Modena, Italy, Biblioteca Estense Universitaria, alpha.M.1.11 (Lat. 454; olim V.H.11), All folios
Physical description
Material: parchment
Number of leaves: i + 116 + 1
Format: upright
Page dimensions: 560 x 390
Quire structure: Text version
Title page / Frontispiece: none. Modern title on front endpaper 'Primo Coro.'
Other devices: 1. Original quire signatures, brown ink recto bottom right (largely trimmed off), a1-a4 ... n1-n5; quire vi not numbered, perhaps added later?
2. Modern foliation pencil recto top right, 1-116.
Page details (zoom):
Preparation and Copying
All foliosPreparation
Disposition of Voice Parts Key
Signe de renvoi
| Pricking |
always,
prick for each ruled stave in outer margins; not aligned with bottom staveline, but consistently below it (corresponding to top of the two text lines, but present also where text lines are not drawn, so correspondence either by accident or a secondary benefit). Vertical bounding lines pricked at top and bottom, bottom pricks often trimmed off |
| Ruled grid |
always,
single vertical bounding lines; text on double line 5 mm apart; sometimes text lines below every stave, more often added only where text present |
| Ruling pattern |
highly regular
9 pentagrams, very parallel and even |
| Staves omitted from grid | never |
| Incomplete staves | never |
| Medium and colour of grid | Frequency | Folios | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| hard point or lead point | always | bounding lines | |
| red ink | always | text lines | |
| Colour of staves | Frequency | Folios | Note |
| black | always | ||
| Ruling medium | Frequency | Folios | Note |
| single rastrum | always | ||
| Indentation for initials | Frequency | Folios | Note |
| none | always | no indented staves, music either indented over 1 stave to accommodate initials or initials in left margin | |
| Extra space between voice parts | Frequency | Folios | Note |
| empty ruled staves on grid | often | ||
| Space provided for separate text | Frequency | Folios | Note |
| not in dedicated space | occasionally | 34v-38v | some hymns with multiple strophes, written over stave |
| Adhoc adaptation | Frequency | Folios | Note |
| notation and staves extended into margin | rarely | ||
| notation extended into margin | occasionally |
Copying of text and music
| Language(s) | Latin |
|---|---|
| Order of Copying |
music first
always |
| Presence/absence of text | Voice part | Frequency | Folios | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| fully texted with one text | all voice parts | normally | ||
| fully texted with two or more texts | all voice parts | occasionally |
Music
| Colour(s) of notation | black |
| Type(s) of notation | void mensural |
| Type of notation note | rhomboid shape, quite slender |
| Monophonic notation |
present
chant intonations |
| Level of calligraphy | very high |
| Non verbal performance instructions | Folios | Note |
|---|---|---|
| signes-de-renvoi | 4v-5r, 6v-7r, 56v-57r |
Text
| Types of script | textura |
| Types of script note | with cursive elements |
| Level of calligraphy | very high |
| Colour(s) of text | black |
| Multiple texts |
yes
Telescoped Magnificats f. 39r, 40v-42v, telescoped psalm f. 104v-105r, 113v-114r |
| Text repetitions | fairly few |
| Abbreviations | fairly few |
| Non underlaid vocal text |
additional
occasionally addiotional strophes for hymns |
| Liminary text | Liturgical designation, occasionally, above verso at beginning of new piece. Composer names above new piece, sometimes. Cross-reference, rarely, f. 111v-113r. Voice designations for T, Ct and B, separate from initial above music or in left margin normally. Fauxbourdon instruction, sometimes. All in black ink in the same size and style as underlaid text. |
Decoration
| Level of Decoration | fair |
| Decoration miniature frequency | Folios | Size position | Description | Discrepancies | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| rarely | 1v | cut out | ||||
| Decoration border frequency | Border type | Folios | Size | Position | Description | Discrepancies |
| rarely | None | partial borders: two-sided | lower margin, outer margin | |||
| Decoration initial type | Frequency | Folios | Initial type(s) | Size position | Description | Discrepancies |
| painted initials | often | decorated | beginning of every new piece, discantus only. | Purple, red, blue, and green on gold, with filigree work and foliage designs | ||
| penned initials | normally | calligraphic , flourished | Initials of voices other than discantus or subsections of discantus, in margin or more rarely in indentation | Large capitals alternating in red and blue with penwork in opposite colour | ||