Handel, George Frideric.

the full score of the complete opera in three acts ("Opera Siroe, Composta del Sr. G. F. Handel"), notated in brown ink on up to ten staves per page for voices and orchestra , including the overture, all the arias, ariosos and recitatives, and the final Coro (29 numbers), scored for strings, oboes, bassoons and continuo, with figured bass throughout, with additional figures added by Handel's patron and librettist Charles Jennens, including the date ("Feb. 5. 1728", transcribed from Handel's autograph), 332 pages, oblong 4to (c.22 x 28.5cms), 10-stave paper, Strassburg bend and fleur-de-lys watermarks [& probably "IV"], contemporary calf gilt spine, no place or date, [probably c.1740], binding broken, lacking covers, title detached, light overall browning, with some browning and small tears to title and final page

Charles Jennens (dated by him at the end); Earl of Aylesford: Sale in our rooms, 13 May 1918, lot 204, "Property of the Rt Hon. the Earl of Aylesford of Packington Hall, Coventry  ("...the following collection, of which many of the Manuscript Scores were transcribed by John Christopher Smith, belonged to Mr Charles Jennens...")

J.H Roberts, "The Aylesford Collection", in Handel Collections and Their History (1993), edited by T. Best, pp.39-85; listing this manuscript on p.84 ("Manuscripts not yet located").  Also see J. Simon, Handel. A Celebration of His Life and Times (1985) nos 137 and 181.  

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."

This is an important Handel source, untraced since the sales in these rooms in 1918. From the collection of the Earl of Aylesford, bequeathed by Jennens on his death in 1773. 

This full score was written by a scribe from Handel's circle, for the collection of Charles Jennens. Siroe was Handel's twelfth opera for the Royal Academy at the King's Theatre, where it was performed on 17 February 1728, with the celebrated castrato Senesino, and the rival sopranos Francesca Cuzzoni and Faustina Bordoni. The opera was relatively successful in 1728, but was never revived. The libretto is by Metastasio, and includes the famous aria  "Mi lagnerò tacendo", sung by Cuzzoni.

This full score was written by the scribe "S2", from the circle of Handel's amanuensis John Christopher Smith.  He is a known (if otherwise unidentified) copyist, responsible for important Handel sources in the Royal Music Library (including the copy of Alessandro, British Library: R.M. 19.c.3), the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, and the largest surviving part of Jennens's collection now at Manchester Public Library (Newman Flower collection).

The autograph of Siroe is in the British Library: (RM.20c.9), dated at the end 5 February 1728. Five contemporary manuscript scores survive, some also by S2: in Hamburg (Handel's conducting score), London (Egerton 2926), Brussels (by S2, and with Handel's marked cuts), Cambridge and the private collection of the Earl of Malmesbury (also principally by S2).  The present important source has been untraced since 1918, although the performing parts for Siroe, also prepared for Jennens, are now at Manchester.

Charles Jennens (1700-1773), the librettist of  Messiah, Saul, L'Allegro and Belshazzar, subscribed to all Handel's works and commissioned manuscript scores and playing parts for his own private collection at Gopsall in Leicestershire.  This was the largest contemporary collection of Handel's works, preserving several pieces that would otherwise have been lost. "Jennens displayed an extraordinary concern for completeness and authenticity" (Roberts, p.41); he checked his copies against Handel's autograph and annotated them by copying Handel's completion date from the end of the autograph and adding to the figured bass, presumably for his own use, as here in Laodice's aria in Act 2, "Mi lagnerò tacendo".  We are most grateful to Mr. Anthony Hicks for his assistance in the cataloguing of this manuscript.