Towards a Census of Surviving Copies of Vicentino’s «L’antica musica ridotta alla moderna prattica» (Rome 1555 and 1557)

The first step towards an extensive bibliographical survey of Nicola Vicentino’s L’antica musica ridotta alla moderna prattica (Rome 1555 and 1557) is the census of the today preserved copies of the print. This investigation yielded several interesting surprises.

An important starting point for music bibliographical research is provided by RISM. Published writings on music theory are collected in the B/VI series, edited in two volumes in 1971 by François Lesure. In 1979 Lesure published some addenda and corrigenda, but this did not concern the item regarding the treatise by Vicentino. RISM B/VI (vol. 2, p. 861) mentions 52 copies of the 1555 edition and 4 copies of the 1557 edition. Before Lesure, Robert Eitner listed 13 copies of the 1555 edition and 2 copies of the 1557 edition (Biographisch-Bibliographisches Quellen-Lexikon, vol. 10, 1904, pp. 76-77).

In her study about the editorial production of Antonio Barré (PhD 1996), Maureen E. Buja offered a comprehensive survey of the data provided by RISM. According to her catalogue, 54 copies of 1555 edition of Vicentino’s treatise are today preserved, while 3 other copies are lost (pp. 229-230). She listed then 5 copies of 1557 edition (p. 317).

A part of the data collected by Buja comes from the Edit16 – Censimento nazionale delle edizioni italiane del XVI secolo, edited by the Istituto Centrale per il Catalogo Unico delle biblioteche italiane e per le informazioni bibliografiche (ICCU). Edit16 lists actually 27 Italian libraries which hold at least one copy of the 1555 edition, while 2 libraries hold at least one copy of the 1557 edition. This information has been integrated into the Italian Catalogo del Servizio Bibliotecario Nazionale (both accessed in October 2020).

The new online Universal Short Title Catalogue. A Digital Bibliography of Early Modern Print Culture, published in 2011 by the University of St. Andrews (Scotland), currently lists 32 copies of the 1555 edition and 3 copies of the 1557 edition (accessed in October 2020).

As part of the present research project, a comprehensive check of the bibliographic data concerning the preserved copies of Vicentino’s L’antica musica was carried out on two levels. First, the reliability of the currently available bibliographic information was verified by means of a detailed and systematic check in the libraries. Then, libraries catalogues and other bibliographic tools were extensively examined in order to identify new copies. A review of sales catalogues is currently underway in order to trace other copies held in private collections.

To date, it has been possible to list 80 copies kept in publish libraries (70 copies of the 1555 edition, 10 of the 1557 edition), 5 copies in private collections (4 copies of the 1555 edition, one of the 1557 edition) and 3 copies currently for sale (two copies of the 1555 edition, one of the 1557 edition).

To these must be added 3 unidentifiable copies sold at antiquarian auctions (two copies of the 1555 edition, one of the 1557 edition) and 6 lost copies (of which at least 5 copies of the 1555 edition). Current bibliographical repertories contain references to at least 6 copies that do not exist.

The bibliographical information gathered so far has essentially highlighted two aspects.

• None of the currently available bibliographic repertories provides a satisfactory and reliable survey of the actually preserved copies of Nicola Vicentino’s treatise, both quantitatively and qualitatively.

• The new recognition has brought to light a significant number of copies so far unknown. The total number of preserved copies of Vicentino’s treatise is quantitatively significant, quite exceptional if compared to the conservation state of other treatises on music theory published in the early modern period.

A new critical catalogue of the preserved copies of Vicentino’s L’antica musica will soon be available on the digital platform of the research project.

For notifications of copies of Vicentino’s L’antica musica (Rome 1555 and 1557) kept in private collections as well as in libraries not yet included in our catalogue, please contact: 

Dr Luigi Collarile – luigi.collarile@fhnw.ch

Reference Literature

Maureen E. Buja, Antonio Barré and Music Printing in Mid-sixteenth Century Rome, PhD. Dissertation University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 1996.

Catalogo del Servizio Bibliotecario Nazionale – https://opac.sbn.it 

Edit16 – Censimento nazionale delle edizioni italiane del XVI secolo. Istituto Centrale per il Catalogo Unico delle biblioteche italiane e per le informazioni bibliografiche, ICCU – http://edit16.iccu.sbn.it

Robert Eitner, Biographisch-Bibliographisches Quellen-Lexikon der Musiker und Musikgelehrten der christlichen Zeitrechnung bis zur Mitte des neunzehnten Jahrhunderts, 10 vols., Leipzig: Breitkopf & Haertel, 1900–1904.

François Lesure, «Écrits imprimés sur la musique: Addenda et corrigenda to RISM B/VI», in: Fontes Artis Musicae 26 (1979), pp. 1-4.

RISM B/VI – Printed writings about music / Écrits imprimés concernant la musique, ed. François Lesure, München-Duisburg: G. Henle, 1971.

Universal Short Title Catalogue. A Digital Bibliography of Early Modern Print Culture. https://www.ustc.ac.uk