LULLY, Jean Baptiste 1632-1687; André Campra 1660-1744, and Henri Desmarets 1661-1741

Airs de Roland. [LWV 65]. Interesting manuscript collection of selected vocal pieces from operas by Lully, Campra, and Desmarets

[Ca. 1700].

Oblong 16mo. Full contemporary vellum with triple-rule border to both boards. With "C Armand" in early manuscript to upper board and front pastedown, quite possibly the French soprano Mlle. Armand, fl. 1704-1707.

88 pp. Notated in black ink on 4-stave rastrum-ruled paper. Watermark bunch of grapes, countermark group of letters (indecipherable).

Contains:

Lully. Roland. [LWV 65]
1) "Au genereux Roland je dois," pp. 1-3, bass/continuo
2) "Tromphez charmante Reyne," pp. 4-5, bass solo
3) "Faut il encor que je vous ayme," pp. 6-8, bass/continuo
4) "J'abandonne ma gloire," pp. 8-9, bass solo with figures
5) "Agréables rettraites," pp. 9-10, alto/continuo
6) "Ah! que mon cœur est agité," pp. 11-13, soprano/continuo
7) "Ah quel tourment de garder," pp. 14-17, alto/continuo
8) "Je ne verray plus," pp. 18-22, soprano/continuo
9) "Ah! J'attendray longtemps," pp. 22-26, bass/continuo

Lully. Armide. [LWV 71]
10) "Vous allumez une fatale flamme," pp. 26-27, soprano/continuo
11) "Les Plaisirs ont choisy pour azile," pp. 28-30, alto/continuo
12) "Allez allez éloignez vous," pp. 31-32, alto/continuo
13) "Pouquoy voulez vous songer," pp. 32-33, soprano/continuo
14) "Plus j'observe ces lieux," pp. 34-40, alto/continuo
15) "La chaisne de l'hymen m'estonne," pp. 40-41, soprano/continuo
16) "Ah! si la liberté," pp. 42-44, soprano/continuo

Lully. Atys. [LWV 53]
17) "Le Printemps quelquefois," pp. 45-46, alto/continuo
18) "Amans qui vous plaignez," pp. 46-48, bass/continuo
19) "L'Amour fait trop verser," pp. 48-50, alto/continuo
20) "Quand le peril est agréable," p. 51, soprano/continuo
21) "Quand on ayme," pp. 52-53, bass/continuo
22) "Dans l'Empire amoureux," pp. 54-56, soprano/bass duet
23) "Laisse mon cœur en paix," pp. 56-58, alto/continuo
24) "Ne vous faittes point violence," pp. 59-61, bass/continuo
25) "Espoir si cher," pp. 61-66, soprano/continuo
26) "Revenez ma raison," pp. 66-68, soprano/continuo

Lully. Phaëton. [LWV 61]
27) "Dans cette paisible retraite," pp. 68-70, soprano/continuo
28) "Heureuse une ame indiferente," pp. 70-72, soprano/continuo

At this point, the pagination skips from p. 72 to p. 89. A new piece starts, suggesting a decision may have been made on the part of the compiler of the manuscript to omit some leaves, perhaps paginated before the music was copied. All pieces in this section are preserved in their integrity.

Campra. Le Carnaval de Venise
29) "Vous brillez a mes yeux," pp. 89-91, bass/continuo
30) "Que l'Amour dans nos cœurs," pp. 91-95, soprano and bass/continuo
32) "De tes rigueurs ny de tes faveurs," pp. 95-95, alto/continuo

Desmarets. Théagène et Cariclée
33) "Le calme et les beaux yeux," pp. 98-100, soprano/continuo.
34) "Charmant repos d'une ame," pp. 101-102, soprano/continuo

Anon.
35) "Tout est fragile dans le monde," pp. 103-104, soprano/continuo
Also found in a music manuscript in the Bibliothèque nationale de France (Notice n°: FRBNF43363801), an "Air à boire à 2."

Binding slightly soiled, stained, and warped; signature to upper board faded. Occasional stains and soiling, mostly marginal; some light showthrough.

Executed in an accomplished hand, similar to contemporary examples from the Foucault workshop, which produced numerous copyist manuscripts of Lully operas. The identity of the scribe is unknown; the presence of distinctive semi-colon style bass and baritone clefs may, however, aid scholars interested in tracing other examples of the hand.

The present manuscript offers a wealth of information regarding the performance practice of 17th century French operatic repertoire in domestic settings.

The air "J'abandonne ma gloire," pp. 8-9, is notated for bass voice on a single staff, with figured bass. A singer could thus self-accompany from the figures while singing the vocal part, as the solo and accompaniment in that selection are identical.

In "Dans l'Empire amoureux," pp. 54-56, a soprano/bass duet, the entrance of the bass vocal line, which differs from the soprano, is written out separately. By the fourth bar of the air, only the soprano line is given; at this point, the voices proceed homophonically, suggesting that the two singers read from the same line of text.

In "Que l'Amour dans nos cœurs," pp. 91-95, for soprano and bass/continuo, the bass voice and figured bass are notated on the same staff. Several small passages of continuo interludes are untexted; these purely instrumental passages are notated in a grace-note size. Thus, if the bass singer is also the continuo player, he can easily differentiate purely accompanimental passages in a fast-moving rhythmically active environment. The manuscript also reveals how music may have been transmitted from printed scores of the time to manuscript copies: the 1695 printed edition of Théagène et Cariclée (RISM D1774) includes a table listing "Des Airs que l'on peut détacher," i.e., airs that can be detached from the rest of the opera for individual performance. The compiler of the manuscript has done just that with the two Desmarets selections.

An attractively copied and highly personal manuscript collection of French 17th century operatic and domestic vocal repertoire, with ample traces of players' and singers' performance practices.

The manuscript provides a fascinating glimpse into a rich world of private music making where (as we witness in music iconography of the time), multiple performers shared a single score, merging their sounds, with the music quite literally drawing people closer together. Well worthy of further research.

Item #39751

Price: $3,500.00  other currencies