J. Massenet. Autograph manuscript of "Musique pour une Pièce antique", from "Les Érinnyes", for piano, 1873

MASSENET, JULES

Autograph working manuscript signed of "Musique pour une pièce antique (3ème suite d'orchestre)", for piano, arranged from his incidental music for Les Érinnyes

, 1873

the Stichvorlage, with Massenet's title page "Musique pour une pièce antique (3ème suite d'orchestre), transcription pour le piano par l'auteur J. Massenet", comprising four numbers ('Prélude', 'Marche religieuse', 'Entr'acte', and 'Air de Danse des Saturnales'), notated for piano on up to four systems per page, in dark brown ink, with additions and revisions in red ink, with many heavy deletions, inscribed by Massenet at the end: "Fontainebleau 21 Janvier 6^h soir", marked up for and by the printer in pencil throughout : "Les Erynnies" [sic], "Gravé" and the plate number "G.H.676"  

25 leaves, including wrappers, title plus 23 pages of music, written on one side only, 4to, (c.31 x 23.5cm), the separate numbers paginated by the composer (6, 4, 4 and 9 pages), each stitched with red cord, 14-stave paper, the title-wrapper cut down from a larger sheet with 9 staves, with an attestation of authenticity by Louis Conard (1959), stains and inky fingerprints etc from use by the printer

Massenet's incidental music for Leconte de Lisle's play Les Érinnyes, Tradégie antique, was performed at the Théâtre de l'Odéon on 8 January 1873, comprising ten numbers. The present suite was published in piano reduction as Musique pour une Pièce antique. (Les Erynnies.) 3me. Suite d'Orchestre, reflecting the error on the title.  The copy of the edition in the Morgan Library and Museum, New York, contains a fifth number, not present here: No.2 'Invocation'. However, the printer's casting-off marks on this manuscript do not indicate that there is anything missing.