Lot 209
  • 209

Scarlatti, Alessandro

Estimate
15,000 - 20,000 GBP
Log in to view results
bidding is closed

Description

  • Scarlatti, Alessandro
  • Fine late seventeenth-century Italian manuscript of nineteen cantatas by Scarlatti for soprano voice and continuo, including two unrecorded works
  • paper
the music notated in score throughout by a single copyist, in dark brown ink on up to ten staves per page, two cantatas attributed to Scarlatti by the copyist ("Cantata Prima Del Sigr. Alessandro Scarlatti" & "Cantata 8a Del Sigr: Scarlatti"), including the first otherwise unrecorded work, the remaining works known to be by him from other sources, the second cantata with parts for violin accompaniment;  the title page, index and foliation are in another early hand, presumably contemporary with the binding, and include additions to the titles of cantatas 8, 9 & 12, and alterations to the numbering of cantatas 8 to 16, with the text of the added title page ("Cantate a Voce sola / Del sigAlexandro Scarlatti / Tomo 12"), repeated in gilt on the front cover and spine

c.320 pages, oblong 4to (20.5 x 27.5cm), on 40 gatherings (each a sheet of four leaves), numbered by the copyist throughout, with catchwords except at the end of cantatas, the final work possibly incomplete, although marked "Fine", contemporary French red morocco gilt, spine elaborately gilt in compartments, green silk marker, Italian provenance, probably 1690s, titles above the music sometimes trimmed by the binder, rubbed but sound, some browning and a few worm-holes



This is a substantial contemporary source for the solo cantatas of Alessandro Scarlatti (1659-1725), the most important Italian composer of this genre.  Two works are absent from Edwin Hanley's thematic catalogue of Scarlatti's solo cantatas (and the 'Scarlatti' worklist in The New Grove): namely, the opening work, 'Comincia il core à perdere' in D minor, comprising three arias linked by recitatives, and 'Si trastulla l'idol mio col cantar do re mi fà', in C major, comprising five arias and ariosos.  Of these, the first is clearly attributed to Scarlatti by the copyist himself, whilst 'Si trastulla l'idol mio' also exists in a manuscript in the Biblioteca Comunale in Jesi, where it is anonymous.  



All the other cantatas are known works by Scarlatti, listed by Hanley and TNG.  A few are dated in other manuscripts (for example in the Santini collection in Münster) to c.1689-1698, and the binding also dates from this period.   The copy of 'Il rosignolo se scioglie il volo' is the earlier of Scarlatti's two settings of this text.   The seventeen known cantatas are preserved in a mere handful of other contemporary manuscripts, none in Scarlatti's hand.   Hanley records only one other source for the accompanied cantata 'Piango sospiro e peno' H.563, in the British Library, where it appears at a different pitch.  The remaining works are Hanley's numbers 9, 187, 450, 721, 207, 538, 379, 340, 411, 639, 176, 10, 176, 758, 70 & 317.   Two cantatas in TNG are published in modern editions, and one recorded by Hanley in c.1710.  The copyist has numbered all forty gatherings throughout, and nothing seems to be missing. 



Literature: E. Hanley, 'Alessandro Scarlatti's Cantate da camera: a Bibliographical Study', unpublished doctoral dissertation (Yale, 1963)

Condition

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."