe
. ~ ~musical importance of Adam's works
in the first part of the manuscript is paralleled by the sequence
of refrains that characterises this passage in Renart le nouvel, whose
pivotal position is enhanced by the presentation of works by
Richard de Fournival and Jean - Bode1 on either side of it; the
manuscript reflects Adam's conge' at the end of the author corpus
by concluding with the conge' of Jean Bodel. I n addition, Bodel's
poems act as a frame for the second part of the manuscript.
However complex the structure of the Adam de la Halle
manuscript, the rondeaux that are preserved there are of no greater
importance than any other genre. As we return to F-Pn fr. 12786
and its collection of rondeau texts, we can see not only a similar
level of thematic integration in the book but also a more central
role for the rondeaux where positioning is a critical difference
between the two manuscripts. Table 2.2 gives the contents of
F-Pn fr. 12786. There are codicological problems with the organis-
ation of this book that affect our view of the original order of
its contents. T h e manuscript is copied in a single hand through-
out, at the same time and in the same place.23 However, the
collation of the manuscript and the relationship of contents to
quiring is complex.24In Table 2.2, the Roman de la poire and the
prose lapidary are marked off from the next items - the Bestiaire
'I Ibid., p. 7 3 .
'' Ibid.
23 The frame ruling of the manuscript is consistent throughout the manuscript
(155mm X 200mm), although three different internal ruling patterns are found: verse
in columns, prose in columns, and presentation across the full width of the written
block; this latter format is found in the Fournival Bestiaire (fols. 31-42) and in the
rondeau collection (fols. 76-82). The handwriting is also consistent: i is dotted in
minim groups and in isolation; double I is joined at the top but not crossed; a is in
two compartments.
24
The quiring is as follows: r8, II', III', rv6 (lacks 7 and 8), v-rx8, x5 (lacks 4-6), XI-
x11r8.
Table 2.2 Contents of F-Pn fr. 12786

Le Roman de la Poire [Messire Thibaut] fols. 1'-24"
Le Livre de Pierres ['Prose Lapidary'] fols. 24'-30'
L i Bestiaire d'Amours [Richard de Fournival] fols. 31'42"
Le Roman de la Rose [Guillaume de Lorris and anonymous fols. 43'-75'
continuation only]
Polyphonic rondeaux fols. 76'-82'
Les Prophecies que Ezechiel l i Prophetes f i t fols. 82"-83'
Explication des Songes fols. 83'-84"
L'Ordre d'Amours [Nicole de Margival] fols. 84-87>
L a Trinitez Nostre Dame fols. 87'-90'
Les IX Joies Nostre Dame fols. 90'-92'
Le D i t d'Aristote [attrib. Rutebeufl fols. 92'-92'
Le Lunaire de Salomon fols. 92L98"
d'amours and the Roman de la rose. These are, in turn, separated

from the rest of the manuscript. T h e internal structuring of each
of the three sections is secure, but it cannot be said that the
current order of the three sections is the original one. I n addition,
there is some doubt as to whether the version of the Roman de
la rose is supposed to be complete. This is the only source that
contains the anonymous continuation of the poem but lacks the
continuation by Jean de M e ~ n . Although
*~ the collation of the
manuscript is mostly in quires of eight leaves, the fourth and
final quire of the Rose (quire X) consists of five leaves only; but
the scribe left one and a half sides of the manuscript blank, and
Huot believes that this betrays the intention to include the
continuation by Jean de M e ~ n In . ~contrast,
~ the prose lapidary
breaks off before concordant sources suggest that it should finish,
although the quire in which it ends is again carefully constructed
to be one of six leaves; this, however, seems to suggest that this
text comprises all that its scribe intended to include, and not
that it was to have been finished at a later date. T h e flexible
nature of the lapidary as text and genre makes such a procedure
25
E. Langlois, Les manuscrits du Roman de la rose: Description et classement, Travaux et
MCmoires de I'Universit6 de Lille, Nouvelle Serie, I: Droit, Lettres, 7 (Lille, 1910),
pp. 49-52.
26
From Song to Book, p. 17.

Mark Everist
more understandable than would have been the case with Jean
de Meun's continuation of the Roman de la rose.27
The three longest texts in F-Pn fr. 12786 are the Roman de la
rose, the Bestiaire d'amours and the Roman de la poire. All are
connected by allegory. The Poire is clearly modelled on the
allegorical structure of the Roman de la rose, as is Richard de
Fournival's Bestiaire d'amours. Here, the traditional bestiary is
given an interpretation in which each animal becomes an allegory
of love. Most of the other texts also amplify these themes, or
develop particular themes from the Roman de la rose. Love is
explored historically in the Lunaire de Salomon and the D i t d'ilristote,
once attributed to Rutebeuf, while the Prophecies d'Ezekiel are
linked to the Lunaire de Salomon via the theme of prophecy.
Spiritual love is examined in L'ordre de l'amours, L a Trinite' and
Les IX joies. The Explication des songes evokes the central dream
sequence of the Roman de la rose.*' Allegory is central to the
lapidary that separates the Roman de la poire and the Bestiaire
d'amours. T h e didactic nature of many of the texts in the second
half of the manuscript reflects the same element in the Roman de
la rose.
Although the Roman de la rose can be seen as the intertext that binds
together the other works in this collection, it does not evoke music
except for the most general reference. In the vernacular culture of
the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, however, music and lyric
poetry are indivisibly entwined. Usages of the word 'lyric' move
between its original definition, 'to be sung', and a looser definition
which makes it the antonym of 'narrative' and identifies short,
strophic poetry that is personally expressive and songlike in charac-
ter. This ambiguity of definition is encapsulated in the Roman de la
poire, which is one of the many thirteenth-century narrative poems
that insert refrains into the text for the purposes of exemplification or
contrast. This tradition begins with the Roman de la rose ou de Guillaume
'' L. Pannier, Les lapidairer ran~aisdu moyen Bge des xi?, xiii' et xiu' riicles, Bibliothique
de ~ ' B c o ~des d
e Hautes tudes, 52 (Paris, 1882), pp. 291-7, gives the text of the
lapidary and observes (ibid., p. 289) that the text is 'incomplet du dernier feuillet'.
However, F. Sue ('Contribution ii l'itude des lapidaires anonymes en prose fran~ais',
Ph.D, diss., kcole National des Chartes, 1975), pp. 20, 371-2 and 393-4) shows that
it is possible to view the version of the text in F-Pn fr. 12786 as complete. I a m
grateful to Dr Sue for discussing this matter with me in March 1994.
2R
Bibliographical orientation for these texts is in Segre, Bertiaires d'amours, pp, xxxix-xl.
de Dole and continues at least as far as the Roman de F a u ~ e l The .~~

Roman de la poire, like these other romances, sometimes preserves the
music of its refrains in its surviving r n a n u s ~ r i p t sT. ~h~e absence of
music in the version of the Roman de la poire in F - P n fr. 12786 has
already been noted. T h e poem nevertheless exhibits strong musical
tendencies that transcend the merely lyric, and it is one of the central
texts of this manuscript. Musical and lyrical elements are further
developed both in the sonpoitevin 'Puis qu'en moi' that separates the
Bestiaire d'amours and the Roman de la rose and in the collection of
rondeaux.
I n many descriptions of the manuscript F - P n fr. 12786, the
rondeaux have been described incorrectly as motets, mainly
because editions of the poetry were available in Gaston Raynaud's
Recueil de motets f r a i ~ ~ a i s . Although
~' this description is erroneous,
it is also misleading to consider this collection of lyrics exclusively
rondeaux. The first of the rondeaux in F-Pn fr. 12786 that can be
described with some security is prefaced by six other texts, listed
in Table 3. This is a highly varied group of composition^.^^ T h e
first two are examples of a common practice: taking a single
voice-part from a polyphonic motet and treating it as if it were
a chanson. Both motets (nos. 1 and 2) are found in a complete
three-part version in the fifth fascicle of Montpellier, BibliothPque
Interuniversitaire, Facultt de Mtdecine H 196 ( F - M O H 196).
29
Useful introductions to this subject are M. V. Fowler, 'Musical Interpolations in

Thirteenth- and Fourteenth-Century French Narratives', 2 vols. (Ph.D. diss., Yale
University, 1979); M . V. Coldwell [nCe Fowler], 'Guillaume de Dole and Medieval
Romances with Musical Interpolations', Musica Disciplina, 35 (1981), pp. 55-86. See
also A. P. Ladd, 'Lyric Insertions in Thirteenth-Century French Narrative' (Ph.D.
diss., Yale University, 1973); M. B. McC. Boulton, 'Lyric Insertion in French
Narrative Fiction in the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries' (M.Litt. diss., Univer-
sity of Oxford, 1979); idem, The Song in the Stog~: Lyric Insertions in French Narrative
Fiction, 120k1400 (Philadelphia, 1993). It should be stressed, however, that these
studies only begin to address this question; an exhaustive survey of all manuscripts
of thirteenth- and early fourteenth-century romance that either contain music or were
designed to contain music (this category is almost completely ignored in the studies cited
above) is to be published by Ardis Butterfield (University College, London) and
myself.
30
The Roman de la poire is a typical case. Of its three manuscript sources, F-Pn fr.
12786 leaves space for the refrains, F-Pn fr. 2186 supplies stave-lines for the refrains,
and F-Pn fr. 24431 supplies notation for the three refrains that survive in this fragmen-
tary source.
31
Both Segre (Bestiaires d'amours, p. xxxix) and Huot (From Song to Book, p. 16) make
this error.
32
There is a summary description in Ludwig, Repertorium, vol. I, part 2, pp. 617-18.

Mark Everist
Table 3 Contents of F-Pn fr. 12786, fols. 7C-77'
1. Motet: (779) 'Pour escouter le chant du rossignol' - (780) 'L'autrier
jouer m'en alai' - 'Seculorum Amen' ( 0 4 9 ) : second half of triplum text
only, space provided for notation. Concordances: F-MO H 196, fols. 154"-
155'; F-Pn n.a.f. 13521, fol. 390"
2. Motet: (174) 'Trop souvent me duel' - (173) 'Brunete a cui j'ai mon
cuer dont' - 'In seculum' (M13): first half of motetus text only, space
provided for notation. Concordances: F-MO H 196, fols. 124"-125'; D-BAs
Lit.115, fol. 9"; I-Rvat Reg. Lat. 1490, fol. 132"; F-Bm 716, no. 52a [index
entry only]
3. ?Motet: (1 102) 'C'est la jus c'on dist en li praelle': last seven words of
text, space for monophonic notation. Concordance: GB-Ob Douce 308,
fol. 258'
4. Chanson ci refrain: (RS 838a) 'Pour vos douz viaire cler': three stanzas, no
space left for notation. Unicum
5. ?Motet: (1 141) 'En demorant vueil mon chant retraire': space for mono-
phonic notation. Unicum
6. ?Motet: (1142) 'Si ait diex m'ame': space for three-part notation. Unicum
Two other works in Table 3, 'C'est la jus' and 'En demorant',

nos. 3 and 5 , are called motets by Ludwig and G e n n r i ~ h The
.~~
absence of concordances or any other polyphonic context arouses
suspicion as to the generic status of these works. Of the two
remaining pieces, the last, 'Si ait diex m'ame', would have been
a unique composition had its music survived. Even as it is
preserved here, it is an important witness to one of the many
responses to the challenge of writing polyphonic chansons around
1300. It would have been notated in three parts in score with
the text under the lowest part, rather like the rondeaux by Adam
de la Halle. Unlike the Adam rondeaux, however, it has no refrain,
and the structure of the poetry is highly irregular in ways that
are more familiar from motet poetry. An edition of the poem
follows with rhymes and line-lengths indicated:34
33
Ibid., p. 618; F. Gennrich, Bibliographic der altesten franzosischen und lateinischen Motetten,
Summa Musicae Medii Aevi, 2 (Darmstadt, 1957), pp. 99 and 103.
34
A curious characteristic of this poem is its allusion, in lines 7-9, to one of the more
common ~ p ecadres found in rondets de carole (usually lines 2 , 5 and 6 of a six-line
model). The technique used here, of embedding elements of the rondet de carole into
a larger structure, bears comparison with the motet (46) 'Tout leis enmi les prez',
discussed from this perspective in M . Everist, French Motets in the Thirteenth Centuv:
Si ait Diex m'ame
Que je vos aing, dame,
Sanz decevoir,
Ne n'ai nu1 desir
Fors que de vos servir,
N'autre ne quier avoir.
C'est la jus, la jus desouz la coudroie.
A vos, douce dame, mes cuers s'otroie.
Une fontenele i sourdoit coie:
De moi retraire
De la deboneire
N'ai nu1 voloir.
Working through a series of rhymes, mostly without repetition,
and using a range of line-lengths from four to ten syllables are
very characteristic of motet poetry.35However, it may be assumed
that the music was characterised not by the heterophony of the
motet but by the homophony of, for example, Adam's polyphonic
rondeaux - or, indeed, the analogous rondeaux in F-Pn fr. 12786.
This hybrid, which sits somewhere between motet and song,
needs a place in any account of the growth of the polyphonic
chanson around 1300.
The final text in the introductory group of compositions is a

chanson li refrain, 'Pour vos douz viaire cler'. Unlike the other
texts in this group, it is copied without space for notation and
is therefore not intended to have any; it may have survived with
music in other sources which are now lost. Structurally, the poem
consists of three stanzas with the same refrain at the end of each,
and is much like large numbers of vernacular songs that survive -
both with and without music - in thirteenth-century sources
. ~ ~ vous douz viaire cler'
(Ludwig called the poem a b ~ l l a d e )'Pour
has much in common with the son poitevin 'Puis qu'en moi',
copied in the manuscript between the Bestiaire d'amours and the
Roman de la rose.37Although 'Puis qu'en moi' makes no use of
Music, Poetry and Genre, Cambridge Studies in Medieval and Renaissance Music
(Cambridge, 1994), pp. 114-16.
35
The conventions governing the composition of French texts to newly composed and
reworked motets are outlined in Everist, French Motets, pp. 43-54.
36
Ludwig, Repertorium, vol. I, part 2, p. 618

37
No concordances for 'Por vous douz viaire cler' are known. The son poitevin survives
with multiple stanzas in two other manuscripts: Arras, Biblioth2que Municipale, MS
657, fol. 18@, and F-Pn fr. 844, fol. 100'. See the edition in J. Brakelman, Les plus
Mark Everist
refrains, both poems are copied without space for notation, both
are stanzaic lyric poetry and both enlarge on the lyric rather
than the purely musical characteristics of the Roman de la ~ o i r e . ~ '
They contrast strongly with the rondeau collection in the same
manuscript.
The collections of polyphonic rondeaux in F-Pn fr. 12786 and
fr. 25566 participated to some degree in the structures that control
the ordering of contents of the manuscripts in which they are
found. The respective roles of the two collections are, however,
different. Paradoxically, it is the group that survives without
music that seems to play the more important role. While the
rondeaux in F-Pn fr. 25566 simply occupy one of the four generic
categories in the author corpus that begins the manuscript, those
in F-Pn fr. 12786 stand alone at the beginning of one of the three
major subdivisions of the entire book. Even if the original ordering
of the three principal sections of the book could ever be conclus-
ively demonstrated, whatever position the rondeaux commanded
would be one of some significance. I t is not impossible that they
originally stood at the beginning of the codex.39 Even if they did
not begin the volume, the rondeaux prefaced the group of historical,
spiritual and didactic texts and would have formed a transition
between the lyric and allegorical (represented by either the Roman
de la rose or the prose lapidary) and the didactic texts. Whatever
position is constructed for the rondeaux, they have much more in
common with (and pick up many of the themes from) the texts
in the first two major sections of the manuscript - those of music
and lyric - than the poems at the end of the volume. In fact,
anciens chansonniersfranqais (xi? si2cle) publiCs d'aprks tous les manuscrits (Paris, 1870;
R Geneva, 1974), p. 26.
38
Although the two poems are isometric - heptasyllabic in 'Por vous douz viaire cler',
decasyllabic in 'Puis qu'en moi' - the refrain in 'Por vous douz viaire cler' uses, as
is normal, contrasting lines of seven and five syllables.
3g
The leaf at the beginning of the quire in which the rondeau collection and prefatory
pieces are found is only half filled, with a large amount of white space at the top
of the page. Once the first two (incomplete) pieces are reconstructed, it is clear that
this leaf would originally have been filled with text and (if the manuscript had been
completed) with music. That still leaves open the question of why the top part of
fol. 76 was erased. There is still the possibility that, after reaching the stage of
construction at which the manuscript was abandoned, someone thought that fol. 76
might be a good place for an elaborate half-page miniature, and that this quire
should begin the manuscript. The fact that such a procedure damaged the first two
pieces might well have triggered the decision to abandon work on the book.
at least one of the texts in each of the first two major sections -
the lapidary and the bestiary - has more in common with these
technical texts than does the rondeau collection. T h e musical texts
in the manuscript are evenly divided among the three sections:
the lyric insertions in the Roman de la poire (clearly designed to
be provided with music) in the first, and the rondeau collection
in the third. The son poiteuin that separates the Bestiaire d'amours
from the Roman de la rose in the second major section is poetically
analogous - it is presumably a lyric for singing - but, because
it was demonstrably copied without the intention of supplying
music, it stands apart from the music of the rondeaux or the
Roman de la poire.
The rondeaux in the codex F-Pn fr. 12786 have a special place
in the history of manuscript compilation around 1300. They also
invite comparison with the polyphonic rondeaux by Adam de la
Halle, to see if the latter are typical of rondeau composition around
1300, or if they are the idiosyncratic caprices of one of the
most imaginative musical and poetic minds of the late thirteenth
century.
Given that Adam de la Halle's rondeaux form part of an opera
omnia in F-Pn fr. 25566, it is likely that those pieces in F-Pn
fr. 12786 which have no concordances in Adam's work are the
work of another composer. In addition to the concordances
already discussed, one work in F-Pn fr. 25566 survives as a
monody in the so-called Vatican Chansonnier, Rome, Biblioteca
Apostolica-Vaticana, Reg. Lat. 1490 (I-Ruat Reg. Lat. 1490). T h e
concordance-base for the rondeau collection in F-Pn fr. 12786 is
similar. There are certainly more unica in F-Pn fr. 12786 - twenty-
seven out of thirty-four, or 79% - than in F-Pn fr. 25566, where
seven out of sixteen (only 44%) are unique; this may be nothing
more than a reflection of the subsequent fate of concordant source
material. F-Pn fr. 12786 also has concordances in I-Ruat Reg.
Lat. 1490, and adds two concordances from the poetry anthology
Oxford, Bodleian Library, Douce 308.
Both collections of rondeaux exhibit similar patterns of preference
in terms of poetic and musical structure. Table 1 gives the
musico-poetic structure of each rondeau by identifying rondeaux
simples, tercets and quatrains, as well as freer structures that do
not reflect these conventions. T h e rondeau simple is the most
Mark Everist
numerous in both collections; in F-Pn fr. 12786 this type rep-

resents around three-quarters of the group, whereas in F-Pn
fr. 25566 it represents just over half. The rondeau tercet is the type
with the next highest representation in both collections, whereas
the rondeau quatrain does not appear at all in F-Pn fr. 12786. T h e
freer structures are equally distributed in the two collections: two
out of Adam's sixteen works - 12.5% - do not behave strictly,
and a further piece treats its central line differently. There are
four free structures in F-Pn fr. 12786, which results in a proportion
of 11.8%. None of the freer structures in either manuscript
matches any of those in the other.40
In common with most similar thirteenth-century poetic struc-
tures, the rondeaux in F-Pn fr. 25566 and 12786 exploit two rhymes,
and pairs of line-lengths. Within these general conventions, the
attitude to line-length is highly variable. It is usual to contrast
the rondeau forms of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries in
terms such as the following:
The preferred forms of the thirteenth century [were] characterized by
short verses [lines] in two or three different verse lengths with never
more than eight syllables in a line [and contrast with] the preferred
forms of the period of Machaut, with their isometric verses of eight or
usually ten syllables per line.41
Problems of reconstruction abound in these freer structures. In 'Diex, vez les ci' and
'Trop me regardez', both from F-Pn fr. 12786, it is far from clear exactly how the
incipits for the refraim should be realised; in the latter case there is disagreement as
to how to interpret the lines of five and ten syllables. Gennrich (Rondeaux, Virelais
und Balladen, vol. I , p. 86) emends to create a ten-line rondeau, without comment (ibid.,
vol. 11, p. 98), whereas van den Boogaard (Rondeaux et refains, p. 89) leaves a poem
with refain lines of ten syllables and additamenta lines of five. I n the case of Adam
de le Halle's 'Dieus soit', Wilkins (Ljric Works, pp. 58-9) and Raynaud (Recueil de
motets, vol. 11, pp. 113-14) disagree radically over the structure of the poem. Neither
Falck's description of this poem as a 'ballade with initial refrain' nor his identification
of 'Fines amouretes' as a virelai has anything to recommend it apart from the dubious
authority of Gennrich (Rondeaux, Virelais und Balladen, vol. 11, p. 85, where he chastises
Raynaud for not having recognised 'den Bau der Ballade'). Nevertheless, this view
is still duplicated in L. Earp, 'Lyrics for Reading and Lyrics for Singing in Late
Medieval France: The Development of the Dance Lyric from Adam de la Halle to
Guillaume de Machaut', The Union of Words and Music in Medieval Poetv, ed. R. A.
Baltzer, T . Cable and J. I . Wimsatt (Austin, T X , 1991), p. 103. 'Fines amouretes'
consists of four complete statements of a refrain separated by three four-line sections
that constitute the additamenta. Of the two remaining freer poems, 'Qu'ai je forfet'
lacks an internal statement of the refrain, and 'Li jors m'a trovt', although its refrain
functions normally, has new lines grouped in threes.
41
Earp, 'Lyrics for Reading and Lyrics for Singing', p. 109.
80
This summary is an excellent point of departure for a contex-
tualisation of the poetry in Adam's rondeaux and those in F - P n
fr. 12786. Certainly, short lines predominate in Adam's rondeaux,
but one of the polyphonic rondeaux in F - P n fr. 12786 uses decasyl-
lables. Its text follows:
Ovrez moi l'uis, bele tres douce amie,
Ovrez moi l'uis dou petit praelet.
Si m'a'ist Diex, ce n'est pas cortoisie;
Ovrez moi l'uis, bele tres douce amie.
Ralez vos en, vos n'i enterroiz mie,
Car mes mariz, li jalous couz, i est.
Ovrez moi l'uis, bele tres douce amie,
Ovrez rnoi l'uis dou petit praelet.
'Ovrez moi' is not perhaps a text that Machaut would have set
because of its register, but it is certainly one that accords well
with the description of technical practices from the period of
Machaut. The pivotal position of the poetry in the polyphonic
rondeau repertory - between thirteenth- and fourteenth-century
norms - is enhanced by the fact that a proportion of Adam's
rondeaux (around 25%) are isometric. An even larger proportion
of isometric poems (39%) are found in F - P n fr. 12786. This
disparity between proportions in F - P n fr. 25566 and 12786 may
say something about chronology, artistic preferences or local
circumstances. Without corroborative evidence, the interpretation
of this data is doubtful.
T h e musical profile of the rondeaux by Adam de la Halle

has been described on several occasions. T h e rhythm of the
note-against-note style is determined by straightforward modal
patterns. Two types of text declamation are found: first, those
where the poetry carefully follows the modal patterns of the
music; second, those in which the declamation is slightly freer.42
Ten examples of the former and six of the latter are found in
Adam's output. Of the four pieces that are concordant in F - P n
fr. 12786, there are two of each type. I t is reasonable to assume
that the collection in F - P n fr. 12786 would have mixed these two
styles of declamation, possibly in the same proportions as in
F - P n fr. 25566.
42
An example of the freer, mixed-modal, type of declamation is discussed below,
pp. 82-3.
81
Mark Everist
In the case of 'Dame, or sui', the one rondeau by Adam de la
Halle that is also found in a monophonic form in I-Rvat Reg.
Lat. 1490, the melody is that of the middle voice of the polyphonic
version, although there are melodic differences between the two
versions (Example 2). The fact that the pitches of the monody
cannot be fitted to the polyphony is typical of cases where
single voices of polyphonic compositions circulate independently.
'Dame, or sui' is a typical example of the slightly rarer type of
mixed-modal declamation found in Adam's rondeaux. I n some
perfections, the declamation follows the mode I1 patterns of the
musical superstructure, whereas in others, the declamation is on
the longa perfects. The monophonic version of 'Dame, or sui' is
transmitted in a rhythmically neutral notation, and this is
reflected in the transcription. Clear differences exist in perfection
6 of the polyphony (the first two syllables of the word 'l'ocoison'),
where the ornamental differences spill over into a structural
Example 2. 'Dame, or sui', refain: comparison of monophonic and three-part versions,

I-Rvat 1490, fol. 55', and F-Pn fr. 25566, fol. 33"
1 DB - me.01 sui ~ r s - IS Par ldecol - son
li Da - me-or E Y ~ Ira - is Par Ido coi - son

expansion of the range of the voice-part to e: the lowest pitch

in the voice-part, the second lowest pitch in the piece, and in
perfection 6 the lowest voice in the polyphony. But in the notated
version of the second statement of the r e f a i n in I-Rvat Reg. Lat.
1490 (the song is notated in full there), the discrepant pitches a-b
are replaced by a progression e-f that matches Adam's polyphony
exactly; the difference may simply be a textual disturbance in
the monody. T h e variants in the second half of the piece arise
from a transposition of the monody up a step. There is no
difficulty in identifying the melody shared by these two compo-
sitions. Consequently, it may be suggested that the two rondeaux
in F - P n fr. 12786 that have concordances in I-Rvat Reg. Lat.
1490 would also have shared their middle voice with the Vatican
version. But given the differences in detail between the readings
in Example 2, it seems that further analogy - and especially
reconstruction - would be a perilous endeavour.43
T h e two repertories in F - P n fr. 25566 and 12786 are linked by
a complex of pieces that demonstrates how each repertory is
equally representative of the genre and its intertextual relation-
ships and how the unnotated rondeaux in F - P n fr. 12786 may be
as central to compositional practices c. 1300 as those fully notated
works in F - P n fr. 25566. Two compositions, 'Fi, maris' in F - P n
fr. 25566 and 'Nus n'iert ja jolis' in F - Y n fr. 12786, are related
via a motet preserved in the seventh fascicle of F - M O H 196.
The motet (872) 'Dame bele et avenant' - (873) 'Fi, mari de
vostre amour' - 'Nus n'iert ja jolis' (U.I.) is based on a French
secular tenor.44 Example 3 is a comparison of the first seven
perfections of Adam's rondeau ('Fi, maris') with the motet. The
tenor of the motet is in the form of a rondeau simple: a rondeau
with a two-line refrain. As is to be expected from motets of this
type, the phrases and text-lines of the upper voices make no
attempt to reflect those concerns in the tenor.45
43
I t is for these sorts of reasons that the reconstructions in Gennrich, Rondeaux, Virelais
und Balladen need to be treated with a degree of circumspection.
" Motet voices are identified according to the listings in Gennrich, Bibliographic der
altesten franzosischen und lateinischen Motetten.
'' Motets with French tenors are discussed in Ludwig, Repertorium, passim, and usefully
collected together in T. Walker, 'Sui tenor francesi nei motetti del '200', Schede
Medievali: Rassegna dell'0f'jcina di Studi Medievali, 3 (July-December 1982), pp. 309-36.
Mark Everist
Example 3 . (872) 'Dame bele et avenant' - (873) 'Fi, mari de vostre amour' - 'Nus
n'iert ja jolis' (U.I.) in F-MO H 196, fols. 300"-301': comparison of first seven bars with
rondeau 'Fi, maris' in F-Pn fr. 25566, fols. 33'-33", and with rondeau 'Nus n'iert ja jolis'
in F-Pn fr. 12786, fol. 79'
MOTET, F-VO
H 1116. S ~ ~ l ~ 3 O ~ l v - 3 O l ~
Alongside the transcription of the motet is Adam's rondeau 'Fi,

maris'. Although the motet is polytextual, its motetus text is shared
by all three parts of the rondeau but (as is usual) is underlaid
only to the lowest voice. While the music of the motetus and the
middle voice of the rondeau are exactly the same up to the end
of the rondeau's music, the upper and lower voices of the rondeau
start out identically to the triplum and tenor of the motet but
then change after a few perfections. T h e extent to which the
music is the same in the two works is indicated in Example 3
by a broken line in each voice.
Adam's rondeau 'Fi, maris' shares the first few perfections of
the entire motet texture. T h e tenor of the motet shares its text
only with a polyphonic rondeau from F-Pn fr. 12786 - 'Nus n'iert
ja jolis'. Its incipit is therefore the same as the motet tenor. Like
all the other rondeaux in this collection, 'Nus n'iert ja jolis' survives
without music, and it is unclear whether its middle or lowest
voice would have appeared as the music of the motet tenor. I n
Example 2, for instance, where a polyphonic rondeau in F-Pn
fr. 25566 has a monophonic concordance, it is the middle voice
of the polyphony that is shared. Furthermore, when we come to
look at the refrains of the rondeaux preserved elsewhere with music,
the music again always corresponds to that of the middle voice

of the polyphony. I t is therefore probable - but only to judge
by analogy - that the motet tenor corresponded to the middle,
rather than to any other, voice of the rondeau. I t is unlikely that
the rondeau 'Nus n'iert ja jolis' took its melody from the tenor of
the motet, since both concordances for the motet preserve the
text incompletely.
T h e relationships between the rondeaux 'Nus n'iert ja jolis' and
'Fi, maris' and the motet (872) 'Dame bele et avenant' - (873)
'Fi, mari de vostre amour' - 'Nus n'iert ja jolis' (U.I.) have
complex implications for the process of composition. Three pos-
sibilities deserve consideration; each gives a different status to
original composition and borrowing for each of the three works
concerned, and each necessarily presupposes a compositional
procedure unknown elsewhere in this repertory.
(1) If the three-part motet was constructed in the same way
as other motets ostensibly on a French tenor, we would have to
assume the existence of a monophonic version of 'Nus n'iert ja
jolis' that would have corresponded to the lowest voice of the
polyphonic version (as we have seen, correspondences between
monophonic and polyphonic versions tend to involve the middle
voice of the polyphony). T h e ambiguity of whether this mono-
phonic version generated the polyphonic rondeau or was drawn
from it means that there are two possible genealogies for this
compositional option. This monody would have served as a tenor
for the motet, and the counterpoint and texts would have been
composed a b initio. The rondeau 'Fi maris' would then have been
derived from the first seven perfections of the motet. If this were
the case, the rationalisation of the part-writing - particularly the
parallel writing in fourths between the two upper parts - would
betray a sensitivity to the style of the polyphonic rondeau that
would pose some challenging questions about the authorship of
this reworking.
(2) T h e least likely possibility is that polyphonic versions of
the rondeaux 'Nus n'iert ja jolis' and 'Fi, maris' were pre-existent
and were musically identical (this would be a unique occurrence).
The construction of the motet would have involved taking the
complete tenor from one rondeau and the counterpoint of the first
seven perfections from the other.
Mark Everist
(3) If we assume that Adam's rondeau 'Fi, maris' is the source

of this complex of pieces, the motet would have to have taken
the opening of the rondeau and composed out its tenor, before
retexting it with the newly composed rondeau text of 'Nus n'iert
ja jolis'. This lower voice would then have circulated separately
and would have served as (probably) the middle voice of the
polyphonic rondeau with the same incipit.
Of the three options, the second is the most unlikely. Both
the remaining possibilities are, however, equally at odds with
what is understood as conventional practice in the composition
of motets and rondeaux c. 1300. Whatever narrative is endorsed
for the composition and reworking of this group of pieces, the
discussion exemplifies how the work from F - P n fr. 12786, despite
the fact that it is preserved imperfectly, may be at least as close
to the compositional origin of the group as either Adam de la
Halle's rondeau or the motet from F - M O H 196. The example
may be the sole remaining evidence of the centrality of the rondeau
tradition in F-Pn fr. 12786.
Although this complex of works binds together compositions
from the two repertories that form the basis of this study with
the seventh fascicle of F - M O H 196, it is however not typical.
For a more general sense of how the surviving rondeaux in F - P n
fr. 25566 and those that may be recovered from F-Pn fr. 12786
behave, we need to consider how refrains control their structure
and function.
A rondeau employs an intratextual refrain. I t is usually found
complete at the beginning and end of the composition and, in
part, in the centre. Its rhymes, line-lengths and melody control
the remaining lines in the work. Many refrains that are matrices
for rondeaux also survive in other contexts. These intertextual
refrains may occur in romances, chansons or motets or may even
be found as manuscript marginalia.46 Sometimes they are pre-
46
The differences in function and presentation between intertextual and intratextual
refrains are discussed in Everist, French Motets, pp. 54-66. It must be stressed, however,
that this difference is not generic but functional (and this distinction has been recently
criticised verbally as being a poor generic description, though it was never intended
as such). In other words, the same refrain (text and/or music) can behave intertextually
(being present in two or more different poems) or intratextually within the same poem.
The great value of this distinction is epistemological: the methods of identification of
refrains are different for the two types.
served with music, sometimes not; if the melody is preserved, it

may or may not correspond to other occurrences of the refrain.
Exactly how various presentations of the refrain relate one to
another - and, specifically, which version of a refrain gave rise
to another - is often an open question.
Of the fourteen of Adam's rondeaux that may be considered
here, ten (71%) use refrains that occur in other contexts; five of
these recur with the same music and invite comparison. For the
rondeaux in F - P n fr. 12786, the picture is slightly different. Of the
refrains in thirty-five surviving poems, only fifteen (43%) are
found in other contexts. Neither of the two works with notated
concordances in I-Rvat Reg. Lat. 1490 (nos. 31 and 45 in Table
1) have refrains that are found elsewhere with music. Of the four
concordances with F - P n fr. 25566, half are available for this type
of comparison. At this point, the fact that the notation was
not copied for the rondeaux in F - P n fr. 12786 becomes especially
troublesome, and it is difficult to compare the functioning of
refrains in this manuscript with that in F - P n fr. 25566.
As we trace the transmission of refrains from one text or genre
to another, patterns emerge. In the case of Adam de la Halle's
rondeaux, these are quite striking. I n five of these works, it is
possible to compare both text and music of refrains shared between
Adam's rondeaux and related works. T h e latter fall into three
classes: Adam's own motets, motets in the seventh fascicle of the
F - M O H 196, and Renart le nouvel. T h e five rondeaux by Adam de
la Halle that relate to the motets in F - P n fr. 25566 and the
seventh fascicle of F - M O H 196 are given as Table 4. The refrains
of two of these rondeaux, 'A Dieu commant' and 'Diex comment'
(nos. 5 and 12) are also found in motets attributed to Adam de
la Halle in F - P n fr. 25566. In each case, the refrain in the rondeau
appears in the motetus of the motet but is divided into two; in
(834) 'Aucun se sont 106' - (835) 'A Dieu quement' - 'Super te
orta est' (U.I.) the halves are placed at beginning and end of
the motetus, but in (33) 'De ma dame' - (34) 'Dieus commant
porroie' - 'Omnes' ( M l ) the two halves of the refrain are found
at the beginning and middle of the motetu~.~'Given that the
47
T h e compositions in which this technique is found are sometimes known as motets
enti's. See ibid., pp. 77-89, for a critique and an alternative interpretation.
Mark Everist
Table 4 A d a m de la Halle, rondeaux 5, 6, 11, 12 and 14: refrains
and concordances in F-Pn fr. 25566 and F-MO H 196
Rondeau Refrain Motet
5 12 (834) 'Aucun se sont lot' - (835) ' A Dieu que-
ment' - 'Super te orta est' (U.I.):
F-MO H 196 fols. 288-290; F-Pn fr.25566 fols.
34"-35'
6 746 (872) 'Dame bele et avenant' - (873) 'Fi, mari,
de vostre amour' - 'Nus n'iert' (U.I.):
F-MO H 196 fols. 300"-301'; I-Rvat Reg. Lat.
1543 fol. 1b'
11 823 (884) 'Bien met amours' - (885) 'Dame, alegits
ma grevance' - 'A Paris' (U.I.):
F-MO H 196 fols. 330'-331"
(878) 'Theoteca, virgo geratica' - (879) 'La pour
qoi' - 'Qui prandroit' (U.I.):
F-MO H 196 fols. 348'349'
12 496 (33) 'De ma dame' - (34) 'Dieus, coumant porroie' -
'Omnes' (M1 ):
F-MO H 196 fols. 311'314; F-Pn fr.25566 fol.
35"
14 289 (1073) 'Bone amorete m'a soupris':
F-Pn fr.844 fol. 5'
rondeaux and motets by Adam are copied within a few folios of

each other by the same scribe, it is hardly surprising that the
melodic correspondences between these presentations should be
very close. What is perhaps curious is that more refrains are not
shared between the two repertories.
The motet repertory that shares most with Adam's rondeaux is
the seventh fascicle of F-MO H 196. We have already seen how
the rondeau 'Fi, maris' is closely related to a motet in that
repertory: (872) 'Dame bele et avenant' - (873) 'Fi, mari de
vostre amour' - 'Nus n'iert ja jolis' (U.I.). But no fewer than
five of the six rondeaux that are available for comparative investi-
gation have refrains that are also found in motets in fascicle 7 of
F-MO H 196 - a correspondence that is too substantial to
be coincidental. This seems to suggest the possibility that the
composer(s) of the motets in the seventh fascicle of F-MO H 196
were familiar with Adam's rondeaux and chose their refrains from
that repertory, or - perhaps more likely, and easier to prove -
that Adam was familiar with the repertory of motets from fascicle
7 of F - M O H 196 and borrowed from them the refrains - and

possibly in one instance a polyphonic complex - of his rondea~x.~'
As we have already seen, F - P n fr. 25566 preserves not only
Adam's rondeaux and motets but also a version of the romance
that contains one of the largest numbers of interpolated refrains:
Renart le nouvel. Four manuscripts contain this narrative poem;
each employs a different sequence of refrains, and even when the
text of the refrain is the same the music is often different.49 Six
of Adam's rondeaux have refrains that are also found in Renart le
nouvel (Table 5).The four manuscript sources are F - P n fr. 372,
1581, 1593 and (as we have seen) 25566. Table 5 identifies the
presence or absence of the refrain from Adam's rondeaux. The two
refrains (from rondeaux 1 and 14) that are not found in the V text
( F - P n fr. 25566) of Renart le nouvel use different music in the
manuscripts in which they are found.jOBy contrast, the remain-
48
The structure and chronology of F - M O H 196 are problematic. Traditional views
identified three main layers of activity, fascicles 2-6, fascicles 1 and 7, and fascicle
8; scribal activity was seen to spread over a period from perhaps 1260 to the early
fourteenth century (see the sources cited in Everist, PolyPhonic Music, pp. 110-19).
This additive construction may be explained in terms of a book-producing culture
that attempted to produce multiple copies of single texts and that predated the
appearance of the pecia system (Everist, 'Polyphonic Music in Thirteenth-Century
France: Aspects of Sources and Distribution', 2 vols. (D.Phi1. diss., University of
Oxford, 1985), published in 1989 as cited in note 5 above). Unfortunately, the
dissertation by Mary Wolinski on the manuscript ('The Montpellier Codex: Its
Compilation, Notation and Implications for the Chronology of the Thirteenth-Century
Motet' (Ph.D. diss., Brandeis University, 1988), p. 14 n. 1) took no account of the
earlier (1985) study, and she reached the unacceptable conclusion that the first seven
fascicles of the manuscript were all copied at the same time. There is no substantive
change in terms of sources consulted or conclusions reached in the published version
of these arguments (idem, 'The Compilation of the Montpellier Codex', Early Music
History, 11 (1992), pp. 263-301). Much of the discussion is based on contradictory
art-historical views of the decoration, a lack of consensus that inspires no confidence
in this approach for dating this particular manuscript. Wolinski's central piece of
evidence is the unconvincing identification of the same scribe at work in the sup-
plement to fascicle 7 and in fascicle 3 ( F - M O H 196, fol. 65'; a plate is given in
Wolinski, 'Compilation', p. 269). The evidence seemed implausible when it was
presented publicly to the American Musicological Society (New Orleans, 1986), and
it remains difficult to accept. The claim ('Compilation', p. 268 n. 7) that her assess-
ment of certain physical details in the manuscript agrees with those in Everist,
Polyphonic Music, is misleading; the conclusions in the latter study are diametrically
opposed to hers.
49
J. Maillard, 'Les refrains de caroles dans Renart le nouvel', Alain de Lille, Gautier de
Cha'tillon, Jakemart Giblb et leur temps: Actes du colloque de Lille, Octobre 1978, ed. H .
Roussel and F. Suard, Bien dire et bien aprendre: Bulletin du Centre d'gtudes
MCdiCvales et Dialectales de I'UniversitC de Lille, 111 2 (Lille, 1980), pp. 277-93;
Fowler, 'Musical Interpolations', pp. 100-7.
Identification of sources for Renart le nou~elfollows Roussel, Renart le nouael, pp. 7-9.
Mark Everist
Table 5 Adam de la Halle, rondeaux 1, 3, 6-8, and 14: refrains
and concordances in Renart le nouvel
Rondeau Refrain Line C L F V
1 1074 6670 x
3 784 6698 x x x
6 746 6864 x x
7 430 6824 x
8 156 6718 x x x
14 289 2552 x
Key: C: F-Pn fr. 372 L: F-Pn fr. 1581 F: F-Pn fr. 1593 V : F-Pn fr. 25566
der - which are all found in the V text - use exactly the same
music as the refrains of the rondeaux. I n so far as it is possible to
make any comparison with the concordances between Renart le
nouvel and the rondeaux in F-Pn fr. 12786, textual readings suggest
that those works share as much with the F and L texts of the
romance as they do with the V text. As in the case of the motets,
the rondeaux in F-Pn fr. 25566 have a closer relationship with the
refrains in the version of Renart le nouvel preserved in the same
manuscript (the V text) than with those in other versions. Con-
versely, the rondeaux in F-Pn fr. 12786 do not exhibit this
characteristic.
The discussion of 'Fi, maris' and 'Nus n'iert ja jolis' and their
associated motet prompts more general questions as to how Adam
de la Halle and the anonymous composer(s) of the works in
F-Pn fr. 12786 composed polyphonic rondeaux. What is still the
most extensive discussion of Adam's rondeaux, and implicitly of
those in F-Pn fr. 12786, was presented by Jacques Handschin in
1927; Gustave Reese gave Handschin's account much greater
prominence with his commentary in Music in the Middle Ages.''
Handschin was interested in Adam's rondeaux because he regarded
some works as having the 'main melody' in the middle voice
rather than in the lowest.j2 Handschin's position can be explained
G. Reese, Music in the Middle Ages with an Introduction on the Music of Ancient Times
(London, 1941), p. 322; J. Handschin, 'tiber Voraussetzungen, sowie Fruh- und
Hochblute der mittelalterlichen Mehrstimmigkeit', Schweizerisches Jahrbuch fur Musikwis-
senschaft, 2 (1927), pp. 29-30.
j2
Handschin, 'Uber Voraussetzungen', p. 30 n. 2.

as a reflection of a view of thirteenth-century polyphony domi-

nated by the chant-based genres of motet and organum, in which
the tenor is always the lower or lowest notated voice. His exclus-
ive concern was with musical style, and he seemed uninterested
in the presence of some material in monophonic forms or in the
functioning of the refrain. T h e evidence presented here suggests
that polyphonic rondeaux can all be shown to have their 'main
melody' in the middle voice.
T h e concept of a 'main melody' is intriguing, however. I n the
context of motet or organum, this clearly means a chant-derived
voice, and this function is terminologically enshrined as the tenor
and notationally fixed as the lower or lowest written part. I n
the case of a musical style that does not consistently depend on
the re-use of pre-existent material, the definition of 'main melody'
is contingent either on some system of stylistic investigation or
on the possibly inconsistent presence of shared material. As this
study of the rondeau has shown, the presence of shared material
is relatively rare, and it involves either a monophonic version of
the entire rondeau or the survival of the refrain in other sources.
Such comments raise the specific question of how to decide,
when both a polyphonic rondeau and a monophonic transmission
of its middle voice survive, whether the monophony is a reduced
version of the polyphony, or the monophony serves as the basis
for the polyphony. I n one of the explanations given for the case
of the rondeau 'Fi, maris' and the motet (872) 'Dame bele et
avenant' - (873) 'Fi, mari de vostre amour' - 'Nus n'iert ja jolis'
(U.I .), the relationship between two polyphonic compositions
gave some grounds for identifying the direction of the reworking
(from rondeau to motet) and suggested the existence of a mono-
phonic background to the polyphonic rondeau (although there
were ambiguities even there). I n the case of those works that
exist in both polyphonic and monophonic form, or as both rondeau
and refrain, it is very difficult to draw any conclusions. The
rondeau 'Dame, or sui' is found in three parts in F-Pn fr. 25566
and monophonically in I-Rvat Reg. Lat. 1490. In addition, there
are two concordances between the unnotated three-part rondeaux
in F-Pn fr. 12786 and the monophonic rondeaux in I-Rvat Reg.
Lat. 1490; in the latter source, the two songs are attributed
Mark Everist
to Guillaume d'Amiens.j3 It is reasonable to assume that the

monophonic voices of the songs in I-Rvat Reg. Lat. 1490 would
have been the same as the middle voices of the two three-part
works in F - P n fr. 12786; they would have been either reductions
of three-part originals or monophonic bases for later three-part
pieces. If the versions in I-Rvat Reg. Lat. 1490 are indeed
reductions of three-part works, it is possible that the remaining
eight monophonic rondeaux may also have existed in polyphonic
form. I t is a short step from the conclusion of this argument
to the recognition of Guillaume d'Amiens as a composer of
polyphony.
Whatever position one chooses to adopt vis-&-vis the question
of model and copy, monophony and polyphony, the claims made
by Handschin and Reese that either the lowest or the middle
voice of a polyphonic rondeau c. 1300 was the equivalent to the
tenor in a conductus do not stand up to the identification of
shared material between monophonic and polyphonic rondeaux.
There is, however, much to salvage from Handschin's brief, but
typically astute, observations and from Reese's restatement of
them. Handschin drew attention to two characteristics that have
received little attention since: the declamation of text and the
distribution of voices.
Handschin claimed that different ternary rhythms were used
in Adam's rondeaux to express the text.j4 Given the non-accentual
nature of French poetry and the intrinsically accentual nature of
the rhythm and notation of polyphonic music c. 1300, such an
explicit claim is difficult to prove. However, we have already
seen how modal and mixed-modal declamation of poetry are
both present in Adam's polyphonic rondeaux. I t is not necessary
to invoke 'text expression' to agree to this distinction. What
Handschin described was a compositional resource, the use of
which would not only affect the musico-poetic superstructure in
profound ways but also represent an important stage in the
emergence of a consistent fourteenth-century repertory of poly-
phonic song.
53
The monophonic rondeau 'Dame, or sui' that is concordant in F-Pn fr. 25566 (and is
presumably by Adam de la Halle) is unattributed in its monophonic form in I-Rvat
Reg. Lat. 1490.
j4
Handschin, 'uber Voraussetzungen', pp. 39-40.

When Handschin and Reese suggested the presence of 'main

voices' in both middle and lowest parts, they implicitly raised the
question of tessitura and voice-crossing. There is an important dis-
tinction to be made between different processes at work in these com-
positions. Table 6 gives the voice-ranges of all 16 rondeaux by Adam
de la Halle, and notes on voice-crossing.j5 Two different procedures
emerge that govern most of these compositions. Apart from two
works where there is no voice-crossing and the voice ranges are dis-
crete, and two pieces where all three voices have the same tessitura
and cross continually, the remaining twelve compositions either play
off two upper voices in the same register that cross against the iso-
lated lowest voice (labelled B in Table 6) or else contrast two lower
voices in the same register that cross against a single higher voice
(labelled A in Table 6).
As in the case of modal or mixed-modal declamation, these
compositional decisions do not affect questions of genre because
they do not coincide with other compositional choices. For
example, the rondeaux that display mixed-modal declamation
employ type A and type B voice dispositions in equal numbers.
However, of the five rondeaux that are available for comparison
with other compositions that share the same music, four employ
type B voice dispositions, and one is a work that uses three
discrete tessituras and no voice-crossing. I n other words, when-
ever we can identify a rondeau by Adam that demonstrably shares
material with another work, the rondeau never pairs off the lower
two voices against the uppermost one, and in most cases it pairs
off the two upper voices against the lowest.
The fact that Adam de la Halle seems to have been the only
composer who wrote polyphonic rondeaux has made it difficult to
assess the genre. T h e repertory of rondeau texts in F - P n fr. 12786
55
Rondeau 7 exhibits a single example of crossing between voices I and 11, and rondeau
9 one crossing of voices I and 111; these are ignored in Table 6 for reasons of clarity.
The different voice ranges in rondeau 2 may be compared with the contrapuntal
summary of this piece in Example 1. This is one of the two pieces in which all three
voices cross, and it is especially interesting that this is a characteristic of both the
versions in F - P n fr. 25566 and F - C A 1328, further reinforcing the claim that, despite
superficial differences, the two works share the same structure. Table 6 also suggests
that the voice parts in rondeau 3 may have been swapped at some stage since I1 is
so obviously higher than I. Although this is common in motet sources, where voices
are notated in parts, it is far from clear what textual disturbances could have
generated this transposition in a composition notated in score.
Mark Everist
bears witness to the existence of a much larger repertory of

polyphonic rondeaux. Both collections - those of Adam de la Halle
and those in F-Pn fr. 12786 - participated in a bibliographical
culture that created and valued manuscripts that thematicised
their contents. Comparison of the two repertories shows that
Adam's rondeau collection is, in general terms, similar to that of
F-Pn fr. 12786. Specific differences between the two repertories
may say something about the preferences of the composers or
compilers of the manuscripts. A second source for the polyphonic
rondeau that more than doubles the size of the repertory is an
important element in a re-evaluation both of the emergence of
polyphonic song in the early fourteenth century and of the musical
culture at the end of the Capetian dynasty.
University of Southampton
Early Music History (1996) Volume 15
SCENES FROM T H E LIFE O F
SILVIA GAILARTI MANNI,
A SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY
VIRTUOSA*
During the seventeenth century, the growth of opera created the

need for a large number of artists to perform in theatres through-
out Italy and, increasingly, in much of Europe. The biographies
of nearly all the singers who performed in Venice, the centre of
opera during the middle of the century, and in other cities of
Italy remain unwritten and, in most cases, unwritable. For some
singers, including Giovanni Antonio Cavagna, Nicola Coresi and
Vincenza Giulia Masotti, letters survive that convey something
of their personalities.' Yet, for the most part, we know nothing
of their families and the early years of their careers, nor of their
lives as performers. This article will explore several episodes in
the career of the Roman singer Silvia Gailarti Manni, whose
operatic appearances during three decades have been known to
scholars through librettos, but whose life has never before come
* The archival research for this article was made possible by grants from the National
Endowment for the Humanities and the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation. An earlier
version of this paper was read at the South Central Chapter of the American Musicological
Society, Maryville College, Maryville, Tennessee, April 1993, and the 1993 Conference
of the Society for Seventeenth-Century Music, St Louis, April 1993. I would like to
thank Karen Carter-Schwendler, Jonathan Glixon, Wendy Heller, Colleen Reardon, Ellen
Rosand and two anonymous readers for their valuable comments on earlier drafts of this
article, as well as Irene Alm, Wendy Heller, Robert Holzer, Robert Kendrick and Ellen
Rosand, who consulted materials unavailable to me in a number of libraries. I am also
indebted to Sylvia Dimiziani, Frederick Hammond, Robert Holzer and Margaret Murata
for their expertise on music in Rome; to Robert Kendrick for music in Milan; to Monica
Chojnacka, Stanley Chojnacki and Guido Ruggiero for Venetian social history; and to
Nello Barbieri for his assistance with some of the translations.
' Archivio di Stato di Venezia [hereafter 'ASV'], Scuola Grande di San Marco [hereafter
'SGSM'], busta [hereafter 'b.'] 188 and b. 194. For a bibliography concerning these
and other materials that constitute the 'Faustini papers' in the Archivio di Stato, see
note 107 below.
Beth L. Glixon
into focus. A diverse collection of archival and printed sources

illuminates most vividly Manni's youth and early adolescence in
Venice in the early 1640s, and reveals how her life was shaped
and influenced by the actions and choices pursued by Silvia
herself and by her mother, also a singer. These sources provide
a rare view of a young woman's entrance into the profession of
music and of the people who facilitated that path; they also
reflect the dangers and drama that could accompany life in
seventeenth-century Italy, including the sexual pressures on ado-
lescent girls. Another series of documents focuses on Silvia Manni
nearly thirty years later, near the end of her career, and highlights
the tensions and difficulties attending the recruitment of a prima
donna in the latter part of the c e n t ~ r y . ~
Children of the seicento soon found their way in the world;
those from humble backgrounds might enter into domestic service
or other work before the age of t e r 3 Musicians, too, started their
training early. In 1657, for example, two eleven-year-old boys
began apprenticeships in violin-playing with the instrument
maker and performer (liutaio) Zuanne R e ~ a l d i n As
. ~ I have writ-
ten elsewhere, men found a n easier path to the vocal and, more
specifically, the operatic world, since training had traditionally
been open to them in religious institutions.' Some boys, however,
boarded with musicians in order to receive their training, and
others obtained instruction while serving rich patrons, such as
the ecclesiastical elite of R ~ m e . ~
I refer to Manni as 'Silvia' during her childhood and adolescence; following her
marriage, I call her by her married surname, Manni.
G. Ruggiero, Boundaries of Eros: Sex Crime and Sexuality in Renaissance Venice, Studies in
the History of Sexuality, ed. G. Ruggiero and J. C. Brown (New York, 1985), p. 150.
D. Herlihy and C . Klapisch-Zuber, Tuscam and Their Families: A Study of the Florentine
Catasto of 1427 (New Haven and London, 1985), p. 136.
S. Toffolo, Antichi strumenti veneziani: 150&1800. Quattro secoli di liuteria e cem6alaria
(Venice, 1987), pp. 136, 142.
B. L. Glixon, 'Private Lives of Public Women: Prima Donnas in Mid-Seventeenth-
Century Venice', Music and Letters 76 (1995), pp. 509-31.
Cavalli, for example, had the student Giacomo Minio under his care. See G. Morelli
and T. R. Walker, 'Tre controversie intorno al San Cassiano', in Venezia e il melodramma
nel seicento, ed. M. T . Muraro (Florence, 1976), pp. 97-120 (esp. 105-7). In 1623 in
Rome, Vincenzo Ugolini agreed to board, clothe and teach singing, composition and
grammar to Marco Antonio Pasqualini. See J. Lionnet, 'La musique B Saint-Louis
des F r a n ~ a i sde Rome au XVII' sitcle', Note d'Archivio, new series, 4 (1986), Sup-
plement, Part 11, Document 74, pp. 53-4. Frederick Hammond describes the training
of several boys, subsidised by Cardinal Francesco Barberini, in 'More on Music in
Casa Barberini', Studi Musicali, 14 (1985), pp. 235-61: Gabriello Rocchetti was sent
98
Scenes from the life of Silvia Gailarti Manni
Girls also entered the musical workplace at an early age.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that a nine-year-old was singing on
the Venetian stage in 1666.' Earlier in the century, Francesca
Caccini, the daughter of Giulio, was a professional singer by the
age of thirteen, as, later on, was her daughter, Margherita.' An
aspiring female singer would have enjoyed several options for
her education. T h e daughters of Giulio Caccini and the singer
Andreana Basile were perhaps the most famous examples of
musical offspring who received much of their training within the
family.g Other young women must have been taught, in large
part, by private tutors. A local teacher might offer lessons in the
pupil's own house. In 1600, Giulio Caccini's son, Pompeo, visited
the home of Camilla Mazziere in order to coach her daughter,
Ginevra, 'l'Azzurina', for the role of Tragedia in Euridice (Caccini
was certainly not Ginevra's first teacher, however)." Alterna-
tively, the girl might be sent elsewhere to an acknowledged
master. In 1603, the Roman Caterina Martinelli (then thirteen
years old), for example, nearly took up residence in the home
of Giulio Caccini in Florence but went, instead, directly to
Mantua, where she lived with Claudio Monteverdi and his family
(it is unclear who taught Caterina during her early years in
to Florence for his instruction (1627), while Girolamo Zampetti studied in Rome first
' with Johann Hieronymus Kapsberger (1626) and then with Stefano Landi (1627).
Venice, Biblioteca Civica Correr, PDC 1055, fol. 385: 'San Moist: Un putello et una
putella d'anni 9 in circa valorissisimi' (letter of Lorenzo di Vico, 29 December 1665).
In the transcriptions of Italian manuscript documents, abbreviations have been silently
expanded, and punctuation, accents and capitalisation have been modernised; spelling
has been left as in the original. Printed sources have not been altered.
O n Francesca Caccini and her daughter see S. Cusick, "'Thinking from Women's
Lives": Francesca Caccini after 1627', in Rediscovering the Muses: Women's Musical
Traditions, ed. K. Marshall (Boston, 1993), pp. 206-25.
O n Basile's career see A. Ademollo, La 6ell'Adriana ed altre virtuose del suo tempo alla
corte di Mantova (Citti di Castello, 1888), and S. Parisi, 'Ducal Patronage of Music
in Mantua, 1587-1627: An Archival Study' (Ph.D. diss., University of Illinois, 1989).
O n Francesca Caccini, see C. Raney, 'Francesca Caccini, Musician to the Medici,
and Her Prima Libra (1618)' (Ph.D, diss., New York University, 1971); J. Bowers,
'The Emergence of Women Composers in Italy, 1566-1700', in Women Making Music:
The Western Art Tradition, 115&1950, ed. J . Bowers and J. Tick (Urbana and Chicago,
1986), pp. 116-61 (esp. 123-4); W.Kirkendale, The Court Musicians in Florence During
the Pn'ncipate of the Medici, Historiae Musicae Cultores Biblioteca, 61 (Florence, 1993),
pp. 308-29. See also S. C . Cook and T . K. LaMay, Virtuose in I t a h 160&1640: A
Reference Guide (New York, 1984).
'O
T . J. McGee, 'Pompeo Caccini and Euridice: New Biographical Notes', Renaissance and
Reformation, new series, 14 (1990), pp. 81-99 (esp. 82-7).
Beth L. Glixon
Mantua)." In 1642, Silvia Gailarti's mother chose the first of

these options for her daughter. Silvia was taught by a musician
in her mother's home in Venice, immersed in the rich musical
and intellectual environment that the city offered.
Silvia, born around 1629, was the daughter of the Roman gentle-
man Silvestro Gailarti, of whom we know nothing, and the
Roman singer Dionora or Leonora Luppi, who led an extraordi-
nary life.'* Luppi's artistic activities in Rome are as yet
uncharted, as are other particulars concerning her family, but
by 1633 she was married to Lorenzo Presciani.13 Luppi later
described how her husband, who spent much of that year away
from Rome, had sent money intended for her to the palace of
Don Taddeo Barberini in Rome.14 Barberini, who held many
titles including that of Prefect of Rome, was the nephew of Pope
Urban V I I I , and his family enjoyed great power and wealth
and had a love of the arts.15 Although the nature of the Prescian-
I'
E. Strainchamps, 'The Life and Death of Caterina Martinelli: New Light on Montever-
di's "Arianna" ', Early Music History, 5 (1985), pp. 155-86 (esp. 157-61); see also
Parisi, 'Ducal Patronage of Music in Mantua, 1587-1627', p. 457.
In Luppi's will (to be discussed below) she calls herself the daughter of Giovanni
Battista of 'Reggio di Lombardia' (i.e. Reggio Emilia). I t is unclear whether she was
born in Rome or merely moved there at an early age for professional reasons.
Nonetheless, in Venetian sources she is always described as 'Romana'.
l3
ASV, Archivio Notarile, Atti Simon Bariletti, b. 984, 9 January 1643 (more z~eneto
1642), fol. 97. (The Venetian calendar began on 1 March, rather than 1 January.
Hereafter, all dates are given in modern style.) The document states that 'il signor
Lorenzo suo marito parti di Roma del 1633'; presumably Lorenzo was her husband
in 1633. The surnames of Silvia and her mother are found in a number of different
spellings (Gaillardi, Gailardi, Gailarti, Galearti; Persiani, Presciani, Pressiani,
Bressani). On the relationship between Luppi and Silvestro Gailarti, see pp. 116-18
below.
l4
In 1633, letters containing convertible funds were sent in care of a certain Steffano
del Giudice. Luppi's wording suggests that Barberini himself turned the letters over
to del Giudice, who then gave them to Luppi: 'erano inviate a1 Signor Steffano del
Giudice le lettere, et detto signor Steffano I'andava a pigliare a1 Pallazzo dal Signor
Don Tadeo Barbarino, essendole a lei poi state consignate'. I6id.
l5
On the Barberini and their palaces, see P. Waddy, Seventeenth-Century Roman Palaces:
Use and the Art of the Plan (Kew York, Cambridge, Mass., and London, 1990); and
J . B. Scott, Images of Nepotism: The Painted Ceilings of Palazzo Barberini (Princeton,
1991). Taddeo Barberini sponsored the opera Enninia sul Giordano; see M. Murata,
Operasfor the Papal Court 1631-1668 (Ann Arbor, 1981), pp. 23, 249. O n the Barberini
brothers' patronage of music, see Hammond, 'More on Music in Casa Barberini',
and C. Moore, The Composer Michelangelo Rossi: A 'Diligent Fantasy Maker' in Seuenteenth-
is' connection with Barberini is unclear, Luppi must have been
part of the musical world in Rome, for the composer Francesco
Manelli and the singer Antonia Viglietta knew her there; they,
and Maria de Curti (also a singer?), later asserted that she had
gone to Venice around 1639.16 She may have done so in order
to sing in opera (or to raise her daughter in a city where she
in turn might sing in public opera), but of this we have no
evidence.
Luppi first comes to our attention in Venice during August
1642, when she appealed (on both Silvia's and her own behalf)
to the Council of Ten, the government body charged with main-
tenance of state security and public morality, to hear a case
involving her and her daughter." Luppi (using the name Leonida
Presciani) accused the musician Giovanni Carlo del Cavalieri of
seducing her thirteen-year-old daughter, Silvia, and then planning
both to kidnap Silvia and to poison Luppi herself. The dossier
compiled by the Council of Ten included a statement by Luppi;
testimony by Silvia, a female servant (Francesca Seraffini), a
tailor (Francesco Fiorentini), two Venetian noblemen (Nicolb
Gabriel and Matteo Dandolo), and one Antonio Pessina; and
physical evidence comprising two letters written by Cavalieri and
a flask (the last item no longer extant).''
Silvia's passionate testimony (taken on 20 August 1642) is too
lengthy to be quoted in full, but even a few excerpts convey the
flavour of the proceedings. She began:
I am called Silvia Gailarti, daughter of the late Signor Silvestro, a
Roman gentleman. My mother, who is alive, is called Leonida, and
we live in this city in the parish of San Cassiano.lg
Century Rome, Outstanding Dissertations in Music from British Universities (New

York, 1993).
ASV, Archivio Notarile, Atti Gabriel Gabrieli, b. 6668, fol. 163' (4 July 1646); cf.
note 67 below.
ASV, Capi del Consiglio dei Dieci (hereafter 'CCD'), Suppliche, 1621-1663, fasc. 3.
Cavalieri signed his name as Giovanni Carlo del Cavalieri, and that is how his name
appeared in a printed source (see below). Luppi's statement and the dossier based
on the oral testimony of the witnesses reveal a number of variations: di Cavalieri
(Luppi); del Cavaliere (Silvia); Cavalieri (Francesca and Gabriel); deto il Cavalieri
(Dandolo); and dei Cavalieri (Fiorentini).
'10 mi chiamo Silvia Gailarti figliuola del quondam Signor Silvestro Gentilhuomo
Romano, et mia madre che vive si chiama Leonida, et habitiamo in questa citta in
Contra di San Cassiano.' ASV, CCD, Suppliche.
Beth L. Glixon
W h e n asked if anything sinister h a d occurred in t h e days preced-

ing, s h e replied:
It befell that a rogue, a scoundrel wanted to poison my mother; but
I knew nothing of it.20
H e r testimony continued:
During the past months, before Carnival, there came to our house,
with the help of Marc'Antonio Vasari, who is a doctor, one Giovanni
Carlo del Cavaliere, musician, who said he was from Melfi, a city near
Naples. His intention was to teach me to sing and to play, as both I
and my mother are professional musicians. With longer acquaintance
he began to show to me signs of affection, and said that if I would
give in to his desires he would take me for his wife. He said he was
a gentleman of high standing in his land, and that he would place me
at the court of the Duke of Celenza, a city also near Naples, with a
stipend of 200 scudi a year for me as well as for him, not taking into
account the other things he would then have given me as his wife. I
would never for my entire life lack for anything, and I would be clothed
as a gentlewoman. In the end, he made me so many promises that
now I can only remember half of them. Therefore, enticed by such
~romises.and with the firm assurance that he would take me for his
wife, I consented, allowing myself to give in to his desires. This hap-
pened after Carnival, but I don't remember the precise time.
Shortlv after he had taken awav, mv, honour. he said that he wanted
to ask my mother for permission to marry me, but things went ahead
as they had before. One day he showed me certain letters that he said
had come from his land. I don't know if thev were feigned or real. He
said that the damage was done, that he had somethingUtotell me which
he was sorry for, urging me to have patience, and that what was done
was done, that we couldn't turn back. Finally, he told me that he had
a wife, so that he couldn't marry me. But he said that I shouldn't
doubt him, that he wouldn't fail me, that he would take me to the
house of this Duke, and if this didn't please me he would take me to
the court of the wife of the Viceroy of Naples, or he would take there
[in Naples] a house where princes would come to enjoy my talent,
especially since there were -no other virtuose in the city, now that
Andreana [Basile] had grown old. Hearing this, I began to cry, and I
did nothing else all day long, seeing that I had lost my honour and
that he couldn't marry me.
After some time had passed, seeing that I had a fever and that I
felt ill every day, he said that he knew I was pregnant, and that I
20
'[UJn guidone, un furfante voleva tossicare mia madre, che io per6 non sapevo
niente'. ASV, CCD, Suppliche.
would have to go away with him secretly so that my mother would
not become aware of it.21
I t seems that at first Silvia was willing to go away with her
teacher. She informed him, however, that it would be impossible
to do so without her mother hearing them, because unlocking
and locking the door made so much noise. Cavalieri said that
she should leave everything to him, that he would give Luppi a
sleeping potion so that she would hear nothing. This development
made the girl uneasy. Cavalieri continued to insist that they
'Li mesi passati, avanti carnovale, capitb in casa nostra per mezo d'un tal Marc'An-
tonio Vasari, che fa il medico, un tal Giovanni Carlo del Cavaliere musico, disse
essere da Melfi, citti vicino a Napoli, con intentione di impararmi a cantare e sonare,
facendone noi professione tant'io quanto la signora madre. Onde con il lungo pratticare
comincib a mostrarmi segni d'affetto, con dire che se havessi acconsentito alle sue
voglie, m'harebbe presa per moglie, che lui era gentilhuomo e signore di gran qualiti
in que' paesi, et che mi harebbe messo in corte d'un Duca di Celenza, citti pur
sotto Napoli, con provisione di 200 scuti I'anno, tanto a me quanto a lui, senza
l'altre cose che mi haverebbe poi data lui come sua moglie, che non mi sarebbe
mancato mai il pane in vita, che sarei vessuta da gentildonna, che in fine tante
promissioni che non mi raccordo I'ameti. Ond'io, alletata da tante promissioni, et
con fermo proponimento che mi prendesse per moglie, acconsentii lasciandomi persua-
dere alle sue voglie, et quando fu passato il carnevale, che il tempo precis0 non mi
raccordo. Et poi, poco doppo che mi hebbe levato I'honore, mi disse che voleva
dimandarmi per moglie alla signora madre, ma andava portando avanti, et un giorno
mi mostrb certe lettere che diceva esser le venute dal suo paese. Kon so se fosse
fintione o da vero, et mi disse che g i i il male era fatto, et che haveva da dirmi una
cosa che gli rincresceva, persuadendomi ad haver patienza, et che quelli ch'era fatta
non poteva tornar piu in dietro, et finalmente mi disse che haveva moglie et che lui
non mi poteva pic pigliare per moglie, ma perb che non dubitassi, che mai m'haver-
ebbe mancato, che mi harebbe menato in casa di questo Duca, et se non m'havesse
piacciuta star 18, m'haverebbe condota alla corte della Vice Regina di Kapoli, overo
m'haverebbe preso ivi casa dove sarebbe pratticati principi cavalieri per la mia virth,
massime non essendovi di presente in quella citta altre virtuose, con la Dreana
hormai fatta vecchia. Sentendo io questo, mi misse a piangere, nC altro facevo tutto
il giorno, vedendomi priva del mio honore, e che lui non poteva pigliarmi per moglie.
In cappo a certo tempo, vedendo che io havevo la febre, et che ogni giorno stavo
male, mi disse che conosceva che ero gravida, et che bisognava che io andassi via
seco in ascoso, per che la Signora Madre non s'accorgesse.' ASV, CCD, Suppliche.
That Cavalieri was living in Luppi's house is evident from the testimony of the
servant, Francesca: 'la Signora Leonida mi disse che andassi a pigliare li drappi di
Giovanni Carlo nella sua camera che dormiva per farli lavare, come era solita fare;
andai a pigliarli' (Signora Leonida told me to get Giovanni Carlo's clothes from the
room where he slept in order to wash them, as it was usual to do; I went to get
them).
Carnival was understood to begin on 26 December and to end on Shrove Tuesday;
the opera season more or less coincided, though opera performances sometimes began
earlier. See B. L. Glixon and J. E. Glixon, 'Marco Faustini and Venetian Opera
Production in the 1650s: Recent Archival Discoveries', Journal of Musicology, 10 (1992),
pp. 48-73. At times an opera might be revived during Ascensiontide; and by the end
of the century there were other opera seasons as well.
Beth L. Glixon
must flee, saying that her mother would kill her once she knew
of her pregnancy. Though Cavalieri had planned their escape
for 18 July, Silvia insisted that she did not want her mother to
be drugged. O n the appointed day, Cavalieri became angry at
Silvia's resistance, said he wanted to go to Milan, took his boots,
and left the house, but not before frightening Silvia with menacing
remarks.
By this time, events had reached a critical point. O n 17 July,
Luppi had been warned by an acquaintance of sinister events
occurring in her household, and she could see, the following day,
that Silvia had been reduced to tears. When Nicolb Gabriel,
Luppi's and Silvia's noble protector (many singers, especially
women, had noblemen who acted in their behalf), came to visit,
Luppi asked him to learn the reasons behind Silvia's behaviour.
He found the young girl writing in her room. Silvia finally
confided in him (Matteo Dandolo, in his statement, referred to
Gabriel as the oldest friend of the household), and together they
approached Luppi, who did not take kindly to the behaviour of
Cavalieri and her daughter. Gabriel testified:
I told her everything, and she became irritated; then, returning to
herself, she burst into a great fury of tears, wanting to inflict harsh
punishment on the girl. I said that I had sworn that I wouldn't let
anything unpleasant happen. Thus I calmed her down, and she prom-
ised not to do anything ~ n p l e a s a n t . ~ ~
Cavalieri, meanwhile, had not gone to Milan, for he returned to
the Luppi household while Gabriel was talking with Luppi and
Silvia, as the nobleman revealed:
The said Giovanni Carlo knocked a t the door. Seeing him, the girl
said, 'Oh, dear sir, send him away.' So I went down to the door and
told him to remove himself from that house and not return. H e became
all confused and went away.23
22
'[Lli dissi il tutto, lei se n'andb in fastidio, e poi ritornata in s t proruppe in gran
furia di pianto. Volendo anco far dimostrationi rigorose contra la putta, io li dissi
che I'havevo fidata sopra di me che non le sarebbe stato fato spiacere. Onde I'aquetai,
facendomi promettere di non li far dispiacere.' ASV, CCD, Suppliche.
23
'[Ill detto Giovanni Carlo battt alla porta, et la puta vedutolo disse, "Ah, caro
signor, mandala via", e cosi andai da basso alla porta, et gli dissi che si scostasse
da quella casa, n t pic li capitasse, costui restb tutto confuso et si parti'. ASV, CCD,
Suppliche.
Cavalieri sought refuge at the home of Matteo Dandolo and
asked two favours: that Dandolo give him lodging for the night,
and that he help to smooth over a certain unpleasantness (disgusto)
that had occurred between himself and Luppi and because of
which Gabriel had ordered him to leave Luppi's house.24H e told
the nobleman that Luppi had originally consented to allow him
to take Silvia to Naples and then had changed her mind. H e
went on to say that he had then persuaded Silvia to run away
with him, and thus had begun the actions that led to the loss
of her virginity (and the plans for their escape). Dandolo said
that as a friend of the family he could not offer hospitality to a
man who had offended the honour and reputation of a young
girl, and who had planned to drug an unknowing victim. The
musician returned the next morning bearing two unsealed letters,
one each for Luppi and Silvia, and asked that Dandolo have
them delivered. Dandolo instead gave the letters to Gabriel, who
after reading them became even more convinced of Cavalieri's
evil intentions.
The letter to Luppi, the longer of the two, ranged over a
number of topics but basically asked for her forgiveness and
suggested that she act prudently; Cavalieri wrote, for example,
'May you see, my dear Signora, that knowing how to restrain
one's anger is the greatest virtue that one can have.'25 The letter
is, in fact, rather vague in its message: Cavalieri was, undoubt-
edly, unsure as to how much Luppi knew about the proceedings
of the past months and days, so that he had to couch his prose
in rather general terms. In melodramatic, even operatic language,
he wrote:
Thus, though scorned, I return to your feet. I seek your pardon, I ask
mercy, and if you consider yourself offended by me or know me to be
worthy of death, here I am, ready to receive it; kill me with your
hands, for I am not going to move at
24
' . . . che essendoli sucesso un accidente, era capitato da me per ricercarmi due favori,
l'uno che volesse alloggiarlo per quella sera, l'altro che volesse accomodar con la
Signora Leonida certo disgusto passato tra loro, per il quale 1'Illustrissimo Gabriel
l'haveva mandato via da quella casa'. ASV, CCD, Suppliche.
25
'Veda, cara mia Signora, che '1 saper rafrenarse nell'ire t la maggior virth che possa
mai haver l'huomo.' ASV, CCD, Suppliche.
26
'Ritorno dunque a' suoi piedi, ben chi disprezzato. Cerco perdono, dimando misericor-
Beth L. Glixon
Cavalieri's letter to Silvia stated that her love for him would
now be tested; he suspected that the maid Francesca had betrayed
them (Cavalieri knew that Silvia had confided in her about their
relationship). He enclosed a sheet of paper so that Silvia might
write to him of developments (did he presume that her writing
paper would have been confiscated?). Perhaps most important,
the letter bore instructions that Silvia should go to a window
near the storeroom and destroy the flask she would find hidden
there. However, Silvia never saw the letter. Nicol6 Gabriel sub-
sequently found the flask, had the contents visually examined,
and then tested them on a pigeon bought expressly for the
purpose. The bird became ill and died shortly thereafter, convinc-
ing the onlookers that the contents were indeed poisonous.
The reports of Silvia, Gabriel and Dandolo provide us with
information beyond the crimes of defloration and attempted
murder. They allude, if only briefly, to musical entertainments
hosted by Luppi. Gabriel stated that he went to Leonida's house
'many times for the opportunity of [hearing] the music'.27 Dan-
dolo testified, 'For some time I have frequented the house of
Signora Leonida Romana, delighting sometimes in the musical
entertainment.'28 It is unclear how long these entertainments had
been offered, and who specifically provided the music. We can
assume that during much of 1642 the performers included Luppi,
Cavalieri and, probably, Silvia; but Cavalieri's predecessors, if
any, remain unknown. T h e names of guests other than Gabriel,
Dandolo and one Antonio Pessina (who reported 'finding myself
at the house of Signora Leonida Romana in [the parish of] San
Cassiano, where it was my habit to go sometimes for
entertainment')29 are absent. Predictably, the testimony centres
instead on the charges of seduction and attempted murder. Issues
such as musical aesthetics and repertoire are sadly lacking;
indeed, one wishes the witnesses had been more prolix in their
dia, e se da me tiensi offesa, o mi conosce degno di morte, eccomi pronto a riceverla,

e m'uccida colle sue mani, che non son per muovermi in nulla.' ASV, CCD, Suppliche.
27
' . . . nella quale ero solito per occasione delle musiche capitarli molte volte'. ASV,
CCD, Suppliche.
'S'i: qualche tempo che io prattico in casa della Signora Leonida Romana, dilettandomi
alle volte della ricreation della musica.' ASV, CCD, Suppliche.
2g
' . . . attrovandomi in casa della Signora Leonida Romana a San Casciano, ove son
solito pratticar alcuna volta per ricreatione'. ASV, CCD, Suppliche.
responses. Silvia did not elaborate on either her or her mother's

musical career or, for that matter, on Cavalieri's participation
in Venetian musical life.
Also lacking in the testimony is any reference whatsoever to
Luppi's husband, Lorenzo Presciani; his existence would be
unknown were it not for several notarial documents - including
the one mentioned earlier - that concern him. I t appears unlikely
that he was residing in the house or even in Venice at the time
in question.30Nicolb Gabriel seemingly acted as the head of the
household, learning the truth of the incident from Silvia and
then taking control of the situation.
One of the most intriguing aspects of the testimony is the
presence of the other nobleman, Mattio (or Matteo) Dandolo.
Dandolo was introduced to musicologists in Ellen Rosand's
groundbreaking article on the singer-composer Barbara S t r o ~ z i . ~ ~
A member of the Accademia degli Unisoni, he took part during
the late 1630s in a debate, read by Barbara Strozzi, over whether
tears or music had greater power in awakening love. Dandolo
argued the superiority of tears, taking into consideration that
tears were natural where song is artificial; tears, moreover, were
the language of the soul.32According to Ferrante Pallavicino, a
member of the Accademia degli Incogniti, academic discussions,
presumably of that larger academy, were, on occasion, held in
Dandolo's home.33Dandolo thus was intimately concerned with
the intellectual life of Venice and with questions of aesthetics.
His patronage of the musical entertainments at Luppi's house
must have lent an aura of prestige. Dandolo's testimony in the
Luppi case reveals something of his appreciation of music and
musicians: 'In that house [Leonida's] I knew Giovanni Carlo
30
O n Lorenzo Presciani, see below. Elizabeth Cohen has pointed out to me in a private
communication that Presciani's absence from the case may be attributed to his
position as Silvia's stepfather, i.e., that it might have been inappropriate for him to
act in this matter. Still, had he been in the house during those days it seems that
his presence would have been mentioned by Silvia, Francesca, Gabriel or Dandolo.
3'
E. Rosand, 'Barbara Strozzi, virtuosissima cantatrice: The Composer's Voice', Journal of
the American Musicological Sociep, 31 (1978), pp. 241-81 (esp. 245).
32
The debate was published in G. F. Loredano, Birearrie academiche (Venice, 1638),

pp. 182q and La Contesa del canto e delle lagrime. Discorsi academici. Recitati dalla Sig.
Barbara S t r o r ~ nell'Academia
i de gli h i s o n i (Venice, 1638). See Rosand, 'Barbara Strozzi,
virtuosissima cantatrice', pp. 245, 278-9.
33
F. Pallavicino, Panegirici, epitalami, discorsi accademici . . . (Venice, 1652), p. 133.
Beth L. Glixon
called Cavalieri, and because he was a person skilled in the

composition of music, I showed to him some signs of a f f e ~ t i o n ' . ~ ~
We know little about Giovanni Carlo beyond Dandolo's testi-
mony. Nicol6 Gabriel testified that he knew the letters sent to
Silvia and Luppi were in Cavalieri's handwriting because he had
seen books (libri) written by him; these 'books' could have been
music, poetry, prose or, simply, more mundane household
accounts or the like.35 Cavalieri claimed to be a man of some
wealth; several of the witnesses remarked on his pretensions. As
Luppi stated in her declaration, 'he led the young and very
imprudent girl to believe that he was one of the most important
gentleman of Melfi, his homeland, and that he was expecting
any moment a large quantity of gold'.36 Francesca, the servant,
testified that 'he said that he was from the city of Melfi and
was a Prince, and very rich, and said that there were many
servants in his h o ~ s e ' . ~Cavalieri's
' letters to Luppi and Silvia
lean towards passionate and dramatic prose and suggest that he
was well educated and well read.
According to Silvia's testimony, Cavalieri claimed some famili-
arity with the musical patrons of Naples. He was confident that
he could place Silvia in a favourable situation, as there was an
apparent shortage of virtuose (see above). His discussions with
Silvia would also seem to imply that in early 1642 Andreana
Basile was still alive and residing in Naples.38 As Cavalieri's
veracity cannot be implicitly assumed, however, his assessment of
musical patronage in Naples must, for now, remain unconfirmed.
Cavalieri's presence in Venice during the Carnival season of
1641142, when he came to live in Luppi's home, is also recorded
34
'[Iln quella casa conobbi Giovanni Carlo deto il Cavalieri, et per esser persona perita
nella profession di componer di rnusica, li mostrai qualche segno d'affetto'. ASV,
CCD, Suppliche.
35
'[Mla so bene che quelle lettere sono di proprio suo pugno, havendo io cognitione
del suo carattere per haver veduti libri scritti da lui'. ASV, CCD, Suppliche.
36
' . . . poiche dando ad intendere alla tenera incautissima figliuola esser egli gentil-
huomo principalissimo di Melfi sua patria, et che di momento in momento atendeva
quantita d'oro'. ASV, CCD, Suppliche.
37
'[Dliceva di essere della citta di Melfi, et che era un prencipe, et molto ricco, che
in casa sua vi era gran servitu'. ASV, CCD, Suppliche.
38
Basile's dates are usually cited as c. 1580 (Posillipo) - c. 1640 (Rome); however, the
singer left Rome for Naples in November 1640. See J. Lionnet, 'Andre Maugars:
Risposta data a un curioso sul sentimento della musica d'Italia', Nuova Rivista Musicale
Italians, 19 (1985), pp. 681-707 (esp. 697-9).
in a book that praised the talents of the most famous and
honoured singer in Venice at this time, Anna Renzi. The volume,
Le glorie della Signora Anna Renri Romana, published in 1644 by
some members of the influential Accademia degli Incogniti, con-
tains several types of poems by a variety of authors, some of
which commemorate Renzi's portrayals of specific roles. Cava-
lieri's contribution celebrated the singer's performance in Vin-
cenzo Nolfi's and Francesco Sacrati's Bellerofonte, mounted during
the 1641142 Carnival. The sonnet is signed 'Signor Cavalier
Giovanni Carlo del Cavalieri Romano'. Since we know that
Cavalieri hailed from the region of Naples, he must have had
some Roman connection that he or others wished to emphasise.
The inclusion of Cavalieri's sonnet demonstrates that his circle
of acquaintances probably extended beyond the friendship of
Gabriel and Dandolo, and the title 'Cavalier' would indicate a
fairly high social status, although the musician may not have
technically been a knighte3' Cavalieri could have become familiar
with Renzi's performance either as a spectator or as a musician
participating in the production; most of the contributors to Le
glorie, however, were not musicians, but intellectuals and con-
noisseurs of music.40Apparently the editors of the volume decided
to publish Cavalieri's contribution despite the offence it might
cause to Luppi and Silvia two years after Silvia's s e d ~ c t i o n . ~ '
39 Cavalieri's status is uncertain. He told some of Silvia's household that he was a

prince (see above).
O'
Giovanni Battista Settimo, for instance, corresponded with Loredano and was the
author of several books of poetry as well as several novelle published by the Incogniti;
Francesco Maria Gigante was the dedicatee of I1 Bellerofonte; Girolamo Brusoni was
a prolific writer of romanri. Many of the poems are signed only with initials rather
than full names; one of the authors so identified was probably the librettist Giacomo
Badoer. Cavalieri's contribution and the title 'Cavalier' may lend credence to his
claims of wealth, or at least to the perception in Venice of his wealth or high
standing. O n Le glorie della Slgnora Anna Renri Romana, see C. Sartori, 'La prima diva
della lirica italiana: Anna Renzi', Nuova Rivista Musicale Italiana, 2 (1968), pp. 430-
52; L. Bianconi and T. Walker, 'Dalla Finta p a r f a alla Veremonda: Storie di Febiarmon-
ici', Rivista Italiana di Musicologia, 10 (1975), pp. 379-454 (esp. 417-18, 442); and,
most recently, Ellen Rosand, Opera in Seventeenth-Century Venice: The Creation of a Genre
(Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1991), pp. 228-35, 385. The poems commemorating
specific roles were probably written close to the dates of the performances.
41
I t is reasonable to assume that many associated with the Incogniti - particularly
those with an interest in music - would have known of Silvia's and Luppi's ordeal,
especially owing to the connection with Dandolo. Venice was a particularly insular
community, and news of scandal, as well as of the activities of the Council of Ten,
often travelled quickly.
Beth L. Glixon
The record of Luppi's case before the Council of Ten contains

neither a statement by Cavalieri nor a verdict. The case itself,
moreover, is something of a n anomaly, owing to there being two
distinct offences. The crime of attempted murder might have led
to imprisonment or banishment. Had Cavalieri merely deflowered
Silvia with the promise of marriage, the charges undoubtedly
would have been heard not by the Council of Ten, but by the
Esecutori contro la Bestemmia (Officers against Blasphemy), the
magistracy which routinely dealt with such matters.42 Had the
musician been found guilty of that crime, his penalty would
probably have been a promise of marriage and, possibly, a short
term of imprisonment; if he were already married, he would have
been expected to provide Silvia with a modest dowry. I n 1650,
for example, one Pre Giovanni Felice da Rimini deflowered a
young servant named Marietta. His sentence required him to
supply a dowry of 100 ducats and serve a year in prison; other-
wise, he would be banished after serving a ten-year term in
I t should be noted that cases such as this could also be

settled privately. The nobleman Ottavian Malipiero, for example,
arranged in 1648 that 350 ducats be paid to Isabetta Spadon,
who had been deflowered by Faustin M a t t i a ~ Indeed,
.~~ Cavalieri
had told Dandolo that he wished to handle the matter privately
in order to protect the reputation of Silvia and her household
(Cavalieri also alluded to this in his letter to Luppi: 'I conclude
that prudence and secrecy settle many matters that, once exposed
in public, are then beyond repair, and in a 'yes' and in a 'no'
are born death and the loss of honour').45Moreover, he confided
42
O n the Esecutori contro la Bestemmia, see R. Derosas, 'Moralita e giustizia a Venezia
nel '500-'600, gli Esecutori contro la Bestemmia', in Stato, societci e giustizia nella
repubblica veneta (sec. xv-xviii), ed. G. Cozzi (Rome, 1980), pp. 431-528. O n defloration
in Rome in the early 1600s, see E. S. Cohen, 'No Longer Virgins: Self-presentation
by Young Women in Late Renaissance Rome', in Rejguring Woman: Perspectives on
Gender and the Italian Renaissance, ed. M . Migiel and J. Schiesari (Ithaca and London,
1991), pp. 169-91.
43
ASV, Esecutori contro la Bestemmia, Raspe 1627-1692, b. 68, fols. 122'-122" (10
November 1650).
44
ASV, Archivio Notarile, Atti Giorgio Emo, b. 5504, fol. 124.
45
'Concludo: che la prudenza e la secretezza acconcia molte cose che esposte a1 public0
sono poi irremediabili, e che in un si et in un no nasce la morte e la pfrdita
dell'honore.' ASV, CCD, Suppliche.
to Dandolo that although he had promised to marry someone

from his country - his account differed from that he had told to
Silvia - he might be able to dissolve that engagement and wed
Silvia instead. This, however, never came to pass.
Luppi's denunciation of Cavalieri made no reference to Silvia's
supposed pregnancy, which remains unconfirmed; the records for
the parish of San Cassiano show no baptism for a child of Silvia,
nor do the city death records reveal the demise of such an
infant.46 Although Luppi's petition to the Council of Ten twice
used the word 'rape' to characterise Cavalieri's actions, the state-
ments of Silvia, Francesca and Gabriel did not. The crime of
defloration would not have been viewed by the authorities as
unusual. Then, as now, men seduced women and young girls
with promises of marriage.47 The fact that Cavalieri was a
musician with connections in Naples, however, enabled him to
entice Silvia with more than prospects of marriage; he dazzled
her with visions of a comfortable life and prestigious service.
Cavalieri's fate, like his true intentions towards Silvia and Luppi,
remains unknown. The evidence supplied by Luppi, Silvia, Fran-
cesca and Gabriel presents a rather homogeneous view of Cava-
lieri's actions; at times, more than one of the witnesses used
nearly identical phrases. Silvia Gailarti depicted herself, as did
the others, as an innocent girl led astray. As a result, it is
difficult to determine, in the case of Silvia's seduction and deflor-
ation, whether the culpability lay completely with C a ~ a l i e r i . ~ '
We might also wonder how the two women fared in the wake
of the ordeal. Did their reputation suffer? Certainly, defloration
placed a young woman in an undesirable social position and
brought dishonour on her entire family.49Indeed, this is, in part,
why the legal system sought to ameliorate the plight of 'fallen
Gary Towne and Suzanne Cusick have suggested to me that Silvia might have had
a baby that she turned over to a foundling institution. Still, it seems significant that
Luppi did not cite Silvia's impregnation, which would have lent even greater weight
to her accusations.
47
Indeed, one of the chapters in Guido Ruggiero's book on sex crime and sexuality in
Renaissance Venice is entitled 'Fornication and Then Marriage'. See Ruggiero, The
Boundaries of Eros, Chapter Two.
48
O n the complex reading of cases involving love, witchcraft and magic in Renaissance
Venice, see G. Ruggiero, Binding Passions: Tales of Magic, Marriage, and Power at the
End of the Renaissance (New York and Oxford, 1993).
49
See ibid., especially pp. 63-4, 239.

Beth L. Glixon
women' through sentences such as those described above. Some

forty years earlier, Pompeo Caccini's student Ginevra Mazziere
found herself in a precarious situation, having been impregnated
by her teacher. Caccini was fined 100 lire and was ordered to
pay a dowry of 75 scudi; in that case, however, the two apparently
married.50 The Roman artist Artemisia Gentileschi was married
shortly after her seducer was tried for rape in 1612 - married
not to the offender, the artist Agostino Tassi, but to the Florentine
artist Pietro Antonio Stiattesi, probably the relative of one of
Tassi's friends who testified at the trial.51It would appear, how-
ever, that a marriage between Silvia and Cavalieri would have
been welcomed by neither mother nor daughter. Silvia chose -
or perhaps her mother chose for her - to remain the unmarried
victim of defloration. She continued to live in the home of her
mother, and she continued to sing.
DIONORA LUPPI'S SITUATION IN VENICE, AND HER
DEALINGS WITH CLAUDIO MONTEVERDI, 1640-1643
Documentation concerning Silvia and her mother provides some

insight into their lives following the departure of Cavalieri. O n
31 December 1642 Luppi drew up a will.52 We might have
expected her to do so the previous July, when she learned of the
barely foiled attempt on her life, but it was a winter illness that
prompted her to call a notary to her home in the parish of San
Cassiano. The most striking aspect of the will, arguably, is the
absence of any references to her husband: although Luppi ident-
ified herself therein as his wife - not as his widow (and this will
marks the earliest reference to him in Venetian sources) - his
name does not occur further. She bade him no goodbyes, left
him no money and did not name him as the executor of her estate.
This, in conjunction with Presciani's absence in the testimony for
the seduction case, would suggest that theirs was not a conven-
tional marriage, or at least that they were not on the best of
50
See McGee, 'Pompeo Caccini and Euridice', pp. 82-5.
M. D. Garrard, Artemisia Gentileschi: The Image of the Female Hero in Italian Baroque Art
(Princeton, 1989), p. 34. Garrard's book contains an English translation of the testi-
mony at the Gentileschi rape trial, which lasted seven months.
52
ASV, Archivio Notarile, Testamenti Andrea Bronzini, b. 64, no. 76.
terms during this difficult year. Luppi left 40 ducats to her
servant Francesca and 50 scudi to her mother, whose name she
did not specify; she designated Silvia as her residuary legatee.
Luppi methodically listed the money she had in the house (about:
77 silver scudi, 16 zecchini, and 3 doble), and a sum owed to
her by the merchant Giacomo Galli (about 500 ducats).53
Two other monetary entries are of special interest, for they
provide further indications of Luppi's ties to music in Venice:
Francesco Cavalli owed the singer 100 scudi, while Signor Monte-
verdi and Signor Benedetto dalla Tiorba - that is, the composer
Benedetto Ferrari - together owed her about 200 scudi or (as
the will states) 'whatever figure appears in the agreement held
by the Illustrious Nicolb Gabriel'.54Although the evidence is not
entirely conclusive, these debts would seem to point specifically
to Luppi's participation in opera in Venice (with Nicolb Gabriel
acting as her protector, just as Silvia described him in the
processo), although it is unclear from the will which season or
which operas would account for them. During these years Fran-
cesco Cavalli was the impresario at the Teatro San Cassiano
and also had some involvement with the Teatro San M o ~ s Z . ~ ~
O n the other hand, for insight into Luppi's connections with
Ferrari - who was mounting operas at the Teatro SS. Giovanni
e Paolo and the Teatro San MoisZ - and with Monteverdi, we
must look a t yet another legal action, one taken by a singer who
called herself Leonida D ~ n a t i . ~ ~
53
The following monetary conversions obtained in Venice during the middle of the
seventeenth century: 1 ducat = 6.2 lire (6 lire, 4 soldi); 1 scudo = 9.3 lire; 1 doble =
28 lire; 1 cecchino = 17 lire. Giacomo Galli was an extremely wealthy merchant;
legacies from his will financed new faqades for both the church of San Salvatore and
the adjacent Scuola di San Teodoro.
54
'Sono anco creditrice del Signor Francesco Cavalli de scudi cento, del Signor Montev-
erdi et del Signor Benedetto dalla Tiorba de scudi ducento in circa, overo di quella
quantita che appare nel scritto che si ritrova in mano dell'Illustrissimo Signor Nicolb
Gabriel.' ASV, Archivio Notarile, Testamenti Andrea Bronzini, b. 64, no. 76.
55
O n Cavalli at the Teatro San Cassiano, see Morelli and Walker, 'Tre controversie',
pp. 94-108. O n the composer's activities at San Moist, see N. Pirrotta, 'The Lame
Horse and the Coachman', Music and Culture in Italy from the Middle Ages to the
Baroque (Cambridge, Mass., 1984), pp. 325-34 (esp. 333-4). See also Rosand, Opera
in Seventeenth-Centuv Venice, pp. 202-3.
56
Leonida Donati's legal action is discussed by Gastone Vio in a recent article, 'Musici
veneziani dei primi decenni del seicento: Discordie e bustarelle', Rassegna Veneta di
Studi Musicali, 5-6 (1989-go), pp. 375-85 (esp. 382-5). I would like to thank Tim
Carter, who informed me of this article.
Beth L. Giixon
O n 14 February 1642, in search of remuneration, presumably

for a n opera performance, Donati took Claudio Monteverdi to
court. Owing to Monteverdi's position as maestro di cappella,
the case could only be heard by the primicerio of St Mark's, rather
than in one of the civil courts5' The surviving documentation
differs greatly from that of the deflorationlattempted-murder
hearings in the Council of Ten previously discussed. Most of the
entries concern motions by the lawyers of both parties for delays,
or to obtain certain evidence; no series of interrogations can be
found in this particular source. Fortunately, the records refer to
an agreement signed by Monteverdi on 19 July 1640 that named
Leonida Donati as well as others. Presumably, this 'contract'
pertained to the 1640141 opera season; nearly a year later, Donati
still had not received the full sum owed to her. The case, however,
also refers to a Silvia Donati, the daughter of Leonida. Montev-
erdi attested that Silvia Donati had sung on stage: 'It is true
that Signora Silvia performed [ha recitato], and that I saw her.
As for her contract, I did not arrange it, nor do I know who
did.'58 Monteverdi, in other words, verified Silvia Donati's per-
formance (for the season that included Monteverdi's Le norre
d'Enea in Lavinia and the revival of his I1 ritorno d'Ulisse in Patria)
but seemed ignorant of how she had come to be hired; it may
be, however, that Monteverdi did know the particulars concerning
Silvia's employment but preferred not to involve his partner(s).
The attempt by Donati's lawyer to include 'Silvia' in the proceed-
ings may imply that she too had not received full payment for
her services.
The presence of two pairs of singers in Venice, each comprising
a mother and a daughter named Leonida (normally a man's
name) and Silvia respectively, would constitute a rather remark-
able coincidence; fortunately, the St Mark's records ultimately
reveal that the two women called Leonida were one and the
same. Although Donati's lawyer had requested that she be paid
the 1465 lire and 13 soldi owed to her (about 157 scudi), only
210 lire (about 22 scudi) were turned over to her on 23 February
57
The case appears in ASV, Cancelleria Inferiore, Atti del Doge, b. 197, no. 22.
58
'[El] vero che la Signora Silvia ha recitato che l'ho veduta. Quanto all'esser stata
condota, io non l'ho condota, n t meno so chi I'habbi condota.' Ibid., fol. 254".
1643. Using the conventional formula, Donati signed that she

had received that money ('I, Leonida Donati, affirm the above'
[Io Leonida Donati affermo quanto di sopra]). Yet during that
act of signing her name the singer momentarily ceased to be
'Leonida Donati': she first wrote 'I, Leonida Presciani', and only
then did she cross out that surname and substitute 'Donati' for
'Pre~ciani'.~'Presciani, we recall, was Luppi's married name.
The money she should have received would have made up the
bulk of the 200 scudi which Luppi declared, in her will of 31
December 1642, was owed to her by Ferrari and Monteverdi.
Silvia and her mother, then, probably performed at SS. Gio-
vanni e Paolo in one of Monteverdi's two operas, I1 ritorno d'ulisse
in patria or L e norre d'Enea in Lavinia (or in both). The Donati
case substantiates Monteverdi's managerial and financial partici-
pation in opera production in Venice. He probably bore only a
portion of the responsibilities, for he had not arranged for the
hiring of all the singers. Another document revealing that Monte-
verdi owed money to the scenographer Gasparo Beccari, who
was most closely associated with the Teatro San MoisP, may
add even further evidence of the maestro di cappella's partici-
pation (Beccari was attempting to obtain money from Monteverdi
shortly before Donati signed for hers, on 11 February 1643;
unfortunately, the document does not allude to the circumstances
that led to the debt) .'jO Benedetto Ferrari's financial responsibilit-
ies at both SS. Giovanni e Paolo and San Moisk during the
1640141 season are confirmed in a document of 28 February
1641, making arrangements for a trip to Reggio to collect money
to pay his debts at both theatres; the same source alludes to
money owed by Ferrari to Monteverdi, thus underscoring the
sharing of the financial responsibilities for the opera production
(Ferrari could have owed money to Monteverdi for the compo-
sition of Le norre d'Enea in Lavinia).'jl
59
Although Vio transcribed Donati's affirmation, he neglected to mention the anomaly
of her signature.
60 ASV, Archivio Notarile, Atti Giovanni Battista Coderta, b. 2920, fol. 241" (11
February 1643). Beccari authorised Giovanni Aquabona to obtain the money from
Monteverdi.
ASV, Archivio Notarile, Atti Giovanni Battista Coderta, b. 2918, fol. 263" (28
February 1641). Antonio Grimani is also mentioned as a creditor. As the document
does not address Grimani as 'N.H.' (indicating noble status), the reference is probably
Beth L. Glixon
Silvia's mother, then, became a thorn in Monteverdi's side

during the last years of his life, and her suit against him
accompanied the composition of his last opera, L'incoronazione di
Poppea. Her use of the name Donati during the proceedings
cannot be easily explained. Donati (Donato) was a common
name in Italy (the noble Venetian version of the name was
DonA); it is impossible to know without further evidence whether
Luppi and Silvia had a protector other than Nicolb Gabriel, or
if she chose the name for some other reason. I t would appear
that Luppi's contract with Monteverdi bore the surname Donati
and that she felt compelled to use it, for both herself and Silvia,
during the case against the composer.
With the drawing u p of her will, Luppi brought to an end
what one hopes was a n unusually eventful year that had included
a formal complaint against the renowned maestro di cappella of St
Mark's, and another against a musician and potential murderer.
Fortunately, Luppi's illness did not prove fatal.
T h e details of Luppi's will, when considered along with the
testimony in the case against Cavalieri and in that against Monte-
verdi, arouse our curiosity about the singer's personal life. None
of the Venetian documents concerning Luppi refer to her as the
widow of the elusive Silvestro Gailarti, Silvia's father. Lorenzo
Presciani, while a less shadowy figure, nevertheless seems to have
been absent from Luppi's Venetian life. As mentioned above, he
is never named in the process0 against Cavalieri, where Luppi's
marital status is not even addressed. Although it is revealing,
and suggestive, that Luppi chose not to cite her marital status
in her petition to the Council of Ten, there is yet another
indication that Presciani did not reside in Venice. I n a census,
presented in March 1642, and probably taken several months
earlier, the household appeared under Luppi's name (the entry
reads 'Leonida Romana') with no profession ascribed to her.62
Among the inhabitants of the dwelling, other than Luppi herself,
were two female servants, and one young girl, presumably Silvia.
to the singer of that name rather than to Antonio, the brother of the theatre owner,
Giovanni Grimani.
62
ASV, Provveditori alla Sanita, b, 571, Santa Croce, San Cassan.
It is even possible that Presciani never lived in Venice with his

wife. Certainly, the marriage may have lacked the affection and
devotion present in many others. I n countless wills, marriage
partners provided for their spouses and referred to them with
words such as 'carissirno' or 'dilettissimo' ( d e a r e ~ t ) . ' ~
It would seem that Luppi chose to live apart from her husband,
as had other 'strong' women of the early modern era such as
the poet-courtesan Veronica Franco and the artist Artemisia
Gentile~chi.'~ Yet Luppi's independence is also evidenced in her
choice of the name she employed in Venice. Although her given
name was Dionora or Leonora, and she called herself thus when
requiring the services of a notary, she used other names in
Venice. Leonida Donati was, possibly, her stage name, for she
is so identified throughout the case against Monteverdi. The
dossier of the defloration case shows that she called herself
Leonida Presciani (the same form used by Cavalieri in his letter
to Luppi); those who gave testimony, however, including Silvia,
referred to her only as Leonida (or Leonida Romana), without
specifying a surname. Leonida is, and was, in Italian, a man's
name. I have found one instance of a Venetian woman called
L e ~ n i d a , 'and
~ a sixteenth-century play featured a woman of that
name - disguised as a man for part of the action - in its title
(Boneto Ghirardi, La Leonida (1585)); nevertheless, for a woman
to use the name certainly would have been viewed as unusual,
and possibly eccentric; perhaps Luppi took pleasure in its ambi-
guity." Francesco Manelli, Maria de Curti and Antonia Viglietta
(in their 'attestation' of 1646, cited above), declared
63
M. L. King, Women of the Renaissance, Women in Culture and Society, ed. C. R.

Stimpson (Chicago and London, 1991), p. 37.
64 O n Franco, see M. F. Rosenthal, The Honest Courtesan: Veronica Franco, Citizen and
Writer in Sixteenth-Century Venice, Women in Culture and Society, ed. C. R. Stimpson
(Chicago, 1992), p. 66. By 1624 Gentileschi was living apart from her husband; a
census of that year lists her as the head of the household. Garrard. Artemisia Gentileschi.
p. 63.
65
Leonida Nutio was the daughter of the deceased Giulio Nutio. ASV, Archivio Notarile,
Atti Zorzi Steffani, b. 12445, fol. 33 (15 November 1641).
66
David Herlihy and Christiane Klapisch-Zuber, in their study of fifteenth-century

Florence, described the most frequently ambiguous names in the Florentine catasto of
1427 as all ending with 'a' (Andrea, Battista, Laudomina, Luca, Pasqua, Ventura,
Buonaventura, Vangelista and Zaccarria). Herlihy and Klapisch-Zuber, Tuscanr and
Their Families, p. 132.
Beth L. Glixon
that they knew in Rome the late Signora Dionora, or Leonora Luppi,
who then came to live in this city about seven years ago, and here
called herself Leonida Persiani [sic] .67
Luppi's independent lifestyle, her hosting of musical entertain-
ments in her home, her use of an assumed name: all of these
things encourage us to wonder whether she was a musician-
courtesan, skilled, like Barbara Strozzi, in the arts of singing and
love, and whether Silvia was the illegitimate daughter of a rich
patron.68These possibilities must certainly be considered. During
the sixteenth century, Venetian courtesans were known as hosts
of intellectual gatherings, as well as for their musical skills.69O n
the other hand, perhaps Luppi hosted academic discussions and
musical entertainments in her home in the style of those held in
Rome during the 1630s by the famed singer Leonora Baroni,
who performed music along with her mother, Andreana Basile
Baroni, and her sister Caterinae70The meetings at Luppi's home
may also have emulated those of the Accademia degli Unisoni
during the 1630s) in which Barbara Strozzi participated, although
the testimony before the Council of Ten referred to musical
entertainments only.71Certainly, Matteo Dandolo provides a link
between the two Venetian 'societies', and, as we shall see, some
time in the 1640s Silvia must have known Giovanni Francesco
Loredano, the founder of the Incogniti and a prominent member
of the Unisoni. T h e entertainment provided in Luppi's house
did not, to the best of our knowledge, achieve public recognition
67
' . . . haver conosciuto in Roma la quondam Signora Dionora, sive Leonora Luppi,
che venne poi ad habitare in questa citta, gia anni sette in circa, et si faceva qui
chiamare Leonida Persiani'. ASV, Archivio Notarile, Atti Gabriel Gabrieli, b. 6668,
fol. 163' (cf. note 16 above).
68
The literature on courtesans has often referred to the practice of these women dressing
in men's clothing. Could Luppi's choice of a masculine name suggest a link with
the life of the courtesan? See C. Santore, 'Julia Lombardo, "Somtuosa Meretrize":
A Portrait by Property', Renaissance Quarterly, 41 (1988), pp. 44-83 (esp. 57-8).
6g
R. Casagrande, Le cortigiane veneziane nel cinquecento (Milan, 1968), p. 145, pp. 198-200,
239. Gaspara Stampa and Veronica Franco, two of the most famous courtesans, were
accomplished musicians.
70
Poetry was also featured at these gatherings. O n the entertainments in the Baroni
home, see B. M. Antolini, 'Cantanti e letterati a Roma nella prima meta del seicento:
Alcune osservazioni' in In cantu et in senone (Florence, 1989), pp. 347-62 (esp. 360-
1 ) . Although no printed documentation for these entertainments pre-dates 1639, by
which time Luppi was probably in Venice, they may have taken place earlier. Baroni
was in Rome from 1633.
"
See Rosand, 'Barbara Strozzi, airtuosissima cantatrice', pp. 244-53.
through the Venetian presses, as had the academic discussions
of the Unisoni. I t should be noted that while musical entertain-
ment in the houses of the Venetian patriciate may have been
common, and contemporary writings certainly refer to the wealth
of musical opportunities available in V e n i ~ e , 'anecdotal
~ evidence
of performance in private homes such as Luppi's serves as a
reminder of the hidden musical life of many Italian cities.
The information revealed in Luppi's case against Monteverdi -

i.e., that Silvia had performed on the stage during the 1640/41
season - enables us to view the evidence in the defloration case
in a new light. Silvia was not just a young girl hoping eventually
to succeed in the musical profession. She was already a singer,
as she stated in her testimony, and certainly would have had
teachers some years earlier; possibly Luppi herself, or some
of her associates, served in that role. Moreover, according to
Monteverdi, Silvia Gailarti had already appeared - at the age
of eleven or twelve - in a n opera by Ferrari or, more likely, one
by Monteverdi himself, probably in a minor role. T h e female
roles in the 1641 production of 11 ritorno d'Ulisse in Patria, which
include allegorical figures, gods, Penelope, and Melanto, may
have been performed by many of the same singers who had
premiered the work a year earlier; Silvia probably did not sing
in that first production. I would like to suggest that she appeared
in Monteverdi's new opera for 1641, Le nozze d'Enea in Lavinia.
That work contains a number of female roles, one of which is a
shepherdess named Silvia. Although the character appears in
only two scenes in the second of five acts, she sings a poignant
lament of twenty-four verses on the death of her beloved brother
Elmino and her stag (1115: 'Piante, gittate le frondi a1 suol').
'Silvia' would have constituted an appropriate part for a young
singer at the beginning of her career. T h e librettist of Le nozze
'' See, for example, the letter of Jacopo Razzi (5 December 1643), cited in T. D.
Culley, Jesuits and Music: A Study of the Musicianr Connected with the German College in
Rome during the 17th Century and of Their Activities in Northern Europe (Rome, 1970), vol.
I, pp. 185-7, 332-3.
Beth L. Glixon
d'Enea is unknown; the work has traditionally been attributed to
Giacomo Badoaro but was evidently written instead by one of
his fellow Incogniti (this academy's members included some of
the leading supporters of opera in V e n i ~ e ) . ' W
~ as 'Silvia's'
lament - not specifically suggested in the Aeneid - written with
Silvia Gailarti in mind, by someone familiar with her ~ i n g i n g ? ' ~
The author, a n Incognito, could have known Silvia's talents from
her performances at her mother's entertainments, or even from
a n earlier appearance in an opera. Silvia's Christian name, with
its pastoral, poetic associations, would have enabled the librettist
to pay homage to her in a way unavailable to many other singers
(with more typical names such as Margherita or Anna).
While Silvia probably appeared only in minor roles during the
early 1640s, her vocal talents were nonetheless publicly appreci-
ated. The year 1642 marked the appearance of the third edition
of the Rime of Pietro Michiel, a prolific author also associated
with the Incogniti. Although we have no written testimonials to
Luppi's vocal prowess in these years, Silvia by this time had
inspired the pen of Michiel, who wrote a sonnet in her honour,
inscribed 'in praise of the singing of Signora Silvia Gailarti'. I t
is unclear whether the poem was written before or after Silvia's
affair with Cavalieri, but it probably appeared after her operatic
debut.
Loda il canto della Signora Silvia Gailarti
SILVIA, che de le Gratie, e de gli Amori
Nova ti mostri a noi Selva animata,
In cui, di Fere in vece, hoggi 2. celata
Schiera di meraviglie, e di stupori.
Non di smeraldo di Frondosi horrori
Ma t'ha virt6 sol di se stessa ornata.
Quella, che da te spira aura odorata
73
O n the authorship of the libretto for Le nozze d'Enea in Lavinia, see A. Szweykowska,
'Le due poetiche venete e le ultime opere di Claudio Monteverdi', Quadrivium, 18
(1977), pp. 149-57; and T. Walker, 'Gli errori di Minerva a1 tavolino: Osservazioni
sulla cronologia delle prime opere veneziane', in Venezia e il melodramma nel seicento,
ed. Muraro, pp. 7-20. The sources for this work will be discussed in Ellen Rosand's
forthcoming book on Monteverdi's late operas. O n the Incogniti, see Bianconi and
Walker, 'Dalla Finta pazza', p p 410-24; Rosand, Opera in Seventeenth-Century Venice,
passim; I . Fenlon and P. N. Miller, Song of the Soul: Understanding 'Poppea', Royal
Musical Association Monographs, 5 (London, 1992).
'4
Silvia and her brother appear in Book Seven of the Aeneid.
Aura P gentil di numeri canori.
De gli affetti mentiti entro a i tuoi canti,
Se son di gioia a le tue gioie io rido,
E se d'affanni son piango a i tuoi pianti.
Sceso P dal Ciel de le tue lodi a1 grido,
Per far mill'alme, e mille Cori Amanti,
Ne la tua bocca a saettar Cupido."
(Silvia, you show yourself to us as a renewed forest, animated by the
Graces and Cupids, in which today is hidden, instead of beasts, a flock
of wonders and amazements. Virtue adorned you not with emerald
leafy darkness, but only with herself. The fragrant breeze you exhale
is a delicate breeze of melodies. About the feigned affections contained
in your songs: if they are of joy, I laugh at your delights, and if they
are of sorrow, I cry at your plaints. Cupid, hearing of your praise, has
descended from heaven to shoot arrows into your mouth, in order to
render full of love a thousand hearts and souls.)
Michiel's text, which praises the art of a n admired singer, plays
with the sylvan associations of Silvia's name and addresses her
skill in singing both joyful and mournful music. T h e image, in
the last tercet, of Silvia's singing winning thousands of loving
hearts suggests that her talent was known beyond the confines
of her home, and serves to confirm her performance in opera and
other less intimate settings, although similar phrases sometimes
occurred in poems dedicated to non-operatic singers.76
By the end of 1643 Silvia had been honoured yet again, this
time as the dedicatee of the scenario of Benedetto Ferrari's I1
prencipe gi~rdiniero.~~
The dedication, penned by the Incognito
author Giovanni Battista Fusconi, makes it clear that the singer
had close ties to the c ~ m p o s e r . ~Fusconi
' writes that Silvia has
"
P. Michiel, Rime di Pietro Michiele Nobile Veneto, 3rd printing, corr. and enlarged
(Venice, 1642), p. 204.
76
Orsina Cavalletta's poem for Laura Peperara contains the line 'E far di mille cor
dolce rapina', while Livio Celiano's (Don Angelo Grillo) poem for Livia d'Arco
includes the verses 'Che son mill'alme de' tuoi strali vaghe/Per addolcir mille amorose
piaghe'. The poems (B9 and B1 l ) , along with others for the singers of the concerto
delle dame, appear in E. Durante and A. Martellotti, Cronistoria del Concerto delle dame
pn'ncipalissime di Marghen'ta Gonzaga d'Este, Archivum Musicum, Collana di studi, A
(Florence, 1979).
"
Argomento e scenario del Prencipe Giardiniero di Benedetto Ferrari da la Tiorba D a rappresentarsi
in Musica nel Teatro Noun (Venice, 1643). I would like to thank Ellen Rosand, who
informed me of this source and provided me with a copy of the dedication.
'' O n Fusconi's ties with opera as well as with the singer Anna Renzi, see Bianconi
and Walker, 'Dalla Finta pazza', pp. 417-18.
Beth L. Glixon
asked him to write a sonnet in praise of Ferrari's new opera;

towards the end of the dedication, however, he makes ~ i i v i a ' s
connection with Ferrari more explicit when he declares that the
composer's immortality will be ensured by the world's knowledge
that Silvia was his pupil ('one cannot believe that a Muse could
be taught by anyone other than an Apollo, and in this way you
will obtain your desire to see your teacher suitably praised')."
It is unclear whether Ferrari had taught Silvia before or after
her lessons with Cavalieri. The Fusconi dedication confirms Sil-
via's success as a singer (that she was named in the dedication
may also indicate her participation in the production) and demon-
strates her status as a 'public' figure. I t also strengthens Silvia's
and her mother's connections with Ferrari (implied both in the
case against Monteverdi and in Luppi's will), and with other
members of the Incogniti.
A printed source by yet another Incognito documents Silvia's
further success as a singer during the 1640s in a production by
another of the composers mentioned in Luppi's will. A poem
published in Pietro Paolo Bissari's Le scorse olimpiche in 1650
celebrates the singer's performance in the role of Calisto in
Giovanni Faustini's and Francesco Cavalli's I1 Titone (Teatro San
Cassiano, 1644/45)." Although Calisto appears in only one act
of the opera, the role would have been that of a prima donna.
Thus, Silvia had reached the highest levels of the Venetian
opera establishment while in her teens. Bissari's volume contains
another sonnet in honour of Silvia - giving her as many sonnets
as are dedicated to Anna Renzi, the star of the Venetian stage -
as well as one for a singer named Leonora (could this be in
honour of Silvia's mother?)
'' 'S'ella per gratitudine brama di veder registrato ne gli Annali dell'Immortalita il
nome del Signor Ferrari faccia risapere a1 Mondo tutto d'esser sua Discepola, che
cib bastera a renderlo eternamente glorioso appresso il Mondo tutto, poiche non si
potra credere, che da altri, che da un Apollo sia stata ammaestrata una Musa, et
in guisa tale otterra il suo fine di veder lodato degnamente il suo Maestro.' Argomento
e scenario del Prencipe Giardiniero, p. 7 .
The dedication of the poem reads: 'Per la Signora Silvia Gailarti, che in habito di
Calisto piangeva la crudelta di Titone'. P. P. Bissari, Le scorse olimpiche. Libro Primo
(Venice, 1650), p. 21.
The second poem for Silvia occurs on p. 77 of Bissari's book ('Alla Signora Silvia
Gailarti mentre cantava'). That for the singer Leonora ('Per la Signora Leonora
cantatrice alludendo all'affetto del S. N. Campiglia') is found on the same page as
the poem that praises Silvia's performance as Calisto (p. 21).
Silvia's name appeared again, more covertly, in the collected

letters (undated) of Giovanni Francesco Loredano, the founder
of the Incogniti. T h e volume contains a letter to one 'Silvia N'
(the abbreviation 'N' [nomen = name] often replaced a n actual
name in order to conceal a person's identity) in the parish of
San Giovanni Decollato. Although Silvia and her mother were
living in the parish of San Cassiano during 1642, by 1644 they
had moved to San Giovanni De~ollato.'~Loredano's letter to
Silvia is one of eleven 'lettere facete' (facetious letters). Nine of the
others are written to men (two of these also omit the recipients'
surnames), while the last is addressed to the prominent writer-
nun Arcangela Tarabotti. Loredano's letter to Silvia reads:
Your Ladyship is a calamity [calamiti], or a lodestone [calamita] for
lovers, if not to say a siren, who kills all who have the good fortune
to hear her voice or look upon her face. Henceforth I will forgo the
opportunity not only to serve you at entertainments but also to meet
you at festivities, in order to avoid the risk of losing myself. Should
one trust a woman's song? I t would be better to seek refuge among
the waves and hide oneself amidst the abysses. I do not know how to
love her who cannot love me in return; and my heart, which is very,
very small, would turn out to be too meagre a mouthful for the appetite
of a harpy. Do not hate me, because I a m joking with you. It is quite
true that in the future I will avoid your company, so that I may not
fall victim to your love. Let him who can, and who wishes to, enjoy
[you], while I kiss your hand from afar.83
Loredano here invokes the typical, timeless complimentary meta-
phor of the singer as siren but extends the analogy, giving Silvia
the power to 'kill all who have the fortune to hear her voice or
look upon her face'. The dangers of women - often the subject
82
See the discussion, below, of two documents from 1644 concerning Luppi.
83
'Alla Sig. Silvia N S. Gio Decollato.
'Vostra Signoria 6 una Calamita, b Calamita d'Amanti, per non dire una Sirena,
che uccide tutti coloro, che hanno fortuna di udire la sua voce, b di mirare il suo
volto. 10 da qui innanzi fuggirb I'occasione, non solo di servirla nelle ricreationi, ma
anche d'incontrarla nelle Feste, per non correr rischio di perdere me stesso. Fidarsi
di canto di femine? Sarebbe minor male il ricoverarsi tra l'onde, & il nascondersi
tra gl'abissi. 10 non sb amare, chi non mi vuole corrispondere; & il mio cuore, ch't
piccino, piccino, riuscirebbe troppo magro boccone alla fame d'un'Arpia. Non si
sdegni meco; perch'io scherzo con lei. E ben vero, che per I'awenire ricuserb la sua
prattica, per non cader nel suo amore. Goda chi pub, e chi vuole; mentr'io lontano
le bacio le mani. Di Casa.' G. F. Loredano, Lettere del Signor Gio. Francesco Loredano
Nobile Veneto diuise in cinquantadue capi; e raccolte da Henrico Giblet Cavalier, 19th printing
(Venice, 1676), pp. 317-18.
Beth L. Glixon
for discussion in such Incogniti writings as the discourse 'In

Dispraise of Women' - here arise from the voice as well as from
physical beauty.84
Although Loredano's opening remarks could have been
addressed to any singer, his overall intent seems rather more
personal. Loredano represents this beautiful singer as a consider-
able threat to any unwary man, and he depicts himself as her
victim. Silvia is portrayed, in part, as a harpy who devours the
hearts of men who come too near. Was this inspired by sympathy
for Cavalieri's plight, or had Silvia, in Loredano's (and others')
view, become a siren and temptress who ensnared men with her
beauty and her singing? Had Silvia rejected Loredano's advances?
It would seem that Loredano felt he must avoid her company
if Silvia could not reciprocate his love. I t is certainly possible
that the singer had turned away some admirers; the loss of her
virginity would undoubtedly have made her seem a n easier sexual
target. In any case, Loredano's letter provides a view of women
singers different from the usual poems and letters of praise
showered on prime donne; its themes echo those more commonly
held in seventeenth-century England, recently discussed by Linda
Phyllis Austern. As Austern writes,
If either auditory or visual beauty led to physical and spiritual rapture,
then certainly a combination of the two was even more powerful. When
music was combined with visual beauty, it served as a double invitation
to the pleasures and dangers of love, for body and soul were thus twice
besieged and rational man deprived of his physical senses. Elizabethan
writers often used the legend of the sirens as a metaphor for the inherent
danger of such sensual bombardment, for though sweet for the moment
it could lead through bewitchment to d e s t r u ~ t i o n . ~ ~
O n the other hand, Loredano's letter may evoke a somewhat

different image of the siren, such as that described by Isidore of
Seville: a creature part woman, part bird (thus the connection
84
The discourse 'In biasimo delle donne' appears in Loredano's Discorsi academici; see
Fenlon and Miller, Song of the Soul, p. 54. ('In Dispraise of Women' appeared in an
English translation of Loredano's works, Accademical Discourses upon Several Choice and
Pleasant Subjects (London, 1664).) The Incogniti and their view of women are discussed
in W. Heller, 'Chastity, Heroism, and Allure: Women in the Opera of Seventeenth-
Century Venice' (Ph.D. diss., Brandeis University, 1995).
L. P. Austern, ' "Sing Againe Syren": Female Musicians and Sexual Enchantment in
Elizabethan Life and Literature', Renaissance Quarterly, 42 (1989), pp. 420-48 (esp. 427).
with harpies), who was, moreover, actually a prostitute. Robert
Hollander connects Isidore's Siren with Virgil's harpy in the
Aeneid and Dante's siren in book IX of the Purg~torio.~~ It is likely
that Loredano's facetious letter combines the author's classical
knowledge with a touch of Incogniti misogyny. While many of
the author's readers may have appreciated Loredano's sophisti-
cated and biting humour, the adolescent Silvia may not have
been amused." Loredano's letter certainly reminds us that during
the seventeenth century accomplished women musicians could
be subject to the disapprobation of society."
Although we cannot be sure of Silvia's reputation in Venice
after 1642, it is clear that she still moved in the same aristocratic
circles, or possibly even higher, and was admired for her vocal
talents and beauty: during her early teens Silvia had already
attracted the attention of the intellectual elite of Venetian society,
of men who were among the most prolific authors and were, in
addition, connoisseurs of music in Venice.
By 1644 Luppi was a widow. O n 21 September of that year,
at her home in the parish of San Giovanni Decollato, she com-
missioned the Most Reverend Luca Donati (could this be a clue
to Luppi's alias?) to obtain money from her dowry and then pay
any debts.89A day later, Luppi drafted a second commission for
86
Isidori hispalensis episcopi etymologiarum sive originum libri xx, xr.3.30-3 1. R. Hollander,
'Purgatorio xrx: Dante's Siren/Harpy', in Dante, Petrarch, Boccaccio: Studies in the Italian
Trecento in Honor of Charles S. Singleton, ed. A. S. Bernardo and A. L. Pellegrini
(Binghamton, N.Y., 1983), pp. 77-88. The Latin passage from Isidore of Seville and
its translation are on p. 82.
"
In Loredano's 'Ragguagli di Parnaso' (part of Bizzarrie academiche, pp. 574-5) the
singer Anna Renzi is denied admission to Parnassus by the jealous Apollo. Apparently
Renzi did not appreciate Loredano's humour, for his letters contain a reply to her
(with the heading 'Risposta a Lettere di Lamento') that emphasises that the piece
was meant to praise the singer (Loredano, Lettere, p. 365). Barbara Strozzi, while
still in her teens, was among those singled out in a series of manuscript satires about
the Unisoni. See Rosand, 'Barbara Strozzi, virtuosissima cantatrice', pp. 249-52.
See, for instance, the discussion of the propriety of women singers in the 1630 treatise
of G. Uberti, Contrasto musico opera diletteoole, Musurgiana, 5, ed. G. Rostirolla (Lucca,
1991), pp. 77-83 (original pp. 67-73); I would like to thank Robert Holzer for bringing
this passage to my attention. See also G. D. Ottonelli, Della christiana moderatione del
theatro, published in Ferdinand0 Taviani, La commedia dell'arte e la societd barocca: La
fascinazione del teatro, La Commedia dell'Arte: Storia, Testi, Documenti, 1 (Rome,
1970), pp. 328-403. Much of the first book of Ottonelli's treatise is devoted to the
question of whether women should perform on the stage - both because of the danger
to their virtue and because of their effect on society.
'' ASV, Archivio Notarile, Atti Gregorio Bianconi, b. 1075, fol. 104 (21 September
1644).
Beth L. Glixon
Donati; although the two documents are similar, the second

provides more specific information about the commission and
new details about Lorenzo Presciani and Luca D ~ n a t i . ~For '
instance, we learn that Luppi's husband hailed from Arezzo, and
that Donati was a canon living in Palestrina (Don Taddeo Bar-
berini was the Prince of Palestrina). Moreover, Luppi instructed
Donati to recover properties from her dowry that her husband
had sold or transferred to others, so that they would return to
their original status with Luppi as their owner. I t is likely that
Luppi had learned of her husband's death shortly before these
commissions. Her efforts to reappropriate her dowry were com-
monplace for a widow; that she did so from Venice may indicate
that she thought of Venice as her home, and, content with her
situation, meant to maintain her residence there.
I n July 1645 Silvia's life once more assumed the trappings of
melodrama. Her mother, then about thirty-five years old, was
stabbed, and the Venetian death records state that she expired
some fifteen minutes after the murderous a t t a ~ k . ~ '
Luppi's killer
was one Paolo Vanin. T h e attack occurred, it would seem, quite
suddenly. T h e records of the Quarantia Criminal (the Forty,
which tried criminal acts) read:
It is charged that Paulo called Vanin, mason or labourer, who lives
in [the parish ofl San Zuan Decolh near the Fontego de' Turchi,
offended by Leonida Bressani his neighbour for reasons that appear in
the proceedings, decided to take her life. Meeting her the evening of
28 July last, about one hour after dark, in the courtyard near her
house, he found the opportunity to carry out his diabolical plan. While
she spoke a few words to him, the said Paulo immediately flung himself
at her, striking horrible blows. Having fallen to the ground, she begged
for her life; responding 'I'll give it to you', he continued cruelly to
strike her. Admonished by some people who were moved by pity, he
resolved to go away, leaving the unhappy Leonida with seven mortal
wounds, by which she soon gave up her soul to God. . . 92
ASV, Archivio Notarile, Atti Agostino Cavertino, b. 2875, fol. 40" (22 September
1644).
ASV, Provveditori alla Sanita, Necrologio, b. 873. '1645 29 luglio. La Signora Leonida
Persiani Romana d'anni 35 in circa da ferite di coltello morta in un quarto d'hora
doppo. San Giovanni Degola'.
92
I would like to thank Roark Miller for providing me with a transcription of the
passage that identifies Luppi's killer (ASV, Quarantia Criminal, b. 29, fol. 244). A
second copy of the account occurs in ASV, Avogaria di Commun, Raspe, b. 3710,
fol. 176. The following transcription is from the records of the Quarantia Criminal,
The proceedings mentioned in the account, which would provide
further details about Luppi's murder and her murderer, have
not yet come to light.
MARRIAGE TO PIETRO MANNI
Silvia was now a young woman of sixteen, alone in Venice. As

she began to put her own and her mother's affairs in order, she
was assisted not by Nicolb Gabriel, the acknowledged protector
of Luppi and Silvia, but by another nobleman, Pietro Magno.
Magno also had musical and, more specifically, operatic con-
nections. I n July 1641 he had drawn up a plan to share the
income and expenses of the Teatro Novissimo (then preparing
for its second season) with the impresario Geronimo L a p p ~ l i . ' ~
I t is unclear whether Lappoli and Magno ever concluded this
agreement, but Magno, along with other nobles, was owed money
by Lappoli in September 1645.94Moreover, Magno had evidently
paid at least part of the singer Giacinto Zucchi's fee at the Teatro
San Cassiano, and awaited reimbursement from its proprietors.95
Magno was present on 16 September 1645 when Silvia received
804 ducats from the merchant Giacomo Gallieg6The document,
emended in places from the Avogaria version. '6 novembre 1645 . . . Che Paulo detto
Vanin murer sive manoal, solito habitare a San Zuan Decola per mezo il Fontego
de' Turchi, imputado, che disgustato per le cause, come in processo, della persona
di Leonida Bressani sua vicina, deliberato di privarla di vita, ritrovandosi la medes-
sima la sera delli 28 luglio prossimo passato, ad un hora di notte in circa, nel
campielo contiguo alla sua habitatione, parendole [Avogaria: ponendole] opportuna
occasione d'affettuare cosi diabolic0 proponimento. Mentre essa li diceva alcune
parole, il predetto Paulo se li aventasse imediate alla vita, tirandole diversi colpi per
i [Avogaria: li] quali, caduta a terra, li dimandava la vita, et egli, respondendole
'Te la dago', continuava barbaramente a colpirla, ch[e] poi, essendo ripreso da
persone che si mossero per pieti, rissolse partire, lasciando l'infelice Leonida soprad-
etta traffitta di sette mortali ferite, per le quali rese subito I'anima al Signor Dio.'
g3
ASV, Archivio Notarile, Atti Francesco Beazian, b. 658, fol. 363 (13 February 1644).
O n Lappoli, see Bianconi and Walker, 'Dalla Finta parra', p. 415; Rosand, Opera in
'' Seuenteenth-Century Venice, pp. 89, 90, 102-3, 116, 254.
ASV, Archivio Notarile, Atti Francesco Beazian, b. 662, fol. 188 (27 September
1645).
'' Ibid., fol. 188". This document provides the earliest reference to Zucchi as an operatic
performer in Venice. He appeared there in operas mounted by the impresario Marco
Faustini during the 1650s and 1660s (beginning in 1654/55), and joined the cappella
of St Mark's in October 1648 (see entry for 30 December 1648, ASV, Procuratori
di San Marco de supra, b. 75).
96 ASV, Archivio Notarile, Atti Alessandro Basso, b. 1000, fol. 172 (16 September
1645). O n Galli, see above, note 53.
Beth L. Glixon
drawn up in Silvia's home (now in the parish of San Marziale,

rather than San Giovanni Decollato) specifies that Luppi had,
on 26 March 1641 and 8 November 1643, lent Galli a total of
640 ducats and 7 grossi (the first of these loans was cited in
Luppi's will of 31 December 1642 - see above), to which sum
interest was then added.
Shortly thereafter, on 2 October 1645, Magno was a witness
to Silvia's dowry." Although we cannot be sure how this marriage
came to be arranged, one fact is undeniable. As her mother's
residuary legatee, and having gained possession of the money
owed to Luppi by Giacomo Galli, Silvia had at her disposal a
fair amount of both cash and property. While it would have
been socially desirable for Silvia to marry shortly after her deflor-
ation, she and her mother apparently had decided to flout that
convention. Following Luppi's death, however, the orphaned Sil-
via's position would have been even more precarious: opera
singers often travelled with female family members, and Silvia
apparently had none (we do not know if Luppi's mother was
still alive). Silvia Gailarti married another Roman, Pietro Manni,
thus acquiring the name (Silvia Manni) by which operatic audi-
ences of the 1650s and 1660s were to know her."
Silvia's dowry included moveable goods appraised at a value
of about 1400 ducats, as well as 1000 Venetian ducats in cash.
That money was to be sent to Rome to be invested in a secure
fund. Silvia reserved some bracelets, rings and silver of undis-
closed value for her own use, so that the total worth of her
property exceeded the figure cited in the dowry. The list of goods
includes the predictable household effects, such as sheets, napkins
and tablecloths, as well as a small cabinet with its drawers
(studiolo), a mirror, a statue of the Madonna, a chess set men-
tioned in her mother's will, and a spinet worth 30 ducats. Leather
wall coverings (coridori) amounted to 320 ducats.
The most impressive aspect of the inventory is the description
and appraisal of Silvia's wardrobe, comprising some twenty-three
items (not including undergarments), valued at 772 ducats (some
of the wardrobe, certainly, could have been inherited from
'' ASV, Archivio Notarile, Atti Francesco Beazian, b. 662, fol. 116'.
Manni's full name was Pietro Eleuterio Manni, son of Francesco (deceased).
Luppi). Two of the items were worth 100 ducats or more and
must have been regal: a dress with a bodice of gold and red
brocade and some flowers of silver, and a dress of restagno d'oro
with a background of green with gold lace (restagno, manufactured
with gold or silver thread, was one of the most prized Venetian
fabrics and was subject to sumptuary laws)." Silvia's wardrobe
encompassed the colours of the rainbow, with dresses of red,
crimson, 'fire', yellow, gold, green, sky-blue, silver, black, brown,
chamois and pearl; one was iridescent, and many of them were
embellished with gold cord or with silver or gold lace; some of
these dresses may have been sumptuous opera costumes. As an
indication of the opulence of this wardrobe we may remember
that the highest-paid singers in the cappella of St Mark's earned
a yearly salary of 100 ducats (although many of them had
additional income from outside work). The list of items in the
inventory is certainly not complete, as it lacks certain basic items
such as shoes, as well as many entries found in more inclusive
inventories - typically carried out at a person's death - such as
paintings, furniture and kitchen utensils. I t is unclear whether
such items were merely not included in the dowry or had already
been sold; perhaps some of the household furnishings had been
rented rather than owned.'OO
While the total value of the dowry, 2400 ducats, represented
a considerable amount of money, a good deal of the cash must
have been supplied from Galli's reimbursement. The document
does not mention funds and properties related to Luppi's dowry
or otherwise in her name.
We can make a partial comparison of Silvia's marriage arrange-
ments with those of other singers of Venetian opera. Several
months earlier, on 17 June 1645, Alvise Michiel, one of the
founders of the Teatro Novissimo, visited a notary in order to
register a marriage contract between Anna Renzi, one of the
most famous opera singers of her day, and Roberto Sabbatini,
99
'Una detta, con busto di brocato di oro fondo rosso in cremesino con fiore in alcun
luogo d'argento valutata D120. . . Una vesta di restagno d'oro fondi verde guernita
con merlo d'oro valutata D100'. ASV, Archivio Notarile, Atti Francesco Beazian, b.
662, fol. 117'. O n restagno, see A. Vitali, La moda a Venezia attrauerso i secoli: Lessico
ragionato (Venice, 1992), pp. 323-4.
loo For an especially impressive inventory of a Venetian courtesan of the Renaissance,
see Santore, 'Julia Lornbardo, "Somtuosa Meretrize" '
Beth L. Glixon
both of them Roman. As I have discussed elsewhere, the docu-

ment concerning Renzi was a marriage contract, not a dowry,
but we have no evidence that the wedding ever took place.'O1
Renzi promised to give Sabbatini her investments in Venice as
well as those in the Monte di Pie& of Rome, all of which were
to be invested in a secure fund. The agreement stipulated further
that if Renzi performed in the Venetian theatres that year, her
earnings would be similarly invested, but she would reserve 100
scudi a year from her operatic fees to keep as her dimissoria (the
dimissoria was that portion of the wife's property not included in
the dowry, and therefore not subject to the authority of the
husband).
The dowry of another singer, Lucieita Gamba detta Vidman,
was especially impressive, comprising just over 8665 ducats plus
a dimissoria worth another 1500 ducats. Her furniture, gold, silver
and jewels accounted for 1567 ducats. Gamba's marriage to the
Venetian Ottavio Romanesco took place in June 1661. Although
Silvia's dowry pales in comparison with Gamba's, it would still
have been considered a sizeable sum; moreover, the dowry of
any promising singer could only have been thought of as a
comfortable 'cushion', to which future earnings could be added.''*
Silvia's dowry may indicate that she intended to leave Venice
for Rome and set up a new life with her husband. The singer,
through her connections with Magno, Gabriel and various mem-
bers of the Incogniti, had the social contacts (and artistic ones
as well) that would have enabled her to maintain an opera career
in Venice; the timing of her marriage, on the other hand,
coincided with the presumed closing of the theatres because of
the war with the Turks for the possession of Crete.'03 Silvia,
then, may have left Venice for a variety of reasons some time
in 1645; but particulars about her career are lacking until nearly
thirteen years later.
The Renzi and Gamba contracts are discussed further in Glixon, 'Private Lives of
Public Women', pp. 515-16, 522-4.
Io2
On the dowries of women musicians, see Cusick, '"Thinking from Women's Lives":
Francesca Caccini after 1627', pp. 212, 217-18, 292.
Io3 The apparent closing of the theatres in Venice because of the war was first emphasised
by Bianconi and Walker. See 'Dalla Finta pazza', pp. 416-17; see also Rosand, Opera
in Seuenteenth-Century Venice, p. 108.
In 1642 Giovanni Carlo del Cavalieri had tempted the thirteen-

year-old Silvia with visions of a comfortable life in court with
200 scudi per year plus living expenses. I n 1645 would life at a
court, or in the home of a nobleman, have seemed the most
attractive of her options? Silvia Manni knew the operatic world,
at least that of Venice, first hand. She may have been aware
that Anna Renzi, probably one of the highest-paid opera singers
of the 1640s, had earned 500 scudi to perform in Deidamia in
1643144.'04 O n the other hand, she also knew that the singer of
opera could be paid late and, on occasion, only with recourse
to the legal system. Which of these spheres she chose immediately
following her marriage remains to be discovered. Moreover, the
choice was, inevitably, not hers alone to make: Pietro Manni
would have had views on the subject, views that she would have
to consider, if not automatically honour.
Silvia's husband remains somewhat of an enigma. Someone
named Pietro Manni signed the dedications of numerous opera
librettos - most frequently those produced at Genoa, Milan and
Bergamo, but also with single examples from Brescia, Venice
and Reggio Emilia; the first appeared only in 1655 (in a libretto
for a performance of Ariodante in Genoa).lo5This Pietro Manni
may have been a n impresario and sometime author (he called
I1 perfetto Ibraim his 'picciolo Drama'), and possibly a singer. His
connection with Milan and the fact that Silvia Manni was living
in that city at least by 1669 (as will be seen below) would seem
to confirm that Silvia's husband was the Pietro Manni active in
the opera trade. Moreover, each figured in productions of similar
operas. Pietro signed the dedication, and was possibly the author,
of L a regina Floridea (Milan, probably dated late 1668 or 16691
70), while Silvia Manni signed that of a different version of that
same libretto, Floridea regina di C@ro (performed at Reggio Emilia,
1677; printed in Parma);''' Silvia Manni probably sang in the
See Glixon, 'Private Lives of Public Women', p. 513.

lo5 Libretto by Giovanni Andrea Spinola, music by Giovanni Maria Costa. O n opera
in Genoa, see M . R. Moretti, Musica e costume a Genoua tra cinquecento e seicento (Genoa,
1992), p. 154.
106
Pietro Manni signed the dedication of La regina Floridea, to be performed in Milan;
the dedication to Paolo Spinola, Governor of Milan, places the libretto between April
and September 1668, or between March 1669 and May 1670 - the periods when
Beth L. Glixon
revival of Cavalli's Eritrea at the Teatro San Luca in Venice in

1660161 (see below), and Pietro Manni signed the dedication to
two further performances of that same opera in Brescia and
Milan. Yet their names are not known to have appeared together
in connection with any particular production. The operas
mounted by Pietro Manni possibly provide sources of additional
roles performed by Silvia Manni (see Appendix).
Silvia Manni eventually returned to the adopted city of her

adolescence. She appeared, now twenty-eight years old, as the
seconda donna a t the Teatro San Cassiano in Francesco Piccoli's
and Pietro Andrea Ziani's L'incostan~a trionfante of 1657158, the
impresario Marco Faustini's first opera at that theatre.''' The
cast included two other women from Rome, Ginevra Senardi and
Angelica Felice Curti (two men also travelled from Rome: Gio-
vanni Agostino Poncelli and Carlo Vittorio Rotari). Although this
opera represents Manni's first documented opera performance
after the 1640s, it is certainly possible that she sang in Venice -
and other cities - earlier; cast lists and pay records are rare for
the late 1640s and early 1650s. Faustini's account book for this
Spinola held that post. In the note to the reader (unsigned), the author of the libretto
describes himself as a military man. If Manni wrote this foreword as well as the
dedication, it provides yet another side to his biography. Manni mentioned that the
work La regina Floridea is based on La mas lastymosa tragedia del Conde de Sex, but did
not name the author (Antonio Coello y Ochoa). I would like to thank Robert
Kendrick, who provided me with a transcription of the dedication and foreword to
the libretto. La regina Floridea (Milan), Floridea Regina di C@ro (Reggio Emilia) and
Flon'dea (Venice, 1685) all share nearly identical argomenti and much of their text.
lo'
On Marco Faustini as an opera impresario, see the following sources: B. Brunelli,
'L'impresario in angustie', Rivista Italiana del Dramma, 19 (1941), pp. 311-41; R.
Giazotto, 'La guerra dei palchi', Nuova Rivista Musicale Italiana, 1 (1967), pp. 245-
86, 465-508; J. A. Glover, 'The Teatro Sant'Apollinare and the Development of
Seventeenth-Century Venetian Opera' (D.Phi1. diss., Oxford University, 1975); C. B.
Schmidt, 'An Episode in the History of Venetian Opera: The Tito Commission (1665-
66)', Journal of the American Musicological Society, 31 (1978), pp. 442-66; L. Bianconi and
T . Walker, 'Production, Consumption and Political Function of Seventeenth-Century
Opera', Early Music History, 4 (1984), pp. 209-96 (esp. 221-7); Rosand, Opera in
Seuenteenth-Century Venice, passim; Glixon and Glixon, 'Marco Faustini'; and Glixon,
'Private Lives of Public Women', pp. 518-27. Faustini's career as an impresario will
be examined more fully in B. L. Glixon and J. E. Glixon, Marco Faustini and Opera
Production in Seventeenth-Centuyy Venice (in progress).
132
season indicates that Manni travelled to Venice from Rome.lo8

None of the Faustini archival materials suggest who may have
acted as Manni's sponsor or protector; by this time, both Nicolb
Gabriel and Pietro Magno had died.
L'incostan~a trionfante marked, at least for Faustini, a change
in the pay for the leading women singers. According to Faustini's
records, for the 1651152, 1654155, 1655156 and 1656157 seasons,
the two leading women shared equal or nearly equal fees.'Og The
next season, however, an inequity surfaced: Silvia Manni earned
2325 lire, while Ginevra Senardi garnered 2800 lire. These fig-
ures, however, tell only part of the story, for Senardi received,
in addition to her fee and travel, compensation for lodging,
rented furniture and a cook, probably amounting to a total
figure of around 4965 lire;"' Manni's lodging - but not the two
additional perks - was also paid by the management. Angelica
Felice Curti, who had in previous years been a prima donna
herself, was paid only 1420 lire, with no notated reimbursement
for other expenses.
Finances proved difficult for the producers at San Cassiano,
for they had expended large sums of money reconstructing the
theatre, which had not presented opera since 1650151.11'Manni,
along with some other singers, was not paid on time.l12 Indeed,
Manni may have been one of the last singers to receive her full
fee. According to a n item written in Faustini's receipt book on
ASV, SGSM, b. 112.

log
For singers' fees for the first three seasons mentioned, see Glixon and Glixon, 'Marco
Faustini', pp. 59-60; in these years, the top women earned equal fees. In 1656157,
for Lefortune di Rodope e Damira, Anna Maria Volea (Rodope) earned 1960 lire, while
Anna Renzi (Damira) earned 1860 lire.
"O The account books from earlier seasons, 1651152 and 1694155, do not specify such
expenses for the prime donne. Ginevra Senardi's expenses can be calculated by combin-
ing data from Lustini's account book and the 'balance sheet for 1657158' found in
ASV. SGSM, b. 101.
"'1 1 2 See ~ l i x o nand Glixon, 'Marco Faustini', p. 70.
Faustini's account book for the 1657158 season lists payments in December for
Manni's travel, and a payment of 510 lire (30 zecchini) on 24 January. The account
book specifies that the money was sent by Faustini's servant, Benetto [Campesan];
on the same date Pietro Manni signed Faustini's receipt book for 50 ducats, including
25 ducats paid to the landlord of Manni's residence ('lo Pietro Manni ho riceuto
dall'Eccellentissimo Signor Marco Faustini ducati cinquanta da L6 : 4 per ducato per
la Signora Silvia, e sono a bon conto delle recite del presente anno, compresoci
ducati venticinque sborsati al padrone della casa ove al presente habito val, -D50.')
The folio accounting for the company expenses for the year shows that Silvia Manni
was still owed nearly 165 ducats (1019 lire, 5 soldi) at the end of the season.
Beth L. Glixon
16 September 1658, and signed by the impresario's partners,

Marc'Antonio Corraro and Alvise Duodo, Manni was still owed
100 ducats, to be paid to her by the end of the upcoming
Carnival. News of the late payment had reached other singers
in Rome. 'Girolama', the prima donna for the next production,
Nicolb Minato's and Francesco Cavalli's Antioco, believed
(apparently with reason) that Silvia still had not been paid, and
so she negotiated generous concessions from the management in
her contract.l13 Nonetheless, Manni agreed to sing once again
for Faustini in 1658159, although her fees still lagged far behind
those of the prima donna.114Faustini's account book reveals that
Manni was paid on 1, 8, 17 and 23 February - that is, she did
receive her fee for 1658159 by the end of C a r n i ~ a l . "Her
~ name
does not appear in Faustini's receipt book for any other years,
providing suggestive, though not conclusive, evidence that she
did not perform at the theatres that he continued to manage in
Venice through the 1667168 season.
During these years, Manni required the services of a Venetian
notary at least twice. O n 16 March 1658, shortly after her
appearance in L'incostanza trionfante, she called the notary Camillo
Lion to her house in the parish of San Cassiano. She sought to
recover 210 scudi that her husband had borrowed from her
dowry; of this, she required 60 scudi urgently for a financial
emergency. One of the witnesses to this document was Pietro
Andrea Ziani, the composer of L'incostanza trionfante (who had
not yet returned to his post as maestro di cappella of the basilica
of Santa Maria Maggiore in Bergamo following the performances
of his ~ p e r a ) . "A~ year later, on 1 April, she called the same
notary to her home, this time in the parish of Santa Maria
113 SGSM b. 188, fol. 409: 'poichC gli 6 stata riempita la testa che Silvia non 6 ancora
restata sodisfatta, et che perb lei non vuol correr [qualsiasi?] rischio' (letter from
Giuseppe Abbate Zanchi in Rome, 28 October 1658, to Alvise Duodo).
114
The difference in pay between the top two singers was even greater this time:
Girolama earned 4767 lire to Manni's 2139 lire. Girolama's pay included 100 scudi
for travel, 300 scudi for her performances, and 25 scudi per month for expenses;
perhaps Manni had remained in Venice and received no compensation for travel.
"j
ASV, SGSM, b. 194. On the financial documentation concerning Anttaco, see Bianconi
and Walker, 'Production, Consumption and Political Function of Seventeenth-Century

Opera', pp. 221-7.
)I6 ASV, Archivio Notarile, Atti Camillo Lion, b. 8021, fols. 9'-lo', 16 March 1658.
Carnival ended that year on 5 March.
Mater Domini, in order to obtain money owed to her from the

estate of Pietro Magno, who, we recall, hid witnessed the drawing
up of her dowry."'
Manni sang again in Venice in 1660161, this time at the Teatro
San Luca, in its inaugural season as an opera theatre. The first
opera, La Pasife, by Giuseppe Artale and Daniele da Castrovillari,
was - to put it mildly - not a success. According to the account
of one Venetian, Giovanni da Mosto, riots broke out on the
night of the first performance: the audience threw objects onto
the stage and burned their librettos. Da Mosto's fear that the
second opera (Eritrea, by Giovanni Faustini and Francesco Cav-
alli, first performed in 1651152) would fare no better piques our
curiosity as to the cause of the riot: could it have merely been
a reaction to the libretto and music, or were the scenic elements,
singers and dancers found lacking?"' Once again Manni's ser-
vices, along with those of Felippo [Manin?] d a Padova, Pellegrino
Caneri, Francesco Maria Rascarino and Bastiano [Cioni?] (the
archival source does not mention whether the singers performed
in one or both operas), were not fully compensated at the end
of the run; certainly, diminished ticket sales for the season would
have strained the ability of management to pay the singers."'
SILVIA M A N N I AS PRIMA DONNA OUTSIDE O F V E N I C E

DURING THE 1660s
Silvia Manni's presence in Venice during the rest of the decade
cannot be substantiated, but three librettos, two of which were
among the most popular operas of these years, attest to her
appearance in leading roles in other cities (these three operas,
ASV, Archivio Notarile, Atti Camillo Lion, b. 8021, Sol. 417', 1 April 1659. Magno
died in 1650; Manni is not mentioned in his will (ASV, Archivio Notarile, Testamenti
Bronzini, b. 65, no. 260).
Da Mosto's letter, quoted in Rosand, Opera in Seventeenth-Centugv Venice, p. 185, and
in N. Mangini, I teatri di Venezia (Milan, 1974), pp. 52-3, was originally published
in A, da Mosto, 'Uomini e cose del '600 veneziano (da un epistolario inedito)', Rivista
di Venezia, 12, no. 3 (1933), pp. 117-22 (esp. 117).
The names of these singers appear in a document concerning the Teatro San Luca
from 19 July 1661, in ASV, Archivio Notarile, Atti Lodovico Bruzzoni, b. 1132, fol.
137; the names of other singers, who were presumably fully paid, do not appear.
This and other documents about San Luca will be discussed in Glixon and Glixon,
Marco Faustini and Opera Production, and in a separate article on that theatre.
Beth L. Glixon
however, probably represent only a small sampling of her actual

performances). In the first of these, a revival of Ziani's Le fortune
di Rodope e Damira (Turin, 1662), she portrayed Damira.I2O
Appearing with Manni were other singers known in Venice,
such as Anna Felicita Chiusi, Francesco Galli, Francesco Maria
Rascarini (who had appeared with Manni in La Pasife), and the
brothers Angelo Maria and Carlo Lesma. Giovanni Antonio
Boretti, who was to compose operas for Venice later in the
decade and in the early 1670s, performed the comic role of Bato
(after the composer's death, Pietro Manni mounted two Boretti
operas: Eliogabalo (Bergamo, 1674) and Marcello in Siracusa
(Bergamo, 1675)). The Turin Rodope, furthermore, was produced
by Giovanni Battista Abbatoni, who had performed with Manni
in the prologue of L'incostanza trionfante in 1657158. Manni also
played the title character in Antonio Cesti's Dori in Parma in
1665 (this role, when performed in Venice during the 1660s and
1670s, was associated with Vincenza Giulia Masotti, one of the
highest-paid singers of the 1660s); also performing in the opera
was Giovanni Battista Pizzala, who had appeared with Manni
in Turin. Francesco Orsi, also in Dori, had performed with Manni
in 1662, when Manni sang the title role in Andromeda, by Carlo
Bassi and Isidore Tortona, mounted at Piacenza (libretto dedi-
cation 17 May 1662). Curiously, she was the only woman listed
in the cast in the libretto; the other main female roles were sung
by men.
By 1669 Manni was living in Milan. She may have moved
there earlier in the decade, for the dedication of the libretto for
Annibale in Capua (Milan, 1666) was signed by Pietro Manni,
presumably the man she had married in 1645; the libretto does
not list the cast, but correspondence to Marco Faustini reveals
that 'Lesma' (which singer of that name - Angelo Maria or
Carlo - is not specified), Giovanni Antonio Cavagna and Nicola
Coresi were recruited, as well as Antonia Coresi, one of the
Ziani's Le fortune di Rodope e Damira premiered in Venice during Carnival of 16561

5 7 . The location of the performance in Turin is not known, according to Mercedes
Viale Ferrero; none is listed in the libretto. See M. Viale Ferrero, Storia del teatro
regio di Torino, vol. 111, L a scenograja dalle origini a1 1936 (Turin, 1980), p. 13.
leading singers then appearing in Venice. Perhaps Silvia Manni
sang in her husband's production.
SILVIA MANNI, ROMOALDO VIALARDI AND OPERA I N
MANTUA, 1669-1670: THE AESTHETICS OF OPERA AND
THE RECRUITMENT OF SINGERS
Silvia Manni's next documented performance was in Mantua, in

I1 gran Costanzo, in 1670, though she was originally to have
appeared the previous year as the prima donna in L'Eudosia, the
inaugural opera at the Teatro Fedeli. This is clear from a series
of letters in the Archivio di Stato of Mantua. The letters, which
ordinarily would have dealt largely with affairs of the Mantuan
state, were written by Count Romoaldo Vialardi - acting as
impresario for L'Eudosia - to the Mantuan Resident in Milan,
Pietro Maria Rangoni.121 Vialardi apparently played a role in
the construction of the new theatre; he had lent money for that
purpose to Luigi Fedeli, who gave his name to the new building
designed by Fabrizio Carini M ~ t t a . ' The
* ~ libretto is traditionally
ascribed to Giovanni Francesco Savaro, Archdeacon of Mileto,
and the music to Antonio dal Gaudio. Vialardi's letters, however,
refer to the opera more than once as 'il mio dramma', and the
libretto explains that while the story was taken from a work of
Savaro, the verses were composed by another:
Savaro's effort pleased someone who wanted to see such a triumph
made into a play; therefore it was necessary to please him . . . You
should know that the author of the verses has not spent his time in
order to achieve any glory, as that is already possessed by the work
of the aforesaid Archdeacon.lZ3
''I Archivio di Stato di Mantova, Archivio Gonzaga, b. 2804, Lettere del Conte Romoaldo
Vialardi, fasc. 1, 1669 (hereafter 'ASM, AG, b. 2804'). Although Vialardi normally
referred to Manni as 'Signora Silvia', in a letter of 1 7 September he used her full
name ('Signora Silvia Manni'). I would like to thank Dottoressa Francesca Fantini
d'onofrio of the Archivio di Stato of Mantua, who helped me locate this series of
letters.
12' G. Ricci, i N ~ t esull'attiviti di Fabrizio Carini, architetto teatrale e scenotecnico', in
Il seicento nell'arte e nella cultura con riferimenti a Mantova (Milan, 1985), pp. 148-63. The
article contains a description and inventory of the theatre, and part of Fedeli's will
(he died 30 December 1669, shortly after the mounting of L'Eudosia).
123 c
Piacque la fatica del Savaro a persona che desiderb veder simile successo ridotto in
Drama; onde fu di mestiere di cornpiacerla . . . Sappi dunque che il Cornpositore de'
Beth L. Glixon
I t seems reasonable to assume, then, that the libretto was the

work of Vialardi, acting, for L'Eudosia, as a n investor in the
construction of the theatre, as poet and as imp re sari^.'^^
Vialardi had displayed an interest in music well before the
building of the Teatro Fedeli. In 1660 he sent to Venice some
of his poetry that had pleased the Duke of Mantua in order that
it be set to music (he specified simple but affecting settings for
a baritone), as the Mantuan maestro di cappella, Andrea Matti-
oli, was deemed too busy to undertake the task.lZ5Other corre-
spondence reveals his ongoing involvement with musicians. For
example, in 1662 he informed the Mantuan resident in Venice,
Abbate Tinti, that Antonio Formenti, a singer in the cappella
of St Mark's, would not return on time from his participation
in the opera Artabano in Mantua.lZ6 In 1664, he attempted to
coax back to Mantua some musicians who had travelled to
Milan."'
Vialardi's letters to Rangoni, who also had dealt previously
with singers,lZ8bear the typical stamp of the frustrated impresario;
more than once he remarked on the endless imbro'qli - he was
forced to deal with. The letters often addressed problems of
casting and, secondarily, transportation. Although Rangoni tech-
nically served as a liaison between impresario and singer (by
versi non ha preteso di spendere il tempo per acquisto di gloria alcuna, essendone
g i i a1 possesso l'opera de sodetto Archidiacono.' L'Eudosia, pp. 3-4.
'" In a letter of 30 March 1669, Vialardi referred to Fedeli's participation in the theatre
('I1 Signor Luigi Fedeli che meco i. interessato nel teatro'). ASM, AG, b. 2804. These
letters provide another view, if only a small one, of the trials of an impresario in
seventeenth-century Italy. For the eighteenth century, the voluminous correspondence
of Luca Casimiro degli Albizzi gives us the clearest picture of the workings of an
opera company, including the frequent problems encountered in the recruiting of
singers. See W. C. Holmes, Opera Observed: Vzews of a Florentine Impresario in the Early
Eighteenth Century (Chicago, 1993).
ASM, AG, b. 2799, fasc. 16, fol. 195 (27 September 1660). The Mantuan Resident,
Abbate Tinti, responded on 9 October that Daniele da Castrovillari had set the
poetry (ASM, AG, b. 1572).
ASM, AG, b. 2800 bis (27 March 1662). Formenti performed frequently in opera in
Venice, from at least 1656157 until 1680. See Glixon and Glixon, 'Marco Faustini',
p. 60; and H. S. Saunders, Jr. 'The Repertoire of a Venetian Opera House (1678-
1714): The Teatro Grimani di San Giovanni Grisostomo' (Ph.D. diss., Harvard
University, 1985), Appendices F and G.
ASM, AG, b. 2801 (30 May 1664). Vialardi's efforts are referred to in a letter to
Rangoni from Marc'Antonio Vialardi, Rotnoaldo's father.
128
In 1665, Rangoni, in Milan, had boarded four singers who were to appear in an
opera (Cavalli's Xerse?). ASM, AG, b. 1765 (1 July 1665).
corresponding with Rangoni, Vialardi would have been able to

relay Mantuan court business and his operatic concerns simul-
taneously utilising the diplomatic mail service), he also provided
a sounding-board and outlet for Vialardi's views on opera and
singers. T h e letters provide us with a picture of Silvia Manni,
albeit a secondhand one, by an increasingly jaded man of the
theatre; Manni's voice remains unheard. Nonetheless, the picture
is in stark contrast to that of the vulnerable young singer of
1642. For Vialardi, Manni was a prima donna, and his remarks
concerning her vacillate between disparagement and
encouragement.
T h e extant letters concerning the production of L'Eudosia begin
on 4 January 1669 (although there must have been earlier letters
concerning the subject, they do not survive in the preceding
busta). By this time Manni had already been recruited. We do
not know how Vialardi came to choose her, or whether she had
sung previously in Mantua; Vialardi might have heard her sing
in Venice, Parma, Piacenza or another city in Italy. Certainly,
however, Manni was well known to the Mantuan Resident in
Milan.
Although Vialardi may have chosen Manni because of her
skill as a n operatic singer, he soon required her to fulfill an
additional function: that of recruiter. Vialardi hoped to hire
some singers from Venice and elsewhere, but uncertainties still
abounded. O n 4 January, he wrote:
I want Signora Silvia to find a tenor for my drama who will play the
part of Cortigiano . . . and she should negotiate the fee with him.lZ9
O n 26 January Vialardi mentioned that a tenor (Giuseppe
Scaccia) had been found (presumably by Manni, as he was from
Milan, although Vialardi thanked Rangoni for his help) and that
'la Signora Pia' (Margarita Pia, a Venetian) and a young girl
from Venice (for the role of the page) would also perform.
O n 15 February, the impresario sent a letter to be conveyed
to Manni along with her part for the first act. H e asked that
Rangoni give it to her in person and tell her he hoped the music
129 c ~ ..
isldero che la Signora Silvia mi provegga d'un tenore per il mio drama, e dovri
far la parte di Cortigiano . . . ed ella vi faccia il prezzo.' ASM, AG, b. 2084 (4
January 1669).
Beth L. Glixon
would be to her liking, as it was the lead role.130 Vialardi

neglected to say that the first act - at least that of the printed
libretto - contained only one aria for Eudosia, a situation that
must have displeased Manni. Later letters reveal that Vialardi's
views on opera, especially concerning its musical structure and
aesthetics, would not necessarily satisfy the requirements and
desires of a prima donna. In Vialardi's view - and contrary to the
style in Venice - an opera should not have too many arias, an
opinion he conveyed a number of times to Rangoni, and through
him to Manni:
About the arias, she will have plenty of them, and beautiful ones; and
it seems to me that the first one in the part sent to her is not despicable
but is worthy of being heard. M y drama is solid and heroic, different
from the custom in Venice; good authors, dealing with tragedy, teach
[us] to leave out trivialities. One should be content, really, to do it
well; for the rest, it will be u p to her to give soul to the work. (2
March) 13'
Here is the part for the second act for Signora Silvia, and if it does
not have arias, have patience, because there are five superb ones in
the third act. T h e one in the last scene of the act should draw tears
from the eye. By God, the court maestro di cappella [would have to]
sweat to make music this beautiful. . . Tell the said Signora not to
doubt that she will have most suitable and beautiful arias in the third
act. T h e opera is solid and has the advantage of not expressing itself
too seriously through arias; already in Venice they are beginning to
get tired of such things. (8 March)I3'
i Q ~ annessa
i vi 6 una lettera con la parte del primo atto per la Signora Silvia. Prego
Vostra Signoria Illustrissima consegnargliela in propria mano, e dirle che voglio
sperare s a r i a1 suo gusto, e che 6 la prima, facendo il personaggio di Eudosia
Imperatrice.' ASM, AG, b. 2804 (15 February 1669).
131 1
Circa alle arie ne haveri a sufficienza e belle, e parmi che la prima nella parte
mandatale non sia sprezzabile, ma degna d'essere sentita. I1 mio drama 6 sodo et
eroico, differente dall'uso di Venetia, e poi trattandosi di tragedia, i buoni auttori
insegnano lasciar le frascherie. Si contenti pure di far bene, nel resto a lei tocca il
dar l'anima all'opera.' ASM, AG, b. 2804 (2 March 1669).
132 i
Ecco la parte dell'atto second0 per la Signora Silvia, e se non ha arie, patienti,
perch6 nel terzo ne ha cinque superbissime con I'ultima scena di detto atto nella
quale dovri cavar le lagrime dagl'occhi. Per Dio, che il maestro di capella di corte
ha d a sudar la fronte a far musica si bella . . . Dica alla signora sodetta, che non si
dubiti, e havri dell'arie nel terzo atto di tutto proposito e bellissime. L'opera 6 soda,
e porta seco questo riguardo di non parlar seriosamente in arie, e g i i a Venetia si
cominciano a scoglionarsi in simile materia.' ASM, AG, b. 2804 (8 March 1669).
I would like to thank Massimo Ossi for his assistance in the translation of a portion
of this letter.
The last section, for Signora Silvia and the tenor, is on its way. The
same Signora complains that she does not have plenty of arias. Please
tell her that in the present part she will find something to her taste,
and that tragedies are not composed of ariette, especially for serious
and important people such as she plays. However, another year we
will go from the serious to the comic, in order not to be always
ponderous. (15 March)133
I n his letter of 23 March, Vialardi voiced his regret that Manni
was not happy with the part and said that she would be better
served once she was in Mantua; he expressed relief that no
complaints had been heard from the tenor and revealed that
Margarita Pia was to have only three arias. A week later (30
March), always on the same theme, Vialardi asked Rangoni to
tell Manni that Mantua enjoys the 'stile recitativo'.
O n 8 June, Vialardi wrote that he had been to Piacenza to
see Coriolano (Francesco Cavalli's last-performed opera, with a
libretto by Cristoforo Ivanovich), which featured two of his sing-
ers for L'Eudosia, Sebastiano Cioni and Giovanni Battista Piz-
~ a 1 a . He
l ~ ~remarked that the opera expresses itself ('fa parlar')
too much in song ('canzoni'), promising that his Eudosia would
be better. Somewhat contradictorily, however, he reiterated that
he would add new 'ariette' for Signora Silvia, to whom he
professed a thousand 0b1igations.l~~
While Vialardi was voicing his opinions about arias, other
difficulties arose concerning the production and its schedule. O n
8 March, Vialardi informed the Resident that he still needed
two singers, a baritone and a contralto for the 'vecchia', and
once again asked for Manni's assistance. In a postscript, however,
he said he had found a baritone, so that she need concern herself
only with the 'vecchia'. This latest difficulty occurred because
133 r
Se ne viene I'ultima parte per la Signora Silvia e per il tenore; la medesima Signora
si duole non haver abbondanza d'arie. Bisogna mi favorisca di dirle che nella presente
parte troveri cosa di suo gusto, e che le tragedie non sono composte da ariette,
massime nelle persone gravi e grandi com'ella rappresenta. Tuttavia, per un altro
anno passeremo dal serio a1 ridicolo, per non star sempre sul grave.' ASM, AG, b.
2804 (15 March 1669).
13' The dedication of Coriolano bears the date 27 May 1669.
135 c
. . . fa parlar troppo in canzoni . . . La mia Eudosia sari migliore, e far6 nuove
ariette alla Signora Silvia, a cui profess0 mille obligationi.' ASM, AG, b. 2804 (8
June 1669).
Beth L. Glixon
the Duke had decided to put on an opera, taking some of the

singers Vialardi had intended to use.
O n 23 March, Vialardi sent along a list of the singers, including
Giovanni Giacomo Biancucci from Lucca as the 'vecchia' (the
impresario commented that Signora Silvia would perform with
good men, asking that Rangoni report what she had said on
that matter). Meanwhile, the projected premiere of the opera
underwent several delays, first until the 'time of the Sensa'
('tempo della Sensa'), around 30 May in that year,'36 and then
until August. Vialardi's letters to Rangoni in April barely men-
tioned the opera. The month of May, however, brought new
developments. Vialardi remarked that when he had sent the list
of singers, Manni had had nothing to say. But suddenly
Pizzala is not her friend, and Bastianello [Sebastiano Cioni] is not
good. Those who want to make musicians happy must be angels . . . Yet
Signora Silvia wants to make a company herself? I will let her have
the theatre. I know it will make money, and I will remove myself from
the irnbr~~li."~'
By July, the opera had been postponed once again, this time
until St Martin's day (11 November).
The changing dates of performance must have caused the
singers difficulties, for many of them will have had other obli-
gations for the impending Carnival season (they normally had
to report to Venice, for example, one to two months before the
opening). Manni, apparently, had voiced her doubts about the
changed schedule, for on 26 October Vialardi wrote:
If Signora Silvia is disinclined to come, to tell you confidentially, it
matters little to me. I will avail myself of another who is better and
who will look beautiful on stage. Would Your Lordship thus have her
immediately send back the part, so that in all ways I will remain
satisfied.13*
136 i
Sensa' is the Venetian term for the Feast of the Ascension. The term also referred
to the famous fair in Venice held at that time of the year.
13'
i[E] adesso il Pizzala non 6 suo amico, e Bastianello non 6 buono. I n somma,
contentar musici vogliono essere angeli . . . Tuttavia la Signora Silvia vuol far essa
una compagnia? Che io farb darle la porta del teatro, e so che fari de' soldi, et io
mi levarb dagl'imbrogli.' ASM, AG, b. 2804 (18 May 1669). Manni had performed
with Pizzala in 1662 (Le fortune di RodoPe e Damira, Turin) and 1665 (Dori, Parma),
and possibly with Cioni in La Pasfe.
138 i
[S]e la Signora Silvia i. renitente a venire, per dirla confidentemente poco m'importa,
valendomi d'altro soggetto piii bello, e che con una bella faccia compariri in scena.
Nevertheless, on 8 November Vialardi was still attempting to
learn of Manni's final decision. Moreover, Vialardi's prediction
of a performance by St Martin's had been overly optimistic.
I n the end, Manni did not sing in L'Eudosia. The cast, accord-
ing to the libretto, included Lorenzo Biancosi, Francesca Martini
(in the role that would have been Manni's), Sebastiano Cioni,
Benedetto Sarti, Giovanni Battista Pizzala, Giuseppe Scaccia,
Giacomo Biancucci, Pietro Benedetti and Giovanni Morsali. Also
lacking from Vialardi's original list are Margarita Pia and the
young Venetian woman as the page; both roles were assumed
by men. Vialardi wrote on 6 December, 'My opera goes success-
fully. Signor Scaccia will bring [you] the libretto^."^^
Manni did, however, perform in Mantua some five months later -
as already mentioned -in the role of Placidia in Ilgran Costanzo, along
with Antonio Formenti, Giovanni Giacomo Biancucci, Cattarina
Forti, Carlo Antonio Riccardi and others (Manni had previously
sung with Formenti in Venice, in L'incostanza trionfante and in Antioco;
she had performed with Riccardi in Parma, in Dori [1665]).140
Although Vialardi's letters do not reveal that he acted as impresario
for the production, he was, naturally, in attendance. O n 9 May 1670,
he wrote to Rangoni in Milan:
Last evening we heard the opera, about which I do not speak, letting
you hear about it in person from Signora Silvia when she will have
returned home.14'
Two weeks later he added, 'Signora Silvia has behaved disgrace-
fully, and that is enough said.'142Clearly, Vialardi by now was
no longer a great admirer of the soprano.143
Vostra Signoria dunque m'honori di farsi subito riconsignar la parte, e me la rimanda,

perch6 in tutte le guise rimango sodisfatto.' ASM, AG, b. 2804 (26 October 1669).
139 c
L ,opera mia va felicemente, e 'I Signor Scaccia porteri i libretti, e la riverisco.'
ASM, AG, b. 2804 (6 December 1669).
O n the careers of Riccardi and Scaccia, see Bianconi and Walker, 'Production,
Consumption and Political Function of Seventeenth-Century Opera', Appendix 1.
141 1
Hieri sera si senti I'opera recitata in musica, sopra di che non parlo, rimettendovi
alla viva voce della Signora Silvia, quando s a r i ritornata alla Patria.' ASM, AG, b.
2804 (9 May 1670).
14' 'La Signora Silvia ha fatto sporco, e tanto basti.' ASM, AG, b. 2804 (23 May 1670).
143
Vialardi continued his involvement with the theatre. His name is mentioned in a
document of 2 December 1676 concerning the Teatro Fedeli, and he was one of the
partners in the renovation of the Teatro dei Comici in 1688. See G. Amadei, I cento
cinquant'anni del Sociale nella storia dei teatri di Mantova (Mantua, 1973), pp. 57, 59-62.
Beth L. Glixon
The last known reference to Silvia Manni comes not from

Venice, Mantua or Milan, but from Reggio Emilia, where she
signed a dedication to Francesco I1 d'Este in the libretto for
Floridea regina di Cipro (February 1677).144Her husband's career
probably did not long survive hers, for Pietro Manni's last libretto
dedications appeared only two years later. The first, signed 12
December 1678, for the 1678179 season, was for I1 perfetto Ibraim
(mentioned above), and the second, from Reggio Emilia, was for
Gli amori sagaci (1679, based on Giulio Strozzi's La jinta pazza of
1641).
Silvia Gailarti Manni's story - at least the part of it that has

thus far been unearthed - provides a window into the life of an
aspiring singer of the seicento. Manni had an advantage over
young girls in other parts of Italy, for circumstances brought her
to Venice some two years after the institution of public opera in
that city. From the age of ten, through her mother, she was
exposed to the leading talents of the day; she had worked with
composers such as Monteverdi, Ferrari and Cavalli, and she
would have been familiar with many of the singers of opera in
Venice, having appeared herself on the stage at least by the age
of eleven or twelve. Moreover, she was admitted into the intellec-
tual circles of Venetian nobility and was lauded in poetry. Her
seduction and defloration by one of her music teachers came,
perhaps, as a result of her mother's kindness in extending hospi-
tality to Giovanni Carlo del Cavalieri. Yet a similar outcome
might have obtained if she had had a visiting teacher or had
been sent to study elsewhere; such were the dangers and risks
to young girls and women pursuing a musical career, as well as
to those in many other walks of life. It is impossible to say how
her career might have evolved if her mother had not been
murdered in 1645; the event, however, probably led to her mar-
riage that year to Pietro Manni and, possibly, to her transfer to
Rome.
In Venice during the 1640s, Silvia Gailarti had been a singer
in both the theatre and the chamber; Silvia Manni, the wife of
'" Could Benedetto Ferrari's associations with Modena and Reggio Emilia have led to
Silvia Manni's operatic involvement in this region? Ferrari died in Modena in 1681.
We may also remember that Manni's maternal grandfather came from Reggio.
Pietro, eventually established herself as a singer of opera through-

out Italy. Although her career during the twelve years following
her marriage remains untraced, it surfaces again on the stages of
Venice, Turin, Piacenza, Parma, Mantua and, probably, Reggio
Emilia, with possible appearances in other cities as a member
of her husband's companies. Perhaps by coincidence, she
appeared, or would have appeared, in the inaugural performances
of both the Teatro San Luca in Venice and the Teatro Fedeli
at Mantua, and Marco Faustini chose her to sing in his first
production at the refurbished San Cassiano. Even though her
vocal reputation - or perhaps the superior talents of her rivals -
did not permit her to play the prima donna in Venice in the late
1650s, she maintained that role outside that city for at least ten
more years, singing in revivals of popular operas as well as in
new productions. Manni was part of the complex network of
artists that facilitated the mounting of operas throughout Italy,
performing on various occasions with singers such as Giovanni
Battista Abbatoni, Antonio Formenti, Francesco Orsi, Giovanni
Battista Pizzala, Francesco Maria Rascarini and Carlo Antonio
Riccardi. These connections helped her to recruit musicians for
Romoaldo Vialardi and possibly others, as did many of her male
c ~ n t e m p o r a r i e s . 'She
~ ~ also continued, as in Venice, to frequent
the company of important men of society, for she knew well the
Mantuan Resident in Milan.
T h e music for the roles that Silvia Manni brought to life is,
for the most part, lost. Certainly, however, she, along with her
contemporaries, became a practitioner of those staples of seicento
opera: affective recitative, arias of joy and jealousy, and the
ubiquitous laments. I n the case of Silvia Gailarti Manni those
words and music reflected the triumphs, as well as the trials and
tribulations, of her adolescent years in Venice.
Lexington, Kentucky
'41 See, for example, the correspondence of Marco Faustini (see note 107 above for
bibliography).
Beth L. Glixon
APPENDIX
Operas Connected with Silvia and Pietro Manni*
Date Silvia Manni Pietro Manni
(dedications)
1640141 [Venice (SS. Giovanni e Paolo):
Monteverdi, Ritorno d'Ulisse or Le nozze
d'EneaIa
1643144 [Venice (SS. Giovanni e Paolo): Ferrari, I1
prencipe giardinieroIb
1644145 Venice (San Cassiano): Cavalli, I1 Titone
1655 Genoa: Costa,
Ariodante
1656 Genoa: Cavalli, Xene
1657158 Venice (San Cassiano): Ziani, L'incostanza
trionfante
1658159 Venice (San Cassiano): Cavalli, Antioco
1659160 Genoa: Cesti, Orontea
1660161 Venice (San Luca) : Castrovillari, La Pas&
Cavalli, Eritrea
1662 Turin: Ziani, Le fortun6 di Rodope e Damira;
Piacenza: Tortona, Andromeda
1665 Parma: Cesti, Dori Brescia: Cavalli,
Eritrea
1666 Genoa: Cavalli,
Erismena. Milan:
Ziani, Annibale in
Capua
1669? Milan: Rossi, Busca
and Agostini, La
regina Floridea
1670 Mantua: Tomasi, I1 gran Costanzo
1673 Bergamo: Cesti,
Argia
1674 Bergamo: Boretti,
Eliogabalo
1675 Bergamo: Boretti,
Marcello in
Siracusa;
Eurimedonte
1677 Reggio Emilia: Floridea regina di Cipro

(signed ded.)
1678179 Venice: I1 perfetto
Ibraim
1679 Reggio Emilia: Gli
amori sagaci
*Of all of the operas in which Silvia Manni is known to have performed, the scores of
only three - all revivals - have survived: Le fortune di Rodope e Damira, Dori and Eritrea.
See above, pp. 119-20.
'See above, pp. 121-2.
146
Early Music Histoy (1996) Volume 15
GALEAZZO MARIA SFORZA AND
MUSICAL PATRONAGE I N MILAN:
COMPERE, WEERBEKE AND
JOSQUIN*
For Jeremy Noble on his sixty-jfth birthday

Galeazzo Maria Sforza (1444-76), fifth Duke of Milan, set out
when he acceded to power in 1466 to style himself as one of the
most glorious of rulers and to make his court (in the words of
the contemporary chronicler Bernardino Corio) one of 'the most
* Shortened versions of this article were presented at a session honouring Jeremy Noble
on the occasion of his sixty-fifth birthday, at the New York State-St. Lawrence Chapter
Meeting of the American Musicological Society in Ottawa, April 1995, and at the annual
meeting of the AMS in New York, November 1995. I would like to extend my thanks
for helpful comments and assistance to Bonnie J. Blackburn, M. Jennifer Bloxam, David
Hiley, Clement A. Miller, Oliver Neighbour, Jeremy Noble, Janice Shell and Pamela F.
Starr. Any mistakes or flaws in the finished version remain purely my own.
The manuscripts containing polyphonic music cited in this study are referred to
by abbreviations given in the Census-Catalogue of Manuscript Sources of PolyPhonic Music
1400-1550, ed. J. Call and H . Kellman, 5 vols., Renaissance Manuscript Studies, 1
(Neuhausen-Stuttgart, 1979-88):
BarcBC 454 Barcelona, Biblioteca Central, MS 454

CambraiBM 125-8 Cambrai, Bibliothhque Municipale, MSS 123-128
CapePL 3.b.12 Cape Town, South African Public Library, MS Grey 3.b.12
FlorR 2794 Florence, Biblioteca Riccardiana, MS 2794
's HerAB 73 's Hertogenbosch, Archief van de Illustre Lieve Vrouwe Broe-
derschap, MS 73
LonRC 1070 London, Royal College of Music, MS 1070
MilD 1 Milan, Archivio della Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo, Sezione
Musicale, Librone 1 (olim 2269)
MilD 3 Milan, Archivio . . . del Duomo, Librone 3 (olim 2267)
MilD 4 Milan, Archivio . . . del Duomo, Librone 4 (olim 2266)
MunBS 3154 Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Musiksammlung, Musica
MS 3134
PadBC A17 Padua, Biblioteca Capitolare, MS A 17
SegC S.S. Segovia, Archivio Capitular de la Catedral, MS S.S.
UlmS 237 Ulm, Miinster Bibliothek, von Schermar'sche Familienstiftung,
MS 237
Vats 13 Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, MS Cappella
Sistina 15
Vats 46 Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, MS Cappella
Sistina 46
VerBC 760 Verona, Biblioteca Capitolare, MS DCCLX
Patrick Macey
splendid in the universe'.' Galeazzo, a contemporary of King
Louis X I of France and Duke Charles the Bold of Burgundy,
entertained grand designs of turning his ducal coronet into a
king's crown and transforming Lombardy into a royal realm,
just as Charles the Bold sought to elevate the duchy of Burgundy
to a kingdom. The two dukes, as vassals of the Holy Roman
Emperor Frederick 111, relied on that monarch's power to bestow
the kingly crown; both failed tragically in the end.' As part of
his design to impress his contemporaries with the princely splen-
dour of his court, in 1471 Galeazzo focused his energies particu-
larly on the ambitious project of developing the best musical
chapel in Italy. During the course of the next two years he sent
emissaries to the rulers of England, Flanders, France, Naples
and his neighbour Savoy, seeking to hire (or borrow, in the case
of Savoy) the best singers a ~ a i l a b l eHis
. ~ cappella grew to include
more than thirty singers, making it larger than any other in
Italy, even the papal chapel. From his youth, music had provided
Galeazzo with the greatest of pleasures, and the development of
' In his epitaph for Galeazzo, after the duke's assassination on 26 December 1476,
Bernardino Corio ( 1459-after 1503) gave the following summation: 'Fu oltramodo
liberalissimo, cupido di gloria e d'essere temuto. Havea caro se potesse dire con il
vero la sua corte fusse una de le pih resplendente de l'universo' (B. Corio, Storia di
Milano, ed. A. M. Guerra (Turin, 1978), rr, p. 1409). For other studies on music in
Milan, see E. Motta, 'Musici alla corte degli Sforza', Archivio Storico Lombardo, 2nd
ser., 4 (1887), pp. 29-64, 278-340, 514-61; G. Cesari, 'Musica e musicisti alla corte
sforzesca', Rivista Musicale Aaliana, 29 (1922), pp. 1-53; C. Sartori, 'La musica nel
Duomo dalle origini a Franchino Gaffurio', in Storia di Milano, rx (Milan, 1961),
pp. 723-48; G. Barblan, 'Vita musicale alla corte sforzesca', in ibid., pp. 787-832.
The most recent studies are: W. F. Prizer, 'Music at the Court of the Sforza: The
Birth and Death of a Musical Center', Musica Disciplina, 43 (1989), pp. 141-93;
E. S. Welch, 'Sight, Sound and Ceremony in the Chapel of Galeazzo Maria Sforza',
Early Music History, 12 (1993), pp. 151-90. O n Galeazzo Maria Sforza's court, see
G. Lubkin, A Renaissance Court: Milan under Galeazzo Maria Sforza (Berkeley, 1994).
Both men even met death at nearly the same time: Galeazzo was assassinated on 26
December 1476, while Charles died just ten days later, on 5 January 1477, on a
frozen battlefield near Nancy.
Motta, 'Musici', pp. 301-8, provides documentation for Galeazzo's recruitment of
singers, including: (1) a letter of 15 October 1471 to Edward I V of England; (2)
repeated requests to the Duchess Yolande of Savoy in December 1471 and again in
January and October 1472 for the loan of singers; (3) the dispatch of Gaspar van
Weerbeke to Flanders to recruit singers in April 1472; (4) a letter dated 3 November
1472, delivered by the singer Tomaso Leporis to Ockeghem in France; (5) a letter
of 6 November 1472 to the Milanese ambassador in Naples, offering good benefices
and salaries to singers there who wished to join his chapel.
Galeazzo Maria Sforza and musical patronage in Milan
a court chapel allowed this vainglorious and pleasure-loving ruler

to indulge a favourite pastime while at the same time directly
enhancing his prestigee4
I n order to make his court at Milan financially attractive to
singers, Galeazzo sought to acquire the right to provide them
with ecclesiastical benefices. I n this enterprise he seems to have
been eminently successful, for his cappella grew to include north-
erners such as Gaspar van Weerbeke, Loyset Compkre, Alexander
Agricola and Josquin des Prez.
This study offers new evidence that Josquin was indeed active
as a composer in Milan at the court of Galeazzo Maria Sforza
in the 1470s, a notion that has recently come under fire. Letters
of the duke reveal that in 1473 Josquin was awarded the benefice
of San Giuliano in Gozzano (diocese of Novara), worth the
handsome sum of 100 florins per year. Edward Lowinsky
uncovered two documents, dating from September 1473 and
February 1474, relating to Josquin's possession of this b e n e f i ~ e ; ~
and recently Lora Matthews and Paul Merkley have uncovered
new documents in the Milanese archives, including one that
names a 'Judoco de picardia cleric0 camerasensi' as the recipient
of the benefice in Gozzano as early as January 1473. This new
date provides the earliest known entry of Josquin into the ducal
chapele6As far back as July 1459 a 'Judocho de frantia biscantori
in Ecclesia maiori Mediolani' (cited in subsequent references in
Italian as 'Iuschino de franzia') appeared in the payment records
Welch stresses the point that music was elevated during this period from a semi-private
court entertainment to an important activity of state; Welch, 'Sight, Sound and
Ceremony', pp. 164-5.
E. E. Lowinsky, 'Ascanio Sforza's Life: A Key to Josquin's Biography and an Aid
to the Chronology of His Works', Josquin des Prez: Proceedings of the International Josquin
Festival-Conference, ed. E. E. Lowinsky in collaboration with B. J. Blackburn (Oxford,
1976), pp. 33-6. As Lowinsky states on p. 36, 'A benefice amounting to 100 florins,
95 or 96 of which would go to Josquin if he appointed a caretaker for the canonry,
is a splendid income.' He notes that 100 florins equals 100 ducats, and that Josquin
received another 60 ducats yearly (5 ducats per month) for his services in Galeazzo's
chapel, yielding a yearly income of 160 ducats.
A second letter from March 1473 provides a tantalising early glimpse of Josquin's
musical activity, as Galeazzo threatens to imprison him for shirking a ducal com-
mission and copying music for other patrons; see L. Matthews and P. A. Merkley,
yosquin Desprez and His Milanese Patrons', Journal of Musicology, 12 (1994),
pp. 434-63.
Patrick Macey
of the Duomo in Milan, and his name occurs there - with notable
periods of absence - until December 1472.' (In fact, for the
ten-year span from July 1459 to December 1469, the singer's
combined absences amount to three years and 10.5 months, or
37.5 per cent of the total period; see Table I).' The next documen-
tation for 'Iuschino' appears in the ducal correspondence of
Table 1 Josquin Chronology

c. 1440? born in northern France
1459-72 Milan cathedral, Iuschino de franzia
1462 absent entire year (extended absences 1459-69)
1473-6 Milan, chapel of Duke Galeazzo Maria Sforza
1477 Aix-en-Provence, court of RenC d'Anjou
1478 promised a benefice by RenC d'Anjou
1479 Milan, travel pass to St Antoine de Vienne (near Lyons)
1480-2 ?
1483 CondC-sur-1'Escaut
1483-9 ?
1489-95 Rome, papal chapel
1495-1 502 3
1503-4 Ferrara, maestro di cappella

1504-2 1 CondC-sur-l'Escaut, provost of Notre-Dame
' C. Sartori, 'Josquin des PrCs cantore del Duomo di Milano (1439-1472)', Annales
Musicologiques, 4 (1936), pp. 55-83.
Several observations can be made about the unknown periods of Josquin's activity.
Herbert Kellman uncovered a document that notes Josquin's visit to CondC-sur-
I'Escaut in 1483, his 'first return' since the start of the wars that had begun in 1477,
thus indicating earlier stays in CondC; see G. Reese and J. Noble, 'Josquin Desprez',
The New Grove High Renaissance Masters (London, 1984), p. 6. The possibility that
Josquin sojourned at the French royal court of Louis XI in the early 1480s is explored
in P. Macey, 'Josquin's Misericordias Domini and Louis XI', Early Music, 19 (1991),
pp. 163-77. The correct date of Josquin's entry into the papal chapel has recently
been shown by Pamela Starr to be 1489, and not 1486 as previously believed. Thus
the gap in Josquin's biography for the decade of the 1480s widens; see P. Starr,
'Josquin, Rome, and a Case of Mistaken Identity', Journal of Musicology (in press). I
would like to thank Professor Starr for sharing her findings with me in advance of
publication. Edward Lowinsky presented circumstantial evidence that Josquin served
Cardinal Ascanio Sforza in the 1480s; see Lowinsky, 'Ascanio Sforza's Life'. William
Prizer presents new letters, dated December 1498 and February 1499, that mention
a servant of Ascanio Sforza named 'Juschino', who had travelled to Mantua to pick
up a gift of hunting dogs for the Cardinal. There is no mention of music in these
letters, and it is not certain that this 'Juschino' is the composer Josquin des Prez;
see Prizer, 'Music at the Court of the Sforza', pp. 168-9, 192-3. Finally, another
contemporary document claims that in the 1480s Josquin worked in Hungary at the
court of Matthias Corvinus ('Quod pictores et musicos excellentes habuerit, inter
quos etiam Josquinum ipsum'); see P. Kirhly, 'Un s6jour de Josquin des PrCs a la
cour de Hongrie?', Revue de Musicologie, 78 (1992), pp. 145-50.
150
January 1473 that was uncovered by Matthews and Merkley,

indicating that the singer made a direct transfer from the Duomo
to Galeazzo's chapel. Recently, however, doubts have arisen
about the identity of this singer; was he in fact the famous
Josquin des Prez? The Duomo pay registers from 1459 indicate
that Iuschino was a biscantor, that is, a n adult singer whose
voice had changed, and this explains the estimate of his birth
date as approximately 1440. Yet very little music attributable to
Josquin survives in sources until around 1490. Several expla-
nations are possible: the extensive destruction of sources has
erased many early traces of his compositional activity; he got a
late start as a composer; the singer listed in the Duomo records
is possibly some minor figure, and the famous Josquin was not
active in Milan at all, nor was he born before the late 1450s.'
But this last possibility of a later birth date is countered by
Josquin's justly celebrated motet Ave Maria . . . virgo serena, which
was copied by 1476 in the manuscript Munich 3154. The highly
polished musical style presupposes an extended period of prior
compositional activity, probably beginning in the 1 4 6 0 ~ . 'In ~
addition, Josquin's Missa L'ami Baudichon, an apparently early
work whose lucid phrasing, clear textures and unornamented
cantus firmus are reminiscent of Du Fay's style, has recently
turned up in a manuscript fragment in Poland datable to the
third quarter of the fifteenth century." New evidence offered
The latter hypothesis is explored further by David Fallows in an unpublished paper,
'Josquin and Milan'. I thank Dr Fallows, who generously provided me with a copy
of his paper. See also the re-evaluation of Josquin's position vis-a-vis Obrecht in R.
C. Wegman, Born for the Muses: The Life and Masses of Jacob Obrecht (Oxford, 1994),
pp. 1-2, 15-16, 220 n.1.
'O T . Noblitt, 'Die Datierung der Handschrift Mus. ms. 3154 der Staatsbibliothek
Miinchen', Die Musikforschung, 27 (1974), pp. 36-56, esp. p. 49. The Milanese motet
style takes its starting point from the syntax of the text; it emphasises syntactic
imitation, so that almost every new phrase of text receives a new imitative subject.
Also, these motets feature contrasting musical textures that highlight imitative duos
against chordal passages, as well as passages in triple mensuration. For discussion
of this new Milanese style of the 1470s see L. Finscher, 'Zum Verhaltnis von
Imitationstechnik und Textbehandlung im Zeitalter Josquins', Renaissance-Studien: Hel-
muth Osthoff zum 80. Geburtstag, ed. L. Finscher (Tutzing, 1979), pp. 57-72. Joshua
Rifkin has also explored the style of the Milanese motet in an unpublished paper,
'Josquin in Context: Toward a Chronology of the Motets', delivered at the national
meeting of the American Musicological Society, Minneapolis, 1978; I extend to him
my thanks for providing me with a copy.
M. Perz, 'The Lvov Fragments: A Source for Works by Dufay, Josquin, Petrus de
Domarto, and Petrus de Grudencz in 15th-Century Poland', Tijdschrift van de Vereniging
aoor Nederlandse Muziekgeschiedenis, 36 ( 1986), pp. 26-5 1.
Patrick Macey
below suggests that the 'Iuschino' named in Milanese records in
the 1460s and 1470s is in fact the renowned Josquin des Prez,
and that in the 1470s he was active as a composer, specifically
of the motet cycle Vultum tuum, which appears to have been
created especially for Galeazzo's chapel.
T o return to Galeazzo, he planned to finance the expansion
of his chapel by obtaining from the pope the power to assign
benefices in the major bishoprics of Lombardy, as reported in a
letter of 1473 by the Mantuan ambassador in Milan, Zaccaria
Saggio.12 According to Saggio, Galeazzo planned to combine the
chapels from all the cities of his duchy on special occasions so
that the singers might produce a 'gran romore' (a great noise
or sound). Indeed, in Galeazzo's ultimate project to have himself
declared King of Lombardy by the Holy Roman Emperor, the
visit of King Christian I of Denmark in 1474 provided a good
opportunity to impress his visitor with the splendour of his court
and to enlist the king's support for his petition to the emperor.I3
In recruiting so many new singers for his chapel, Galeazzo
engaged in direct competition with Ercole d'Este of Ferrara,
who had launched a similar musical enterprise upon becoming
duke in 147 1 . I 4 And, indeed, Galeazzo placed himself in compe-
tition with the only kingdom on Italian soil, the Aragonese
kingdom of Naples.15 The dramatic increase in Italian musical
patronage during the decade of the 1470s caused the theorist
Johannes Tinctoris to take note in the dedication of Proportionale
musices (c. 1472-3) to his patron Ferdinand, King of Sicily and
Naples.
l2
Letter of 5 February 1473 from Zaccaria Saggio to Ludovico Gonzaga; original
Italian, with English translation, in Prizer, 'Music at the Court of the Sforza', p. 157.
l3
Lubkin, A Renaissance Court, pp. 182-4. Welch also notes the connection between
Galeazzo's expansion of his chapel and his royal aspirations; 'Sight, Sound and
Ceremony', pp. 162-3.
l4
L. Lockwood, 'Strategies of Music Patronage in the Fifteenth Century: The Cappella
of Ercole I d'Este', Music in Medieval and Early Modern Europe: Patronage, Sources and
Texts, ed. I . Fenlon (Cambridge, 1981), pp. 227-48; and idem, Music in Renaissance
Ferrara 140&1505 (Cambridge, Mass., 1984), pp. 133-4.
I'
O n Galeazzo's successful attempts to lure singers away from Ferdinand of Aragon's
chapel in Naples, see A. W. Atlas, Music at the Aragonese Court of Naples (Cambridge,
1985), pp. 40-1, 52. O n the general rise in petitions for benefices from c. 1450 to
1470, see P. F. Starr, 'Rome as the Centre of the Universe: Papal Grace and Music
Patronage', Early Music Histoy, 11 (1992), pp. 223-62, esp. pp. 238f.
The most Christian princes, of whom, most pious King you are by far
the foremost in the gifts of mind, of body, and of fortune, desiring to
augment the divine service, founded chapels after the manner of David,
in which at extraordinary expense they appointed singers to sing pleas-
ant and comely praise to our God with diverse (but not adverse) voices.
And since the singers of princes, if their masters are endowed with the
liberality which makes men illustrious, are rewarded with honor, glory,
and wealth, many are kindled with a most fervent zeal for this study.16
Galeazzo seems in fact to have taken the imitation of David
seriously, for he had himself depicted in the role of the Old
Testament king on the magnificently illuminated opening leaf of
a missal that no doubt counted as one of the most splendid
ornaments of his chapel (Figure I)." T h e surviving leaf from
this missal, now in the Wallace Collection in London, shows
Galeazzo kneeling in prayer in front of a battle scene; God the
Father appears in the upper right corner. T h e architectural towers
around the scene provide the outline of a large capital A, the
opening initial of 'Ad te levavi animam meam'. This text serves
as the Introit for the first Sunday of Advent in the Roman rite;
it appears at the opening of most missals, often with a full-page
illumination for the letter A. Traditionally, the kneeling figure
of King David occupies the centre of the initial, but in the leaf
from the Wallace Collection that position has been usurped by
Galeazzo, who thus directly identifies himself in the role of the
Old Testament king. I n light of Tinctoris's comments about the
princes of Italy founding chapels after the manner of David,
Galeazzo's representation of himself as a literal David in his
missal is all the more striking.''
l6
0. Strunk, Source Readings in Music History (New York, 1950), pp. 194-5.
See M . A. Jacobsen, 'A Sforza Miniature by Cristoforo da Preda', The Burlington
Magazine, 116 (1974), pp. 91-6. See also J. J. G. Alexander, Wallace Collection, Catalogue
of Illuminated Manuscript Cuttings (London, 1980), pp. 39-41, and colour plate p. 12.
l8
The traditional figure of the kneeling King David does appear in the opening
illumination of a Missal that belonged to King Matthias Corvinus of Hungary, who
was a contemporary of Galeazzo. The elaborately illuminated opening leaf appears
to have been modelled directly on the one from Galeazzo's Missal; see Jacobsen, 'A
Sforza Miniature', p. 92. French monarchs as far back as Pepin and Charlemagne
had traditionally styled themselves as the 'novus David', and in the sixteenth century
this tradition continued with Fran~oisI, who is depicted holding a harp in a royal
book of hours, in the section of the book containing the seven penitential psalms.
King Henry VIII of England appears to have emulated French kings when he had
himself depicted as David in several illuminations in his own book of psalms. For
Patrick Macey
Figure I Caleazzo Maria Sfoorza at Prayer, by Cristoforo da Preda. London, Wallace

Collection, M342. Reproduced by permission of the Trustees of the Wallace Collection
Next to his victory over Goliath, David is perhaps best known

for his traditional authorship of the Book of Psalms. A further
comparison with David thus arises when we note Galeazzo's
interest in particular psalms that had been sung at the court of
Naples under Alfonso of Aragon (d. 1458), the predecessor of
Ferdinand. In 1473, Galeazzo wrote to Ferdinand asking him to
further bibliography and discussion of the 'imitatio David regis', see Macey, 'Josquin's
Misericordias Domini', pp. 175-7.
send a copy of the psalms that were traditionally sung at the
court after King Alfonso had won a victory in battle.lg The
Neapolitan court responded with a list of psalms that were
performed during the time of King A l f o n s ~Among
.~~ other things
the document states that after the Elevation of the host in a
Mass said in time of war the priest knelt down and the singers
performed Psalm 34, 'Judica Domine nocentes', including the
Gloria Patri, which was followed by a n antiphon.21
Given Galeazzo's own self-identification with King David, it
is significant that he wished to know which psalms were associ-
ated with ceremonies at the Neapolitan court - a royal court, it
should be noted - so that he could have them performed at his
own court. The incident indicates that Galeazzo concerned him-
self directly with the repertory of his chapel, and this provides
a context for a new discovery regarding a specific text found in
cycles of motets called motetti missales that were apparently com-
posed for the duke.
The text under consideration is 'Maria mater gratiae, mater
misericordiae'. I n order to understand the significance of this
acclamation to the Madonna of Grace and Mercy, it is necessary
to turn briefly to the Visconti ancestors of Galeazzo. In addition,
we shall explore the importance of the reference to the Blessed
Virgin Mary in the middle name of Galeazzo Maria Sforza,
since this name played a prominent role in music produced by
composers in the ducal cappella in Milan in the 1470s.
Especially prominent are settings of the name 'Maria' in sacred
works by Gaspar van Weerbeke, Loyset Compkre and Josquin
des Prez.
By Galeazzo's time, the Virgin's name had already occupied
a particularly prominent place in his family (Table 2) for several
'Molto a car0 havere la copia de quelli salmi che faceva cantare la bona memoria
del Re Alfonso quando sua Maesti haveva qualche victoria.' Motta, 'Musici', p. 307.
20
The document is transcribed in full in Motta, 'Musici', pp. 555-7.
The same psalm is also included in the prayer book of Emperor Maximilian, son of
Frederick 111, with a rubric indicating that it should be said after the Elevation in
time of war. See P. Macey, 'Josquin as Classic: Qui habitat, Memor esto and Two
Imitations Unmasked', Journal of the Royal Musical Association, 118 (1993), p. 10. The
Neapolitan letter indicates one other psalm performed at Mass, 'Domine exaudi
orationem meam' (Psalm 101 or 142; both have the same incipit). When the king
had been victorious in battle, two different psalms were sung: 'Confitebor tibi Domine
in toto corde meo' (Psalm 9) and 'Domine in virtute tua letabitur Rex' (Psalm 20).
Patrick Macey
generations. Galeazzo's great-uncle, Giovanni Maria Visconti (no.

2), was the first member of the dynasty to bear 'Maria' as a
middle name. Galeazzo's grandfather, Filippo Maria Visconti
(no. 3), passed the lineage through his daughter, Bianca Maria
Visconti; her marriage to Francesco Sforza (no. 4) produced
Galeazzo Maria Sforza (no. 5). All of Galeazzo's siblings bore
'Maria' as their second name as well - including Ludovico Maria
Sforza, called 'I1 Moro', and Cardinal Ascanio Maria Sforza -
as did all of Galeazzo's own ~ h i l d r e n . ~ '
The name's importance to the family can be traced back to
the late fourteenth century, when the territory of Milan was
divided into north and south. Galeazzo's great-grandfather, Gian-
galeazzo Visconti (Table 2, no. l ) , ruled in the south with his
capital at Pavia, while Bernabb Visconti controlled Milan and
the northern portion of Lombardy. Giangaleazzo, determined to
unify these territories, invaded Milan in 1385 and took his uncle
prisoner; Bernabb was found poisoned in his cell shortly there-
after.23Perhaps in penance for his act, Giangaleazzo became even
more noticeably devout: he founded the new Duomo in Milan
as well as a mausoleum church for the Visconti dynasty, the
Certosa in Pavia, which he dedicated to Santa Maria delle
grazie (the Madonna of Grace). Giangaleazzo had previously
demonstrated his devotion to the Blessed Virgin in her aspect
as the Madonna of Mercy in an illuminated hours-missal pre-
pared in 1380 for his wedding to Caterina Visconti, the daughter
of Bernabb (Figure 2).24 The illumination, which precedes the
Saturday Mass of the Blessed Virgin, depicts the Madonna of
Mercy with her characteristic protective mantle covering a group
of devotees on either side. Giangaleazzo kneels on the left, while
Caterina, with her unbound flowing hair symbolising virginity,
kneels on the right. When Caterina finally gave birth to a son
eight years later, in 1388, the relieved Giangaleazzo offered a
vow of thanks to the Madonna of Grace to the effect that
22
Galeazzo's other siblings not shown in Table 2 were: Ippolita Maria (1445-88),
Filippo Maria (1448-92), Sforza Maria (1451-79), Elisabetta Maria (1456-72), and
Ottaviano Maria ( 1458-77).
29
F. Cognasso, I Visconti (Milan, 1966), p. 273.
24
E. Kirsch, Five Illuminated Manuscripts of Giangaleazzo Viseonti (University Park, PA,
1991), p. 31.
Galeazzo Maria Sforza a n d musical patronage in Milan
Table 2 Visconti-Sforza Lineage (greatly condensed)
Stefano Visconti (d. 1327)
1
Galeazzo I1 Visconti Bernabb Visconti
(d. 1378) (1323-85)
Dukes of Milan:
(1) Giangaleazzo Visconti Caterina Visconti
(1351-1402) (d. 1404)
Duke of Milan 1395- 1402
(2) Giovanni Maria Visconti (3) Fillippo Maria Visconti

(1388-1412) (1392-1447)
Duke of Milan 1402- 12 Duke of Milan 1412-47
(4) Francesco Sforza

(AmbrosianRepublic 1447-50)
-
I
Bianca Maria Visconti
(1401-66) (1425-68)
Duke of Milan 1450-66
(5) Galeazzo Maria Sforza (7) Ludovico Maria Ascanio Maria

(1444-76) (1452-1508) (1455- 1505)
Duke of Milan 1466-76 "I1 Moron Cardinal
I Duke 1494- 1500
(6) Giangaleazzo Maria Ermes Maria Bianca Maria Anna Maria

(1469-94) (1470-1503) (1472-1510) (1476-97)
Duke of Milan 1476-94
Patrick Macey
t
Figure 2 Giangaleaz~oand Caten'na Visconti Venerating the Madonna of Mercy (Hours-Missal,
c. 1380). Paris, Bibliothkque Nationale, MS Lat. 757, fol. 258
henceforth all of his descendants should bear 'Maria' as their

second name;25 this explains why all succeeding generations of
Visconti and Sforza children bore 'Maria' as their middle name.26
Evidence of the importance of the Madonna of Grace comes
to the fore during Galeazzo's reign; in particular, the shrine of
Santa Maria delle grazie in Monza served as a n important focus
of court devotion. O n various occasions it is noted that members
' in 1473 Galeazzo
of the court paid visits to the ~ h r i n e , ~and
ordered a very expensive silver likeness of himself, worth 500
ducats, for presentation to Santa Maria delle grazie in Monza."
One of the more intriguing bits of evidence concerning Gale-
azzo and music involves a n account of his direct order that a
particular text of supplication to the Madonna of Grace and
Mercy should be sung during daily Mass at his court. The
testimony is preserved in the Storia di Milano by Bernardino
j
'
Corio, Storia di Milano, p. 899. 'A1 septimo di septembre in Abiate Giovanne Galeazo
hebbe da Catelina, sua mugliere, uno figliolo a baptesmo nominato Giovanni Maria,
a la quale abundantissima fonte di gratia s'era invotato, potendo havere figlioli,
insignirli dil suo celebratissimo nome e per questo a gli altri descendenti fu dato il
secundo nome di Maria.'
26
The feast of the Madonna of Grace (Beatae Mariae Virginis de Gratia) is celebrated
on 9 June; see Missale romanum ex decreto sacrosancti concilii tridentini restitutum S. Pii V.
PontiJicis Maximi jussu editum (Regensburg and Rome, 1900), p. [143]. The feast of the
Madonna of Mercy (Beatae Mariae Virginis de Misericordia) occurs on the Monday
after the first Sunday in May (ibid., p. [131]). The Madonna of Mercy was of course
widely venerated in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, as numerous works of art
depicting the easily recognisable figure can attest; see P. Perdrizet, La cierge de
mishicorde: Etude d'un thime iconographique (Paris, 1908). The Madonna of Grace seems
to have been particularly venerated by members of the Visconti-Sforza dynasty, as
indicated in the 1380s by the founding and dedication to her of the Visconti mauso-
leum church, the Certosa of Pavia. While it is true that in 1399 the Marchese of
Mantua founded a church dedicated to Santa Maria delle grazie outside the walls
of Mantua, it could not compete with the Certosa, which became famous throughout
the Christian world for the richness of its architecture and artistic treasures; see D.
Sant'Ambrogio, 'Sull'iconografia della vergine nella Certosa di Pavia', Riaista di Scienza
Storiche, 1 (1904), p. 290 (I would like to thank Janice Shell for this reference).
Ludovico il Moro later designated another church, Santa Maria delle grazie in Milan,
as the burial church for him and for Beatrice d'Este; the attached monastery houses
Leonardo da Vinci's renowned fresco of the Last Supper. The burial monument of
Ludovico and Beatrice, consisting of carved marble effigies, was moved to the Certosa
of Pavia in the sixteenth century. The Madonna of Grace was also venerated outside
of Milan; for example, in 1452 a painting of the Madonna reputedly executed by
Saint Luke was brought from Rome to Cambrai and installed in a place of honour,
the apsidal chapel directly behind the main altar of the cathedral; see C. Wright,
'Dufay at Cambrai: Discoveries and Revisions', Journal of the American Musicological
Society [hereafter 'JAMS'], 28 (1979), p. 199 and Fig. 3 (p. 201).
'' Lubkin, A Renaissance Court, pp. 142, 232.
Ibid., p. 116.
Patrick Macey
Corio, who was raised as a page at Galeazzo's court and later

served as a chamberlain. Corio's comment about the fantastically
high salary paid to the singer Jean Cordier has long been familiar
to music historians, but his subsequent remark about music for
daily Mass at the court has received less attention.
The duke delighted greatly in singing, for which reason he maintained
around thirty singers from across the Alps, who were handsomely paid
by him, and among the others he had one called Cordier, to whom he
gave as a stipend 100 ducats per month. He had so many fine objects
in his chapel that they were valued a t 100,000 ducats. O n the feast of
the Apostle he ordered that they [the singers] should dress themselves
in mourning, and that every day from then on they should sing at
Mass this verset taken from the Office of the Dead: 'Maria mater
gratiae, mater misericordiae, e t ~ . " ~
Corio's report of the enormous remuneration given to the singer
Jean Cordier has generated scepticism among scholars.30In order
to better gauge the accuracy of Corio's account, it will be helpful
first to take a closer look at his assertion regarding payments to
Cordier, and then to explore the context for his second assertion
regarding Galeazzo's command that his singers perform the
Marian verset at Mass.
Many scholars have dismissed out of hand the notion that
Cordier could have been so handsomely remunerated, but a
document uncovered by Jeremy Noble indicates that Corio's
29
Corio, Storia di Milano, p. 1398. 'Assai se delectava il duca di canto, il perch6 tenea
circha a trenta cantatori oltramontani, honorevolmente stipendiati da lui, e tra questi
havea uno per nome Cordiero a1 quale dava per suo stipendio cento ducati il mese.
Tanti ornamenti di capella havea che ascendeano al pretio de cento milia ducati. Ne
la festiviti de lo Apostolo ordinb che questi fussino vestiti de vestimente lugubre e
puoi gli impuose che in ogni giorno per lo advenire ne la missa cantassino questo
versiculo tolto ne l'officio dedicato a li defuncti: "Maria mater gratiae, mater misericor-
diae etc." '
30
Commentators such as Motta ('Musici', p. 535, n. 1) have rejected the notion that
Cordier could have received 100 ducats per month, since the stipend listed for the
highest-paid singer in Galeazzo's chapel in 1474, Antonio Guinati, was only 14 ducats
monthly (Motta, 'Musici', p. 323). More recently, Lubkin ( A Renaissance Court, p. 104)
has also cast doubt on the accuracy of the amount quoted by Corio, but Prizer
accepts Corio's figure ('Music at the Court of the Sforza', p. 147). Josquin, by
contrast, was one of the lower-paid members of the chapel, with 5 ducats per month
as chapel salary, and another 8.3 ducats monthly (100 annually) from his benefice
at San Giuliano in Gozzano, for an apparent total of only 13.5 ducats monthly. The
monthly salary of approximately 20 ducats for ducal concillors was very generous,
and these officials must have received fringe benefits to supplement this income;
Lubkin, A Renaissance Court, p, xix.
account is probably reliable. This document from the Vatican

archives, dated 5 December 1474, records the transfer to Cordier
of the provostship of San Giulio de Dolzago in the diocese of
Novara (see Appendix 1); it was worth the princely sum of 400
florins (= 400 ducats) per year.31The provostship had previously
been held by a member of the ruling family, Leonardo S f ~ r z a . ~ '
In addition to this benefice, Cordier was given a house and was
made a feudatory of Trumello in the Lomellina, and in 1476 he
was invited to the Sforza Christmas court as 'Sir Cordier, count
and singer'.33 And Cordier was by no means the only member
of the chapel to be highly paid, for the Mantuan ambassador
reported in 1473 that a young tenor from Likge had received the
equivalent of 400 ducats in property and money.34
The Vatican document provides important new information
on the amounts and sources of Cordier's income while he was
a singer in Milan. His name is absent from the extant pay lists
for Galeazzo's chapel from c. 147335and 1474,36but the document
3'
Vatican, Archivio Segreto, Registra Lateranensia, vol. 749, fols. 230-231. The benefice
was valued at not more than 400 florins (the florin was equal to the ducat, according
to the sources cited in Lowinsky, 'Ascanio Sforza's Life', p. 36). San Giulio de Dolzago
is located on an island in Lake Orta, and it is worth noting that Josquin's benefice
at San Giuliano in Gozzano is located on the south shore of the same lake. Giulio
the priest and Giuliano the deacon, Greek brothers from Thessaly, spread Christianity
and founded many basilicas in Italy in the fourth century, and they eventually settled
on Lake Orta (Giuliano died in Gozzano); in the eighth century the church of San
Giuliano in Gozzano enjoyed a reputation as the most eminent in the entire diocese
of Novara (see Matthews and Merkley, 'Josquin Desprez', p. 441). The feast of the
brothers falls on 31 January; for further details on their lives, see Acta sanctorum, 111,
ed. I. Bollandus (Paris, 1863), pp. 715-19. There exists today a Romanesque basilica
on the Isola di S. Giulio in Lake Orta. I would like to thank Jeremy Noble for this
reference and for providing a transcription of the complete Vatican document per-
taining to Cordier's benefice; essential passages are given in Appendix 1. Cordier is
referred to as 'rector parrochialis' of the church of St Sauveur in Varennes (north
of Bourg-en-Bresse) in the diocese of Lyons.
32
Leonardo Sforza later became an apostolic protonotary, and on 7 January 1477 he

received a letter regarding the maintenance of the Sforza chapel from Bona of Savoy,
Galeazzo's widow, in which she mentions that Cordier had been deprived of the
benefices awarded to him by Galeazzo. Motta, 'Musici', p. 535.
33
Barblan, 'Vita musicale', p. 815. For Cordier's titles, see Lubkin, A Renaissance Court,
p. 104.
34
Prizer suggests the singer was Heinrich Knoep; see 'Music at the Court of the Sforza',
p. 156. Prizer's transcription of Saggio's letter gives the tenor's remuneration as 4,000
ducats, but Lubkin reads it as the more likely figure of 400 ducats; Lubkin, A
Renaissance Court, p. 104.
35
Barblan, 'Vita musicale', p. 826.

36 Motta, 'Musici', pp. 322-3.
Patrick Macey
indicates that he received 60 gold florins per year from his

benefice at Saint Sauveur in Varennes, in the diocese of Lyons.
While there is no information on Cordier's salary from Galeazzo's
chapel, he was singled out by Corio as one of the most highly
rewarded singers in the chapel. The benefice of San Giulio de
Dolzago yielded Cordier 400 ducats annually, or 35 ducats
monthly, and if we estimate a chapel salary of 10 ducats per
month this brings the figure up to a monthly total of 45 ducats.
But Cordier also received the canonicate of Colcilate in 1476,
and he was feudatory of Trumello, so that his monthly income
could well have approached 100 ducats by 1476. Galeazzo clearly
prized Cordier's musical abilities (probably his vocal talent; no
compositions survive), as indicated in a letter from Pavia to his
ambassador in Rome, dated 12 October 1474: 'IVe have inducted
as singer in our chapel the venerable sir Jean Cordier, priest of
the diocese of Tournai, whom we hold most dear because he is
a singular m ~ s i c i a n . ' ~ '
The facts of Cordier's career are well known and can be briefly
summarised. Easily the most famous and sought-after singer in
the latter half of the fifteenth century, he pursued an itinerant
career that took him from Bruges to all of the major centres of
Italy, including Florence under Lorenzo de' Medici (1467-8),
the papal chapel (1469-7 l ) , and the court of Ferdinand of Aragon
in Naples (1472-4).38 When Galeazzo spirited him away to
greener pastures in Milan, the outraged Ferdinand nearly broke
relations with Galeazzo over the affair, and Duke Charles the
Bold of Burgundy had to be called in to mediate.39The decision
3'
'Havemo conduct0 per cantore de la capella nostra lo venerabile messer Zohanne
Cordier, prete tornacense, el quale havemo carissimo per essere singolare musico.'Ibid.,
pp. 533-4.
38
For an overview of Cordier's career, see R. Strohm, Music in Late Medieval Bruges
(Oxford, 1985), pp. 37-8; see also F. A. D'Accone, 'The Singers of San Giovanni in
Florence during the 15th Century', J A M S , 14 (1961), pp. 323-4.
3g
F. X. Haberl, 'Die romische "Schola cantorum" und die papstlichen Kapellsanger
bis zur Mitte des 16. Jahrhunderts', Vierteljahrsschrift fur Musikwissenschaft, 3 (1887),
p. 230. For accounts of the fracas between Naples and Milan over Cordier, see
Barblan, 'Vita musicale', pp. 843-6; Atlas, Music at the Aragonese Court of Naples, p. 41;
and R. Walsh, 'Music and Quattrocento Diplomacy: The Singer Jean Cordier between
Milan, Naples, and Burgundy in 1475', Archio fur Kulturgeschichte, 60 (1978), pp. 439-
42. The strained relations between Naples and Milan probably explain the absence
in Tinctoris's theoretical writings of the names of composers in Galeazzo's chapel,
including Weerbeke, Compere, Josquin, Agricola and Martini. No doubt it would
have been impolitic for Tinctoris to list musicians in the service of the rival Milanese
duke, who avidly pirated singers from the Neapolitan chapel.
went in Galeazzo's favour, and Cordier enjoyed his lavish ben-

efices in Milan for a few years until shortly after the duke's
assassination in 1476, when he was deprived of the provostship
of Dolzago and moved on to the chapel of the Archduke Maximil-
ian of Austria.
The latter half of Corio's comment on Galeazzo and music
indicates - as did the duke's inquiring into the texts of psalms
and prayers used at the Neapolitan court - his close involvement
in the details of worship in his chapel. Several questions arise:
how reliable is this portion of Corio's account, and why does he
seem to make a nonsequitur from the discussion of monetary
issues in Galeazzo's chapel to the duke's order for the singing
of a particular Marian verset (and, incidentally, does that verset
in fact occur in the Office of the Dead)?
Corio witnessed the events of 1476 as a member of Galeazzo's
court, and thus his narration of incidents leading up to Galeazzo's
assassination in December of that year takes on a certain auth-
ority; indeed, the independent documentation of the huge benefice
granted to Cordier tends to lend weight to other aspects of
Corio's account. But we should also remember that the chronicler
apparently wished to tell a vivid story, and he thus constructed
a narrative that would draw the reader inevitably onward to the
final events of the duke's life.
The information about Cordier's lavish remuneration stands
in stark relief against Corio's immediately following report of the
lack of payments to Galeazzo's own courtiers; the juxtaposition
helps to explain why the courtiers had arrived in Milan for the
Christmas court in such ill humour.40Corio must have conceived
his account of Galeazzo's lavish spending on his chapel, as well
as his order that his singers should dress in mourning, as links
in the ominous chain of events that led to the duke's assassination.
The passage that comes just before the above quotation from
Corio provides further evidence of the omens foretelling ill fortune
for the duke:
With the feast of Christmas [1476] approaching, the duke decided to
come to Milan, whence he had gone as far as Abbiategrasso. A small
star with a flowing tail was sighted; at Milan there occurred a fire that
Corio, Storta, p. 1398. The point is underscored by LVelch, 'Sight, Sound and Cer-
emony', p. 152.
Patrick Macey
burned a portion of the chamber where the duke usually stayed, and
thus the duke, frightened, considered whether he should go any further,
and he also had a certain instinct that he should not come to Milan.
Finally, pursuing his fatal destiny, he departed from Abbiategrasso,
and there, a t some distance in the air above his head, were three
ravens that called out slowly as they passed. This bad omen displeased
him not a little, and he had a crossbow given to him and he fired
twice at them. Then, placing his hands on the horn of his saddle and
hesitating, he decided- to turn back. Nevertheless he finally, although
unwillingly, arrived in Milan on the vigil of the day that is dedicated
to Saint Thomas. The duke delighted greatly in singing. . .41
According to Corio's account, Galeazzo - whose unpredictable
mood swings and cruel treatment of his subjects had made him
heartily mistrusted and disliked - arrived in Milan on 20
December, the day before the feast of the Apostle Thomas. Corio
claims that it was on the feast of Saint Thomas (21 December),
a mere five days before his assassination on 26 December, that
the duke gave the order for the choir to sing the verset 'Maria
mater gratiae, mater misericordiae' at daily Mass.
In fact the invocation to the Madonna of Mercy may have
been particularly apt for Galeazzo. I n general, the veneration of
the Madonna della misericordia witnessed a sharp rise during
the fourteenth century during the spread of the Black Death, as
supplicants appealed to the Virgin for protection especially at
the hour of their death. Indeed, confraternities dedicated to
the Madonna della misericordia spread throughout Italy in the
fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, and the particular task of their
members was to care for the sick and the deade4*And of course
the Visconti had especially venerated the Madonna della miser-
' Corio, Storia, p. 1398. 'Approximandose il Natale christiano, deliberb venire a Milano,
onde giunse ad Abiato Grasso. Fu viduto una picola stella crinita; a Milano ne la
camera dove era solito habitare se gli accese il fuocho e brusb parte de quella, per
il che impaurindose il duca stette in pensiere di non passare pih avante et anche
uno certo instinct0 havea de non venire a Milano. Finalmente, venendo il suo fatale
destino, si levb d'Abiate et essendose alontanato alquanto ne l'arie sopra il capo se
vide tri corvi quali cridando lentamente passavano. Di questo cativo augurio non
puocho dispiacere pigliandone, il duca tantosto se fece dare una stambichina et a
queli tirb due volte. D'inde, mettendo le mane sopra l'arzono de la sella, suspeso se
affirmb per ritornare adietro. Nientedimeno finalmente, quantunque invito, giunse a
Milano la vigilia dil giorno quale 6 dedicato a Sancto Thomaso. Assai se delectava
il duca di canto . . .'
"
M . Warner, Alone of All Her Sex: The Myth and the Cult of the Vzrgin Mary (New York,
1983), pp. 326-8.
icordia as well as the Madonna delle grazie as far back as the
time of Giangaleazzo Visconti in the 1380s. In this context, the
full source of Galeazzo's verset can be examined further, for it
forms a part of a strophe commonly found in various Marian
hymns.43The complete strophe is:
Maria mater gratiae,
mater misericordiae,
tu nos ab hoste protege
et hora mortis suscipe.
In his chronicle Corio adds 'etc.' after the incipit of the verset
'Maria mater gratiae'; we can now see what he must have
intended as the continuation. The final line asks the Madonna
to acknowledge the supplicant in the hour of death. Contrary to
the assumption made in Corio's narrative, this text does not in
fact appear in any known Office of the Dead. It does appear,
however, in the little hours of the Blessed Virgin as the second
strophe of the hymn Memento salutis auctor at Prime, Terce, Sext
and None, and it is included in Galeazzo's 'black' book of hours,
copied in gold and silver ink on darkened vellum leaves.44The
continuation of the hymn strophe ('protect us from the enemy,
and aid us in the hour of death') may have caused Corio to
mistake it for a text from the Office of the Dead.
Evidence does survive in the Milanese repertory of motetti
missales to indicate that the verset was indeed performed in
Galeazzo's chapel: no fewer than four sets of motetti missales
include this text, two by CompPre, one by Ilreerbeke, and one
by Josquin. This information provides further evidence that the
cycles were specially cultivated at Galeazzo's court - indeed,
Gaffurius refers to Weerbeke's 'ducal' motets in his manuscript
treatise Tractatus practabilium proportionum (c. 1482): 'Gaspar ille
43
For information on settings of this strophe, see T . R. Ward, The Polyphonic O f j e
Hymn 140&1520: A Descriptiae Catalogue (American Institute of Musicology [hereafter
'A.I.M.'], 1980), pp. 29, 151 and 230.
44
For a facsimile, see Das schwarze Gebetbuch: Gebetbuch des Galeazzo Maria Sforza, Codex
1856 der osterreichischen Nationalbibliothek in Wien (Frankfurt am Main, 1982). See also
the little hours of the Blessed Virgin in the book of hours of Bona of Savoy, Galeazzo's
consort (Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, MS Clm 23215), which includes the
same hymn stanzas. The Hours for the Dead in this book of hours contain no trace
of the Marian verset 'Maria mater gratiae'.
Patrick Macey
dulcissonus compositor in motettis suis ducalibu~'.~' While some

of these substitute cycles by Weerbeke, Compirre and Josquin
are dedicated to Christ or to the Holy Spirit, the four cycles
mentioned above are all dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, and
each one includes Galeazzo's Marian v e r ~ e t . ~ ~
The cycles were designed to substitute new texts for the liturgi-
cal texts of the Mass in the Roman rite, which would presumably
have been recited by the priest in a low voice at the altar.47A
complete cycle of motetti missales usually consisted of eight motets;
the choirbooks in which most of them are preserved were copied
under the supervision of Franchinus Gaffurius for the Duomo of
Milan in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth ~ e n t u r i e s . ~ '
One cycle that features Galeazzo's verset is Compirre's Missa
Galeazescha, whose title suggests a direct association with the
duke.49Compirre assembled the texts from a disparate assortment
of versicles drawn from eleven different sequences, as well as
Marian acclamations and several as yet unidentified texts.''
Appendix 2 gives the complete texts for all eight motets, along
with the sources of the identifiable sequence texts. I will here
explore at some length the sources for the texts and melodies of
45
C. A. Miller, 'Early Gaffuriana: New Answers to Old Questions', Musical Quarterly,

56 (1970), p. 380.
46
More than eight complete cycles of motetti missales survive by LVeerbeke, Compkre,
Josquin and Gaffurius, as well as several other anonymous cycles and partial cycles.
These are listed and discussed in L. H. LVard, 'The Motetti Missales Repertory
Reconsidered', J A M S , 39 (1986), pp. 491-523. See also T. Noblitt, 'The Ambrosian
Motetti Missales Repertory', Musica Disciplina, 22 (1968), pp. 77-104.
"
We know that the daily Mass attended by Galeazzo was celebrated in the Roman
rite, and not the Ambrosian rite associated with the diocese of Milan, for the duke's
will states specifically that Gregorian Masses should be celebrated for his soul.
Lubkin, A Renaissance Court, p. 219.
The choirbooks are in the Archivio della Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo, MilD 1,
MilD 3 and MilD 4.
49
See T . L. Noblitt, 'The Motetti Missales of the Late Fifteenth Century' (Ph.D. diss.,
University of Texas, Austin, 1963), pp. 36-7. For a facsimile of the manuscript MilD
3, containing the Missa Galeazescha, see Milan, Archioio della Veneranda Fabbrica del
Duomo, Sezione Musicale, Librone 3 (olim 22671, intro. H. M . Brown, Renaissance Music
in Facsimile, 12c (New York, 1987). Three motets from the Missa Galeazescha, numbers
1, 2 and 4, are found in the first Milan choirbook, MilD 1, on which copying was
completed by 1490. Two modern editions of the cycle have been published: Loyset
Compkre, Opera omnia, 2, ed. L. Finscher, Corpus Mensurabilis Musicae, 15 (A.I.M.,
1959), pp. 1-25; and Loyset Comphre, Messe, MagnEfcat e motetti, ed. D. Faggion,
Archivium Musices Metropolitanum Mediolanense [hereafter 'AMMM'], 13 (Milan,
1968), pp. 75-112.
j0
L. Finscher, Loyset Compire (c. 1450-1518): Life and Works (A.I.M., 1964), p. 101.
this cycle for several reasons. First, it is one of the most extensive
sets of motetti missales, and its explicit connection with Galeazzo
Maria Sforza will allow us to form a clearer picture of one type
of music cultivated at his court. In addition, although Finscher
hints at the sources of the texts, they have never been explicitly
laid out. Finally, a few new identifications of melodic sources in
the cycle can now be added to those already made by two
previous commentators, Finscher and Dino Faggion.
The Milan choirbook that is the sole source for the complete
cycle (MilD 3) specifically labels each motet with its correct
liturgical counterpart - the liturgical text in whose place ('loco')
the motet appears. T h e priest officiating at the Mass would
presumably recite the correct liturgical text while the various
motets were sung by the choir.
Loco Introitus Ave virgo gloriosa
Loco Gloria Ave salus injrmorum
Loco Credo ilve decus virginale
Loco Offertorii Ave sponsa verbi summi
Loco Sanctus 0 Maria! I n supremo sita poli
Ad Elevationem Adoramus te, Christe
Loco Agnus Salve muter salvatoris
Loco Deo gratias Virginis Mariae laudes
T h e texts for the cycle are mostly drawn from Marian sequences;
for example, the first motet consists of versicles drawn from three
different Marian sequences, while three other sequences provide
versicles for the second motet, and so on. T h e first sequence,
Aoe virgo gloriosa (labelled 'A' in Appendix 2), is the source of
various other versicles for later motets in the cycle such as the
Sanctus and Agnus dei substitutes, and this typifies Compirre's
free handling of different texts which he arranges in no discernible
order.
Compirre consistently employs melodies in this cycle that are remi-
niscent of chant, but (with one exception) Finscher did not identify
the sources of the sequence-like tunes that alternate in the two Tenor
parts.51Dino Faggion has pointed out several further quotations of
the sequence Veni sancte spiritus as well as Victimaepaschali l a u d e ~and
,~~
j'
Finscher, Cornpire, p. 102, drew attention to the use of versicle 4 of the sequence h i
sancte spiritus in the Loco Agnus.
j2
Faggion has also suggested that in the opening of the Loco Introitus the two Tenor
Patrick Macey
I can add two further identifications: Compkre employs the familiar

melody for the hymn Ave maris stella as well as the melody for another
sequence, Mane prima sabbati. These melodies are quoted mostly in
the two Tenor parts of the cycle, as indicated in the right-hand
column of Appendix 2. The profferred identifications in fact account
for only a portion of the melodic material, some of which has a decid-
edly tuneful, foursquare and popular cast; the sources for the remain-
ing melodies remain undiscovered. As Jennifer Bloxam has sug-
gested in a recent study of motets by Compkre, Obrecht and Brumel
that incorporate the text and tune of an Italian lauda, Beata es Maria,
perhaps these melodies circulated as part of the Italian lauda tra-
dition, for which much of the repertory was not written down.j3
Further searches through Italian secular repertory and contrafacted
laude may turn up sources for other melodies used by Compkre in
this cycle.
The melody for versicle 5 of Veni sancte spiritus occurs at the
midpoint of the first motet, while the melody for versicles 2 and
3 of the same sequence appear at the end of the Gloria motet;
versicle 4 does not surface until near the end of the cycle, in the
Agnus motet.j4 Compkre apparently decided not to use the
melody for versicle 1 at all. The Offertory motet quotes the chant
for the hymn Aoe maris stella, the Elevation motet employs the
melody for Mane prima sabbati, and the Deo gratias motet (Virginis
Mariae laudes) paraphrases the text and tune for the Easter
sequence Victimae paschali laudes.jj
The quotations of sequence melodies from Veni sancte spiritus
and Victimae paschali laudes constitute similar cases, because the
actual texts used by Compkre in his cycle are in fact Marian
paraphrases of the standard sequence texts. Veni sancte spiritus
(Example l a ) generated a sister text, Veni oirgo oirginum (labelled
'B' in Appendix 2). In the Introit motet, 'Quae regina diceris'
parts alternately sing a motive from the Kyrie of the 'Missa cum jubilo'; AMMM,
13, p. vii.
j3
M. J. Bloxam, ' "La contenance italienne": The Motets on Beata es Maria by Compkre,
Obrecht and Brumel', Early Music History, 11 (1992), pp. 39-89.
j4
Finscher noted the appearance of the sequence tune for versicle 4 in the Agnus
substitute (Cornpire, p. 102), and Faggion has drawn attention to Compkre's use of
the melodies for versicles 2, 3 and 5 (AMMM, 13, pp. vii-viii).
j
'
Faggion has drawn attention to the latter quotation in his edition of the Mass in
AMMM, 13, p. viii.
Example la. Veni sancte spiritus, chant (sequence)
a l a . Ve- ni San- cre Spi- ri- rus. Et e- mitte cae- 11-

Ib. Ve- ni pater pau- pe- rum. Ve- ni da- tor mu- nr-
rus, Lu- cis N- ae ra- di- urn. 2a. Con- sola- tor 0- pti- me,
rum, Ve- ni lumen cor- di- um. 2b. In la- bo- re re- qui- es.
-
Dul- cis ho- spes a- ni- rnae, Dul- ce re- fri- ge- ri- um.
In ae- sru tern- pe- ri- es. In fle- tu sola- tl- um.
3a. 0 lux be- a- tis- si- ma, Re- ple tor- dis in- li- ma Tu- {I- rum
3b. Si- ne ru- o nu- mi- ne. Ni- hi1 est III 110- mine, Ni- 1111 est
' ti- de-

-
li- um. 4a. La- va quod est sor- di- durn. Ri- ga quod
in- no- xi- urn. 4b. Fle- cte quod est ri- gl- durn. Fo- ve quod
'8 est a- ri- durn, Sa- na quod est sau- CI- um. 5a. Da tu- IS ti-
est fri- gi- durn. Re- ge quod est de- vl- um 5h. Da vlr- ru- t ~ \
~.- - -.-
- :-
.-
: : -. . ... --.
r - % ~ -- :-. .
..- . . Q-z 6-1
% de- 11- bus. In re con- ti- drn- 11- hus. Sa- rum \c- prr- (la- il-
ulll
L~yl
me- 11- rum. Da sa- lu- tis r- XI- rum. Da pr- rt.11- tie gau- dl-
(Example l b ) comes from versicle 5 of this latter sequence. Ir

Comp2re's treatment of the chant melody for Veni sancte spiritus
the first two phrases are unornamented, but they lie buriec
within the texture so that they are not easily audible. Only thc
169
Patrick Macey
Example Ib. CompPre, Missa Galeazescha, Loco Introitus: Tenors 1-2, bars 28-34
(paraphrase of Vent sancte sptrttus, versicle 5 )
28 Tenor 2 Tenor I
' Quae re- gi- na di- ce- ris. mi- 5e- re- re mi- se- ris
32
' virgo mater gra- ti- ae.
closing phrase of the versicle is somewhat disguised by ornamen-

tation, but a t this point Compkre highlights the melody as the
Superius joins the Tenor in imitation. Both the text and the
melody correspond to those for versicle 5 of the sequence.
The case is somewhat different for versicles 2 and 3 of Veni
sancte spiritus, where the chant melodies appear in relatively unor-
narnented fashion at the end of the second work in the cycle,
the Gloria motet (Example 2). After initial imitative entries in
all voices for the first phrase of versicle 2, the melody alternates
between the two Tenor parts. I n this motet, the sequence from
which Compkre draws the text for the final two versicles is titled
Ave virgo virginurn (labelled 'F' in Appendix 2)) which is another
text that apparently paraphrases the original sequence text Veni
sancte spiritus. The motet, however, features the double versicle
5a and 5b (numbered 9 and 10 in Analecta hymnica) of Ave virgo
Example 2. Compkre, Missa Galeazescha, Loco Gloria: Tenors 1-2, bars 34-47 (Veni
sancte spiritus, versicles 2 and 3)
34 Tenur 2 Tenur I
Vir- go carens si- mi- li, tu quae rnun- do fle- hi
38 Tenor 2 Tenor I
I con- N- li- ti gau- di- a Nou dl. gne- ris vi- se- re,
43 Tenor 2 Tenor 1 & 2
ut cum Chri- sto VI- ve- re, pus- si- lnur in glo- 11- r
170
Example 3. Compkre, Missa Galearescha, Loco Agnus: Tenors 1-2, bars 8-14 (Veni sancte
spiritus, versicle 4 )
8 Tenor 2 Tenor 1
-a Tu nostrum re- h- gl- um, da re-
I I Tenor 2
' is re- me- di- um, procul prl- It. vi- ti- a.
virginum, and so each of the versicles should logically be sung to

the same music rather than to the music of versicles 2 and 3 in
succession. I n the Loco Agnus motet, the music for versicle 4 of
Veni sancte spiritus appears (Example 3)) again with a versicle
from Ave virgo virginum as in the Gloria motet. From this glance
at Compkre's procedure, we can see that he evidently treated
his material after the manner of a mosaic, freely fitting the parts
together in imaginative patterns; the original order of the versicles
and their melodies is scrambled in the process.
A more straightforward case is provided by the Deo gratias
motet, Virginis Mariae laudes, which paraphrases the opening verses
and melodies of the familiar Easter sequence, Victimae paschali
laudes (Example 4). Here Compkre makes the melody become
progressively more audible: after the first phrase of the sequence
is buried in the Tenor within a nonimitative four-part texture,
the succeeding phrases of the chant occur in imitation between
the Superius and the Tenor, until the final phrase ('natumque
redemit') emerges in all the voices in imitative counterpoint.
Compkre's use in the Offertory substitute of the melody for
the hymn Ave maris stella seems to have gone unnoticed, perhaps
Example 4a. Victimae paschali laudes, chant (sequence)
a I. Vi- cti- mae pa- scha- li laudes im- mo- lent Chri- sti- a- ni. 2a. A- gnus re- de.
2b. Mors et vita
mit o- ves. Chri- stus in- no- cens Pa- tri. Re- con- ci- li- a- vit pec- ca- to- res.
duel- lo, Con- fli- xe- re mi- ran- do. Dux vitae mor-tu- us re- gnat vi- vus
171
Example Sb. Compere, Missa Galeazescha, Loco Offertorii: Tenors 1-2, bars 18-32 (Ave
maris stella, paraphrase)
18 Tenor 1 Tenor 2
' Gau- de virgo sa- lu- ta- ta, Ga- bri- e- le nun- ti- o. Gau-
n , 1
Y O
- -
a
U.
-.
ter io- cun- data, le- su puer- pe- ri- 0.
27 Tenor 1 Tenor 2
a I re pi- na E- vae tollens vi- ci- a.
One further instance of a quotation from a sequence occurs

in the Elevation motet; here Comptre quotes the melody of
versicles 1 and 2 of Mane prima sabbati as a setting for two
versicles of the sequence Ave virgo virginum (Example 6; labelled
'F' in Appendix 2).57We have seen that in the second motet of
the cycle versicles from this sequence text ('F') had appeared
with the melodies from versicles 2 and 3 of a different sequence,
Veni sancte spiritus. Again this shows Comptre's apparently fanciful
recombination of elements.
Another prominent aspect ofcomptre's cycle is the use of musical
repetition to give clear shape to each of the motets; the Sanctus and
Elevation motets contain some of the clearest examples of such rep-
etition. T o continue with the discussion of the Elevation motet, the
section just before the melodic quotation from Maneprima sabbati con-
sists of a remarkable series of five statements (a a b a a) of a phrase in
(Amsterdam, 1965), p. xlvi. For a complete transcription of the Victorine sequence

0 Maria stella maris, whose melody is based on the hymn Ave maris stella, see M .
Fassler, Gothic Song: Victorine Sequences and Augustinian Rejorm in Twelfth-Centuly Paris
(Cambridge, 1993), pp. 436-7.
'' For the sequence Mane prima sabbati, see De Goede, Utrecht Prosariurn, p. 34; on p. 88
the same melody occurs for the sequence Gaude prole Graecia.
Patrick Macey
Example 6a. Mane prima sabbati, chant (sequence), versicles 1 and 2
A -
- .. - --
--
'
..
?$ -
:-
0 -. ~
8 8
1. l a - ny pri- :m sab- ba- ti, Sur- gzns i ti- li- :u
A
-
--
-- -..
-xi:.:--
' " --
.-
k c . '' = n = -
NO- stra spes et glo- ri- a. 2a. Vi- cto re- ge sce- le- ris.
2b. Cu- ius re- sur- re- cti- 0.
' Re-
0-
di-
Inn1
it
ple-
ab
na
in- fe-
gau- di-
ris
o.
Cum sum-
Cun- so-
ma
la-
vi-
tur
cto-
u-
ri-
mni-
d,
a.
Example 6b. Comptre, Missa Galeazescha, Ad elevationem: Tenors 1-2, bars 27-39 (Mane
prima sabbati, versicles 1 and 2)
27 Tenor 2 Tenor 1 Tenor 2
-8
-
A- ve virgo vir- gi- num, a- ve lumen lu- mi- num, a- ve
32 Tenor 1 Tenor 2
stella prae- vi- a. Ca- sti- ta- tis li- li- um, con- so.
I6 Tenor 1
' la- trix o- mni- urn, pec- ca- to- rum ve- - ni- a.
a descending sequential pattern (Example 7 ) . The foursquare metre

and tuneful quality of this melody suggest a n origin in the secular
realm. The Sanctus motet stands out because of the regular rep-
etitions of the acclamation '0 Maria' as a kind of refrain (Example
8)) and this acclamation returns (with a different musical setting) to
conclude each ofthe final two motets in the cycle. Compkre sets many
ofthe occurrences of'O Maria' in solemn block chords with fermatas,
and this has suggested to David Crawford an explanation for the title
of the Mass, since the name 'Maria' could pay homage to Galeazzo
Maria Sforza as well as to the Blessed Virgin.58
D. Crawford, Review of Noblitt, 'The Motetti Missales of the Late Fifteenth Century'
(Ph.D. diss.), Current Musicology, 10 (1970), pp. 105-6.
Example 7. Compere, Missa Galeazescha, Ad elevationem: Tenors 1-2, bars 10-27
Tenor 1
go mitis, virgo pi- a.
Tenor 2 15
- st0 no- - bis vitae vi- a.
Tenor 1 20
st0 nostrum re- fu- gi- um,
Tenor 2
cum dul- - ci me- lo- di- a,
Tenor 1 25
' can- te- mus a- ve Ma- ri- a.
Finally, the appearance of Galeazzo's verset in the two conclud-

ing motets of the Missa Galeazescha has received no mention in the
scholarly literature. I n the penultimate motet, Salve muter salvatoris,
a somewhat modified version of the verset is embedded within the
five-line prayer in the middle of the motet ('Tu veniae vena'); this
prayer stands out, for it contains the longest lines of any of the
cycle's texts, and it is set to music of a decidedly popular cast
(Example 9). Here the text suitably makes mention of the hour of
death ('donet mortis hora nobis').
Patrick Macey
Example 8. Comptre, Missa Galeajescha, Loco Sanctus, bar I
Ii - 0 Ma- ri- a-
Ii ' 0 Ma- ri- a.
I/' 0 Ma- ri- a.
0 Ma- ri- a.
Example 9. Comptre, Missa Galeajescha, Loco Agnus: Tenors 1-2, bars 20-29
20 Tenor 2 Tenor 1
23 Tenor 2
,or- di- ae. ti- li- um im- plo- ra, ut donum veni- ae-
26 Tenor I
3 J - donet mortis hora nobis, ut glo- ri- ae regno prae- sen- te- mur.
Loco Agnus:
Salve mater salvatoris
vas electum vas honoris,
vas caelestis gratiae.
Tu nostrum refugium,
da reis remedium,
procul pelle vitia.
Salve verbi sacra parens,
flos de spina, spina carens,
flos spineti gloriae.
Tu veniae vena mater gratiae,
confer nobis dona misericordiae,
filium implora ut donum veniae,
donet mortis hora nobis, ut gloriae
regno praesentemur.
Dulcis Jesu mater bona,
mundi salus et matrona
supernorum civium.
Pacem confer sempiternam
et ad lucem nos supernam
transfer post exilium.
0 Maria.
Just as the Sanctus motet h a d included several statements of
'0 Maria', this Agnus substitute concludes with the same accla-
mation, a n d the final motet (the Deo gratias substitute) also
highlights '0 Maria' several more times as it draws to a close.
I n addition, Compkre works Galeazzo's verset into the closing
lines of this motet, but here the lines occur in reverse order:
Muter misericordiae Mother of mercy,
0 Maria 0 Mary,
spes salutis et veniae hope of deliverance and pardon,
Maria mater gratiae, Mary, mother of grace,
succurre nobis hodie succour US today,
0 Maria 0 Mary,
in hac valle miseriae in this vale of misery,
0 Maria 0 Mary,
exaudi nos hear us,
0 Maria. 0 Mary.
Example 10 shows the concluding section of the motet; a unique
feature of Compkre's cycle is that the two Tenors alternate
throughout the work, joining together in unison only a t the end
of each motet. So although the choirbook layout appears to
provide separate music for five voice parts (SATTB), the two
Patrick Macey
Example 10. Cornpire, Missa Galeazescha, Loco Deo gratias, conclusion
55
M ~ ter
. mi- se. ri- cor- diae, o Ma- ri- a, 0 Ma- rl- ll.
60
P;- V
ri-
e
a. spes sa- lu- tis et veni- ae,
(, I b b a
~.- .
spes sa- lu- tis et ve- nib ae. Ma- rl-

Example 10 (cant.)
Ma- ri- a mater gra- ti- ae. suc- cur- re
1) ' mater gra- ti- ae, SUC- cur- re nobis ho- di-
Il " b
SUC- cur- re nobis ho- di
4
mater gra- ti- ae.
mater gra- ti- ae, suc- cur- re nobis ho- di-
I nobis ho- di- e in hac valle mi- se- ri-
1a e, 0 Ma- ri- a, in hac valle mi- se- ri
1" e. o Ma- ri- a. ~n hac valle mi- se- II-
1I " in hac valle ml- se- II-
e. o Ma- 11- a, ~n hac valle ml- se- 11-

Patrick Macey
Example 10 (cant.)
*
1~ - ae, o Ma- ri- a, ex- au- dl nos, o Ma- rl- a
1' - a , o Ma- rl- a, ex- au- dl nos, o Ma- 11- d
ae. o Ma- ri- a, ex- au- di nos, o Ma- 11- d
o Ma- ri- a, ex- au- di nos, o Ma- ri- a
ae. o Ma- ri- a, ex- au- di nos, o Ma- ri- a
Tenor parts sing either antiphonally or in unison, and thus only

four real parts sound at any given moment. This concluding
passage features a n ostinato-like series of imitative entries on a
simple tune that outlines an ascending fourth over a repeating
bass on Bb, G and D (the bass pattern changes after the first
three bars). T h e dance-like tune appears to be either freely
composed or borrowed from the popular realm, and it returns
for each of the phrases in the final section of the motet, except
for 'succurre nobis hodie'. Compere thus highlights Galeazzo's
verset in the most prominent way in this closing section, where
the ostinato brings the whole cycle to a rousing conclusion.
Ludwig Finscher has noted the Italian dance rhythm in such
passages, observing that these rhythms constitute a new, southern
element in Milanese motets from the 1 4 7 0 ~ . ~ '
One other set of Milanese motets by Compere also features
Galeazzo's verset; the cycle includes the following works:
0 admirabile commercium
Sanctus (with Elevation motet, 0 sa~ientia)
0 genitrix gloriosa
Ave virgo gloriosa
Ave regina c a e l ~ r u m ~ ~
j9
Finscher, Complre, pp. 95-6.
60
Motets 1, 3 and 4 are edited in Compkre, Opera amnia, 4, ed. L. Finscher (A.I.M.,
1961), pp. 25-6, 29-31. For the Sanctus, see Anonimi: Messe, ed. F. Fano, AMMM,
6 (Milan, 1966), pp. 12-16. Aue regina caelorum is edited in Anonimi: Motetti, ed. L.
Migliavacca, AMMM, 9 (Milan, 1961), pp. 21-5.
Lynn Halpern Ward believes that these works originally formed
part of a cycle of motetti missales, or even that they formed a
complete cycle made u p of only five motets; she has argued
plausibly that the tradition was not always strict about the
number of motets required to form a cycle.61 T h e motet that
quotes Galeazzo's verset is Ave virgo gloriosa ( a different motet from
the homonymously titled work that opens the Missa Galeazescha).
Ave virgo gloriosa,
ave gemma pretiosa,
mater misericordiae.
0 Maria florens rosa,
tu nos ab hoste protege,
esto nobis gratiosa,
et hora mortis suscipe.
0 gloriosa domina,
excelsa super sidera,
qui te creavit provide,
lactasti sacro ubere.
Quod Eva tristis abstulit,
tu reddis almo germine,
intrent ut astra flebiles
caeli fenestra facta es.
mater misericordiae.
T h e first two stanzas feature a curious interleaving of two distinct
hymn texts, as Finscher has pointed Homorhythmic duos
alternate in a musical pattern of a b a b, so that the music
reflects the texts that go together (Example l l a ) . T h e second
stanza continues alternating the lines of the two hymns, so that
lines 2 and 4 of the second stanza, 'tu nos a b hoste protege . . . et
hora mortis suscipe', constitute the remainder of the original
hymn strophe that begins 'Maria mater gratiae'. At the end,
after taking u p two stanzas from the hymn 0 gloriosa domina, the
motet concludes with a prominent return to Galeazzo's verset,
now set to new music (Example 1lb).63
6'
Ward, 'Motetti Missales Repertory', pp. 508-15.

62
Finscher, Compire, pp. 184-5. Wolfgang Stephan discussed this work as a good example
of the new style of motet that appeared in Italy in the late fifteenth century; see Die
burgundisch-niederlandische Motette zur Zeit Ockeghems (Kassel, 1937; repr. 1973), p. 68.
63
Compere's Aue uirgo gloriosa survives in six sources: MilD 1, MilD 2, FlorR 2794,
LonRC 1070, Vats 46, and 1502'. The earliest datable source is FlorR 2794, which
was copied in the 1480s, probably before 1488; Census-Catalogue, 11, p. 246. Curiously,
Patrick Macey
Comp2re's senior colleague in the Sforza chapel, Gaspar van

Weerbeke, included Galeazzo's verset in the concluding motet of
his cycle of eight motetti missales entitled Ave mundi domina.
[Loco Introitus] Ave mundi domina
[Loco Gloria] Ave mater gloriosa
[Loco Credo] Salve virgo virginum
[Loco Offertorii] Anima mea
[Loco Sanctus] Ave regina caelorum
(with Elevation motet, 0

salutaris hostia)
[Post Elevationem] Quem terra pontus aethera
[Loco Agnus] 0 virginum praeclara
[Loco Deo gratias] Fit porta Christi perviab4
Typically, as in Comp2re's Missa Galeatescha, cycles of motetti

missales consist of texts cobbled together from various liturgical
sources such as sequences, hymns and antiphons, as well as
unidentified and apparently newly written texts.'j5 Weerbeke's
cycle relies on more extensive employment of complete liturgical
texts. Only the first two motets derive from unidentified sources.
The third.motet, Salve virgo virginum, is a sequence; the fourth is
from the Song of Songs; the fifth, Ave regina caelorum, is one of
the standard Marian antiphons. The last three motets employ
various strophes of Marian hymns. Quem terra pontus features
strophes 1, 2, 4 and 5 of that hymn; the next motet, 0 virginum
praeclara, has an unidentified text for its opening three lines,
followed by strophes 6, 7 and 8 of the hymn Quem terra pontus,
and closes with the fourth strophe of the hymn A solis ortus
cardine. Finally, the closing motet, Fit porta Christi pervia, continues
with strophes 6, 7 and 8 of A solis ortus cardine. Only the first
two strophes of this final motet quote the appropriate chant
melody, while all of the other motets are freely composed.'j6 The
was copied in the 1480s, probably before 1488; Census-Catalogue, 11, p. 246. Curiously,
the four non-Milanese sources give the full text of the versicle at the end of the
motet, while the two Milanese sources provide only the first phrase, '0 Maria mater
gratiae'. The correct text seems to have been corrupted by the scribe who copied it
into the two Milanese choirbooks around 1490 and later.
64
The cycle is preserved in MilD 1. For a modern edition, see Gaspar van Weerbeke,
Messe e motetti, transcr. G. Tintori, AMMM, 11 (Milan, 1963), pp. 13ff.
65
G. Croll, Das Motettenwerk Gaspars van Weerbeke (Ph.D, diss., University of Gottingen,
1954), pp. 189-93.
66 Ibid., p p 189-93, 222-3.
last two strophes of this motet make u p the second a n d third

strophes of the Marian hymn Memento salutis auctor, a n d it is here
that we find the text of Galeazzo's verset:
Fit porta Christi pervia
refulta plena gratia,
transitque rex et permanet,
clausa ut sint per saecula.
Genus superni luminis,
processit aula virginis,
sponsus et redemptor conditor,
suae gigas ecclesiae.
Honor matris et gaudium,
immensa spes credentium,
per atra mortis pocula
resolvit nostra crimina.
Maria, mater gratiae,
mater misericordiae,
tu nos ab hoste protege
et in hora mortis suscipe.
Gloria tibi domine,
qui natus es de virgine,
cum patre [et] sancto spiritu,
in sempiterna saecula. Amen.67
Example 12 shows the setting of Galeazzo's verset in a musical

procedure typical for Milanese motets of the 1470s: a series of
alternating imitative duets leads to a four-voice passage in which
the structurally important Superius a n d Tenor carry on with
imitation, while the Altus a n d Bassus provide harmonic filler.
Regarding the melodic material for Galeazzo's verset, comparison
of the various settings shows that Compkre used a different
melody for each of his motets that feature the verset, a n d that
'' Ibid., p. 193. For Fit porta Christi peruia, see Analecta hymnica, 11, p. 42. See also Analecta
hymnica, 54, p, 59, where the hymn 0 gloriosa domina includes 'Maria rnater gratiae'
as its fourth stanza. I n the Breuiarium Monasticurn, and in Galeazzo's own 'black' book
of hours, the strophe 'Maria mater gratie' occurs as the second verse of the hymn
Memento salutis auctor for the little offices of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Maria mater
gratie occurs as a free-standing hymn for three voices, and as a verse in two other
hymn settings in the Glogauer Liederbuch. For a complete listing of textual sources
for the strophe 'Maria rnater gratiae', see Das Glogauer Liederbuch, ed. C . Vaterlein,
Das Erbe Deutscher Musik, 86 (Kassel, 1981), pp. 355-6, 366 and 370. I n the Liber
Usualis (p. 1863) the strophe occurs as the first stanza of a hymn, but with a different
second line.
Patrick Macey
Example 1 la. Compere, Ave virgo gloriosa, bars 1-24
- ve "11- go go- 11- 11- $8.
A. ve virgo glo- ri- 0- $a.
I
- I - 1
I - ti- ae.
-
9I : -
A
^ " ^
I
a- ve gemma spe- ci- o- sa.
k - - I -
gra- rl- ae,
Y:, 0
b
-
a- ve gemma spe- ci- o- sa
11 ma- rer mi- se- ri- cor- - diae. 0 Ma- ri- a tlo- rens ro
-
I
^ 7, 1 v r
"
I I
0 Ma- 11- a florens ro-
I .s ma- rer mi- se- 11- tor- di- ae. 0 Ma- ri- d florens
0 Ma- ri- a florens

Example 1l a (cont.)
1I -
sa. e- sto no- h ~ s gra.
sa, tu nos ab ho- - \re pro- te- ge, e- sto no- h ~ s gra-
sa, e- sto nobis gra.
10- <a, tu nos ab ho- - ?re pro- te ge, e- sto no- his gra-
sa el hora mortis su- sci- pe
0- sa et 110- ra mortis su- sci- pe
11' ti- 0- sa et hora mortis su- sci- pe
[I- 0- sa et hora mor- [is su- sci- pe.
Weerbeke employed yet another melody. Thus no particular tune

seems to have been associated with the verset in Milan.
Not only does Galeazzo's verset appear in cycles of motetti
missales by Compkre and Weerbeke, but Josquin himself employed
it in one of his own cycles of motetti missales, his Vultum tuum.
This fact has hitherto gone unrecognised owing to the vagaries
of the cycle's transmission; in fact, several features have been
obscured regarding what must have been the original ordering
of the motets in the cycle, and - most pertinently for the dis-
cussion at hand - parts of the original text have been corrupted.
Before discussing Josquin's use of the duke's verset in Vultum
tuum, a brief overview of the cycle is in order. Petrucci printed
it as a group of seven motets in Motetti libro quarto (1505):68
The cycle is edited in this form in the Werken van Josquin Depres, ed. A. Smijers,
Aflevering 7, no. 24.
Patrick Macey
Example 1 lb. Compkre, Ave virgo gloriosa, conclusion
<n
1- - bi- les cae- 11 fe- ne- stra facta
1 a li fe- ne- stra facta es. facta
lix les
caeli fe- ne- stra fa- cra
caeli fe- ne- stra facta es. Ma-
I e$. Ma- ri- a mater gra- ti- ae ,
Ma- ri- a mater gra - ti - ae
1 g es. M ~ - ri- a mater gra- ti- ae,
ri- a mater gra- ti- ae .
mater
mater mi- se- ri- COT- diae

Example 12. Weerbeke, Missa Ave mundi domina, Loco Deo gratias, bars 39-54
40
11- cri- mi- na. Ma- ri- a mater gra- ti- ae,
1' cri- mi- na. Ma- ter
1' c mi- na. Ma- ri- a ma - ter gra- ti- ae.
cri- mi- na. Ma.
45
I" mi- se- ri- cor- diae. N nos ab hoste
ter mi- se- ri- cor- diae, N nos ab ho-
II et in hora mortis su- - sci- pe
1' pro- te- ge, et in hora mortis su- - sci- pe
Il " et in hora mortis su- scl- pe
ste pro- te- ge et ln hora mor- tls su- - scl- pe

Patrick Macey
Vultum tuum deprecabuntur
Sancta dei genitrix
Intemerata virgo
0 Maria nullam
Mente tota
Ora pro nobis
Christe j l i dei
In a recent study, the author proposed a reconstruction of the
cycle that includes a reversal of Petrucci's ordering for the two
final motets, as well as the addition of two new motets, Josquin's
'little' Ave M a r i a (not the longer and more famous Ave M a r i a . . .
virgo serena) and the Elevation motet T u lumen, tu splendor patrise6'
Thus the cycle as performed in Milan may have consisted of the
following succession of motets:
[Loco Introitus] Vultum tuum deprecabuntur
[Loco Gloria] Sancta dei genitrix
[Loco Credo] 0 intemerata virgo70
[Loco Offertorii] Ave Maria . . . benedicta
[Loco Sanctus] 0 Maria nullam
(with Elevation motet, T u lumen,
tu splendor patris)
[Post Elevationem] Mente tota
[Loco Agnus] Christe j l i dei
[Loco Deo gratias] Ora pro nobis
The reasons for the changes can be summarised briefly. First,

textual content determines the order of the two final motets.
Christe jili dei clearly substitutes for the Agnus dei, because it is
modelled directly on that text's threefold plea for mercy. Ora pro
nobis logically concludes the cycle, because a varied form of the
Doxology occurs at its end, capped with a forceful setting of
'Amen'. This is the only motet in the cycle that includes an
P. Macey, 'Josquin's "Little" Aue Maria: A Misplaced Motet from the Vultum tuum
Cycle?', Tijdschrift van de Vereniging uoor Nederlandse Muziekgeschiedenis, 39 (1989),
pp. 38-53.
'O
The text for this motet is Intemerata virgo in the fourth Milan choirbook (MilD 4)
and three other sources, whereas three other manuscripts have 0 intemerata virgo,
which fits the shape of the melody better. The sources are: Intemerata virgo, MilD 4,
PadBC A17, UlmS 237, 1505'; 0 intemerata virgo, BarcBC 454, CambraiBM 125-8,
SegC s.s. I would like to thank Bonnie J. Blackburn for drawing this textual variant
to my attention.
Amen; similarly, the only two cycles of motetti missales by Compkre

and Weerbeke that conclude with a n Amen likewise place it at
the end of the final motet.71
Josquin's 'little' Ave Maria, which Petrucci printed at the open-
ing of Motetti C (1504), appears to belong in the cycle because
the music from its last half is an unmistakable variation of music
from the end of 0 intemerata Virgo, the putative Credo substitute.
Finally, the cycle lacked an Elevation motet, so I have taken
Josquin's austere chordal setting of Tu lumen, tu splendor patris
(published separately by Petrucci in his Fragmenta missarum of
1505) and appended it to the proposed Sanctus substitute, 0
Maria nullam. Elevation motets were commonly transferred from
one work to another during this period.72
0 Maria nullam forthrightly proclaims the acclamation '0
Maria' in paired homorhythmic duos (Example 13a), in a manner
that recalls the fully homorhythmic setting of the same words in
the Sanctus substitute from Compkre's Missa Galeazescha. The
conclusion of the motet, however, holds the most interest for us
here, because it features a complete statement of Galeazzo's
verset, 'Maria mater gratiae, mater misericordiae' (Example 13b).
T h e original text has remained obscured until now, because it
is corrupt in Petrucci's print of 1505, where only the words
'mater misericordiae' appear. This was the version used for the
modern edition of the cycle in Josquin's complete works, and
consequently it is the one heard in the several available recordings
of the cycle. I n Petrucci's edition the Altus and Bassus sing only
'mater misericordiae' in bars 70-3, and this invocation is then
repeated by all four voices from bar 72 to the end. But the best
source for the motet, the Milan cathedral choirbook that was
severely damaged by fire in 1906 (MilD 4), contains both phrases
of the complete verset. Here the Bassus (and presumably the
Altus, whose text is no longer legible) first intone 'Maria, mater
"
The cycles are Weerbeke's Missa Ave mundi domina, discussed above, and Compkre's
Missa Ave Domine Jesu Christe, in Opera omnia, 2, ed. L. Finscher (A.I.M., 1959),
'' pp. 26ff.
The Vultum tuum cycle has been recorded in this reconstructed version by the Choir
of Westminster Cathedral, James O'Donnell, director, on Hyperion CDA 66614
(1992).
Patrick Macey
Example 13a. Josquin, Vultum tuum cycle, 0 Maria nullam, bars 1-18
0 Ma- 11- a. nullam tam
I 0 Ma- rl- a. nu\- lam tam gra-
nul-
I' 0 Ma- ri- a.
0 Ma- 11- a, nullam tam gra- . veln
18 "
gravem pos- su- mus ha- br-
1' 3 lam tam gra- . vem poa- su- mus ha-
pos- SU. mus ha. be- re cul- Pam.
1,- Ti. cul-
P r
-8r 0
1
= - Y
- Y
pam.
CUI- - pam. ha- br- re cul-
I" here LUI-

Example 13b. Josquin, Vultum tuum cycle, 0 Maria nullam, conclusion
70
I - I
ma-. ter mi- se- ri-
Petrucci. Ma- ter mi- se- ri- cor- diae,
1 "re, ma- ler mi-
re, MilD 4: Ma- rl- a mater gra- ti- ae. ma.
Petruccl Ma- ter mi- se- ri- cur- diae.
1, cur- di- ae.
mater mi- se- rib - cor- di- ae
1
COT- diae .
ter 1n1- se- ri- cor- di- ae .
gratiae' as an imitative duo as shown in Example 13b, followed

by the second half of the verset with the same imitative subject
in all four voices.73The correct text of the complete motet is:
0 Maria, nullam tam gravem 0 Mary, we can have no
possumus habere culpam, sin so great
pro qua apud filium tuum that from your Son
non possis impetrare veniam, you are unable to seek pardon,
nihilque est tibi impossibile nor is anything impossible
"
Lynn Halpern Ward suggests that MilD 4 was copied in the first decade of the
sixteenth century; see Ward, 'Motetti Missales Repertory', p. 494, n. 10. The manuscript
preserves only four of the motets from the Vultum tuum cycle on fols. 103'-107', in
the following order: Ora pro nobis, 0 intemerata virgo, 0 Maria nullam, Mente tota. The
Milan source provides many melodic details that are distinct from Petrucci's versions,
and the Milan manuscript in general presents superior readings over Petrucci's. A
facsimile of the damaged manuscript has been published as Liber capelle ecclesie maioris.
Quarto codice di Gafurio, ed. L. Migliavacca, AMMM, 16 (Milan, 1968).
Patrick Macey
apud filium tuum, quem genuisti to your Son, whom you bore
de tuo sacro corpore, from your holy body,
Maria, muter gratiae, M a v , mother o f grace,
muter misericordiae. mother o f mercy.
Galeazzo's verset thus appears prominently at the conclusion of
the motet in the cycle that stresses the name 'Maria' at its
opening. While it has not generally been doubted that Josquin
composed Vultum tuum as a set of motetti missales for the chapel
of Galeazzo Maria Sforza, the discovery of his Marian verset at
the end of the Sanctus substitute - one of the most solemn points
of the Mass - provides evidence for an even stronger connection
with the duke.
Several of the motets in the Vultum tuum cycle circulated inde-
pendently, mostly in manuscript sources. Of the six sources for
0 Maria nullam, five have only 'mater misericordiae' at the con-
clusion; the one source that preserves Galeazzo's complete verset
is the damaged Milanese choirbook.
'mater misericordiae': 'Maria mater gratiae, mater misericordiae':
BarcBC 454 MilD 4
CambraiBM 125-8
SegC s.s.
UlmS 237
1505'
I n passing, we may note that the imitative duo on 'Maria mater
gratiae' echoes an earlier master whose work must have been
well known to Josquin. I n fact the duo is identical to one from
the Credo of Guillaume Du Fay's Missa L'homme arm4 at the
words 'qui cum patre et filio' (Example 14). This may be mere
coincidence, but Josquin may have consciously quoted the pass-
age to point up a long tradition; just as Galeazzo's forefathers
evinced a particular devotion to the Madonna of Grace and
Mercy, so did Galeazzo continue the tradition: 'qui cum patre
et filio'.
Stylistic similarities between some of the motets in Josquin's
Vultum tuum and Compkre's Missa Galeazescha provide suggestive
points of contact between the two composers. The identical imi-
tative point appears in the first motet of each cycle (Example
15a and 15b; Josquin's music is scored a fourth higher than
Comp2re's). Another point of similarity occurs in the appearance
Example 14. Du Fay, Missa L'homme am;, Credo, bars 205-213
205' =
Qui cum pa- tie et ti- li- o sib mu1 a- do- ra- tur
I- et con- glo- 11- ti- cd. Nr.
3 con. glo- ri- ti- ca- NT
Example 15a. Compere, Missa Galeazescha, Loco Introitus, bars 31-33

31
Vir- go mater gra- ti- ae. Re- is er-
Vir- go mater gra- ti- ae.
virgo mater gra- ti- ae
. . .
se- ris, Re- is ergo fac.
of a particular imitative subject that arches yearningly upward

in a stepwise ascent of a minor third followed by a descending
stepwise minor sixth, as in Josquin's 0 intemerata virgo and Com-
p2re's Ave virgo gloriosa (Example 16a and 16b; again, Josquin's
passage is written a fourth higher); this figure reappears in other
passages of the two works, including the opening of Mente tota
from Josquin's cycle. T h e two cycles further share a contrapuntal
procedure common to works of the 1470s: in many passages the
Superius and Tenor pursue strict imitation, while the Altus
and Bassus provide nonthematic harmonic filler in the form of
alternating octaves and fifths. A good example occurs in the
Patrick Macey
Example 15b. Josquin, Vultum tuum cycle, [Loco Introitus], bars 54-59
54
o- mnis spes po- si- ta, o- mnis spes po-
0- mnis spes po- si- ta, 0- mnis

-
1~ TI 0 mnis spes po sita est. 0- mnis spes po-
0- mnis spes
Example 16a. Comptre, Missa Galeazescha, Loco Introitus: Superius and Tenor 2, bars
3840
38
li re- la- xen- tur de- bi- ta
x re- la- xen- Nr de- bi- t;l
Example 16b. Josquin, Vultum tuum cycle, 0 intemerata virg: Superius and Tenor, bars
75-8 1.
1, 110- men san- cNm N- um
closing portion of Josquin's Ora pro nobis, the final motet in the
Vultum tuum cycle (Example 17). The Tenor and Superius enter
in imitation, with a tremendously powerful melodic line based
on ascending skips in the Superius and soaring scalar figures in
the Altus (bars 76-82) that drive to a strong cadence on D at
bar 83. In this passage the Altus and Bassus are relegated to a
supporting role, providing mostly octaves and fifths. T h e drive
194
Example 17. Josquin, Vultum tuum cycle, Ora pro nobis, conclusion
pro pec- ca- tis 110-
I '$ nu- strib. a patre ct
I" stris.
a patre et
S~~IS, a patre et
84
1 - a patre et ti- li- 0 et spi- ri- tu
1; -8 ti- li- (1 et spi- ri- tu sun- cto. rr sp~. rl-
1% . li- rl et
' I
spi- rl- lu san- ctu, rt spi- ri-
fi- li- o et spi- ri- tu san- ca~. rr spi- ri-

Patrick Macey
Example 17 (cont.)
87
son- CIO. A.
IU son- CIO. A-
90
men
men.
is intensified with the shift to triple mensuration, and the Tenor

and Superius initiate another imitative point, again supported
mainly by octaves and fifths in the Bassus and Altus. Then
Josquin applies the brakes with a shift back to duple mensuration
in bar 89; the Tenor, with an ornamental figure in bars 91-2,
artfully delays the breathtaking final resolution to an open fifth.
Although Compkre and Weerbeke employed comparable imitative
textures, they were unable to create anything equal to the sheer
power that Josquin achieved in passages such as this.
Other motets by Josquin prominently display the name
'Maria'. While no claim is hereby made that all of his motets
that include the name were composed for Galeazzo Maria Sforza,
a few do suggest themselves as possible candidates for the duke's
patronage. Appendix 3 lists twenty-four Marian motets securely
196
attributed to Josquin. T h e first two, Vultum tuum deprecabuntur
and the famous Ave Maria . . . virgo serena, were almost certainly
composed during the 1470s in Milan, and perhaps Illibata dei
virgo nutrix was composed there as Each motet highlights
the name 'Maria' in a special way. Ten other Marian motets
by Josquin also feature the name (Appendix 3 B), but there is
no evidence to suggest that they were composed in Milan. Finally,
there are eleven Marian motets (Appendix 3 C ) that do not
feature the name 'Maria' at all.
Josquin's most famous work, Ave Maria . . . virgo serena, of course
features the name 'Maria' in its opening line. This is one of the
few motets by the composer that can be dated to 1476 or before,
because the paper in its earliest source, the manuscript Munich
3154 (MunBS 3154)) bears a watermark of this date." The
motet's style accords well with Milanese works by Compkre and
Weerbeke from this period, as Finscher has pointed out, and this
supports a dating in the 1 4 7 0 ~ ~ ~ ~
One of Josquin's most intriguing motets, Illibata dei virgo nutrix,
concerns itself with spelling out names in various ways. I n the
prima pars the Marian text incorporates an acrostic that produces
the composer's name, 'Josquin des Prez', in the spelling that he
apparently preferred. Next, Josquin constructed the work around
a three-note ostinato in the Tenor, based on the hexachord
syllables 'la mi la'. The vowels in these syllables correspond to
the vowels in the name 'Maria', and thus Josquin's simple subject
is a n early instance of the technique called 'soggetto cavato dalle
vocale', which he later employed so effectively in the Missa
Hercules dux F e r r ~ r i a e .The
~ ~ Tenor sings 'la mi la' in a strict
pattern of repetitions in the motet, and then at the climactic
point in the secunda pars there is a shift to triple mensuration and
the soggetto proceeds to migrate to all the other voices in turn,
saturating the texture with the 'la mi la' acclamation and making
it sound forth with particular clarity (Example 18):
74
See P. Macey, 'Some Thoughts on Josquin's Illibata dei uirgo nutrix and Galeazzo
Maria Sforza', From Ciconia to Sweelinck: Donum natalicium Willem Elders, ed. A. Clement
and E. Jas (Amsterdam, 1994), pp. 111-24.
'"oblitt, 'Die Datierung' (see note 10 above).
76
Finscher, 'Zum Verhaltnis von Imitationstechnik', (see note 10 above), pp. 66, 69-72.
"
The term itself was coined somewhat later by Gioseffo Zarlino in his Institutioni
harmoniche (Venice, 1558).
Patrick Macey
Salve tu sola cum sola arnica,
Consola 'la mi la' canentes in tua laude.
(Hail to you alone, our only friend,
Console those singing 'la mi la' [Maria] in your praise.)
Josquin perhaps had a further end in mind in this motet, beyond
the obvious supplication to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Illibata
would have made an audible appeal to Galeazzo Maria Sforza,
who could hardly have failed to notice the repeated statements
of his own middle name as he listened while his singers performed
the motet, especially at the passage hailing '[Maria]' as 'our
only friend'.78 Given the long association of the Visconti-Sforza
dynasty with the name 'Maria', the idea does not seem too
far-fetched.
Other motets apparently written during this period in Milan
also give particular prominence to the name 'Maria'. These works
include Comp?re's well-known setting of Ave Maria," as well as
an anonymous cycle of five motets, Virgo precellens, which is
included along with Compkre's Missa Galeazescha in the third of
Example 18. Josquin, Illibata dei uirgo nutrix, bars 124-139
1~ S ~ I - vr tu w- la cum sola a- mi-
So-
b
,
- 1
Sal- ve tu sola cum sola a- mi-
'' For an argument in support of the Milanese origin of Illibata, see T. Brothers,
'Vestiges of the Isorhythmic Tradition in Mass and Motet, ca. 1450-1475', JAMS,
44 (1991), pp. 1-56. A different view regarding the motet's provenance is R. Sherr,
'Illibata dei virgo nutrix and Josquin's Roman Style', JAMS, 41 (1988), pp. 434-64.
'' Discussed by Bloxam, ' "La contenance italienne" ', pp. 39-89.
la
I LA.
-
Con- so-
-
Con- - sola la mi la la I ~ I
m 8
-.- r-. 23
ca, Con- - sola la mi la
la mi la ca- nen- fes !n
ca- nen- es ~n u-
ca- nen- tes in tu- a laude

Patrick Macey
the Milan cathedral choirbooks (MilD 3).80 The texts for the
motets in this cycle resemble stanzas of a hymn, since they each
consist of four lines in a regular Sapphic metre (as in the
well-known hymn Ut queant laxis). Analecta hymnica lists no source
that provides a monophonic melody for such a hymn, and there
is no apparent quotation of a hymn melody, because each stanza
of this polyphonic setting features different music. There is,
however, a closing musical refrain that highlights the name
'Maria' at the end of each stanza; thus each motet concludes
with one of the following acclamations: 'ave Maria', 'virgo Maria',
'sancta Maria' or 'digna Maria'. The strong textual and musical
emphasis on acclamations to the Blessed Virgin Mary invites
comparison with other Milanese cycles such as Compkre's Missa
Galeatescha; in fact, a striking melodic sequence in the first motet
of the Virgo precellens cycle is identical to one that appears numer-
ous times in the Elevation motet from Compkre's cycle (compare
Example 19 with Example 7 ) .
Other motets that stress the name 'Maria' in acclamations can
perhaps be associated with Milan. Giulio Cattin has suggested
that an anonymous motet, Beatissima virgo, that follows Weerbeke's
Muter digna dei in a manuscript now in Cape Town (CapeGrey
3.b.12) might also be Weerbeke's work." The four-voice motet,
however, features none of Weerbeke's characteristic imitative duo
textures, and its style does not suggest that the work is by him.
Yet the motet generates interest by its concluding section, which
is a series of four rhetorical questions, all answered by 'In Maria'.
Example 19. Anon., Virgo precellens: Superius, bars 35-39

35
re- SO- ne- rnus o- rnnes.
The cycle is transmitted in several sources, including MilD 3, Vats 15, and Motetti
C . Petrucci's edition is available in Motetti C , ed. R. Sherr, The Sixteenth Century
Motet, 2 (Xew York, 1991), pp. 118-31. All of the motets in the cycle except
the fourth were later copied into 's HerAB 73; see Illustre lieve vrouwe broederschap
's-Hertogenbosch, Codex 73, ed. C. Maas, Monumenta Musica Xeerlandica, 8 : 1
(Amsterdam, 1970), pp. 101-11.
Italian Laude and Latin h i c a in M S Capetown, Grey 3.b.12, ed. G. Cattin (Stuttgart,
1977), p. xxix.
Ubi gubernatrix seculi et terre potencia? In Maria.
Ubi mater misericordie et imperatrix venie? In Maria.
Ubi mater militantis ecclesie? In Maria.
Ubi advocata seculi? In Maria.
The text makes passing reference to the 'mater misericordie', but
the most intriguing aspect of the motet is the musical setting of
the response 'In Maria'. The Superius and Bassus have similar
music for each of these responses - they move in parallel tenths,
beginning with repeated notes and descending stepwise at the
end - and thus bear a striking resemblance to Compere's setting
of '0 Maria' in the Sanctus motet of his Missa Galeazescha
(compare Example 20 with Example 8).
One other Milanese motet, by Franchinus Gaffurius, is a setting

of the complete sequence Gaude mater lumini~.*~
At the end of each
versicle of the sequence the name 'Maria' occurs, and each time
Gaffurius sets it to almost identical music consisting of three
solemn chords, all marked with fermatas:
Gaude mater luminis,
quam divini numinis
visitavit gratia,
Maria.
It thus appears that there was a special tradition in Milan of
setting the name 'Maria' in block chords, often with fermatas.
Example 20. ..\non., Beatissima virgo, bars 112-1 15
In Ma- ri- a.
In Ma- n- a.
In Ma- n- a
See Franchino Gaffurio, Motetti, ed. L. Migliavacca, AMMM, 5 (Milan, 1959), pp. 59-
63; for the sequence text, see Analecta hymnica, 54, no. 225, pp. 358-9.
20 1
Patrick Macey
Gaffurius was appointed maestro di cappella of the Duomo of

Milan only in 1484, so he enjoyed the patronage not of Galeazzo
Maria Sforza but rather of the duke's brother, Ludovico Maria
Sforza, who took over the government in 1479 and who carried
on the tradition of veneration of the Madonna of Grace, as
indicated by his choice of the Milanese church of Santa Maria
delle grazie as the burial place for himself and his wife, Beatrice
d'E~te.~~
I n conclusion, the appearance of Galeazzo's verset in four
cycles of motetti missales dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary
can be taken as corroborating evidence for what has been gener-
ally accepted by scholars: this repertory was created especially
for Galeazzo Maria Sforza's chapel. I t also shows that Galeazzo,
83
Three further motets feature Galeazzo's verset, or at least a portion of it (all settings,
of course, of the Salve regina mater misericordiae feature a portion of the verset). The
first is an anonymous Ave Maria in a Veronese manuscript, VerBC 760, noted by
Ludwig Finscher, who remarked on the similarity of its style to Compkre's own Ave
Maria (Finscher, Compire, pp. 164-5). The motet, divided into two parts, features the
text 'mater misericordiae' in the prima pars, while the secunda pars presents a full
litany, as in Compkre's setting.
The second is Antoine Brumel's Beata es Maria, published by Petrucci in Motetti
libro quarto, the same volume that contains Josquin's Vultum tuum cycle; the work is
edited in Antoine Brumel, Opera omnia, 5, ed. B. Hudson, Corpus Mensurabilis
Musicae, 5 (A.I.M., 1972), pp. 18-21. In fact, after the opening verse of Beata es
Maria, Brumel states the entire two stanzas of the Marian hymn ('Maria mater
gratiae' and 'Gloria tibi domine') that M'eerbeke had used in his cycle Ave mundi
domina, discussed above.
Jennifer Bloxam has drawn attention to the Italian lauda melody, Beata es
Maria, which was originally quoted as a cantus firmus by Compkre in his setting
of Ave Maria, and which was later taken up by Obrecht and Brumel in their
settings of Beata es Maria. Neither Compkre nor Obrecht quotes Galeazzo's verset
('Maria mater gratiae') in these particular motets, however, and there is no
reason to associate Brumel's setting of Beata es Maria with Milan or Galeazzo
Maria Sforza. I n fact, Brumel spent most of his career in France, and did not move
to Italy until 1505, when he was hired by Alfonso d'Este to replace Obrecht as
maestro di cappella in Ferrara; see C. Wright, '.4ntoine Brumel and Patronage at
Paris', Music in Medieval and Early Modern Europe, ed. Fenlon, pp. 37-60. The
musical style of Brumel's setting is quite unlike that of motets composed in Milan
in the 1470s (Bloxam, ' "La contenance italienne" ', pp. 75 and 78), and Brumel's
quotation of the text and tune of Beata es Maria was probably intended for the court
of Ferrara.
The third work that features the text 'Maria mater gratiae' is an anonymous
five-voice motet with that incipit in the manuscript Brussels, Bibliothkque Royale
228. The motet includes the two complete stanzas of the Marian hymn ('Maria mater
gratiae' and 'Gloria tibi Domine') that appear in the settings by Weerbeke and
Brumel mentioned above. For an edition and commentary, see M. Picker, The Chamon
Albums of Marguerite of Austrza (Berkeley, 1965), pp. 128-9, 257-64.
as a 'novus David', took a direct hand in designating the repertory
to be performed in his chapel.84
A question still remains about the chronology of these cycles.
If Galeazzo did give the order on 21 December 1476 that the
verset was to be sung at daily Mass, does this indicate a date
of composition for each of the four cycles of motetti missales? If
so, the shortness of the interval between the issuing of the order
and Galeazzo's death - from 21 to 26 December - would indicate
that they could probably not have been completed until after
the murder of the duke, and in that case they would serve as
intercessions for the salvation of his O n the other hand,
it seems more likely that the cycles were composed over a longer
period of time, from 1472 to 1476, and that Galeazzo's order of
21 December to perform the verset at daily Mass could have
been fulfilled by performances of the already existing Marian
motetti missales by Weerbeke, Compkre and Josquin that included
the verset. Furthermore, both Compkre and Josquin departed
from Milan in early 1477, as Galeazzo's widow, Bona of Savoy,
took steps to reduce the size of the chapel, so it seems unlikely
that they composed their cycles after this date.86
Corio's account concerning Galeazzo's order for the chapel
singers to dress in mourning and to sing the verset 'Maria mater
gratiae, mater misericordiae' at daily Mass seems designed to
show the duke's awareness of a plot against his life. Perhaps
Galeazzo wanted the verset added to the Mass as a special
precaution against a n unprepared death. I n any case, the
Lubkin, A Renaissance Court, pp. 245-6, makes the following point about the motetti
missales: 'The youth and audacity of great figures uosquin and Comptre, for example]
in his ducal choir, with their innovative musical forms and bright polyphony, made
a good match for the prince who was their first patron. There is little doubt that these
innovations took place under Galeazzo's watchful eye. Given his active interference in
all areas of life and his daily attendance at Mass where these pieces were sung, it
is inconceivable that he did not approve them, at the very least.'
David Crawford has suggested this possibility for Comptre's Missa Galeazescha, because
of the oblique reference in one of the final motets to Bona of Savoy, Galeazzo's
widow; see Crawford's review of Noblitt, 'The Motetti Missales' (cited note 58 above),
pp. 105-6.
86
Comptre is listed in a document dated 6 February 1477 among twelve singers who
were given safe passage from Milan; see Lowinsky, 'Ascanio Sforza's Life', p. 40.
Josquin became a singer in the chapel of RenC d'.4njou in Aix-en-Provence, where
he is cited as witness to the testament of the deceased singer Jean Giraud in April
1477; see Y. Esquieu, 'La musique 2 la cour provenqale du roi RenC', Provence
Historique, 31 (1981), p. 301.
Patrick Macey
presence of this text in cycles of motetti missales by three of
the duke's court composers, Compkre, Weerbeke and Josquin,
emphasises the enhanced power that eloquent musical settings
were felt at the time to impart to sacred texts: the salvation of
the patron's soul depended in part on the performance of such
texts. Perhaps most importantly, Corio's account allows confir-
mation of the presence of the elusive Josquin des Prez in Galeaz-
zo's chapel in the 1470s, by virtue of Josquin's prominent place-
ment of Galeazzo's verset in one of the motets from the Vultum
tuum cycle. The Visconti-Sforza veneration of the Madonna of
Grace and Mercy, seen in conjunction with the incorporation of
Galeazzo's Marian verset into cycles of motetti missales composed
especially for his chapel, allows us to open another window onto
the fascinating interaction of patronage, music and ritual in
fifteenth-century Milan.
Eastman School of Music
University of Rochester
APPENDIX 1
Assignment of the Benefice of San Giulio de Dolzago to Jean Cordier.

Vatican, Archivio Segreto, Registra Lateranensia, v. 749, fols. 230-231.
Sixtus etc. Venerabili fratri Episcopo Parmensi et dilectis filiis Archid-

iacono ac Archipresbytero ecclesie Mediolanensis salutem etc.
Vite ac morum honestas aliaque laudabilis probitatis et virtutum
merita, super quibus apud nos dilectus filius Johannis Cordier, rector
parrochialis ecclesiae sancti Salvatoris de Varones Lugdunensis diocesis,
fidedigno commendatur testimonio, nos inducunt ut illa sibi favor-
abiliter concedamus que suis commoditatibus fore conspicimus
oportuna:
Cum itaque hodie dilectus filius Leonardus Fortia de Vicecomitibus,
clericus Mediolanensis, qui preposituram sancti Julii de Dolzago, ordinis
sancti Augustini Novariensis diocesis, ex concessione et dispensatione
sedis sedis [!I apostolice in commendam obtinebat, eidem commende per
dilectum filium Magistrum Sacramorum de Menelotiis, clericum Arimi-
nensem notarium nostrum, procuratorem suum ad hoc a b eo specialiter
constitutum, in manibus nostris sponte et libere cesserit, nosque ces-
sionem ipsam duxerimus admittendum, ac propterea cessante dicta com-
menda prepositura ipsa adhuc eo quo ultimo ante commendam ipsam
vacaverat mod0 vacare noscatur,
Nos eidem Johanni, qui (ut asserit) dilecti filii nostri nobilis viri Galeaz-
marie ducis Mediolanensis capellanus et ipsius capelle cantor existit, ac
dictam ecclesiam, cuius fructus redditus et proventus sexaginta floreno-
rum auri de camera secundum communem extimationem valorem
annuum non excedunt, inter cetera obtinet, ut decentius se sustentare
possit, de alicuius subventionis auxilio providere premissorumque merito-
rum suorum intuitu specialem gratiam facere volentes . . . per apostolica
scripta mandamus, quatenus vos, vel duo aut unus vestrum per vos, vel
alium seu alios, preposituram predictam, que conventualis existit et a d
quam non consuevit quis per electionem assumi, cuique cura non imminet
animarum et a nullo Monasterio seu regulari loco dependet, ac cuius
fructus redditus et proventus Quadringentorum florenorum similium
secundum extimationem predictam valorem annuum (uti dictus Johannes
etiam asserit) non excedunt, quovismodo aut ex cuiuscumque persona
vacet . . .
Patrick Macey
Datum Rome apud Sanctumpetrum Anno Incarnationis Dominice

Millesimoquadringentesimoseptuagesimoquarto, Nonas Decembris,
Anno Quarto [9 December 14741.
APPENDIX 2
Texts for Loyset Compkre, [Missal Galeazescha
Sequence texta Chant melody
Loco Introitus
Ave virgo gloriosa A, versicle l a
caeli iubar mundi rosa
caelibatus lilium.
Ave gemma pretiosa A, versicle l b
super omnes spetiosa
virginale gaudium.
Florens ortus aegris gratus A, versicle 4a
puritatis fons signatus
dans fluenta gratiae Veni sancte spiritus,
versicle 4, phr. 3
Quae regina diceris B, versicle 5b -, versicle 5
miserere miseris
virgo mater gratiae.
Reis ergo fac regina C, versicle 5a
0 virgo pura acclamation
apud regem ut ruina C, versicle 5a
relaxentur debita.
0 virgo pura acclamation
pro nobis dulciter ora.
Loco Gloria
Ave salus infirmorum D, versicle 3a
et solamen miserorum
dele sordes peccatorum
te laudantem domina.
Ave mater Jesu Christi D, versicle 2b
virgo deum genuisti
per virtutem ascendisti
dans salutem homini.
206
Inter spinas flos fuisti C, versicle 3a

sic flos flori placuisti
pietatis gratiae.
Ave veri Salomonis E, versicle 2a secular tune?
mater vellus Gedeonis
cuius magi tribus donis
laudent puerperium.
Virgo carens simili F, versicle 5a Veni sancte spiritus,
tu quae mundo flebili versicle 2
contulisti gaudia.
Nos digneris visere F, versicle 5b -, versicle 3
ut cum Christo vivere
possimus in gloria.
Loco Credo
Ave decus virginale G, versicle 4a
templum dei speciale
per te fiat veniale
omne quod committimus.
0 domina piissima
omni laude dignissima
fac nobis dignus te laudare
venerari et amare.
0 domina deo cara
stirpe decens et praeclara
sed meritis praeclarior.
0 domina dominarum secular tune?
o regina reginarum
propter tuam pietatem
pelle meam paupertatem.
0 praeclara stella maris
quae cum deo gloriaris
nos ad portum fac venire
nunquam sinas nos perire.
Loco Offertorii
Ave sponsa verbi summi E, versicle 3a
maris portus signum dumi
aromatum virga fumi
angelorum domina.
Patrick Macey
Gaude virgo salutata H, versicle l a Ave maris stella,

Gabriele nuntio. phr. 1
Gaude mater iocundata H, versicle l b -, phr. 2
Jesu puerperio.
Gaude mundi domina -, phr. 3
dulcis super omnia.
Gaude caeli regina -, phr. 4
Evae tollens vitia.
0 plena praeceteris -, phr. 1 again
gratia divina,
De peccati vinculo
hoste carne seculo
libera nos o Maria.
Gaude virgo fruens delitiis
expurga nos a nostris vitiis
iam rosa iuncta lilio
et iunge tuo filio.
Mater dei exaudi nos,
ora deum tuum natum
ne damnet nos.
Et regnare fac renatos
a peccatis expurgatos
pietate solita.
Loco Sanctus
0 Maria! acclamation
In supremo sita poli J, versicle 11b
nos commenda tuae proli

ne terrores sive doli
nos supplantent hostium.
0 Maria stella maris J, versicle 1l a
dignitate singularis
super omnes ordinaris
ordines caelestium.
Ave prolem genuisti E, versicle 2b
ave solem protulisti
mundo lapso contulisti
vitam et imperium.
208
Ad te flentes suspiramus A, versicle 6a

te gementes invocamus
Evae gens misera.
0 regina pietatis! acclamation
Statum nostrae paupertatis A, versicle 6b
vultu tuae bonitatis
bene considera.
0 lucerna sanctitatis! acclamation
Ad elevationem
Adoramus te Christe short
et benedicimus tibi responsory
quia per sanctam crucem tuam (Liber Usualis,
redemisti mundum. 1458)
Virgo mitis virgo pia secular tune?
esto nobis vitae via
esto nostrum refugium
ut cum dulci melodia
cantemus Ave Maria.
Ave virgo virginum F, versicle l a Mane prima
ave lumen luminum sabbati,
ave stella praevia: versicle 1
Castitatis lilium F, versicle 2a -, versicle 2
consolatrix omnium
peccatorum venia.
T u pincerna veniae K , versicle 3b
tu lucerna gratiae
tu superna gloriae
es regina.
Et veramentis anxiae K , versicle 3a
medicina. (lines 3-4 only)
Loco Agnus
Salve mater salvatoris J, versicle l a
vas electum vas honoris
vas caelestis gratiae. Veni sancte spiritus,
versicle 4, phr. 3
T u nostrum refugium F, versicle 3b -, versicle 4
d a reis remedium
procul pelle vitia.
Patrick Macey
Salve verbi sacra parens J, versicle 2a

flos de spina spina carens
flos spineti gloria.
T u veniae vena mater gratiae secular tune?
confer nobis dona misericordiae
filium implora ut donum veniae
donet mortis hora nobis ut gloriae
regno praesentemur.
Dulcis Jesu mater bona A, versicle 8a
mundi salus et matrona
supernorum civium.
Pacem confer sempiternam A, versicle 8 b
et ad lucem nos supernam
transfer post exilium.
Loco Deo gratias

Virginis Mariae laudes L, versicle l a Victimae paschali,
intonent Christiani. versicle 1
Eva tristis abstulit L, versicle 2a -, versicle 2
et Maria protulit
natumque redemit
peccatores.
Ave caelorum regina D, versicle l a
ave morum disciplina
via vitae lux divina
virgo mater filia.
Ave templum sanctum dei D, versicle l b
fons salutis porta spei
ad te currunt omnes rei
plena cum fiducia.
Sancta parens
refove gentes
quae corde precantur.
Labe carens
remove mentes
qui sorde ligantur.
Mater misericordiae acclamations
0 Maria!
210
Spes salutis et veniae

Maria mater gratiae
succurre nobis hodie
0 Maria!
in hac valle miseriae.
0 Maria!
exaudi nos,
0 Maria!
" Sequence texts are indicated by alphabetical letters in the list

below. All texts are in Analecta hymnica, vol. 54. (Texts of sequences
in Appendix 1 have been renumbered to reflect paired versicles, e.g.,
la, lb, instead of assigning each versicle a new number, e.g., 1 , 2,
3, 4, as in Analecta hymnica.)
Sung to melody of:
A Ave virgo gloriosa (no. 277) Veni sancte spiritus
B Veni virgo virginum (no. 250) Veni sancte spiritus
C Salvatoris mater pia (no. 280)
D Ave caelorum regina (no. 275)
E Verbum bonum et suave (no. 218)
F Ave virgo virginum (no. 285) Mane prima sabbati
G Ave virgo gratiosa (no. 278)
H Gaude virgo salutata (no. 2 12) Ave maris stella
J Salve mater salvatoris (no. 245)
K Mariae praeconio (no. 249)
L Virginis Mariae laudes (no. 18) Victimae paschali laudes
APPENDIX 3
Marian Motets by Josquin des Prez
A. Marian motets that contain the name 'Maria'; probably composed

in Milan
1. Vultum tuum deprecabuntur:
Vultum tuum . . . quia in te sola, virgine Maria
Sancta dei genitrix, virgo semper Maria
Ave Maria . . . benedicta tu
0 Maria, nullam tam gravem . . . Maria mater gratiae
Mente tota . . . Sancta Maria, ora pro nobis.
Patrick Macey
2. Ave Maria . . . virgo serena

3. Illibata dei virgo nutrix; c.f.: 'La Mi La' (= Maria)
B. Other Marian motets by Josquin that include the name 'Maria';
no demonstrable connections with Milan
4. Ave mundi spes, Maria
5 . Ave nobilissima creatura, humilima virgo Maria
6. Inviolata, integra et casta es, Maria
7. Missus est Gabriel; c.f.: Ave Maria
8. 0 admirabile commercium; 5a pars: Ecce Maria genuit
9. 0 virgo prudentissima
10. Pater Noster; 2a pars: Ave Maria
1 1. Salve regina (4vv)
12. Salve regina (5vv)
13. Virgo salutiferi; c.f.: Ave Maria
C. Marian motets by Josquin that do not include the name 'Maria'

14. Alma redemptoris mater
15. Alma redemptoris1Ave regina caelorum
16. Benedicta, es caelorum regina
17. Ecce tu pulchra es
18. Gaude virgo mater Christi
19. Mittit ad virginem
20. 0 virgo virginum
21. Praeter rerum seriem
22. Regina coeli
23. Stabat mater
24. Virgo prudentissima
Earl3, Music History (1996) Volume 15
PREFACE T O T H E STUDY O F T H E
ALLELUIA*
There is a passage in Willi Apel's discussion of the Alleluia of

the Mass' that nicely epitomises several of the difficulties that
music historians have experienced with the genre. Ape1 found
himself faced with a dilemma: on the one hand there was that
undeniably late characteristic of the Alleluia, its notorious insta-
bility of liturgical assignment; and on the other hand there was
literary evidence of the Alleluia's antiquity, its appearance in
fourth-century patristic literature as the melismatic jubilus, and
Gregory 1's late sixth-century letter in which he admitted to
extending the use of the Alleluia beyond Paschaltime. Apel's
solution of the dilemma is ingenious if nothing else:
Perhaps we have here an indication of Gregory's activity. The striking
contrast between the fixity of the Alleluias in the Advent-Epiphany
seasons and their variability during the others could be explained by
assuming that he extended the use of the Alleluia - or, possibly, of an
Alleluia with a specific verse - only to the first part of the liturgical
year. As for the variability in Paschal Time, a plausible explanation
would be that, in deference to the older tradition, he did not introduce
any changes in this period. This would mean that in Paschal Time the
Alleluia continued to be sung as a pure melisma and did not acquire
a verse until a later time.*
Apel's resolution of the dilemma, then, is to suggest the existence
of melismatic Paschaltime Alleluias in the time of Gregory, Alle-
luias that have verses added to them only at a considerably later
date. I n the present study it will be argued that there is no
dilemma created by late and early evidence in the early history
* The present article originated as a paper presented at the annual meeting of the
American Musicological Society, Baltimore, November 1988.
' I distinguish in this study between Alleluia (and Alleluia-psalm) as a genre of the
Mass Proper and all other uses of the word by reserving capital 'A' to the former.
Gregorian Chant (Bloomington, Indiana, 1958), pp. 380-1.
James W. McKinnon
of the Roman Alleluia: all the evidence points to a late origin

for the genre. The instability of assignment that has traditionally
been taken to indicate the 'lateness' of the Alleluia will be
confirmed, and the contrary literary evidence - that involving
the patristic jubilus and Gregory's letter - will be subject to
reinterpretation.
Gregory's letter will be discussed in due course; first one must

attend to the question of the jubilus. I should like to assert
categorically that the patristic references to this musical phenom-
enon have nothing to do with the Alleluia of the Mass nor, for
that matter, with any other genre of early Christian ecclesiastical
song. At the same time I recognise the plausibility of associating
the jubilus with the Alleluia and experience no surprise that
admirable figures like Martin Gerbert in the eighteenth century
and Peter Wagner at the start of our own made that c ~ n n e c t i o n , ~
thereby establishing the modern musicological consensus on the
subject. But it is a different matter for anyone who assembles
all the patristic passages that describe the jubilus and subjects
them to a systematic studye4Not one of these passages refers to
the jubilus as a kind of ecclesiastical chant; rather, they speak
of it as a sort of shout or song of the people, particularly the
country folk at work. Augustine, for example, says: 'For they
who sing either in the harvest, in the vineyard, or in some other
occupation. . . turn from the syllables of words and proceed to
the sound of j ~ b i l a t i o n . ' ~But why do he and other Church
Fathers make mention of the jubilus in their theological writings?
They do so in only one circumstance: when, in the composition
of a Psalm Commentary, they encounter some form of the word
jubilare - for example, at the beginning of Psalm 65, Jubilate deo
omnis terra.6 T h e patristic Psalm Commentary, with few excep-
For Gerbert, see De Cantu et Musica Sacra (St Blasius, 1774), p, 59; for Wagner, see
Introduction to the Gregorian Melodies, transl. A. Orme and E. G. P. Wyatt (London,
1901), p. 32.
What follows is a summary of J . McKinnon, 'The Patristic Jubilus and the Alleluia
of the Mass', in Cantus Planus, Papers Read at the Third Meeting, Tihany, Hungary,
September 1988 (Budapest, 1990), pp. 61-70.
In psalmum xxxii, 11, sermo I , 8; translation from J. McKinnon, Music in Early Christian
Literature (Cambridge, 1987: hereafter M E C L ) , pp. 156-7.
They would do so also in preaching a sermon on some verse from the Psalms; but
the patristic sermon on a psalm and the patristic Psalm Commentary are the spoken
Preface to the study of the Alleluia
tions, adheres to the so-called allegorical method, which calls for

a figurative explanation of every key word. In these greatly
discursive works the ingenious patristic author ranges far and
wide through sacred and secular learning and lore for material
to aid him in his exposition; and what could be more appropriate
to the task of explaining the word jubilare than the jubilus of the
harvester? And, again, one notes that the jubilus is invoked only
in connection with the word jubilare but never with the word
alleluia, while, on the other hand, in the numerous patristic
passages, even entire sermons, devoted to the word alleluia the
jubilus is not mentioned.'
A brief history of the jubilus might help to place the matter
in sharper perspective.' The Latin term appears to derive from
a root found in many languages, io, which serves as a exclamation
of varied meaning, presumably because of its acoustical proper-
ties. The familiar modern 'Yo', the Alpine yodel and the cries
of the Volga River boatmen are obvious derivatives. I n ancient
times the term had a conspicuous development in Latin but not
in Greek. Several of the earlier passages give the impression more
of a shout or whoop than of a song; for example, Apuleius (d.
after AD 170), in his romance The Golden Ass, describes farmers
sicking their dogs on intruders with 'the accustomed jubilati~nes'.~
But Silius Italicus (d. c. 101) gives the term a lyric connotation
in a passage where the Cyclops delights in the jubilus of the
Siren." T h e common association of the jubilus with harvesting
is observed first in a letter of Marcus Aurelius (d. 180)) who
writes to his tutor Fronto from his country estate: 'Then we gave
ourselves to the task of grape-gathering; we sweated and we
jubilated.'" Overall, such agrarian references are by far the
most frequently encountered, a circumstance summarised in the
and written forms of the same genre. (The numbering of the Psalms employed in
this study is that of the Greek and Latin tradition.)
' This observation, originally based on the author's reading, has been verified by the
CD-ROM patristic word search 'Cetedoc'.
What follows owes much to the excellent study on the subject by W. Wiora, 'Jubilare
sine verbis', in I n memoriam Jacques Handschin, ed. H . Ang1t.s and others (Strasbourg,
1962), pp. 39-65.
Metamorphoses vrrr, 17.
Punica xrv, 475.

"
lo
Ad M . Caesem. rv, 6.
James W'. McKinnon
definition of the second-century grammarian Sextus Pompeius
Festus: 'Iubilare est rustica voce inclamare."'
The term enters Christian literature with the Old Latin ver-
sions of the Psalter; these translations are based not on the
Hebrew, of course, but on the Greek of the Septuagint. The
Latin versions use jubilus to translate a quite different Greek
term, d a h a y p 6 5 , which is a shout of victory in battle. There
is no mention of the j ~ b i l u s ,then, in Greek Psalm Commentaries,
but military comparisons instead; nor are there attempts by
historians of Byzantine music to describe the d a h a y p 6 ~as a
liturgical genre.
T h e discrepancy between the two terms was clear to Hilary
of Poitiers (d. 367), the author of the first Latin Psalm Commen-
tary (and hence the first Church Father to mention the jubilus).
Knowing both Greek and Latin, he is able to provide a clear
explanation of the two usages: 'According to the conventions of
our language we give the name jubilus to the sound of a pastoral
and rustic voice . . . But among the Greeks the term d a h a y p 6 ~
means the cry of a n army in battle, either when it routs the
enemy or else proclaims a victorious outcome in a shout of
j o y . . . For the purpose of translation, however, since a proper
term for d a h a y p 6 ~is not available, it is rendered by what is
called jubilus.'13
A few decades later, Augustine, not knowing Greek, and being
more interested in larger spiritual values than in exegetical techni-
calities, establishes the meaning of the term jubilus as it would
endure for a millennium in Christian literature. H e ignores all
its associations but that of the harvesters' chant, and he focuses
especially upon the feeling of joy: 'Mowers and vintagers', he
writes, 'and those who gather other products, happy in the
abundance of harvest and gladdened by the very richness and
fecundity of the earth, sing in joy.'14 And noting that labourers
often employ rhythmic textless chants he elevates this observation,
one might say romanticises it - in a manner unique to his powers
of imagination and psychological penetration - to the notion of
See Wiora, 'Jubilare sine verbis', p. 43.

l3
Tractatus in psalmum lxv, 3; MECL, p p . 124-5.
l4
In psalmum xciv, 4; MECL, p. 159.

a joy that exceeds the capacity of verbal expression: 'A man

bursts forth in a certain voice of exultation without
words . . . because filled with too much joy, he cannot explain in
words what it is in which he delights.'15 Finally he takes the step
of seeing in this jubilation a symbol of the soul's speechlessness in
the face of God: 'And whom does jubilation befit but the ineffable
God? For he is ineffable whom you cannot speak. And if you
cannot speak him, yet ought not to be silent, what remains
except that you jubilate?'16 This is, by the way, the one passage
on the jubilus in which a patristic author exhorts the listener or
reader to jubilate; but surely Augustine means this in a figurative
sense. There are upwards of 150 passages in Augustine's homilies
on the Psalms in which he makes literal reference to the singing
of his congregation earlier in the service." T h e homily, of course,
followed the psalm that figured in the Biblical readings of the
Eucharistic proanaphora, and Augustine virtually always refers
to its singing in the past tense; for example, the form cantavimus
('we sang') is met with again and again, but never does he use
the form jubilavimus. l a
No one after Augustine remotely approaches his creative
exegesis on the jubilus. Psalm commentaries, from Cassiodorus
in the sixth century to Gerhoh of Reichersberg in the twelfth,
simply repeat at each occurrence of the word jubilare the basic
idea of textlessness. Nor do they, needless to say, associate the
notion with the Alleluia of the Mass. I n another literary genre,
however, the liturgical commentary, the ninth-century Amalarius
of Metz finally makes the connection. I t was only natural that
someone like him would eventually do so: he knew the tradition
of the psalm commentary, as would any Carolingian scholar,
and he observed the phenomenon of melismatic chant on an
everyday basis. I t should be noted, however, that in making this
connection he links the idea of the jubilus not just to the Alleluia
(as do modern music historians) but also to melismas in the
Gradual and, on one occasion, to the famous triple 'neuma' of
l5 Ibid.
l6
In psalmum xxxii, r r , sermo r , 8: MECL, pp. 156-7.

Ii
I list 157 in the Appendix to 'Liturgical Psalmody in the Sermons of St Augustine',
to appear in the Festschrift for Kenneth Levy.
Again, this observation has been verified by 'Cetedoc'.
James W. McKinnon
the responsory I n medio ec~lesiae.'~

A malarius is followed in this
by Hugh of St Victor, who writes: 'Neumata, which take place
in the Alleluia and in other chants of few words, signify the
jubil~s.'~~
The persistence of what we might call here 'the jubilus fallacy'

has created a curious corollary to itself in the historiography of
the Alleluia: the notion that the Alleluia was not associated with
a psalm in its origins. Such a view follows from juxtaposing the
fourth-century existence of a melismatic Alleluia with the obvi-
ously late verses found in the early chant books. Thus, in contrast
to the Gradual, for example, the Alleluia was thought not to
have begun as a complete responsorial psalm and evolved into
a chant with a response and single verse, but to have begun as
an independent melismatic Alleluia, to which one or more verses
were added at a later date. I n Apel's succinct formulation, 'it
probably resulted from a process of addition, rather than
reduction from a complete Psalm as was the case in the truly
psalmodic chants'."
It is true that there is much to be said against the idea that
the Alleluia of the Roman Mass (as opposed to that of other
liturgies) evolved from a complete psalm. A discussion of this
seemingly contradictory point, however, belongs to a later chapter
in the history of the genre;" for now, it is necessary to dispose
of the notion that the acclamation 'alleluia' can be so easily
divorced from the Psalms in early Christian liturgical usage. The
word alleluia, it must be remembered, is superscribed to no
fewer than twenty of the 150 Psalms (indicating originally, one
presumes, a choral response of some sort in the liturgy of the
For the Alleluia, see Liber Ofhialis, l.lrr, 16, 3 u. Hanssens, ed., Amalarii Episcopi
Opera Liturgics Omnia, 3 vols., Studi et Testi, 138-40 (Rome, 1948-50), here vol. 11,
p. 304); for the Gradual, Liber Ofhialis, 1.111, 11, 21 (Hanssens, vol. 11, p. 299); for
the 'neuma', Liber de Ordine Antiphonarii, 18, 3 (Hanssens, vol. 111, p, 54).
20
De offiiis ecclesiasticis, 11, 19; Patrologia Latina [hereafter P L ] , ed. J. P. Migne, vol. 177,
col. 422.
Gregorian Chant, p. 378. Ape1 follows Wagner in this, as he does in most aspects of
the Alleluia's early history; see Wagner, Introduction to the Gregorian Melodies, pp. 81-2.
'' Evidence that the Roman Alleluia did not evolve from a complete psalm could mean
that it was adopted into the liturgy of that city as a mature chant genre at a
comparatively late date; but this is a consideration that falls outside the bounds of
the present study.
T e m ~ l e ) .T
' ~h e Psalter might be described, then, as the principal
vehicle of entry for this Hebrew word into its Christian context.
This is not to say that the word might not figure occasionally
as a joyous exclamation with no attached psalm; Jerome, for
example, advised Laeta of her daughter Paula: 'When she sees
her grandfather, let her leap upon his chest, and hanging from
his neck let her sing Alleluia to the reluctant old man.'24But much
more frequently in patristic literature the original association of
alleluia and psalm is affirmed, particularly in liturgical situations.
For example, in describing the agape (the evening love feast),
Hippolytus ( d , c. 236) writes: 'And after the bishop has offered
the chalice, let him say a psalm from those appropriate to the
chalice - always one with alleluia, which all say.'25 I n the early
monastic Office it was customary in many locations to add
'alleluia' to many more psalms than the twenty that have it
superscribed; Cassian (d. 435), however, claims that the monks
of Jerusalem practised restraint in this respect: 'This also is
observed among them with great care, that no psalm is sung
with the response Alleluia unless Alleluia appears inscribed in
its title.'26 And, finally, St Augustine, preaching to his congre-
gation on Psalm 113 (in the Eucharistic proanaphora, one
assumes), remonstrates with them: 'But yet we should not
imagine that in this psalm, to which we have now responded by
chanting "alleluia" . . .'27
One sees in these and many similar passages a n affirmation
of the virtually axiomatic truth that the principal and most
appropriate function of the acclamation 'alleluia' in early Chris-
tian liturgy was to serve as a response to a psalm, particularly
to one of the twenty alleluia-psalms. But, such general consider-
ations aside, if we might concentrate for the moment exclusively
upon the East, there is evidence that amounts to no less than a
demonstration of the original alliance of alleluia and psalm in
the history of the Alleluia of the Mass. T h e celebrated Armenian
23
The alleluia-psalms are (in the Greek and Latin numbering) 104-6, 110-18, 134-5
and 145-50.
24
Epistle 77: MECL, p. 142.
25
Apostoli~ Tradition, 25; MECL, p. 47.
26
De institutis coenobiorum, 11, 11; MECL, p. 148.

27
In psalmum cxiii, 1; Corpus Christianorum Series Latina [hereafter CCL], 41 (Turnhout,

1956), p. 1635.
James W. McKinnon
Lectionary, which outlines the liturgy of early fifth-century Jerus-

alem, shows that two psalms were sung in the Eucharistic proana-
phora of that The two - each of which appears to have
been sung responsorially - correspond to the Eastern Gradual
(Prokeimenon) and Alleluia (Alleluia-Alleluiarion) respectively. T h e
Alleluia is indicated in the Armenian Lectionary by the word
alleluia, followed by the number of the psalm and its first verse.
That the entire psalm, or at least a substantial portion of it, was
intended to be sung is clear from the circumstance that only the
first verse of the psalm is given even in those cases where the
particular verse that motivated the liturgical assignment in ques-
tion occurs later in the psalm. Thus for the day after the Epi-
phany we read 'Alleluia, Psalm 109: The Lord said to my Lord:
sit thou at my right hand', whereas surely it was for the sake
of the words 'from the womb before the day star I begot thee',
in verse 3, that Psalm 109 was chosen for the occasion.29
This is the common pattern in most early Eastern liturgies:
that is, two psalms, of which the second is a n alleluia-psalm.30
However, at an early date - by the sixth century, perhaps - a
number of liturgies give indications that only a single psalm
verse, or at most three verses, accompanied the A l l e l ~ i a . ~I n'
the Byzantine liturgy the Alleluia was preceded by the chanted
announcement of the cantor (psaltes), 'Alleluia; A psalm of David'.
T h e Alleluia itself consisted in the singing of a non-melismatic
Alleluia by the psaltes, followed by his singing of two or three
psalmic verses in a moderately melismatic style, concluding with
a choral repetition of the A l l e l ~ i a T. ~h ~
e announcement 'Alleluia;
A psalm of David' (met with also in the Syrian and Armenian
liturgies)33speaks for itself: the Eastern Alleluia was looked upon
as a psalmic chant, whatever the number of verses.
The Armenian Lectionary is edited by A. Renoux, Le Codex A m h i e n Jirusalem 121, 2

vols., Patrologia Orientalis, 35/1 and 36/2 (Turnhout, 1969 and 1971).
'' Ibid., vol. 11, p. 21 7.
30
The subject is admirably surveyed by the eminent liturgical historian A.-G. Martimort,
'Origine et signification de l'alltluia de la Messe romaine', in Kyn'akon: Festschrift
Johannes Quasten, ed. P. Granfield and J. Jungmann (Miinster in Westfalia, 1970),
vol. 11, pp. 81 1-34, here pp. 817-22.
31 Ibid., p p 819-20.
32
See C. Thodberg, Der bzantinische Alleluiarionzyklus, Monumenta Musicae Byzantinae,
Subsidia, 8 (Copenhagen, 1966), pp. 40-1.
33
See Martimort, 'Origine et signification', p. 820.
The situation was quite different in the West. There we fail to

find in the proanaphora a n arrangement of two psalms, the
second of which is a n Alleluia-psalm. I would imagine that the
explanation for this lies in the breakdown of the easy communi-
cations that had characterised the Roman Empire before the
barbarian incursions of the time. Liturgical innovation in the
fourth century tended to move from East to West, with a time
lapse of perhaps a decade or so (at least this seems to be the
case with the popular psalmodic vigil that we see flourishing in
Basil's Caesarea in 375 but not coming to Ambrose's Milan until
386).34 O u r first firm evidence for the regular presence of a n
Alleluia-psalm in the proanaphora of a n Eastern liturgy dates
from the second or third decade of fifth-century J e r ~ s a l e m , ~ ~ .
apparently too late a date to inspire a similar practice in the
West. Even within the fifth-century West itself we have evidence
of similar regional isolation as divergent Latin liturgies begin to
develop in Spain, Milan, Rome and Gaul. I n any event, the
Western centres from which we have the required late fourth-
and early fifth-century evidence - Ambrose's Milan and Augusti-
ne's Hippo and Carthage - show the presence of only one psalm
in the p r ~ a n a p h o r a . ~ ~
A number of years ago I argued that we should see the origins
of the Gradual in this single psalm, and I see no reason to alter
that view now.37There is the same sort of continuity of placement
and musical form between this single psalm and the early medie-
val Gradual that there is between the two Eastern psalms and
their corresponding medieval chants, the Prokeimenon and Alleluia-
Alleluiarion. The first stage of the Western development is best
studied in the no fewer than 700 extant sermons of Augustine,
where on more than 150 occasions he refers to a particular psalm
34
See J. McKinnon, 'Desert Monasticism and the Later Fourth-Century Psalmodic
Movement', Music and Letters, 75 (1994), pp. 505-21, here pp. 512-16.
35
Renoux dates the content of the Armenian Lectionary to between 417 and 439; see
Le Codex A n h i e n , vol. I , pp. 166-72.
36
For Hippo and Carthage, see A. Zwinggi, 'Der Wortgottesdienst bei Augustinus',
Liturgisches Jahrbuch, 20 (1970), pp. 92-1 13, 129-40, 250-3. For Milan, see G. Willis,
St Augustine's Lectionary, Alcuin Club Collections, 44 (London, 1962); and H. Leeb,
Die Psalmodie bei Ambrosius (Vienna, 1967), esp. pp. 80-4.
37
J. McKinnon, 'The Fourth-Century Origins of the Gradual', Early Music History, 7
(1987), pp. 91-106.
James W. McKinnon
as having been sung earlier in the ceremony, frequently singling

out the verse that had served as congregational refrain.38 I n
Sermon 342, for example, he says to his congregation, 'The voice
of the penitent is recognized in the words with which we respond
to the singer (psallenti): "Hide thy face from my sin, and blot
out all my iniquities." '39
I t is significant also that this single psalm was looked upon
as one of the three discrete events of the proanaphora (hereafter
'Fore-Mass') that preceded the homily. I n Sermon 165 Augustine
says: 'We heard the Apostle, we heard the Psalm, we heard the
Gospel; all the divine readings sound together so that we place
hope not in ourselves but in the Lord.'40 That the Psalm, by the
way, is referred to here as a reading tells us much about its
previous history; but our present concern is with its future, and
the relevance of this passage for that is its illustration of a
tendency to describe the Fore-Mass in terms of three events: the
Apostle (what we would call the Epistle), the Psalm, and the
Gospel. I t should be noted that the service began immediately
with the readings; there were no entrance chants, litanies or
whatever, only the simple greeting of the celebrant, 'Dominus
obis scum'.^^
There is a complicating point, however, in this simple picture
of Epistle, Gradual-psalm and Gospel, followed by Homily. As
we saw above, the psalm response could on occasion be 'alleluia'.
This occurred when the psalm sung in the Fore-Mass was one
of the twenty psalms with the word alleluia superscribed. Such
was the case in the example quoted earlier in this 'alle-
luia' was sung in response to Psalm 113, an alleluia-psalm. While
preaching on another alleluia-psalm, Psalm 110, Augustine made
it clear that the time of year when this would be most appropriate
was during the fifty days 'after the resurrection of the Lord,
when we sing alleluia'.43 I t might be fair to say, then, that in
38
In 'Liturgical Psalmody in the Sermons of St Augustine' I arrive at the following
count of refrain verses: eight 'certain', an additional ten 'probable' and sixty-five
'possible'.
39
Sermo CCCXLII, De utilitate agendae poenitentiae r r , 1; MECL, p. 162.
Sermo CLXV, De verbis Apostoli, Eph. 111, 13-18; MECL, p. 161.
41
See Zwinggi, 'Der Wortgottesdienst bei Augustinus', p. 95.
See p. 219 and note 27.
Ennaratio in psalmum CX, 1; MECL, p. 159.
the Fore-Mass of Augustine's time a single psalm was sung, the

Gradual-psalm; but on occasion, particularly during Paschaltime,
the Gradual-psalm might be an Alleluia-psalm.
And to add further complication to the point under discussion,
it might also be said that the Gradual-psalm - for all we know -
might also on occasion have been a proto-Tract. There is a
peculiarity of phraseology that hinders our vision in this respect:
when a patristic author makes explicit reference to a response
verse, we know that he refers to responsorial psalmody; but when
he simply mentions that such and such a psalm has been sung,
we do not know for certain whether the psalm was sung respon-
sorially or in directum. This leaves open the distinct possibility
that the prehistory of the Tract is also tied in with the 'Psalm'
of the later fourth-century F o r e - M a s ~ But
. ~ ~ certainly the over-
whelming impression created by the evidence from the patristic
period, as well as that of the immediately succeeding centuries,
is that the Psalm of the Western Fore-Mass was more typically
sung responsorially, even upon penitential occasions.45
Turning, then, to the period that intervenes between the death

of Augustine in 430 and the appearance of the first ordines romani in
about 700, the admittedly sparse evidence confirms the impression
created by the patristic material that the psalmody of the Western
Fore-Mass consisted generally in a single responsorial psalm.
Caesarius of Arles (d. 542), when preaching one year to his
congregation on the feast of Pentecost, said: 'Dear brethren, all
that was read is appropriate to the festival: the Psalm, Redde
mihi, laetitiam salutaris tui [Ps. 50:14]; the Gospel, Venit, spiritus
veritatis; and the writings of the Acts of the Apostles, Repleti sunt,
44
Terrence Bailey had already pointed out this possibility (which I missed in 'The
Fourth-Century Origins of the Gradual') in The Ambrosian Cantus (Ottawa, 1987),
pp. 34-6. More recently the young French scholar Phillipe Bernard, noting this lapse
on my part, remarked justly that 'McKinnon nous semble oublier totalement le trait'
('Les Alleluia melismatiques dans le chant romain: Recherches sur la genese de
l'alltluia de la Messe romaine', Riuista Internationale di Musica Sacra, 12 (1991), p. 346,
n. 11). I am genuinely grateful to him for causing me to be more alert in this respect,
but I cannot accept the view, which he shares with a number of other French chant
scholars, that the Tract 'a precede le graduel, comme la psalmodie sans refrain a
prtctdt la psalmodie responsoriale' (ibid.). This, however, is an issue to be explored
at another time and place.
45
Note, for example, the passage quoted above from Augustine's Sermon 342.
James W. McKinnon
omnes spiritu ~ a n c t o . 'One

~ ~ notes - in addition to the mention of
the three events of the Fore-Mass: Epistle, Psalm, and Gospel4' -
that the text of the psalm cited is from its fourteenth verse,
presumably a response-verse, and that the response is not 'alle-
luia' even though Pentecost falls within Paschaltime.
Gregory of Tours (d. 595), in his Historia Francorum, describes
an occasion in the year 585 when he and his fellow bishops were
gathered for a meal with King Gunthram:
Halfway through the meal, the king bade me order our deacon, who
had chanted the responsorial psalm at Mass yesterday, to sing. As the
deacon sang, the king once more ordered me to call upon each priest
present to have one of his clerics sing before the king. Each cleric,
advised by me of the king's order, then sang the responsorial psalm in
the presence of the king to the best of his ability.48
Again, Gregory speaks of a single responsorial psalm that had
been sung at Mass the previous day.
About a century later the Expositio Antiquae Gallicanae Liturgiae
of Pseudo-Germanus of Paris, a document that liturgical his-
torians tend now to associate with late seventh-century Autun,
says in its description of the Fore-Mass that 'only the Response'
was inserted between the singing of the Canticle of the Three
Youths and the GospeL4'
T o turn now from Gallo-Roman Gaul of the fifth through
seventh centuries to contemporary Rome, the evidence retains
the same sort of relationship with that of Augustine's time. There
is, to begin with, the frequently cited passage from the biography
of Pope Celestine I (422-32) in the Liber Pontijicalis. T o quote
from the earlier edition of this work, thought to date from the
reign of Pope Hormisdas (514-23): 'He [Celestine] decreed that
the 150 Psalms of David be sung before the sacrifice, which had
not been done before; only the Epistle of Paul the Apostle was
recited, and the Holy G ~ s p e l . ' ~Peter
' Jeffery devotes a thorough
examination to the passage, concluding, among other things, that
46
Sermo XX.2; CCL 104, p. 837.
47
The order in which Caesarius mentions them is no cause for concern; he does so by
way of making a particular theological point having to do with a promise made in
the psalm and fulfilled in the later writings.
48
v111.3; PL, vol. 7 1, col. 451.
Expositio 9; C. Ratcliff, ed., Expositio Antiquae Liturgiae Gallicanae (London, 1971), p. 6.
j0
L. Duchesne, ed., Le Liber Ponti@alis, vol. I (Paris, 1886), p. 89.

the psalmody involved has nothing to do with the Introit of the

Mass (as has been traditionally held) but refers to the respon-
sorial psalm associated with the reading^.^' Certainly Jeffery is
correct on this point, and I would add that the phrase 'only the
Epistle of Paul the Apostle was recited, and the Holy Gospel' is
the strongest single indication of this. Celestine's Roman psalm-
ody is linked with the Epistle and Gospel in precisely the same
way as was that of Augustine and Caesarius. The date of the
psalmody's introduction, however, is a matter of some uncer-
tainty. We cannot accept at face value the attribution of this
innovation to Celestine, but we can at the very least, in Jeffery's
view, assume that it took place at a time far enough in the past
for the compilers of the Liber Pontijicalis to attribute it to a pope
who lived a hundred years earlier."
There is a second relevant Roman document, one that appears
to have been written shortly after the earlier edition of the Liber
Pontijicalis: the pseudo-correspondence of Pope Damasus and St
Jerome.j3 I t consists of two letters: a request for advice from
Damasus to Jerome (resident in Jerusalem at the time and
presumably au courant with Eastern liturgical practices), and Jero-
me's reply. All agree that the author of the letters was a member
of the earlier sixth-century Roman clergy, hoping to secure the
authority of Jerome for his views on certain controversial liturgical
questions. (The only matter of dispute is whether the letters
influenced the text of the Liber Pontijicalis or whether the reverse
is true, and I find Jeffery's case for the latter c o n c l ~ s i v e . )In~ ~
the first letter, Pseudo-Damasus laments the state of psalmody
in the Roman Mass: 'There is evidence of such crudity that on
Sunday only one Epistle of the Apostle is recited, and one chapter
of the Gospel said, while no voice resounds in psalmody.'5' I
must confess to having seen in this passage evidence of the
uncertain status of the Gradual-psalm in the Fore-Mass of sixth-
5'
432)', Archio f i r ~itur~iewissenschaft,

26 (1984), pp. 147-65.
.
'The Introduction of Psalmodv into the Roman Mass bv, P o ~ eCelestine I (422-
52
53
.
Ibid... D. 161.
See P. Blanchard, 'La correspondance apocryphe du pape S. Damase et de S. Jerome
sur le psautier et le chant de 1' "alleluia" ', Ephemerides Liturgicae, 63 (1949), pp. 376-88.
54
See 'The Introduction of Psalmody', pp. 158-9.
55
P L , vol. 13, col. 440.
James W. McKinnon
century Rome,56 but I now find Jeffery's interpretation more

likely: that is, that the author of the letter had the text of the
Liber Pontijicalis before him and was referring to the supposed
state of affairs in the time of Damasus, a few decades before
Celestine's introduction of psalmody into the Fore-Mass.'' Be
that as it may, the passage serves to reinforce the point that
fifth- and sixth-century Western clerics tended to look upon the
Fore-Mass as a three-event affair consisting of Epistle, psalmody,
and Gospel, even if the singing of psalms is not explicitly limited
to one in the Roman citations.
Although the author of the correspondence makes this reference
to the psalmody of the Fore-Mass, it appears that his principal
concern lies elsewhere; he has Pseudo-Jerome focus, in his reply,
on questions involving the psalmody of the Office:
I, your client, pray then that this voice of the psalm-singers be heard
day and night in your Roman See, in which the order of your Apostolate
decrees that the end of every psalm, whether at Lauds or Vespers, be
joined with and terminate with 'Gloria patri et filiio et spiritui sancto.
Sicut erat in principio et nunc et semper et in saecula saeculorum.
Amen' . . . Where God and man are spoken of with honourable voice,
'alleluia' should always be affixed to all psalms, so that there be a
common response in every place.58
The author of the pseudo-correspondence, then, was intent upon
two points: that psalms in the Office be concluded with the
Gloria patri, and that 'alleluia' be added in response. O u r present
concern is only with the provision involving the 'alleluia'
response. The author (who has never been praised for the clarity
of his prose) seems to call for a very broad application of the
practice and to invoke the widespread custom of doing so in the
nighttime office. If what one requires is clarity on the subject,
there is Chapter 15 of the Regula Sancti Benedicti, 'When Ought
the Alleluia to Be Said':
Alleluia is to be said after both psalms and responsories, from the
sacred Pasch to Pentecost without interruption. But from Pentecost to
j6
See 'The Emergence of Gregorian Chant in the Carolingian Era', in J. McKinnon,

ed., Antiquity and the Middle Ages, Man and Music, S. Sadie, general ed. (London,
1990), p. 101.
57
'The Introduction of Psalmody', pp. 158-9.
58
PL, vol. 30, col. 295.
the beginning of Lent let it be said each night at the Nocturns only
with the second group of six psalms. O n every Sunday outside Lent
let the canticles of Vigils and Lauds and the psalms of Lauds, Prime,
Terce, Sext, and None be sung with alleluia; but at Vespers let there
be an a n t i p h ~ n . ~ '
Benedict's Regula is roughly contemporary with the pseudo-
correspondence and indeed is greatly dependent upon the Roman
Office as sung by the monastic cadres attached to the great
Roman ba~ilicas.~'The author of the pseudo-correspondence,
then, might have been aiming at a restoration of something like
Benedict's practice, or a confirmation of it, or perhaps an increase
beyond it. The point is that the affixing of 'alleluia' to Office
psalmody, in and out of Paschaltime, was a practice well known
to the Roman basilican monks, even if the precise extent of the
practice was a matter of dispute among the Roman clergy.
And what of affixing 'alleluia' to psalms at Mass? The author
has Pseudo-Jerome continue as follows:
In the church [that is, at Mass], however, let it be confined to a period
of fifty days from the holy Resurrection to the sacred Pentecost; because
of the renewal of the holy Pasch let this voice of praise be sung in
aleph, which is ' a l l e l ~ i a ' . ~ '
Thus our anonymous Roman cleric, while advocating that 'alle-
luia' be affixed to psalms throughout the year in the Office,
would have the practice confined to Paschaltime for the Mass.
Some time later in the sixth century this view was repeated by
a certain John the Deacon to a priest named Senarius, who had
asked him why the singing of 'alleluia' was reserved to Pas-
chaltime. I t was so, replied John, 'in order that with greater joy
and a kind of spiritual renewal one would return to the state of
praising God'.62
T h e stage is nearly set now to re-examine the much-discussed
letter of Gregory the Great. The completion of that setting,
j9
Regula Benedicti 15; A, de VogiiC, ed., La R2gle de Saint Ben{ac)oit, vol. 11 (Paris, 1972),
pp. 524-6.
60
See J. Pascher, 'Der Psalter fur Laudes und Vesper im alten romischen Stundengebet',
Miinchener Theologische Zeitschrgt, 8 (1957), pp. 255-67.
61
PL, vol. 30, col. 295. T h a t the phrase 'in the church' ('in ecclesia autem') refers to
the Mass as opposed to the Office is not in dispute; it is clear from the pattern of
question and response in the text.
62
PL, vol. 59, col. 406.

James W. McKinnon
however, requires a few words about the historical circumstances
during the period of about half a century that intervened between
these earlier sixth-century liturgical pronouncements and the
reign of Gregory I (590-604).63 Surely this time was the worst
in the entire history of Rome. First there were the Gothic wars
of 535 to 554. They were the result of Justinian 1's grand design
to wrest the conquered Roman territories from the hands of the
barbarians and to restore the Empire to its former glory. At the
beginning of the war things went smoothly. The Byzantine gen-
eral Belisarius swept across Vandal-occupied northern Africa in
a matter of months, but Italy was something altogether different.
The deeply entrenched Ostrogoths fought the imperial forces for
some twenty years of dreadful warfare that utterly devastated
the Peninsula. And not much more than a decade later, Italy,
in its weakened state and but poorly garrisoned by Byzantine
troops, fell prey to the Lombard invasion of 568. During this
time of periodic seige, pillage and destruction, Rome was also
subject to the natural disasters of famine, plague and flood. Some
idea of the devastation can be gained from the fact that the
city's population, which had reached about 800,000 in the period
of the Late Empire, was reduced to some 30,000 during the
Gothic wars. I t is true that it grew again to around 90,000 by
the time of Gregory, but this was because it was flooded with
refugees from the ruined and plundered countryside.64
This was the Rome for which Gregory assumed responsibility
upon his accession in 590, and much of his genuine greatness
lies in the fact that he devoted superhuman efforts to returning
some semblance of order to the city: he saw to the feeding of
the hungry, the care of the sick, the restoration of the water
supply, the establishment of civil government, and even the
organisation of military defence against the continuously threaten-
ing Lombards. One must not imagine that he had much time
to devote to the niceties of liturgical organisation; nor, certainly,
63
Among the various studies of early medieval Italy, I have found particularly helpful
R. Krautheimer, Rome: Profile o f a City, 312-1308 (Princeton, 1980); P. Llewellyn, Rome
in the Dark Ages (London, 1970); T . Noble, The Republic of St Peter: The Birth of the
Papal State, 680-825 (Philadelphia, 1984); and C. Wickham, Early Medieoal Italy: Central
Power and Local Society 400-1000 (London, 1981).
The population figures are from Krautheimer, Rome: Profile of a City, p. 65.
should one imagine that he presided over a church music estab-

lishment that had flourished throughout the second half of the
sixth century, and that had developed the psalmody of the Mass
far beyond what is suggested by the earlier sixth-century docu-
ments. In his voluminous correspondence, in his theological writ-
ings and in the writings of contemporaries there is very little to
associate him with liturgical
- chant. The earliest reference of the
kind comes from Gregory of Tours. A deacon of his church had
been in Rome at the time of Gregory the Great's installation as
pope; the deacon, upon returning to Tours, reported to his bishop
how Rome was beset by plague and flood, and how Pope Gregory
had, immediately after his inaugural sermon, 'assembled the
different bodies of the clergy and commanded that psalms be
chanted for three days, and the mercy of the Lord be i m p l ~ r e d ' . ~ '
Then there is ~ r e ~ o r order
~ ' s that deacons be prohibi;ed from
serving as cantors at Mass: 'Wherefore I enjoin in the present
decree that in this diocese the ministers of the holy altar ought
not to sing, and should carry out only the task of gospel reading
at the ceremonies of the Mass; while the psalms and other
readings, I would say, should be presented by the subdeacons
or, if necessity demand, by those in lesser orders.'66 In each case,
one notes, it remains psalmody that is at issue; indeed, when in
the second passage Gregory refers to 'the psalms and other
readings' he could be mistaken for Augustine speaking of the
Fore-Mass of his own time.
Gregory's reference to singing 'alleluia' at Mass comes in a letter

of 598 to Bishop John of Syracuse. Gregory tells in the letter
how someone visiting Rome from Sicily has brought complaints
from that region about Roman liturgical provisions that appeared
to have been borrowed from the East. Gregory then relates how
he asked the visitor which customs had allegedly been taken over
from the Byzantine church:
When I asked him, 'which of its customs do we follow?' he replied:
'that you have "alleluia" said at Masses outside the Pentecostal period;
6j
Gregory of Tours, Historia Francorum, x, 1; PL, vol. 71, col. 529.
66
Registrum Epistularum, ed. P. Ewald and L. Hartmann, Monumenta Germaniae His-
torica. Epistolarum, vol, r (Berlin, 1891), p. 363.
James W. McKinnon
that subdeacons process without their vestments; that the Kyrie eleison
is recited; and that you decreed that the Lord's Prayer be said immedi-
ately after the canon'.
I responded to him: 'in none of these did we follow another church.
For the custom that "alleluia" is not said here [outside the fifty-day
period] is known from the report of the Blessed Jerome to have been
taken over from the church of Jerusalem at the time of Pope Damasus
of blessed memory. And, indeed, in this matter I have mitigated the
custom that had been adopted here from the G r e e k ~ . ' ~ '
It is well known that there is a controversial spot in the text
of Gregory's letter: the phrase in italics in the second paragraph
above, where some read 'non diceretur' and others simply 'dicere-
tur'. I follow liturgical scholars like Blanchard and Martimort
in opting for 'non diceretur' both because the better editions
have the 'non' and because I find the sense more p l a u ~ i b l e T
. ~o~
paraphrase Gregory, he says that we know from Jerome's reply
to Damasus (the pseudo-correspondence discussed above) that
Rome followed the custom of Jerusalem in not singing 'alleluia'
at Mass outside of Paschaltime. He denies having adopted that
custom from the East (it was Damasus who did so); moreover,
he has changed it by allowing 'alleluia' to be sung at Mass
outside of Paschaltime. Now, it would lengthen the present study
unnecessarily to spell out in detail the opposite side in this
controversy (it, too, can be argued plausibly) and to defend at
length the one adopted here. The central point I wish to make
about the Gregorian letter stands whether one accepts the 'non
diceretur' reading or not.
The point is that I find highly improbable the common assump-
tion that Gregory's use of the word alleluia in this letter refers
to what we know as the early medieval Alleluia of the Mass -
that is, a melismatic Alleluia, followed by a moderately melis-
matic verse and a repetition of the Alleluia (let alone Apel's
free-standing melismatic Alleluia). I agree with Martimort that
Gregory probably meant 'alleluia' in the sense in which it was
"
Ibid., vol. 11 (Berlin, 1899), p. 59.
68
See Blanchard, 'La correspondance apocryphe', p. 387; and Martimort, 'Origine et
signification', pp. 826-9. Egon Wellesz, in 'Gregory the Great's Letter on the Alleluia',
Annales Musicologiques, 2 (1954), pp. 7-26, here pp. 10-18, argues at length for the
omission of 'non'.
generally used in the fifth and sixth centuries, that is, as a brief
response or antiphon affixed to a psalm.69His reply to the Sicilian
visitor, after all, is couched in the language of the pseudo-
correspondence, the entire context of which was the question of
affixing Gloria patri and 'alleluia' to psalms. And the larger context
was that of the monastic Office, a circumstance that remained
no less true for questions concerning psalmody in Gregory's time.
The ecclesiastical song that Gregory was in daily contact with
at Rome was the singing of the Office by the monks attached
to the great basilicas, including that of the Lateran itself. H e
was, moreover, notorious for his favouring of all things m o n a ~ t i c . ' ~
Thus it would seem that he was allowing the long-standing
monastic custom of affixing 'alleluia' to Office psalmody outside
of the Easter season to extend also to the psalmody of the Mass.
And what was the extent of psalmody at Mass in the time of
Gregory? We know for certain only that a psalm was sung
during the distribution of Communion and another during the
Fore-Mass; we do not know whether the Offertory or entrance
psalms had been adopted yet. The joyous time of Communion
distribution would itself provide ample opportunity for the new
practice of singing 'alleluia' outside of Paschaltime, while in the
Fore-Mass the fact that the early medieval Alleluia shows signs
of later development than the Gradual might lead us to think
of a more restrained usage. The aboove allusion to the entrance
and Offertory psalms, incidentally, leads to a thought that should
guide our speculations about the origins and early history of the
Roman Mass Proper in general: each of its items (except for the
Alleluia) bears in its early history the stamp of monastic psalm-
ody. By contrast, those Byzantine Eucharistic chants that were
introduced after the early Christian period - the entrance and
Offertory chants - were hymnic Ordinary chants, the Trisagion
and the Cherubikon. Early Latin rites like the so-called Mozara-
bic and the Gallo-Roman allowed themselves to be influenced in
69
'Origine et signification', p. 828. See also David Hiley, Western Plainsong: A Handbook
(Oxford, 1993), pp. 502 and 504, where he expresses a view similar to that of
Martimort.
O'
See P. Llewellyn, 'The Roman Church in the Seventh Century: The Legacy of
Gregory 1', Journal o f Ecclesiastical History, 25 (1974), pp. 363-80.
James W.McKinnon
this respect and adopted the Trisagion and Cherubikon into their
Eucharistic liturgies,'l but Rome was unique in resisting this
influence and in establishing exclusively psalmodic entrance, pro-
anaphoric, Offertory, and Communion chants. Take, for example,
the Roman Introit: whenever it was that it was introduced, it
took a form closely resembling the recitatio continua of monastic
psalmody; that is, it consisted of a new psalm each day with
antiphon. The same is the case with the Communion. I t is true
that the Western practice of singing a psalm during the distri-
bution of Communion goes back to the later fourth century, and
that this psalm might at first have been, as it was in the East,
a quasi Ordinary rather than a Proper chant, consisting in the
singing of Psalm 33, with its refrain verse, 'Taste and see that
the Lord is good'. Eventually, however, it took the same form
as the Introit, that is, a different psalm each day with antiphon
(while 'Taste and see', Gustate et videte, was reduced to the
insignificant status of only one of the post-Pentecostal sequence
of Communion antiphons). The Communion, moreover, bears
the most obvious resemblance to monastic recitatio continua in its
sequence of weekday Lenten Communions, employing in order
Psalms 1 through 26.
As for the Alleluia, I think it unlikely that it was already in
place at Rome in Gregory's time as a separate and independent
chant of the Mass. I t cannot be demonstrated absolutely, but the
evidence provided up to this point suggests that the Fore-Mass of
Gregory's time was not very different from that of Augustine's.
The Introit psalm might very well have been introduced already,
and perhaps even the Offertory psalm (we simply do not know);
but the Service of Readings itself probably retained the basic
fourth-century shape of three discrete events - Epistle, Psalm
and Gospel.
One must not, however, succumb to the temptation of defining
that psalmodic event too narrowly. I t seems quite likely that it
consisted typically in a single responsorial psalm, for which one
can argue a measure of historical continuity with the 'Responsum'
of Ordo Romanus I and the Gradual of the earliest chant manu-
" See J. Quasten, 'Oriental Influence in the Gallican Liturgy', Traditio, 1 (1943),
pp. 55-78.
232
scripts. But surely the historical reality is not quite so simple as

that. As was the case in the fourth century, the strong possibility
exists that the psalm might sometimes have been sung without
refrains, especially on penitential ocasions, and such a chant
would no doubt have enjoyed the same sort of formal continuity
with the Tract as did the more frequently sung responsorial
psalm with the Gradual. And the responsorial psalm itself, of
course, must often have had 'alleluia' as its response during
Paschaltime, and might also have employed it on certain joyous
festivals outside of Paschaltime like Christmas and Epiphany.
And there might have existed, for all we know, a number of
Alleluia melodies at the time, even melodies of some melismatic
elaboration. (Dom Jean Claire, by the way, maintains the plaus-
ible view that the melodies of the Mass Alleluias developed
as brief syllabic antiphons borrowed from the Office, to which
melismatic extensions were added.)"
Indeed, it is even possible that the psalm might on occasion
have consisted in more than one psalm, one pairing or another
(depending upon the liturgical occasion) of the three obvious
possibilities: psalm without refrain, psalm with psalm-verse
refrain, and psalm with alleluia refrain. Because we were not
there to observe, we do not know what happened on a daily basis,
and we should expect a goodly measure of liturgical flexibility in
the Rome of the late sixth century. But what the evidence speaks
against is the regular employment of the standard Eastern pat-
tern, that is, two psalms, the second of which is an Alleluia-psalm.
If the evidence presented here up to this point speaks against

this possibility, so too does that evidence which Ape1 himself
(along with Peter Wagner and virtually all other chant scholars)
cites as a n indication of the 'lateness' of the Alleluia: I refer, of
course, to the genre's instability of liturgical assignment. At the
beginning of this study I promised to confirm this aspect of the
Alleluia's history, and in turning now to perform the task I
would maintain that this trait of the Alleluia is even more extreme
'' 'AUX origines de I'alltluia', Orbis Musicae, 9 (1986-87), pp. 17-59. I n speaking of
'origins', however, one must distinguish between the manner in which the melodic
substance of the Alleluia developed and the way in which the genre was adopted
into the Roman Mass.
James W. McKinnon
than we are accustomed to think. Certainly it goes far beyond

the much-discussed phenomenon of post-Pentecostal Alleluia lists.
And how can one demonstrate this? First the ground must be
prepared by a methodological digression of considerable length,
addressing the proposition that one can rely upon the so-called
Old Roman manuscripts, in spite of their late date, as a reliable
guide to the repertory of the Roman Mass in the mid eighth
century, the time of its transmission to the Carolingian realm.
Many chant scholars, it is true, appear to have conducted their
research while assuming the validity of this proposition, but I
believe it requires a firmer underpinning than mere assumption.
T o provide such support one begins by selecting a more stable
chant of the Mass Proper than the Alleluia; the Introit seems a
suitable candidate, and the forty-four Lenten Introits a represen-
tative portion of its repertory. One compares the Roman Introits
as transmitted by the three extant Roman graduals with the
Frankish chants as transmitted by the manuscripts of the six
early unnotated graduals edited in Dom Hesbert's perennially
useful Antiphonalium Missarum Sextu~lex.'~Table 1 gives the textual
incipits of the Introits at the left under the rubric 'Vat lat 5319',
which stands for one of the three Roman graduals; 'F22' and
'B74' are sigla for the other and the single letters serve
as sigla for the five Frankish graduals of the Sextuplex (the Monza
codex is not represented because as a cantatorium it lacks
Introits). A dash in any column indicates that the manuscript
in question has the same Introit as does Vat lat 5319; the ' 0 ' s
under 'R' tell us simply that the eccentric Rheinau gradual lacks
the liturgical occasion altogether.
The continuity of assignment between the Roman and Frankish
manuscripts is absolute, and certainly it is this continuity, even
if only casually observed, that has caused chant scholars to
assume that the Roman graduals, however late, provide the
73 R.-J. Hesbert, Antiphonalium Missarum Sextuplex (Brussels, 1935: hereafter simply

Sextuplex). Much of what follows in the text is a summary of a paper read at the
sixth meeing of Cantus Planus, Sopron, Hungary, September 1995.
74
More fully, the manuscripts are: Rome, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, MS lat. 5319,
early twelfth century; Rome, Archivio S. Pietro, MS F22, thirteenth century; and
Geneva, Bibliotheca Bodmeriana, MS 74, AD 1071.
Table 1 Roman and Frankish Lenten Introits

Vat lat 5319 F22 B74 R B C K S
- - - - - - -
Septg Circumdederunt
Sexg Exsurge quare - - - - - - -
Quing Esto mihi - - - - - - -
Ash Wed Misereris omnium - - 0 - - - -
Thur Dum clamarem - - 0 - - - -
Fri Audivit dominus - - 0 - - - -
Quad Invocabis me - - - - - - -
Mon Sicut oculi - - - - - - -
Tu Domine refugium - - - - - - -
Wed Reminiscere - - 0 - - - -
Thur Confessio et pul - - 0 - - - -
Fri De necessitatibus - - 0 - - - -
Sat Intret oratio - - - - - - -
Mon Redime me dne - - 0 - - - -
Tu Tibi dixit - - 0 - - - -
Wed Ne derelinquas - - - - - - -
Thur Deus in adjutor - - 0 - - - -
Fri Ego autem cum - - 0 - - - -
Sat Lex domini - - 0 - - - -
Quad I11 Oculi mei - - - - - - -
Mon In deo laudabo - - 0 - - - -
Tu Ego clamavi - - 0 - - - -
Wed Ego autem in dno - - - - - - -
Thur Salus populi - - 0 - - - -
Fri Fac mecum dne - - - - - - -
Sat Verba mea - - - - - - -
Quad IV Letare Hier - - - - - - -
Mon Deus in nomine - - 0 - - - -
Tu Exaudi deus - - 0 - - - -
Wed Dum sanctificatus - - - - - - -
Thur Letetur cor - - 0 - - - -
Fri Meditatio cordis - - - - - - -
Sat Sitientes venite - - - - - - -
Quad V Iudica me deus - - - - - - -
Mon Misere, conculcavit - - 0 - - - -
Tu Expecta dominum - - 0 - - - -
Wed Liberator meus - - - - - - -
Thur Omnium que fec - - - - - - -
Fri Miserere, tribulor - - 0 - - - -
Palm Sun Domine ne longe - - - - - - -
Mon Iudica domine - - - - - - -
Tu Nos autem - - - - - - -
Wed In nomine dni - - - - - - -
Thur Nos autem - - - - - - -
James W. McKinnon
repertory of the eighth-century Roman Mass Proper.75And it is,

in fact, this very continuity of assignment, although carefully
considered rather than casually observed, that is the basic argu-
ment for the validity of the assumption. When one reflects that
the earlier Frankish graduals, the Rheinau ('R') and Blandin
('B') manuscripts, date from about 800, there seems no other
explanation for the identically assigned repertory in the Roman
manuscripts than that the latter provide the Roman repertory at
the time of its transmission to Francia - unless one should wish
to argue the opposite, that the Frankish chant was transmitted
to Rome. This notion, however, defies not only the conventional
wisdom but a wealth of literary reference to Frankish efforts to
establish the cantus romanus in their region. There are entire
categories of such evidence too well known to require repetition
here: for example, the edicts on the subject from the Carolingian
capit~laria~~and the anecdotes on the difficulties of the enterprise
narrated from the respective Roman and Frankish viewpoints by
John the Deacon and Notker of St
But more to the point, perhaps, are rubrics in the Frankish
manuscripts themselves that indicate they were copied from
Roman exemplars. There are, for example, the brief 'GREGOR-
IUS PRESUL' prefaces in which the Frankish scribe tells us
that a Roman pontiff 'COMPOSUIT H U N C LIBELLUM
MUSICAE ARTIS SCHOLAE CANTORUM', and the dutifully
copied Roman stational indications. There is one rubric so geo-
graphically irrelevant that some might find it amusing. The
Frankish manuscripts follow the Roman ones in listing no chants
for the Saturday before Palm Sunday, providing only the rubric
'SABBATO VACAT QUANDO PAPA ELEMOSYNAM
DAT'.78The rubric can be explained in only one of two ways -
either it was copied from Roman manuscripts, or the pope spent
the Saturday before Palm Sunday distributing alms throughout
'
j
Needless to say, when referring here to 'the repertory of the eighth-century Roman
Mass Proper', I take into account the strong possibility of later melodic adjustments.
76
They are quoted in numerous publications, among the earliest of which is H. Netzer,
L'introduction de la Messe romaine en France sous les Carolingiens (Paris, 1910).
"
The two will appear, translated in full into English for the first time, in the forthcoming
revision of 0 . Strunk, Source Readings in Music History (New York, 1950).
See Sextuplex, pp. 86-7; the rubric, which appears with slight variations in the different
manuscripts, is given here in the version of the Compitgne gradual.
the Carolingian realm. But the rubric that most explicitly attests
to Roman exemplars is that appearing in the Blandin gradual
at the seventh Sunday after Pentecost, the formulary of which
was added by the Franks to the Roman post-Pentecostal series
in order to bring the number of Sundays to twenty-three. The
rubric reads: 'ISTA HEBDOMATA NON EST I N ANTI-
PHONARIOS ROMANOS'."
This last example, involving as it does a set of chants (including
the Introit Omnes gentes) added by the Franks to the Roman
repertory, serves to introduce a point of considerable importance.
There are exceptions to the seemingly absolute identity between
Roman and Frankish repertories illustrated in Table 1 by the
Lenten Introits, and these very exceptions serve to corroborate
the point at issue. T o demonstrate this (remaining for the moment
with Introits) one must first place the exceptions in the context
of an entire repertory - how representative of the Introit as a
whole are the Lenten chants, and precisely how many exceptions
are there?
If we extend the comparison in Table 1 to the Introits of the
Advent-Christmas season (Table 2), we find the same overall
identity of repertory and assignment for this season as for Lent -
with, however, a number of exceptions that serve to illustrate
certain peculiarites of transmission between Rome and Francia.
As for differences in assignment, we note that while the Roman
manuscripts have Sacerdotes ejus for the feast of St Sylvester, the
Frankish books have Sacerdotes tui; this sort of lapse (not a spelling
mistake, but the substitution of an entirely different chant for
one of similar incipit) is met with elsewhere in the Mass Proper -
for example, in the replacement of the Roman Communion for
Monday in the fifth week of Lent, Dominus virtutem, by Dominus
firmamenturn in the Senlis manuscript ('S'). The curious (and to
me inexplicable) switch between the Introits of the first and
second Sundays after Epiphany is, I believe, unique to these two
dates."
The immediate concern, in any event, is not with differences
in assignment but with differences in the Roman and Frankish
'' See Sextuplex, p. 180.
The Offertories of these two Sundays, Jubilate deo omnis terra and Jubilate deo universa
terra, are similarly switched, but not the Graduals and Communions.
James W. McKinnon
Table 2 Roman and Frankish Advent-Christmas Introits

Vat lat 5319 F22 B74 R B C K S
Adv I Ad te lev - - - - 0 - -
AdvII Populus - - - - 0 - -
Lucy Dilexisti - - - - 0 - -
Adv I11 Gaudete - - - - - - -
Emb Rorate - - - - - - -
Wed
Emb Fri Prope esto - - 0 - - - -
Emb Sat Veni - - - - - - -
Adv IV [Dom vacat] - - Veni 0 Memento 0 Rorate
Xmas Hodie - - - - - - -
Vig
Xmas I Dominus - - - - - - -
Xmas I1 Lux fulg - - - - - - -
Xmas Puer nat - - - - - - -
I11
Stephen Etenim sed - - 0 - - - -
John Vig Ego autem - - - - - - -
John In medio - - - - - - -
InnocentsEx ore - - - - - - -
SylvesterSac ejus - - 0 S tui S tui S tui S tui
Sunday Dum 0 - - - - - -
medium
Epiphany Ecce adv - - - - - - -
Eph I Omnis ter - - In ex In ex In ex In ex In ex
Eph I1 In excelso - - Omnis Omnis Omnis Omnis Omnis
Eph I11 Adorate - - - - - - -
repertories, and we do see one instance of this in Table 2, at

the fourth Sunday of Advent. The date was, of course, a Dominica
vacat at Rome and as such lacked chants, but it was provided
with these in certain of the Carolingian ecclesiastical centres. We
see here that the Rheinau and Senlis graduals borrowed Introits
(Veni et ostende and Rorate celi, respectively) from the Ember days,
while the Compi{ag)egne manuscript ('C') displays an entirely
new Frankish Introit, Memento nostri domine, a chant that eventu-
ally became the norm in Gregorian manuscripts. I t is, again,
with such repertorial exceptions that we are concerned at present,
and if one extends the comparison of Tables 1 and 2 to the
entire Introit, the following figures result. There are no fewer
than 145 Introits common to the two repertories, whereas just
238
4 Introits are exclusive to the Roman manuscripts and just 6
exclusive to the Frankish manuscripts.
The most plausible explanation for the four Roman exceptions
is that they were added after the mid-eighth-century transmission
of the cantus romanus; this is certainly the case with two of the
chants, Deus israel and Rogamus te domine - the Introits, respect-
ively, of the Roman nuptial and funeral masses, liturgical
occasions that postdate the eighth century. The other two are
Benedicat te hodie and Elegit te dominus, Introits for the ordination
of bishops and popes; of these I can say only that the entire
general category of Common masses for bishops and popes shows
a lack of continuity between Rome and Francia. T h e six Frankish
exceptions are all the more telling. Five of them are for occasions
added to the liturgical calendar by the Franks: Omnes gentes for
the seventh Sunday after Pentecost, mentioned above; Benedicta
sit for the new Carolingian festival of the Holy Trinity; Memento
nostri for the fourth Sunday of Advent, which was (as noted
above) a Dominica vacat in Rome; Probasti domine for the Octave
of St Laurence and Narrabo nomen tuum for the Vigil of the
Ascension, both occasions that were observed in the Frankish
liturgy but not in the Roman. The sixth, Sicut fui, for the feast
of a pope, falls into the same exceptional category as the similarly
assigned Roman chants cited above.
I t is these Frankish exceptions, I believe, that definitively
demonstrate the validity of the assumption that is the subject of
this lengthy digression: namely, that the so-called Old Roman
manuscripts, in spite of their late date, provide us with the
Roman repertory of the Mass Proper before its transmission to
the North. These Frankish chants fail to appear in the Roman
manuscripts. Some might be willing to grant the broad validity
of the assumption while allowing for a substantial degree of
seepage from the Frankish repertory back to Rome at a signifi-
cantly early date, that is, during the very years when the Franks
were engaged in the process of absorbing the Roman chant and
making it their own. If this were the case, however, we should
expect to see chants like the Introit Omnes gentes, which appear
already in Frankish manuscripts dating from about 800, appear-
ing also in the Roman manuscripts; moreover, we should expect
such chants to be absorbed into the Roman melodic style. But
James W. McKinnon
Roman manuscripts, by their failure to reveal the intrusion of

early Frankish chants, demonstrate their fidelity to the Roman
repertory as it existed in the eighth century. There are, of course,
late Gregorian insertions in the Roman manuscripts such as the
Alleluias and sequences of Bodmer 74, and its Christmas Introit
tropes. But such chants, with their obviously Gregorian melodies,
stand out like oil from water in their Roman context; there is
little reason to doubt that their presence is the result of the
well-known outside influences that all but overwhelmed the
Roman liturgy in the eleventh century.
Introits were chosen as the subject of this methodological
digression for reasons of presentational convenience. They do not
differ radically from other items of the Mass Proper - except for
Alleluias - in this matter of Roman and Frankish identity of
repertory (nor of identity of liturgical assignment), but they do
differ just enough to make the task of explaining exceptions a less
space-consuming one. My count for the other genres (excluding
Alleluias and, for different reasons, Tracts) is as follows: 105
common Graduals, with 2 exclusive to Rome and 9 exclusive to
the Frankish manuscripts; 93 common Offertories, with 1 and
12 exceptions; and 140 common Communions, with 9 and 9
exceptions. So much for the Mass Proper; but to complete this
digression it is necessary to briefly consider the Office and to
quote an early Frankish figure who makes a very special contri-
bution to our discussion. I refer to Helisachar, liturgical advisor
to Louis the Pious, who in about 820 wrote a letter in which he
described his attempt to produce a satisfactory revision of the
Office.81 I t was necessary to do so, he tells us, because of the
distressing differences in the way the Office was sung in the
various ecclesiastical centres of the Carolingian realm. In support
of his project he assembled as many chant books, both Roman
and Frankish, as he could find. I n examining these he noted
that the books (again, both Roman and Frankish) provided a
unified repertory for the Mass, but not for the Office; in his own
words, 'While they differed among themselves very little with
respect to the chants of the Mass . . . few were found to manifest
The letter appears, with an English translation, in K. Levy, 'Abbot Helisachar's

Antiphoner', Journal of the American Musicological Socieg, 48 (1995), pp. 171-86.
unity with respect to the chants of the O f f i ~ e . ' ~Helisachar
' could
be said to have performed the same exercise illustrated here in
Tables 1 and 2, and to have reached the same conclusions for
the Mass but not for the Office. And I can attest, as someone
who in his naiveti attempted to extend the process to the Office -
that is, to compare in tabular form the repertory of the two
extant Old Roman antiphoners with the earliest Frankish and
Gregorian exemplars - that I experienced some of Helisachar's
frustration; the discrepancies were so great that it simply could
not be done.83 That we share with Helisachar this observation
of the sharp contrast between a stable Mass repertory and an
unstable Office repertory breathes a measure of life into the
comparison exemplified by our tables; we have no reason to
doubt that they reflect historical reality around the turn of the
ninth century.
And what, finally, might such a comparison reveal about the

Alleluia of the Mass at the time of its transmission to the
North? We know, to start with, that we simply cannot make
the comparison for the post-Pentecostal Alleluias; the Frankish
manuscripts do not assign them to specific Sundays but rather
place them in lists from which, presumably, they were to be
chosen each Sunday on an ad hoc basis. The one exception to
this among the Sextuplex manuscripts is the Rheinau gradual, but
its post-Pentecostal assignments differ altogether from those of
the Roman manuscripts. This, of course, is one of the features
of the Alleluia that chant scholars, including Apel, refer to as
'late'. And we saw above that Apel also remarked upon the
instability of assignment in the Paschaltime Alleluias, contrasting
'Sed quamquam in gradali cantu . . . minime discordare possent, in noctornali

tamen . . . paucissimi in unum concordare reperti sunt' (Monumenta Germaniae His-
torica, Epist. Merv. I, p. 529).
83
The two Roman Office antiphoners, both dating from the twelfth century, are British
Library, MS Add 29,988, and Rome, Archivio S. Pietro, MS B79. There is only one
Frankish example, an unnotated antiphoner that appears in the same later ninth-
century manuscript as the Compikgne gradual of the Sextuplex and is edited in Dam
Hesbert's Corpus Antiphonalium O f f i i i , vol. I (Rome, 1963). Two of the earliest Gregorian
antiphoners, dating from the turn of the eleventh century, are conveniently available
in facsimile: the so-called Hartker Codex in Pallographie Musicale, 2nd series, vol. I,
and the Quedlinburg Antiphoner, Das Quedlinburger Antiphonar, ed. H . Moller, 3 vols.
(Tutzing, 1990).
James W. McKinnon
this to the relative fixity of the Advent-Christmas assignments.

I t is time, then, to subject the Alleluias of these two festal seasons
to the same process that was applied to Introits; in doing so,
our primary focus is upon the aspect of assignment rather than
repertory.
Table 3 provides the Christmas season assignments. The
Roman assignments are given under the single heading 'Rome'
rather than under separate headings for the three Roman grad-
uals. I t is possible to do this because the Roman assignments
are surprisingly stable in relation to each other; those of Vat lat
5319 and San Pietro F22 are identical, while those of Bodmer
74 differ only at two points (indicated by asterisk^).^^ O n the
Frankish side of the table, the conventions of the previous tables
are maintained: one-word incipits are given for assignments that
differ from those of Rome; a dash indicates the same assignment;
and an '0' indicates the complete omission of an Alleluia for
any reason, such as the absence of the festival from a manuscript.
I t is clear from the table that the sort of continuity that we saw
for Lenten Introits is present for the Alleluias only from
Christmas day through the feast of the Epiphany. The Alleluias
of Advent and of the Sundays after the Epiphany have different
assignments in the Roman and Frankish books; the Frankish
assignments for these dates, however, are stable with respect to
themselves, as were the Roman assignments. Thus three features
of the Christmas season Alleluia assignments require explanation:
(1) internal Roman stability; (2) internal Frankish stability; and
(3) continuity between Rome and Francia only for the seven
dates from Christmas through Epiphany. (That the Franks, inci-
dentally, failed to adopt the Alleluia Beatus vir for the vigil Mass
of John the Evangelist is because they omitted the Alleluia from
all sanctoral vigils; and that they failed to adopt the Alleluia Hi
sunt qui for the feast of the Holy Innocents is because they
considered the occasion to be one of sadness.)85An explanation
"
For the third Sunday of Advent, Bodmer 74 has two Gregorian Alleluias, Ecce iam
venit and Rex nosier adveniet, along with a prosa and sequence rather than Excita; for
the feast of John the Evangelist, it has Beatus vir rather than Hic est discipulus. (Table
3 does not take into account those instances where Bodmer 74 adds a Gregorian
Alleluia to the regular Roman assignment.)
O n the latter, see Amalarius, Liber O j j i a l i s , I, 41 (Hanssens, vol. 11, p. 193).
Table 3 Roman and Frankish Advent-Christmas Alleluias
Rome Monza Rheinau Blandin Compitgne Corbie Senlis
Adv 1 Excita Ostende Ostende Ostende 0 Ostende Ostende
Adv I1 Ostende Letatus Letatus 1.etatus 0 Letatus 1.etatus
Adv 111 *Excita Excita Excita Exci ta Excita Excita Excita
Adv IV [uacat] 0 0 0 Veni dne 0 Veni dne
Xmas I Dns dixit - - - - - -
Xmas I1 Dns r e g . . . dec - - - - -

-
;f; Xmas 111 Dies sanctif - - - -

- -
Stephen Video celos - - - - - -
Vig John Beatus vir 0 0 0 0 0 0

John Evg *Hie est disc - - - - - -
Innocents Hi sunt qui 0 0 0 0 0 0

Sunday Dns r e g . . . dec - - - - - -
Epiphany Vidimus stellam - - - - -

-
Eph I T e decet Jubilate Jubilate Jubilate Jubilate Jubilate Jubilate

Eph I1 Adorabo 1.audate 1.audate Laudate 1.audate Laudate 1.audate
Eph 111 Dns r e g . . . dec Dns . . . exu Dns . . . exu Dns . . . exu Dns . . . exu Dns . . . exu Dns . . . exu
James W. McKinnon
of the three above-mentioned observations will be undertaken

after a presentation of the Paschaltime assignments (Table 4).
This table is laid out in the same manner as that for the
Alleluias of the Christmas season. Again, all three Roman manu-
scripts are close enough so that the assignments of Vat lat 5319
can be displayed under the single heading 'Rome'. There are
significant differences on only one date, the Octave of Easter,
where San Pietro F22 replaces Haec dies with Oti theos megas and
Bodmer 74 has the Gregorian Quasi mod0 and Post dies o ~ t oThe .~~
Frankish side of the table introduces just one new symbol: the
abbreviation 'Ql 01' whenever a manuscript has 'Quale volueris',
the usual Frankish rubric to indicate that the Alleluia for the
day in question is to be chosen at the discretion of those respon-
sible for the conduct of the service. Only eight dates of the entire
season display continuity of assignment between Roman and
Frankish manuscripts; they are arguably the eight most important
liturgical occasions of Paschaltime: the Easter Vigil, Easter,
Easter Monday (the Frankish Dominus regnavit is a Latin version
of 0 kyrioc), Easter Saturday (the final day of the baptismal
celebration), the Greater Litany, Ascension Thursday, the Vigil
of Pentecost, and Pentecost Sunday. All other dates fail to display
continuity between the Roman and Frankish assignments, and
the Frankish assignments, in contrast to those of Advent and the
Sundays after Epiphany, differ among themselves. T o be
explained now, then, in addition to the three observations made
above in connection with Table 3, are three related points: (1)
substantial stability within Roman Paschaltime assignments; (2)
great instability within Frankish assignments; and (3) continuity
of assignment between Roman and Frankish manuscripts for only
eight important dates.
The central conclusion to be drawn from all this is that only
fifteen dates of the temporal cycle had fixed assignments in the
manuscripts that were sent from Rome to the Carolingian liturgi-
cal centre^.^' These fifteen dates, one notes, are the festive dates
86
Bodmer 74's frequent addition of Gregorian Alleluias and sequences to the regular
Roman assignments is not indicated in Table 4, nor is that manuscript's consistent
substitution of Latin for Greek Alleluias.
The sanctoral cycle is not amenable to the same sort of analysis because of the
possible intervention of coincidence - that is, the independent assignment of the same
obviously appropriate Alleluia like, for example, Sancti tui to both the Roman and
of the two seasons, as opposed to the others which (as either

Ordinary Sundays or weekdays) are a step lower on the ladder
of liturgical significance. The Alleluia assignments of the latter
dates, then, must have been treated in the same fashion as the
Sundays after Pentecost; that is, their Alleluias would have been
chosen annually from a prepared list. One observes, moreover,
that while all of the assigned Alleluias have verses of liturgically
appropriate content - for example, Vidimus stellam for the Epi-
phany or Emitte spiritum for Pentecost - the Alleluias on our
purported list do not. Take, for example, Adorabo ad templum,
which appears in the Roman books at Wednesday in Easter
week: it lacks specific Paschaltime content, and in fact it also
appears at the second Sunday after the Epiphany. This is in
contrast to the Roman Introit for the same date, Venite benedicti
patris, which refers to the newly baptised, and the Communion,
Christus resurgens, with its obvious reference to the Resurrection.
But what of the substantially stable assignments within the
three Roman graduals? This can best be explained as the result
of fixing these assignments some time after (perhaps only shortly
after) the redaction of the documents used in the transmission
of the Roman repertory to the North. And what of the similarly
stable assignments within the Frankish manuscripts for the Sun-
days of Advent and after the Epiphany, in contrast to the unstable
assignments for Paschaltime and the post-Pentecostal period? The
stability of those for Advent and the Sundays after the Epiphany
gives the appearance of an effort on the part of the Franks to
provide fixed assignments for the Alleluia after the manner of
the other items of the Mass Proper, an effort that was sustained
only for the first portion of the liturgical year. The two Roman
Advent Alleluias, by the way, Ostende and Excita, form something
of a special pair. They, unlike virtually all other Alleluias on
our purported list, have liturgically specific texts; they are obvi-
ously Advent chants. I t is no surprise, then, that they were
assigned to Advent by the Franks also; but that they might have
been on the Roman list rather than already assigned at the time
the Frankish festival for a certain pair of saints. There is, in any event, very little
similarity of assignment between Rome and Francia, whether by coincidence or
design. Examples of genuine continuity might be found for only a handful of important
saints, perhaps St Laurence's Beatus vir and St Andrew's Nimis honorati.
of the transmission is suggested by a number of observations:
(1) the Franks assigned them to different Sundays in Advent
than those chosen by the Romans; (2) the two chants display a
measure of instability within the Roman graduals themselves;
and (3) the Romans provided only two Advent chants for three
Sundays (the fourth Sunday, one recalls, was 'vacans' at Rome).
And it might be worth noting also that of the three Alleluia lists
given in the Sextuplex manuscripts, Ostende appears in two and
Excita in one.88
T o summarise, one must conclude that only about fifteen
dates in the mid-eighth-century Roman temporale had Alleluias
assigned to them, and that Alleluias were chosen for the other
dates from some sort of list. The significance of this conclusion
is that the characteristic of the Alleluia that chant scholars have
traditionally taken as evidence for its 'lateness' - that is, its
instability of assignment - is even more extreme than has hitherto
been supposed. One might, however, wish to question this
assumption that instability is a sign of lateness (it is, of course,
the corollary to Walter Frere's famous dictum 'fixity means
antiquity')." I n reply it should be said that one cannot assume
that instability of assignment is a n indication of late date, but
one may very well suspect as much and must then, in each case,
go on to provide an historically plausible explanation for the
suspicion. As for the case in point, it seems highly unlikely that
a small group of festivals would be assigned Alleluias at a n early
date (say, the time of Gregory I or even the mid seventh century)
and that a century or more - including a period of intense
activity in the creation of the Mass Proper - would be allowed
to elapse without extending the number of assignments beyond
the original group.
Indeed, the question of assignments aside, the small repertory
of the Roman Alleluia itself, a repertory that the ninth-century
Franks found it necessary to augment dramatically, speaks for
the late adoption of the genre. I t is a much more complex task
to furnish the precise numbers involved than it is for a genre
88
Ostende appears in the Blandin and Compi6gne lists and Excita in the Compi6gne
list; see Sextuplex, pp. 198-9.
See The Sarum Gradual and the Gregorinn Antiphonale .Missarum (London, 1895), p, x.
James W.McKinnon
like the Introit; to be reckoned with, for example, are the Greek
Alleluias, some of which were reproduced in Latin versions, and
also the Alleluias sung during Easter week vespers in the peculiar
tone unique to that service.g0But what renders definitive numbers
virtually unobtainable is the circumstance that a significant por-
tion of Alleluias with the same texts display totally unrelated
melodies in the Roman and Gregorian version^,^^ a phenomenon
that should not be altogether surprising if the bulk of the chants
were transmitted as a list of unnotated verse texts. In any event,
my efforts to obtain numbers analogous to those supplied for the
other genres of the Mass Proper results in the following: about
50 Alleluias common to the Roman and Sextuplex manuscripts,
fewer than 10 exclusive to the Roman manuscripts, and nearly
50 exclusive to the Sextuplex manuscripts. I t should be added also
that well over half the total of common Alleluias - that is, those
that appear to have been in the Roman repertory at the time of
its transmission - belong to the three much-discussed melody-
types: Dies sanctijicatus, Excita and Ostende. I count no more than
nineteen different Roman Alleluia melodies. I t seems fair enough
to interpret this last circumstance as evidence of haste in a n
attempt to provide an adequate repertory, to catch up, one might
say, with the other, more fully supplied genres of the Mass
Proper.
This study began with a quotation in which !Villi Ape1 posed a

dilemma for those who would reflect upon the origins of the
Roman Alleluia. For him (and he was by no means alone in
this) two evidentiary items - the jubilus of patristic literature
and Gregory's extension of the Mass Alleluia beyond Pas-
chaltime - spoke for the early origins of the genre; but one spoke
for its late origins - the Alleluia's well-known instability of
liturgical assignment. H e resolved the dilemma by deciding (and
in this too he was not alone) that the Alleluia was for many
centuries no more than the melismatic chanting of the single
'Vesperstil' in the influential coinage of Thodberg, Der byzantinische Alleluiarionzyklus,

p. 172.
An adequate investigation of this factor requires a full-length study in itself; such a
study might very well reveal much about the relationship between Roman and
Frankish chant.
word, to which verses were added at a later date. The present

study, however, has attempted to show that the patristic jubilus
most certainly had nothing to do with the history of the Mass
Alleluia, and that when Gregory spoke of singing 'alleluia' at
Mass he was quite probably referring not to the item of the
Mass Proper we know from the later sources, but rather to the
adding of 'alleluia' to the psalmody of the Mass. This interpret-
ation of Gregory's words is rendered all the more likely by a
demonstration that the Alleluia's instability of assignment is even
more extreme than was hitherto thought to be the case. Most
of its repertory appears to have been transmitted from Rome in
lists not unlike the post-Pentecostal Alleluia lists of the Frankish
manuscripts. I n this respect the Alleluia stands in sharp contrast
to the other genres of the Mass Proper, as it does also in its
considerably smaller Roman repertory.
The stage is thus set to explore new hypotheses about the
origins and early history of the Alleluia. T o cite just one that
fits the circumstances outlined here quite comfortably: the Alle-
luia was adopted at Rome in imitation of the Eastern Alleluia
some time after the reign of Gregory the Great and before the
transniission of the cantus romanus to the North.92 There may be
other hypotheses equally or more promising, and it is hoped that
the present study will serve to encourage their exploration.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
"'
Thodberg, of course, espouses an Eastern origin for the Roman Alleluia but places
the time of its adoption at an earlier period than the vie~vsexpressed in the present
study would suggest; see D i e b3zantinische illleluiarionzyklus, p. 194.
Early lMusic History (1996j Volume 15
REVIEWS
The Lucca Codex (Codice Mancini). Introductory Study and Fac-

simile Edition by John NAdas and Agostino Ziino. Ars Nova,
1 . Lucca, Libreria Musicale Italiana, 1990, 227 pp.
I1 Codice Rossi 215. Studio introduttivo ed edizione in facsimile a cura
di Nino Pirrotta (The Rossi Codex 215. Introductory Study and
Facsimile Edition by Nino Pirrotta). Ars Nova, 2. Lucca,
Libreria Musicale Italiana, 1992, 154 pp.
I1 Codice T.III.2: Torino, Biblioteca Nazionale Universitaria. Studio
introduttivo ed edizione in facsimile a cura di Agostino Ziino (The
Codex T.III.2. Introductory Study and Facsimile Edition by
Agostino Ziino). Ars Nova, 3. Lucca, Libreria Musicale Itali-
ana, 1994, 188 pp.
I1 Codice Squarcialubi, M S Mediceo Palatino 87, Biblioteca Medicea
Laurenziana di Firenze. Studi raccolti a cura di F. Alberto Gallo. Ars
Nova [no series number]. Florence, Libreria Musicale Italiana
and Giunti Gruppo, 1992, 2 vols., 287 pp. and [2] +
ccxvi + [ l ] fols.
O u r knowledge of Italian trecento polyphony comes mainly from
seven retrospective anthologies of the late fourteenth and early
fifteenth centuries, four of which are Florentine (Table I ) . ' The
' Manuscripts mentioned in this review are cited in shorthand terms as follows:
Bologna Q l 5 = Bologna, Civico Museo Bibliografico Musicale, MS Q 15 (RISM
I-Bc 15)
Boverio = Torino, Biblioteca Nazionale Universitaria, MS T.III.2 (RISM I-Tn 2)
Chantilly = Chantilly, Bibliothcque du Muste Condt, MS 564 (RISM F-CH 564)
Lo = London, British Library, MS Add. 29987 (RISM GB-Lbl 29987)
Lucca (Mancini) = Lucca, Archivio di Stato, MS 184 (RISM I-Las 184)
Modena (ModA) = Modena, Biblioteca Estense, MS a.M.5.24 (RISM I-'MOe 5.24)
Panciatichi (FP) = Florence, Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale, MS Panciatichiano 26
(RISM I-Fn 26)
Pit = Paris, Bibliothcque Nationale, MS fonds it. 568 (RISM F-Pn 568)
Table 1
JMS page size (mm) (surci~jing)folios datings
Rossi 23 x 16.8 now 18 of 32 F 1350170 P 1370
Panciatichi 29.5 22 115 (paper) F 1380190 P 1400
Lo 26 X 19.5 88 F early 15C P 1425
Pit 25.7 X 17.5 150 F after 1400 P 1425
Reina 27.1X21.3 122 (paper) 1400-30140
Lucca 22 X 15 now 42 of 102 c. 1410
Squarcialupi 40.5 28.5 216 F 1415-19 P after 1440
(new date 1410-15)
" F = von Fischer, ATezc Groce; P = Pirrotta, JMGG
Two newer discoveries belong chronologically at the end of this list: SL 221 1
(see above, note 1) and the Boverio fragments here reviewed (Torino T.III.2).
volumes now under review include three of those seven manu-

scripts and one newly discovered source. Three of the seven
sources had already appeared in black-and-white photographic
reproductions of varying quality: an excellent one of Florence
Panciatichi 26,* the Vatican manuscript Rossi 215,3 and a pion-
eering reproduction (though of miserable quality) of the Fioren-
Reina = Paris, Bibliothhque Nationale, MS nouv. acq. fr. 6771 (RISM F-Pn 6771)
Rossi = Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, MS Rossi 215 (RISM I-Rrat
215)
SL 221 1 = Florence, Biblioteca Laurenziana, MS Archivio Capitolare di San Lorenzo
22 11 (RISM I-Fsl 22 1 1 )
Squarcialupi (Sq) = Florence, Biblioteca Laurenziana, MS Mediceo-Palatino 87
(RISM I-Fl 87)
SL 221 1 was originally a manuscript of at least 190 folios, of w-hich the surviving
50 per cent are parchment leaves entirely palimpsest and largely overw-ritten. Its
state poses a challenge to transcription, and facsimile reproduction should be post-
poned until advances in digital enhancement techniques make it possible to improve
on conventional photography. It was arranged generically and authorially, starting
(like most other Florentine manuscripts) w-ith Jacopo. It had a section of Paolo
compositions, and hitherto unknown works by Ugolino of Orvieto and Giovanni and
Piero Mazzuoli. Unlike comparable sources, it ends with a gathering of motets. See
F. D'Accone, 'Una nuova fonte dell'Ars Nova italiana: I1 codice di San Lorenzo
221 l', Studi IMusicali, 13 (1984), pp. 3-31, and J. Nbdas, 'Manuscript San Lorenzo
221 1: Some further obsenrations', L'Ars AVoaa Italiana del Trecento, vr: Atti del Congress0
Internazionale 'L'Europa e la Musica del Trecento', Certaldo, 19-2 1 July 1984
(Certaldo, [1992]), pp. 145-68.
I1 codice musicale Panciatichi 26 della Biblioteca .Ihzionale di Firenze. Riproduzione in facsimile,
ed. F . A. Gallo. Studi e Testi per la Storia della Musica, 3 (Florence, 1981).
I1 canzionere musicale del codice Vaticano Rossi 215. Prima parte [facsimile], ed. G. Vecchi
(Bologna, 1966).
Facsimiles of the Squarcialupi M S and other sources
tine Medici manuscript now in L ~ n d o nwith, ~ cropped edges and

reversed rectos and versos, which nevertheless was and remains
better than nothing. T h e present four volumes extend the three
available sources to five by reproducing two manuscripts hitherto
not available (Squarcialupi and Lucca); they include one overlap
(Rossi), and they introduce a source hitherto unknown (Turin
T.III.2, the Boverio fragments). Of the seven major trecento
sources, only the two manuscripts now in Paris - Reina (Paris
BN fr. 6771) and Pit (Paris BN it. 568) - remain unavailable in
facsimile; these are projected for publication in a new black-and-
white facsimile series from the University of Chicago P r e s ~ . ~
These seven sources have in the past been dated from as early
as the mid fourteenth century to nearly the mid fifteenth; the
total span from Rossi to Squarcialupi is here narrowed - this is
surely right - to the period c. 1370 (for Rossi) to c. 1410-15 (for
Squarcialupi). Over the past five years, the Libreria Musicale
Italiana ( L I M ) has set new standards of photography and presen-
tation for musical facsimiles, and it is to be hoped that this
wonderful series of books of rare beauty will long c ~ n t i n u e . ~
They are a major contribution to scholarship. Any reservations
expressed below do not dim this praise, but are rather intended
as suggestions for attention in future volumes. Brief notice will
be given here to the first three items listed above, followed by
a more extended review of the Squarcialupi facsimile.
T h e Lucca (Mancini) codex consists of three bifolios found in
Perugia in 1935, eighteen found in Lucca in 1938, and two more
The lManuscript London, B.>M., Additional 29987, 4 Facsimile Edition, ed. G. Reaney,
Musicological Studies and Documents, 13 (n.p., American Institute of Musicology,
1965).
T o be edited by John Nidas in the series Late Medieval and Early Renaissance
Music in Facsimile (the first volume to appear in this series is Oxford, Bodleian
Library, MS Canon. misc. 213, ed. D. Fallows (Chicago, 1995)). Another beautifully
produced collection of colour facsimiles including manuscripts of this period is A n
Anthology of Music Fragments from the L o z ~ Countries, ed. E. Schreurs (Leuven, 1995).
The standard of facsimile is at least matched, and probably surpassed, by Engelberg
Stiftsbibliothek Codex 314, Schweizerische Musikdenkmaler, 11, ed. W. Arlt and
M. Stauffacher (Winterthur, 1986) from the Swiss publisher Amadeus. This is a late
fourteenth-century manuscript of very different repertory. The introduction is a com-
plete and perfect study that should serve as a model for other facsimiles. Certainly
the polish, density and integration of the text are a monument to the collaborative
work of the authors and show up the unevenness of the barely edited multi-author
introduction to Squarcialupi; see below.
found in Lucca in 1988 by NAdas and Ziino. Pioneering work
on the fragmentary source, some of which now stands in need
of revision, was undertaken by Nino Pirrotta and Ettore Li Gotti.'
Partly with the aid of original foliation, the new study reconstructs
an original manuscript of at least 102 leaves (more than double
the surviving parts), from which 83 compositions are still rep-
resented, all Italian or French secular songs. Many of the bifolios
were trimmed and folded horizontally to serve as covers for
notarial documents, resulting in severe damage. The photographs
reproduce completely what exists, at actual size, with great benefit
from the full colour reproduction (as also with Rossi and Boverio)
even where there is no notational necessity for colour. The fac-
simile is supplemented by a series of ultraviolet photographs for
some of the most badly rubbed pages. These wonderfully enhance
the use of the facsimile to scholars; still more plates would have
been welcome. The magisterial 50-page introduction by John
NAdas and Agostino Ziino (which appears only in English) is
packed with new information, including biographical and insti-
tutional discoveries relating to Ciconia and Zacara da Teramo.
Paleographical, repertorial and historical material are woven
together into a wholly convincing account of compilation by a
single scribe who must have been close to centres of major power
and action: Visconti Pavia in the 1390s, Carrara Padua in the
1400s, then the papal circles in Pisa and Bologna around 1410,
and finally Florence. I t is a major scholarly achievement. The
final assembly by NAdas takes good account of matters which
are sometimes insufficiently controlled in other volumes in the
series. An exemplary inventory and bibliography make the struc-
ture and contents of this source clear for the first time, noting
all the other numerations used in the literature. The leaves
discovered in 1988 add a hitherto unknown contratenor for Landi-
ni's Poy che da te and a new second strophe for his L'alma mie
piange, an ascription to Ciconia and a new contratenor for the
hitherto anonymous Me@ o morte,' and perhaps as many as three
' 'I1 Codice di Lucca', Musica Dzsciplina, 3 (1949), pp. 119-38, 4 (1950), pp. 11 1-52,
and 5 (1951), pp. 115-42.
The contratenor is still incomplete: the transcription presents just what is there, but
musical repetition permits bars 45-49 to be completed from 35-39, and 49-end from
27-29.
new unica by Zacara, two of them models for his mass movements.
Some of the unica are transcribed.
The Rossi-Ostiglia codex is the oldest of the trecento antholog-
ies and the smallest in both extent and format, and it presents its
repertory anonymously (though concordances supply the names of
Giovanni da Cascia and Magister Piero for two pieces). Both
facsimiles include the two additional leaves discovered in Ostiglia
by Oscar Mischiati in 1963; unlike Vecchi, Pirrotta properly
acknowledges Mischiati's discovery. This facsimile does therefore
duplicate an existing publication, although improving on it by
high quality; it is to be hoped that future priority will be given
to manuscripts that have never been published in facsimile
(ModA, for example). Rossi belongs on linguistic grounds not to
Tuscan but to northern Italian and Veneto circles. Its full extent
can be presumed from original foliation: 18 of originally 32 leaves
survive. Pirrotta provides an elegant introductory essay for the
volume, having long ago edited the musical contents.' More
recently, and here, he makes an elegant and subtle case for
placing the manuscript in the Veronese circle of the author
Gidino da Sommacampagna. JVhile there are otherwise no start-
ling revisions to what was already known - a dating c. 1370 is
reaffirmed - his essay is filled with humane and perceptive
observations about the verbal texts and the musical styles.
The Boverio manuscript (now Turin T.III.2) is the most
exciting discovery of a significant new source since D'Accone's
identification of the San Lorenzo folios (SL 2211). I t forms a
bridge between the trecento sources and the early fifteenth-
century repertory embodied in Veneto manuscripts dating from
the 1420s onwards; like these, and unlike most of the trecento
sources, it includes mass movements. Fifteen paper folios survive,
most of them seriously damaged. Ziino lists 43 pieces, but 5 of
these (including 3 unica) are miscellaneous and rather crudely
written later fifteenth-century additions, inserted in blank spaces.
After deducting these we are left with 38 pieces (mostly
incomplete) dating from c. 1400. This number can be further
The 22fusic of Fourteenth-Century Italy, 1 and 2 , Corpus Mensurabilis Musicae, 8, ed. N.

Pirrotta (n.p., American Institute of Musicology, 1934 and 1960); the commentary
is still unpublished.
reduced by at least one: the 'long' Amen over-cautiously listed
separately as no. 29 clearly belongs to the preceding Gloria no.
28, and further matches are possible. Nine or ten songs and six
mass items are unica. Ziino has bravely proposed a reconstruction
of the gathering structure, but some of his gatherings, sus-
piciously, comprise only two or three bifolios. Any reconstruction
from such slender remains must be considered tentative. Remark-
able is the predominance of French-texted songs, including con-
cordances with the Chantilly and Modena manuscripts, perhaps
suggesting further connections (through Antonello and Filipotto
da Caserta and Antonio Zacara) with the Visconti court in Pavia,
as suggested by Strohm." This points to the same circles as the
Lucca repertory, which offers the closest parallels, save only that
Boverio also includes mass movements. These two sources further
extend our knowledge of Zacara, between them providing further
concordances and new sources for his intriguingly named mass
movements already known from Bologna Q15, and for the songs
on which they are based. Verbal canons not present in Chantilly
and Modena are given for two pieces. I t is a pity that the
transcriptions of the verbal texts do not include those for pieces
left incomplete by the folios being cut vertically; this could
have aided future identification of these undoubtedly significant
compositions, perhaps from likewise fragmentary sources, and
could even have helped to determine whether any more of the
separately listed items might belong together as parts of the same
piece. Ziino's discussion of provenance is less searching than the
discussion of very similar matter in his introduction (with John
NAdas) to the Lucca facsimile; but for the dates of publication,
one might have said that the later work could now benefit from
the former. However, Ziino has combined the first study of this
important new source with its first announcement, and consider-
ing that there has as yet been little input from others expert in
the area, he has provided a fine starting point for continuing
work.
I have two reservations about the Rossi and Boverio facsimiles,
concerning duplication of material and the English translations.
lo
R. Strohm, 'Filipotto da Caserta, ovvero i Francesi in Lombardia', in In cantu et in
sermone. 4 Nino Pirrotta nel suo 8OU compleanno, ed. F. della Sera and F. Piperno
(Florence, 1989), pp. 63-74.
T h e volumes look beautiful; the facsimiles are of the highest

quality. But they are inflated to 154 and 188 pages respectively,
and to unnecessarily high cost, by the dual presentation of the
entire introduction in both Italian and English, wastefully and
pointlessly duplicating not only the inventory and musical tran-
scription, but even the photographic plates that supplement the
facsimile - all for the sake of a translated caption. This points
to a plan to publish the facsimile in two separate self-contained
editions, with the re fa tory material (including captions and
headings) in Italian and English respectively. Yet at the same
time, the poetic texts are left untranslated, as are some Italian
quotations in the prefatory essays: thus the reader who is not
fluent in Italian is left without help where it is most needed,
namely in the poetic texts. Indeed, in the Rossi facsimile these
texts are solemnly printed twice in Italian, in the English as
well as the Italian prefatory section, but without translations or
summaries. l '
The English translations for Rossi, Boverio and indeed Squarci-
alupi are a disgrace, so unidiomatic as to inhibit understanding.
Hugh \Yard Perkins's quaintly literal renderings of idiomatic
Italian into English at best make it hard to concentrate on the
sense, and at worst send one to the Italian to find out what the
English means. Few readers will sail easily through his senaries,
hexagrams, miniators, incipitariums and other devisings for which
better English renderings exist.'' The translation by Margherita
Ferro Luraghi of Bellosi's piece (in Squarcialupi) is particularly
bad, resembling a parody of an opera-plot translation ('water-
coloured face', 'decennia', 'Anthem Book' for 'Antiphoner'). Her
own article was presumably written in English by herself, a brave
but misguided attempt. The only essays that are truly readable
without such obstacles are those originally written in English by
John Nidas for the Squarcialupi volume, but these stand out
I'
In the Squarcialupi facsimile the text and translation are presented side by side, so
that the reader can easily consult the original; but here too some extended Italian
quotations in the text and footnotes are left untranslated.
'* For travesties of Pirrotta's elegant originals see, among many examples, Rossi, p. 65:
'Secondly, there are signs of fatigue on the same page (concerning which more below).
And lastly, purely on grounds of probability, as all the surviving sheets belong to
three of the four first fascicles'; p. 68: 'The incomplete hexagram added on in this
way suggests there ran only a short time between the ruling and the writing.'
anyway as being on a higher scholarly level than anything else
in that volume. O n a happier note, Giuliano Di Bacco's trans-
lation into Italian of Nfidas's Squarcialupi essay is a model of
elegant clarity.
Libraries often permit or even encourage facsimile publication

on the grounds that originals will be spared handling. The quality
of reproduction in this series is so high, even for seriously dam-
aged materials, that the need to consult the original manuscripts
is indeed genuinely reduced - the librarian's dream. But facsimi-
les stimulate interest and new work on the manuscripts thus
made available, and even the best facsimiles may sometimes
raise more questions than they answer. Access to the Florentine
Squarcialupi manuscript, the largest, latest and most beautiful
of the trecento sources, has in any case long been severely
restricted. Its guardians were reportedly waiting for a publication
proposal worthy of the magnificence of the original; and this is
it. No expense has been spared. The sumptuous appearance of
the facsimile is at first sight truly breath-stopping. Even libraries
that can afford to buy it will have to treat it as a limited-access
rarity. For those lucky enough to own or have access to it, it
will be a joy to study and sing from; but it lies outside the reach
of most individual purchasers, who must therefore consult it in
libraries, where they cannot use it for performance. The facsimile
and the accompanying volume of essays come as a handsome
set in a sturdy book-like box. The two volumes themselves are
much more vulnerable. The sewing of my copy of the facsimile
was noticeably weakened after a few weeks of personal use, and
the connection of the gatherings to the spine seems endangered.
A library copy of the softbound essay volume needed to be sent
for binding after only a week of careful but enthusiastic use.
The quality of the musical and textual reproduction is very
high, though paradoxically perhaps not quite as good as the
photographic reproductions of the Lucca, Rossi and Boverio
manuscripts, which are less clearly aimed at the luxury market.
So much trouble has been taken to give the facsimile a lifelike
appearance that inexperienced students may at first almost
believe that they are handling the original. They see realistic
hair follicles on the parchment and pencil annotations on the
flyleaves; and they see genuine gold leaf applied, in each copy,
by burnishing the gold onto prominences made by punching
indentations on the reverse of the page. This is certainly impress-
ive at first sight, and it vividly communicates the luxurious
impression of the original. But is it worth the high cost? T h e
answer, I'm afraid, is that too much has been sacrificed in the
interests of this stunning first impression. One need only compare
the excellent colour photographs of all the composer portraits in
the volume of essays to see that the edges of the stamped-on
gold are too hard in the facsimile, whereas in the photographs
they meet the ground much more softly. In the original the gold
is soft, not brash, and is delicately and minutely tooled, the
background to the portrait blending in most cases into a framing
border, like a gilt picture frame. This effect is totally lost in the
facsimile, making the colour photographs all the more welcome;
I would have preferred to see all the decorated pages reproduced
thus, to reveal in greater detail what is on the illuminated pages
besides the portrait miniatures. Is the stemma on fol. 1, for
example, reproduced without gold leaf because the gold in the
original is worn or because to apply it realistically would be too
intricate? Does it really differ so much from the other uses of
gold on this folio? A colour slide of fol. 1 seems to indicate that
there is gold leaf on the stemma, and in various other small
areas not picked up by the facsimile, which makes a starker
contrast between gold leaf and other hues than one sees in a
slide or photograph. The chief loss is that the famous collection
of instruments depicted in the Landini border (illustrating his
polytextual madrigal Musica son) cannot be studied in this publi-
cation, because their detail has been crudely overstamped with
gold.
Squarcialupi is the chief source for the works of Landini, and
almost half of it is devoted to a nearly complete collection of his
songs. All of the music has appeared in editions classified by
composer, Landini's works several times over. A complete edition
of Squarcialupi by Johannes IYolf was published posthumously
in 1955, but it is problematic and far from user-friendly. The
Squarcialupi manuscript offers a sharp contrast with the older
Rossi codex, whose unilluminated pages are half the size. Rossi's
18 surviving folios (originally 32) contrast with Squarcialupi's
2 16 (complete), and all its compositions appear anonymously.
Sq's enormous repertory of 353 pieces,13 on the other hand, is
arranged by composers, whose names are emblazoned on every
page, each section being headed by a composer portrait and
lavishly decorated border. The pictorial decoration is sumptuous,
possibly the most distinguished for any polyphonic manuscript
of this period (in which there is little competition except from
the special case of the Machaut manuscripts) or even others.
Luciano Bellosi identified a 'Squarcialupi Master' in 1984, and
he now speculates that this might be early work of Bartolomeo
di Fruosino. Art-historical evidence now places an earlier date
for Squarcialupi beyond doubt, though the narrow window of
1410-15 here proposed depends on termini Post and ante for a pair
of costume datings.14 O n what basis can we be so confident
about those datings? is the representation of dress proof against
conscious archaicism, interference or later addition3 and where
does the single page (fol. 175') on which they appear stand in
the chronology of the artistic and musical execution of the whole
volume?'j
The date of Squarcialupi has long been contested. Von Fisch-
er's datings for trecento sources have been consistently earlier
than Pirrotta's, by as much as a generation. But the new art-
historical dating of 1410-15 is even earlier than von Fischer's
1415-19, let alone Pirrotta's original 'after 1440'. Although many
of the composers were active elsewhere, Squarcialupi was over-
whelmingly a Florentine production. Kurt von Fischer had pre-
viously shown that Squarcialupi was written in the scriptorium
l3
Sometimes given as 354, reflecting the two differently notated copies of Ita se n'era,
numbered 6 3 and 63bis in RISM. The count does not include the one uncopied piece
(Girand'un be1 falcon) whose identity can be inferred from the iconography of its
decoration. See below, p. 261 and note 18.
l4
This point is also made by David Fallows in his review in E a r b Music, 23 (May
1995), p. 320, drawing attention to the dependency of the dating on the appearance,
on this one page and in a single border scene, 'of a woman wearing a dress that
ceased to be fashionable after about 1415 and a man with a haircut that became
fashionable only in about 1410)' - changes in fashion that are not here documented.
'j
This, moreover, is the page for Zacara, the composer whose chronological relation
to the manuscript is one of the most crucial yet uncertain, in relation to his presumed
death date (at about the time of compilation), the choice of his M-orks for inclusion,
and the incomplete execution of his section. The border illustrates the song chosen
to head his section, Ferito gi2 d'un amoroso dardo. For more on these tailor-made
borders, see the Squarcialupi introduction, pp. 50-1, and below, note 18.
of the Florentine Camaldolese monastery of S. Maria degli

Angeli,16 and this judgement is now confirmed by art-historical
evidence. T h e Squarcialupi artist himself was a close collaborator
and imitator, in the second decade of the fifteenth century, of
Lorenzo Monaco." For S. Maria degli Angeli, Lorenzo Monaco
decorated a liturgical book in which the Squarcialupi Master
painted the friezes and decorations. Another collaboration
between the two artists is documented; and a further book was
decorated by the Squarcialupi Master alone. Luciano Bellosi
makes further tentative attributions to this artist on pp. 151-2.
Although his abbacy was of San Martino a1 Pino in Arezzo, Don
Paolo Tenorista (see note 21, below) maintained close links with
Florence and with S. Maria degli Angeli, though the original
claim that he was the instigator of the Squarcialupi codex rested
on a misreading. T h e stemmas in the manuscript remain
unidentified, and the patron of the collection has yet to be found,
although a member of the Florentine Leoni and Capponi families
has been suggested.
If Paolo had anything to do with the compilation he would
have known that more folios would be needed for a complete
presentation of his 60 songs. So whereas the Landini section has
no room for expansion, and all but nine of Landini's 154 surviving
compositions are in Squarcialupi, the intention must have been
to present only a selection of Paolo's output - a conclusion that
reduces the chances that he had a commanding role in the
compilation. NAdas has shown that the border decoration of a
crow and falcon framing the stemma on fol. 55" must have been
intended to illustrate Paolo's madrigal Girand'un be1 falcon and
that, although this piece was never entered in the manuscript,
it had been chosen to be the first piece in the Paolo group before
the decoration was undertaken. The composer is depicted within
a capital G, formerly thought to stand for Godi Firen2e.l8
l6
K. von Fischer. 'Paolo da Firenze und der Squarcialupi-Codex (1-Fl 871'. --

, ' Ouadriczum.
9 (1968), pp. 5-24
li M. Eisenbere. L. Monaco (Princeton. 19891.
AS ~ a r g h e r z aFerro ~ u r H g h istill Hssumks (p. 182). John Xbdas has shown (here
and previously: see notes 20 and 21 below, and the introduction to the Lucca
facsimile) that the iconography of the illuminated borders points rather to Girand'un
be1 falcon. See p. 51 (Nbdas) and p. 135 (von Fischer).
Review
Related to the dating of Squarcialupi is the question of the

age at which composers are depicted, and how realistic their
portraits may be assumed to be. Most of the composers were
dead by the time of compilation, but both earlier and later
composers are represented at various different ages. There is no
clear correlation between presumed date of birth and the age at
which a composer is represented. The images have been claimed
as lifelike, but it is not explained whether or in which cases their
realism goes beyond the representation of known characteristics,
such as Landini's blindness, Zacara's physical deformity, Gio-
vanni da Cascia's swarthiness, association with a particular in-
strument (the organetto for Landini, Giovanni and Andreas), or
the dress of a specific religious order. Ghirardello, for example,
is shown as youthful, although he was active only until a little
after the mid fourteenth century; we cannot know whether such
a depiction indicates his age at his death. Neither Luciano Bellosi
nor Margherita Ferro Luraghi in her chapter on the fourteen
composer portraits mentions Landini's tombstone, or the article
by Gert Kreytenberg attributing it to Jacopo di Piero Guidi as
a late work, perhaps his latest. It must follow Landini's death
in 1397, but not by much.lg Jacopo was the leading sculptor in
Florence for the last twenty years of Landini's life, and he was
surely familiar with his famous blind subject. There are striking
parallels between this representation (which Kreytenberg calls
'portrait-like') and the Squarcialupi miniature that merit dis-
cussion, in the context of realism and of the narrowed datings
of both.
Kurt von Fischer's biographical sketches of composers, in the
essay volume, do not supersede his excellent articles in The New
Grove. Although now fifteen years old, most of the latter still
stand, with only minor revisions. The notable exceptions are the
two composers whose biographies have been transformed in the
last decade, Antonio Zacara da TeramoZ0and Don Paolo Tenori-
G. Kreytenberg? 'Die Tabernakelnische der ~ r z t e z u n f tan Or San Michele', Pantheon,

37 (1979), pp. 129-34. For 'non-portraits' see K . von Fischer, ' "Portraits" von Piero,
Giovanni da Firenze und Jacopo da Bologna in einer Bologneser Handschrift des 14.
Jahrhunderts'? Musica Disciplina, 27 (1973). These names were added much later to
a manuscript of 1317 now in Jena.
20
A. Ziino, 'Magister Antonius dictus Zacharias de Teramo: Alcune date e molte
ipotesi', Ricista Italiana di Musicologia, 14 (1979), pp. 31 1-48; J. Nbdas, 'Further Xotes
~ t a . An
~ ' undocumented summary of the new material is built
into von Fischer's ~ketches;'~but elsewhere in the volume (p. 219)
Pirrotta can refer to Zacara without mentioning these crucial
new findings. T h e biographies, again, are awkward in English
expression and needed a stronger editorial hand. More could
have been done in the essay volume to integrate new discoveries
into a discussion of provenance, which must be linked to the
latest works included or planned. In general terms, the new
findings support the 1410-15 dating, but these threads are not
drawn together in the commentary volume, which is in some
ways disappointing. Indeed, there is a serious lack of coordination
between the different chapters, and contradictions are neither
caught nor explained. The composer arrangement in Squarcialupi
has usually been described as following an approximate chrono-
logical order. But how can we know that the order is chronologi-
cal when we know so little about the composers' dates and
identities? T h e manuscript ignores one of the earliest composers
(Piero is not represented) but did not complete its plan for one
of the latest (Paolo). \.Ye tend to know death dates, but these
may be unreliable indicators of generation. T h e chronological
hypothesis cannot, in fact, be credited with being precisely accu-
rate, now that we know that Zacara's and Paolo's long careers
go back well into the trecento. And it is sometimes too readily
assumed that the distance between death dates reflects a similar
distance between those persons' birth dates and formative periods.
I t could be that Paolo and Landini were born closer together
than their deaths nearly forty years apart would suggest.
Considerations of dating and purpose are inseparable. One of
the puzzles of the manuscript is that many openings were left
devoid of music. I t was Kurt von Fischer's hypothesis that some
sections were left incomplete or wholly without music because
the composer was still living. New biographical information and
on Magister Antonius dictus Zacharias de Teramo', Studz ~Musicali, 15 (1986), pp. 167-
82> and 16 (1987), pp. 175-6.
'I
U. Giinther, J. Xbdas and J. Stinson, 'Magister Dominus Paulus Abbas de Florentia:
New Documentary Evidence', ~MusicaDisciplina, 41 (1987), pp. 203-46; J. Xbdas, 'The
Songs of Don Paolo Tenorista: The Manuscript Tradition', in In cantu et sermone, ed.
della Seta and Piperno, pp. 531-90.
'' The plan to include Nbdas's documentation as a more solid underpinning for these
biographical sketches was unaccountably suppressed, greatly reducing their usefulness.
Review
art-historical refinement, pointing to an earlier date for the manu-

script, bring this hypothesis into question. Unfortunately, the
essay volume does not reconcile views on this matter. Some of
the writers' implied assumptions about dating are at odds with
the latest work. Furthermore, it is a pity that such a fine team
of scholars were not given the opportunity to take account of
one another's contributions.
The challenge to the chronological hypothesis is not easy to
unravel. I n the cases of Antonio Zacara, Nicolaus da Perugia,
Vicenzo da Rimini, Ghirardello and Jacopo, the remaining open-
ings of their gatherings (more or fewer) are left blank-ruled - in
Zacara's case, after the copying of only seven compositions. But
for Don Paolo and Magister Giovanni Organista, the portraits
are in place but no music was copied (see above). The now-known
works of Paolo and Zacara greatly exceed the space left for their
compositions. Attempts to explain the absence or incompleteness
of the music of some composers have been predicated on the
assumption that the intention was to present composers' complete
works in the genres covered, and that any composers for whom
space (blank-ruled folios) was left open and a portrait provided
must still have been alive - i.e., that only at their deaths would
their works in the pertinent genres be selected, or collected, and
entered into the manuscript. Kurt von Fischer originally proposed
this scenario largely because the coverage of each composer
comprises nearly all of what we know by him. T h e earlier dating
of the manuscript makes it likely that a greater proportion of
the composers represented were still alive; at least, it does not
challenge that hypothesis. But von Fischer's scenario was offered
before it was known that Paolo was still alive in 1436: can the
notion of a chronological order still stand if Paolo precedes
Landini in the manuscript? Indeed, the argument becomes circu-
lar in those cases (the majority, and certainly including Landini)
where Squarcialupi is our main and most complete source.
A particular difficulty is in the allocation of space. T h e number
of leaves set aside for Paolo is nowhere near sufficient for what.
we now know his output to have been. No one could have
reserved just the right amount of space for a composer still living
and active; nevertheless, as NAdas has shown, the manuscript
does provide a specific number of openings for P a ~ l o . ' ~ I t is

unlikely that more gatherings were intended to be inserted for
additional works by living composers, because the foliation fixed
the extent of the blank as well as of the filled sections. New
information about Zacara and Paolo and the discovery of new
compositions by them do little to support the complete-works
theory; in neither case was enough - room allowed for more than
a small part of what can now be attributed to them. Rather,
some selection may have been in force, perhaps even a conserva-
tive tendency to exclude the newest works by still-living or
recently deceased composers. Nhdas speculates that Paolo was
treated as a rather old-fashioned figure, in particular as a prolific
composer of madrigal settings in an older style. In the case of
Zacara, there is very little repertorial overlap with his pieces in
the newer sources (SL 221 1 and Lucca have one concordance
each; Boverio has none). Niidas has noted a general tendency to
give a composer's better-known works greater prominence by
placing them earlier in a section or higher on the page.
John Nhdas, in his thorough codicological and paleographical
investigation, comes closest to putting all the most recent evidence
together. H e addresses the crucial issue of the order of working,
and shows that the bifolios with the portraits were specially
prepared and sent for illumination before being joined to the rest
of the manuscript (p. 47). We should not assume, for purposes
of dating, that all the existing music precedes all the illumination,
or indeed vice versa. Some of what we have might have been
copied later. This is where the dating of the illumination in
relation to the copying of the manuscript becomes quite critical,
and the chronology may yet be capable of further refinement.
Which sections were musically complete when the decoration
was done, and what music, if any, was entered after the decor-
ation? And if the dating depends on art-historical grounds with
respect to one page, where does the decoration of that page stand
in relation to the larger task of copying the text and music of
the whole manuscript? Nhdas here, revising his earlier view,
proposes not only a single text scribe but four different music
23
Xbdas, p. 51; and see note 18 above.
Review
scribes. His comprehensive description and collation includes a

section on editorial notational practice that should be treated as
a supplement to Ziino's interesting survey of the notation.
Solutions to some of these matters, notably the chronology of
copying and illumination, may be approached through close
physical examination. There are several unresolved puzzles. One
of these concerns the changed original foliations to which Nfidas
draws attention (p. 49); another involves very high numbers (up
to the 600s), whose purpose is unclear, written on the last versos
of many gatherings. Still another structural puzzle occurs at the
beginning of the manuscript. The first miniature, on fol. lr, is
of ~ i o v a n n da
i Cascia, who-is assigned half of one large gathering.
Jacopo da Bologna starts the second half of that first gathering,
and his portrait is on the centrefold fol. 7". Gathering signatures
are present not (as usual) in the first half of gathering I, but in
the second. What are we to make of this feature? Was the original
plan to start the manuscript with Jacopo, as do several other
manuscripts (Pit, Reina, SL 221 l ) ? Was the first gathering then
turned inside out (with some changes), perhaps because the
compiler wanted to start the Jacopo section with a whole opening,
leaving the single-side Giovanni piece to open the first gathering
and hence the entire collection - a plan which would also enable
him to extend the Jacopo section into the next gathering? Without
access to the manuscript this argument cannot be taken further,
and perhaps not even then; it remains a puzzle.
When we ask questions at this level of detail, it becomes
important to know how faithful the facsimile is. The application
of gold has already been mentioned. In one other significant
aspect, too, it is deceptive. Is it indeed exactly life-size? New
Grooe gives the height of the pages as 405 mm, John Nfidas as
c. 400 mm. The facsimile is 410 mm high; so, one assumes, it
must be very slightly larger than life. Nfidas notes here on pp. 49-
50 (and in his dissertation, p. 372) a number of cursive composer
inscriptions close to the top margin of the book that indeed carry
important evidence about its planning. Only the ones on fols.
55 and 62 are wholly or partly visible in the facsimile, because
they appear lower on the page. The others are not reproduced,
because - inexcusably in a facsimile of this quality, and doubly
deceptive - the full page area has been cropped at top and
bottom and the resulting smaller area magnified to fractionally

larger than the actual page size. This renders the facsimile
dangerous for any conclusions based on measurements - such
as, for example, the use of one or more stave-liners. T h e opening
bifolio is described as being slightly smaller (p. 28), but it appears
here at the same size as the rest. The facsimile does not respect
the irregular but purposeful, and therefore meaningful, gathering
structure of the original - a blemish, when such a vivid appear-
ance of realism encourages one to believe that infinite care has
been lavished on fidelity. The unfortunate conclusion is that the
visual effect of verisimilitude has been given priority over genuine
fidelity of reproduction.
Most of the essays hold no big surprises. Gallo's introduction
is quite general and seems to be directed at the wider audience
of luxury buyers rather than at musicologists already familiar
with the manuscript and scholarship on it. Several senior scholars
add slightly to their previous work or, as in Pirrotta's elegant
and humane survey of the music and of the achievements of the
main trecento composers, attempt something new. Pirrotta's own
fine edition of the Italian trecento repertory remains incomplete,
but he refers (n. 21) to the more complete and documented one
of Marrocco for P M F C 4 only in order to disagree with it on a
point of attribution, not signalling the many items from Squarcial-
upi that can (apart from Wolf's posthumous edition) be found
in a critical and comparative edition only in PhIFC.
Tavani's excellent essay on the poetry balances the over-
whelmingly Florentine character of the collection by pointing out
some non-Tuscan features in the orthography, and the presence
of linguistic forms characteristic of northern Italy, Perugia and
Rome. Since Tavani's essay appears in Italian and English in
parallel columns, it would have been more helpful if the English
column gave the poetic texts in translation rather than
duplicating the original verse. Authors of poetic texts (where
known to be other than the composer) are catalogued, and there
is also a catalogue of incipits which serves as an index to
Corsi's edition of the texts. More documentation of this kind in
24
Polyphonic Music of the Fourteenth Centuv, vols. VI-XI (Monaco, 1956-78); The Music of
Fourteenth-Centuly Italy. ed. Pirrotta.
other essays would have enhanced the reference value of the
volume.
The inventory by John Niidas is superbly done, reliable and
comprehensive. It lacks a running numeration of pieces to help
locate pieces referred to by number in the literature. This requires
references to be by folio, not always satisfactory in view of
inconsistent foliations and reference systems used in or for other
manuscript^.'^ Running pageheads, by composer, would have
been useful. The inventory column is headed 'genrelvoicing'.
There seems to be no key to say what superscripts (e.g. '2",
'3'') mean: I infer that "' means 'canon', and that superscript
numbers give the number of texted voices; but the usage seems
not quite consistent and is not explained. T h e inventory also
fails to identify laude that survive elsewhere with indications to
sing to the melody of a Squarcialupi composition ('cantasi
come . . .'), presumably because these are listed elsewhere. Cattin,
acknowledging contributions of Ziino, offers an extremely useful
study of the laude and contrafacta in the manuscript. These are
indexed alphabetically not by the source music but by the title
of the contrafact, leaving no easy way to discover whether, for
example, Questa fanciulla was subject to such adaptation; and,
indeed, the presence of this piece in the Oswald von \.Yolkenstein
manuscripts is not noted. This is a serious inconvenience,
especially since these arrangements are explicitly excluded from
listed concordances in the i n ~ e n t o r y . ' ~
T h e lack of proper indices makes the volume difficult to use,
requiring recourse to many other publications, and the trans-
lations are an impediment to understanding. The extensive and
potentially useful bibliography is marred by typographical and
spelling errors, especially in the English-language items. RISM
sigla are not used for manuscripts, and some confusions in the
literature are not clearly resolved: it should have been reported,
For GB-Lbl 29987, for example, Marrocco's foliation in his edition differs by one
from Reaney's (used here by Xddas) in the published facsimile and inventory of that
manuscript: The Manuscr$t London, British museum, Additional 29987, Musicological
Studies and Documents, 13> ed. G. Reaney (n.p., American Institute of Musicology,
1965). In that publication, in turn, the discrepancy is mentioned but not clarified
(nor is it visible in the facsimile, which fails to reproduce the full area of each page).
26
Nddas tells me that his request to signal affected pieces in the inventory was not
honoured.
Adams, Hen9 Purcell
for instance, that Pirrotta in his edition uses 'FL' for Squarcialupi
and 'FP' for Panciatichi, while others (including Marrocco) use
'FL' for Panciatichi and 'Sq' for Squarcialupi. Some of the
contributors to the volume take insufficient account of items by
younger scholars listed in the bibliography. Most serious is the
editor's decision not to include an alphabetical index to the
compositions in the manuscript. One must still resort to Kurt
von Fischer's Studien2' as a finding index to the facsimile and for
concordances. That volume is not now easily available, and not
all users will have it to hand. Even von Fischer's concordance
(alphabetical by genre) requires one to look in several places.
And although it presented the entire repertory then known, it
must now be supplemented from the recent inventories for the
new concordances yielded by the newly discovered leaves of the
Lucca codex. A major finding-tool could have been provided
simply by adding a n alphabetical index that would update von
Fischer's, now forty years old, on the basis of many new discover-
ies: not to have done so is a n opportunity missed and a serious
inconvenience to the user.
The volume lacks any fully reasoned attempt to pull all the existing
strands and all the new material together and to argue date, purpose,
provenance etc. John Niidas may be the one person who could have
done this - and indeed he comes closest to it in his codicological essay,
which addresses fundamental issues of planning - but that was not
his brieffor this volume. Much remains to be done. I n short, we know
little more about the origins of the manuscript than we did before.
Despite the blemishes and disappointments of the commentary
volume and some misjudgements in presenting the facsimile, the
publication is ofcourse enormously welcome, and much of the mater-
ial on which further research can be based now lies wonderfully
accessible before us. T o have the music thus available is cause for
gratitude and congratulation. I t leaps freshly off the inviting pages
of the facsimile and demands to be read, known and sounded.
Margaret Bent
All Souls College, Oxford
'' K. von Fischer, Studien zur italienischen ~Musikdes Trecento undfriihen Quattrocento, Publik-
ationen der schweizerischen musikforschenden Gesellschaft, ser. I t , vol. 5 (Berne.
1956).
M A R TI N A DA M S, Henry Purcell: The Origins and Development of His
Musical Style. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1995,
+
xii 388 pp.
Adams's book was badly needed. I n the plethora of publications

on Henry Purcell which have appeared during his tercentenary
year, scholarly writings have been surprisingly rare;' more import-
ant, the standard academic literature on the composer, while
treating in detail the fragmentary biography and the historical
facts about the music, either has entirely neglected analysis of
Purcell's material or instead has tended to limit itself to unpen-
etrating and often nai've descriptions. Adams is the first to com-
prehensively assess Purcell's complete works and to try to draw
conclusions about Purcell's style and its development from his
analysis.
Undoubtedly one of the reasons why this lacuna has taken so
long to fill is the difficulty of the task. In the preface to his book
Adams describes his intentions as being 'to define those Purcellian
features common to music as diverse as the early pavans and
The Indian Queen . . . , to identify or speculate upon which foreign
and native music might have inspired Purcell's choices, and to
see how he reconciled that which he found attractive in such
music to his distinctive compositional aspirations' (p. x). Such an
ambitious project was 'always bound to be fraught with problems.
Influence is a notoriously difficult area to assess, particularly in
the case of any talented composer, whose music by definition
has strongly individual characteristics and who quickly assimi-
lated the styles of other musicians and cultures into his own.
Style in itself, of course, cannot easily be quantified or described
in words. And in the case of Purcell, despite his early death,
there is an enormous volume of surviving music, and stylistic
development can be seen only through analysis of all this
material.
More fundamental still is the question of how to approach the
analytical process itself. As yet, no scholar has produced tangible
' In addition to Adams, only two books could be said to present mainly new research:
Purcell Studies, ed. C . A. Price (Cambridge, 1995), and Perfowning the Music of Henry
Purcell, ed. M . Burden (Oxford, forthcoming).
Adams, Hen9 Purcell
suggestions about valid methods of analysis for music of this

period: this almost certainly explains in part the superficiality of
most of the existing literature. By far the most valuable contri-
bution that Adams's book could have made would have been to
explore or suggest such possible methods, and it is therefore very
disappointing not only that he omits to do so, but also that he
offers no justification for the techniques he himself uses in his
book.
According to the note on the dust jacket, two processes are
used throughout:
- 'a mix of broad stylistic observation and detailed
analysis'. In the former category one might place passages such
as this, describing Haste, gentle Charon: 'Orpheus makes his first
approach to Charon in lyrical recitative; but when he sees Charon
asleep he breaks into a more arpeggaic style, which, with its
shorter note values and imitation between voice and continuo,
produces a suitably rousing motion. The following twist to the
tonic minor neatly illustrates the pains of parted lovers' (p. 210).
The deeper case studies include revealing motivic and harmonic
analyses that sometimes border on the Schenkerian: the second
section of the overture to The Gordian Knot Untied is described as
consisting 'almost entirely of long prolongations, each concerned
with a specific combinatorial possibility of the subject and one
or two secondary motifs. The concentration on a few motifs
highlights the various large-scale harmonic progressions, and
these are driven home by specific-pitch connections, each of which
encompasses a single harmonic function' (p. 65). Voice-leading
diagrams are even given for Act I1 Scene 1 of Dido and Aeneas
(p. 280) and 'Ye twice ten hundred deities' from The Indian Queen
( p 350).
The contrast between these two very different approaches -
which Adams constantly juxtaposes - is sometimes startling; but,
more important, at times the reader is left with profound doubts
about both techniques. The former approach leaves it merely
unclear whether Adams's descriptions penetrate the music much
deeper than did earlier accounts, although their comprehen-
siveness certainly does; for the latter approach, the problem is
more complex. One of the main difficulties in developing analyti-
cal techniques for this period is that music was in a transitional
phase at the time: although it bears the superficial marks of
established tonality, frequently there remain strong modal
elements; moreover, English theorists of the time - many of
whom were practising musicians and composers - could not yet
categorise either triads or keys.' For some pieces it is almost
certainly possible to analyse chordal and quasi-tonal progressions
meaningfully, even in the case of the early song 'What hope for
us remains now he is gone?' (p. 199), but too frequently such
assessment is anachronistic.
The pieces in which tonality appears furthest away are the
fantasias and In nomines, and Adams does discuss them in a
confused manner: he first mentions 'the regular switching between
G minor and D minor in the In nomine B 7' (p. 1l ) , then qualifies
this statement by suggesting 'it is based around a quasi-Dorian G
minor, set up by the first section's alternations of G minor and
D minor harmony' (p. 94); later he claims that in the 1695
setting of Thou knowest Lord 'as in the fantasias [and In nomines?],
tonal views of harmonic structure do not fit reality' (p. 191). For
the most part, however, he analyses all the music from a purely
tonal point of view. I t might be possible to argue convincingly
that the music is sufficiently based on tonal principles to justify
such analytical techniques, but Adams does not attempt such an
argument. The omission is all the more surprising for the fact
that in his Ph.D. thesis3 - of which the book is a substantial
reworking - the analytical approach is described, though only
briefly.
For a detailed account of developing tonal theories in the seventeenth century see,
for example, W. T . Atcherson, 'Key and Mode in Seventeenth-Century Music Theory
Books', Journal of Music Theory, 17 (1973), pp. 204-33; H. E. Bush, 'The Recognition
of Chordal Formation by Early Music Theorists', Musical Quarterly, 32 (1946), pp. 227-
43; J. Lester, 'The Recognition of Major and Minor Keys in German Theory: 1680-
17301, Journal of Music Theory, 22 (1978), pp. 65-103; C. Lewis, 'Incipient Tonal
Thought in Seventeenth-Century Music Theory', Studies in Music from the University of
Western Ontario, 6 (1981), pp. 24-47; B. V. Rivera, German Music Theov in the Early
Seventeenth Century: The Treatises of Johannes Lippius, Studies in Musicology, 17 (Ann
Arbor, Michigan, 1980); B. V. Rivera, 'The Seventeenth-Century Theory of Triadic
Generation and Invertibility and Its Application in Contemporaneous Rules of Compo-
sition', Music Theov Spectrum, 6 (1984), pp. 63-78; R. Wienpahl, 'English Theorists
and Evolving Tonality', Music and Letters, 36 (1955), pp. 377-93; and R. Wienpahl,
'Modality, Monality and Tonality in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries', Music
and Letters, 52 (1971), pp. 407-17, and 53 (1972), pp. 59-73.
M . Adams, 'The Development of Henry Purcell's Musical Style', Ph.D. dissertation
(Southampton, 1984).
272
Adams, Heny Purcell
If the reader accepts Adams's styles of analysis, then the book

certainly has much to offer. Adams is not only superbly well
acquainted with Purcell's entire oeuvre, he also clearly has a
deep love of the music. His description - in the first sentence of
the first chapter - of Purcell as 'arguably Britain's greatest
composer' (p. 3) might suggest an over-idealised view, but, in
fact, Adams is not afraid to honestly discuss Purcell's short-
comings, notably some early anthems, such as Let God arise, and
the later church music. Almost all of his points are illustrated
with music examples (151 in total), though where comparisons
are made with other composers' music the relevant passage of
Purcell's is sometimes not quoted, making it difficult to draw
parallels for those unfamiliar with the piece in q ~ e s t i o n .He
~ is
thorough and consistent in attributing the material of other
authors, particularly Westrup5 - to whom he attributes much
influence in the introduction to his thesis, though the same
indebtedness is not acknowledged in the book - and, in the case
of the theatre music, P r i ~ e His
. ~ own original material is often
thought-provoking: some of his most important contributions to
our understanding of Purcell's music are his ideas on small- and
large-scale repetition in the early works, the decreasing use of
literal motivic repetition in the later music, and the suggestion
that Purcell's vocal technique derived in its seminal years from
the instrumental.
As a result of this last concept, Adams draws a sharp distinc-
tion between instrumental and vocal music throughout: he not
only assesses the consort music and sonatas separately from
contemporaneous vocal pieces, he also groups together the instru-
mental movements from the odes, anthems and theatre music.
This is a brave and unusual method of structuring, and in
principle it is successful. Some difficulties do arise, however, with
multi-movement pieces where thematic connections exist between
instrumental movements and ensuing vocal sections, such as the
This is particularly true in the cases of the fantasias and Locke's Consort of Four Parts
(pp. 12-13), and 'Great Diocles the boar has kill'd' from Dioclesian and Carissimi's
Lucifer, coelestis olim hierarchiae princeps (pp. 64-5).
' J. A. LVestrup, Purcell, T h e Master Musicians (London, 1937; rev. N. Fortune,
London, 1980, repr. Oxford, 1995).
C . A. Price, H e n v Purcell and the London Stage (Cambridge, 1984).
prelude to 'Thrice happy' in The F a i v Queen (pp. 147 and 315);
inevitably, Adams often has to discuss the instrumental music
again in conjunction with the vocal, thus duplicating earlier
arguments. Moreover, the stylistic differences he expounds
between vocal and instrumental pieces are not always made clear
by his analyses.
Adams's theories about repetitive structures generated the way
in which his thesis was organised: he divided Purcell's career
into chronological periods, during each of which he identified
specific changes in Purcell's approach to form. The book - as
the difference between the titles implies - concentrates much
more on the influences on Purcell's style, and the material is
therefore fundamentally reorganised: the first part deals with
'Stylistic development and influences' in purely chronological
order; the second consists of a great many analyses, grouped by
genre but (as mentioned above) treating instrumental and vocal
music separately. By isolating the influences from the stylistic
analyses Adams seems to increase rather than lessen the difficult-
ies inherent in both types of study.
In the first part of the book, the connections which Adams
finds between Purcell's music and pieces by his contemporaries
are often vague or insubstantial. This is partly because so little
is known about the music that Purcell was familiar with, so it
is impossible to suggest more detailed parallels; in any event, it
is inherently difficult to assess influence on a composer who is
at once highly receptive and strikingly original. The frequent use
of qualifications such as 'probably', 'may have', and 'it seems
likely that' underlines the problem, and, perhaps inevitably,
Adams resorts to wishful thinking on a number of occasions. His
response to the problem is demonstrated most convincingly
towards the end of this section of the book, where the sheer
quantity of non-specific examples produces a credible argument,
though it is telling that Adams admits with respect to Hail, bright
Cecilia that 'specific foreign models become difficult to identify,
especially in vocal music, as he [Purcell] consolidates modern
methods with that thoroughgoing polyphony which was so
important to him' (p. 81). His ideas are also presented strongly
where it is possible to compare specific passages, such as 'set
me up as a mark against thee' from Blow's 0 Lord I have sinned -
Adams, Henry Purcell
one of the pieces Purcell copied into Fitzwilliam MS 88 - which

is clearly similar to the section 'who for our sins' in the first
version of In the midst of life. However, he does not always
succeed in his aim 'to distinguish between levels and kinds of
compositional development and influence' (p. ix), lapsing instead
into such non-specific terminology as 'Italianate textural features'
in Blow's ode Hail, monarch, sprung of race divine (p. 44) and 'French
blood' in Dido and Aeneas (p. 57).
By contrast, the second part of the book suffers from a prolifer-
ation of detail. Although Adams does extract from the music
general points about Purcell's apparent stylistic aims during his
career, such significant conclusions are completely dwarfed by
the lengthy analyses of individual pieces and movements. Seven
paragraphs are devoted to the first five bars of Fantasia No. 7
(pp. 100-3), but only two to the stylistic advances Adams sees
in the fantasias as a whole (p. 105). At times the density of
analysis makes reading so difficult that the discussion almost
seems to degenerate into a chronological description of pieces
within each genre - particularly in chapters 11 and 12 on the
odes. I t is disappointing that Adams did not write a concluding
section to the book, since it cries out for clarifying summary of
his ideas.
Adams is entirely logical in assessing the different pieces within
each genre in the order in which they were composed, since this,
of course, is the only sensible way in which to plot stylistic
development. Nevertheless, because the first section of the book
is also arranged chronologically, the inevitable result is a not
inconsiderable amount of overlapping. For the most part, the
duplications are merely superficial: Adams has to discuss many
of the same pieces in both sections, and frequently he must
repeat ideas touched on in the first section - such as issues of
dating, or the effect of political events - before he can proceed
to his analysis in the second. There are some surprisingly close
parallels. Often, as in the two discussions of The Stairre Case
Overture in ch. 1 (pp. 5-6) and ch. 6 (pp. 89-91), a piece is
approached from two different directions, but the points Adams
makes about Purcell's style are substantially the same.
Adams's decision to separate issues of influence from stylistic
analysis may have resulted from a desire to avoid implying
that influences on Purcell led directly to stylistic developments.
Nevertheless, one cannot help wondering whether his main points
about Purcell's style might have been strengthened had the influ-
ential and analytical aspects been dealt with simultaneously.
Many of the broader arguments are submerged in a profusion
of generalisations in the first part and an abundance of detail in
the second. If one treats the book as a reference resource for
individual pieces and genres, the difficulty of reading diminishes
considerably, but the important points about stylistic develop-
ment are unclear. Searching between the analyses for the stylistic
comments conversely requires more stamina than the average
reader probably possesses. Nevertheless, the book is a significant
achievement: even if one does not agree with Adams's analytical
approach, it certainly provokes questions about what - if any -
alternative methods are appropriate for assessing Restoration
music; and it will almost certainly be the starting point for
further study of Purcell's style.
Rebecca Herissone
Emmanuel College, Cambridge
EARLY M U S I C H I S T O R Y 15
R I C H A RJ.
D / \ G E E (The Colorado College)
Costanzo Esta's G ~ a d u as d Parnactum 1
M A R KE V E R ITS (University of Southampton)
The polyphonic londeau c. 1300 : Repertory and context 39
BETHL. G L I X O N (Lexington. Kentucky)
Scenes from the life of Silvia Galiarti hfanni, a seventeenth-century zz7tuosa 97
PATRICK M A C E Y(Eastman School of Music. University of Rochester)
Galeazzo Maria Sforza and musical patronage in Milan: Compkre,
Weerbeke and Josquin 147
J A M E S W. R l C K I N N O N(University of Korth Carolina at Chapel Hill)
Preface to the study of the .Uleluia. 2 13
REVIEWS
( T h e Lucca Codeu, ed.J. Nadas and A. Ziino; I1 Codzce Rossz 215, ed. I%. Pirrotta;
I1 Codzce T.III.2, ed. A. Ziino: I1 Codlce Squarczalup~,ed. E: A. Gallo)
M A R G A R EBENT T 25 1
M A R TI N ADAM S. H e n g Pu7tell: The Orlgzn~and Dezlelopmrrzt of H Z Ji\luslcal Sgle
REBECCH AERISSONE 270
Cover deskn tpJan zlan de Watering

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Incipits in all language (motets, songs, etc.), and titles except in

bishop entered the cathedral'). Names of institutions should have

I t is assumed that typescripts received for publication are in

In September of 1536, the papal singer and composer Costanzo

venti Contrapunti. Cosa che se li Scolari li potessero hauere, vtilissimo li sarebbe i

Zacconi, writing as he did very late in the history of the 'La

Although he lavished praise on Festa's contemporary Willaert, he did not acknowledge

Festa's use of this cantus firmus in any way.

University of Minnesota, 1963, passim.

tum Constantij Festae auctoris in musicis grauissimi, tum aliorum in eo genere

praestantium virorum multa, diligenter varieq; super Ecclesiastico quodam cantu

an appropriate English translation for this passage.

known musicological figures (active in the seventeenth and early

of the Bologna Conservatory library that 'Gio. Maria Nanino

Much of the relevant bibliography connected to the Roman incident is covered by

counterpoints (fol. 128') carries the rubric 'Finis 1602 Mantuae

the manuscript (Counterpoints 126-53) constitute the music

soggetti cavati (Counterpoints 96, 104), and quodlibet

la sol f a re mi, ed. A. Smijers (1926; repr. Amsterdam, 1969).

dren's older cousin, Ferdinand0 Francesco d'Avalos, the Marquis

0 felici occhi miei.

10 hb nel cor un gelo. Alma perchb si trista.

Se per colpa del vostro fiero sdegno.

I1 bianco e dolce cigno. Felice

me. Che pih foc'al mio foco. oime.

dov'el be1 viso.

Nor was this Festa's only use of quodlibet: a manuscript source in

halfway through the initial group of 125 pieces - thus in a n abstract

Example 6b. Excerpt from Counterpoint 16 (bars 5-6) in Bologna C36

Example 6c. Excerpt from Counterpoint 18 (bars 5-6) in Bologna C36

Example 6d. Excerpt from Counterpoint 19 (bars 5-6) in Bologna C36

and all of Nanino's five-voice motets found in Bologna C36,

(Counterpoints 126-57), most of the accidentals deemed necessary

also exhibit remarkable similarities. Bars 14-16 of Counterpoint

S. Durante, in 'On ArtzJicioso Compositions at the Time of Frescobaldi', Frescobaldi

Inventory of Bologna C36, fols. 1-128

[Below C4a] Trigesima CI; non-imitative counterpoint; in C1, repetition mostly

[Below C2] Quadragesima CI; non-imi tative counterpoint.

[Below C3] Quadragesima Cl; imitative counterpoint; massive sequence a t the

[Below C3a] CI; imitative counterpoint.

[Below C4] CI; imitative counterpoint in a low range

[Below C3] Sessagesima CI; non-imitative counterpoint; lethargic rhythmic motion,

[Below C4a] Sessagesima CI; imitative counterpoint.

[Below C2] Sessagesima CI; imitative counterpoint.

[Below C I] Sessagesima CI; imitative counterpoint with pseudo-augmentation of initial

[Below C2] CI; non-imitative counterpoint a t the opening, although some

[Below C3] Settuagesima CI; imitative counterpoint; in F4, a continually occurring