Manuscript: Florence, Italy, Biblioteca Riccardiana, MS 2356

Manuscript type: choirbook

RISM siglum: I-Fr 2356

DIAMM Source Key: 1003

Folio(s): All folios

Date: c. 1480-1485

c. 1480-1485 (Atlas 1975-6); late 15th century, with some additions from the 1540's (Plamenac 1954).

Location of origin: Florence, Italy

Provenance

In the mid-16th century, the manuscript belonged to a Florentine, Andrea Sardelli, who, on 19th June 1550, wrote an inventory of his library onto f. 4v of this manuscript, where it is referred to as 'Io [= uno] chanzoniere di carta pechora franzesse coperto dasse.' On f. 94r, the following note is written, beneath a short added four-voice piece 'sir ieronimo di monopoli me fecit 1547 [sic - not a 1541] in burgo sancti laurencii E ser andrea sardellj la scricto in quisto libro'. The manuscript was already in the Biblioteca Riccardiana by the 1810 inventory of manuscripts. (Plamenac 1954, RISM)

Artists/Scribes

Person: Anonymous, Anonymous
Person type: None
Location of origin: Italy
Note: The scribe was probably Italian; scribal concordance with last two pieces in I-Fn Magi. 176 (<a href="/bibliography/#entry815" data-tooltip="" class="has-tip tip-top reference" data-placement="top" rel="tooltip" data-original-title="" title="Rifkin, Joshua, 'Scribal Concordances for Some Renaissance Manuscripts in Florentine Libraries', Journal of the American Musicological Society, 26 (1973), 305–26 "><i class="fa fa-book"></i>Rifkin 1973</a>).

Florence, Italy, Biblioteca Riccardiana, MS 2356, All folios

Physical description

Material: parchment

Number of leaves: i + 100 + i

Format: upright

Page dimensions: 230 x 168

Quire structure: Text version

Index / Table of Contents: 1. original alphabetical index, ff. 1v-3r

Non-musical texts: f. 1r: notes […]
ff. 3r-4r: various notes regarding visitors etc., partly with dates
f. 4r: Gudonian hand with various solmisation instructions (also partly on f. 3v)
ff. 4v-5r: Inventory of Andrea Sardelli's books, 1550
ff. 92v-93r: various notes, mostly regarding basic musical theory, including Guidonian hand in f. 93r.
ff. 95v-98r: various notes and scribblings, some with musical notation.
f. 100v: Italian poem: 'Tu say ben che in pene amare'

Other devices: 1. Original foliation, red ink recto top middle, I-LXXIII (lacking numbers XI-XX). Original index also only including pieces up to that point, with later additions), not including index.
2. Older foliation, brown ink recto top right, 1-102 (lacking numbers 11-20), not including index.
3. Modern foliation, stamped recto bottom right, 1-100.

Page details (zoom):

Preparation and Copying

All folios

Preparation

Disposition of Voice Parts Key

Pricking	sometimes, Some pricks visible for vertical bounding lines, but not always aligned with actual lines. No pricking for staves visible.
Ruled grid	always
Ruling pattern	highly regular
Staves omitted from grid	never
Incomplete staves	never

Medium and colour of grid	Frequency	Folios	Note
brown ink	always		Justification lines only.
Colour of staves	Frequency	Folios	Note
brown	always
Ruling medium	Frequency	Folios	Note
triple rastrum	always		staves 5-7 of every page, as visible from slight variations in horizontal alignment and ink colour. Stave height 15, 15, 14.5 mm, distance 12 mm.
quadruple rastrum	always		staves 1-4 of every page, as visible from slight variations in horizontal alignment and ink colour. Stave height 15, 15, 15, 14.5 mm, distance 12-12.5 mm.
Indentation for initials	Frequency	Folios	Note
single	often		Music and text indented on staves.
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	always
Adhoc adaptation	Frequency	Folios	Note
staves extended into margin	often
notation and staves extended into margin	rarely	7v-8r, 23v-24r, 29v, 34r, 51r, 70v-71r, 81r, 90r
notation extended into margin	rarely	14v, 41v, 44v-45r, 50v, 81v, 85v, 87v-88r
staveline added	rarely	5v, 12r, 18r, 37r, 42r, 45v, 50v, 64v-65r, 66r, 78r, 91v-92r

Copying of text and music

Language(s)	French, Italian, Spanish
Order of Copying	music first always

Presence/absence of text	Voice part	Frequency	Folios
untexted	all voice parts	rarely	5v-6r, 7v-8r, 44v-45r, 81v-82r, 90v-91r
provided with single incipit	all voice parts	sometimes
partially texted with one text	discantus	rarely	23v-24r, 29v-30r, 36v-37r
untexted	discantus	rarely	26v-27r, 34v-35r, 45v-46r, 61v-62r, 70v-71r, 77v-78r
provided with single incipit	discantus	rarely	79v-80r, 81v-84r, 89v-90r, 99v-100r
fully texted with one or two texts	discantus	sometimes	9v-10r, 11v-12r, 16v-17r, 19v-20r, 24v-26r, 28v-29r, 30v-32r, 33v-34r, 38v-39r, 41v-42r, 51v-52r, 56v-57r, 69v-70r, 74v-75r, 86v-88r, 91v-92r
provided with single incipit	all except discantus	sometimes	9v-10r, 25v-26r, 28v-29r, 30v-32r, 33v-34r, 38v-39r, 51v-52r, 69v-70r, 74v-75r, 87v-88r, 91v-92r
untexted	all except discantus	rarely	19v-20r, 41v-42r, 79v-80r, 81v-84r, 86v-87r, 89v-90r, 99v-100r
partially texted with one or two texts	tenor	rarely	11v-12r, 24v-25r
untexted	bassus	rarely	11v-12r, 24v-25r
provided with single incipit	altus	rarely	16v-17r
untexted	all except discantus and altus	rarely	16v-17r
provided with single incipit	all except bassus	rarely	17v-18r
untexted	tenor	rarely	22v-23r, 46v-47r, 48v-49r, 71v-74r, 78v-79r
provided with single incipit	all except tenor	rarely	22v-23r, 46v-47r, 48v-49r, 71v-74r, 78v-79r
provided with single incipit	bassus	rarely	67v-68r
untexted	all except bassus	rarely	67v-68r
provided with two incipits	all except tenor	rarely	76v-77r
untexted	bassus	rarely	17v-18r, 56v-57r
provided with single incipit	tenor	rarely	56v-57r, 76v-77r

Music

Colour(s) of notation	black red
Colour of notation note	<p>Written mostly in dark brown/black ink, but occasionally one or two voice parts are copied in light red (ff. 52v-53r, 60v-61r, 61v, 66v-68r, 69v-72r, 73v-74r, 79r, 83v). This is apparently intended as a visual effect since it is usually offset against other voice parts on the same opening in black and also against the verbal text in the opposite colour. </p>
Type(s) of notation	void mensural
Type of notation note	rhomboid notehads, very slender, almost triangular
Monophonic notation	absent
Level of calligraphy	fair

Non verbal performance instructions	Folios	Note
end symbol	76r
pointers		Pointers (often in form of hand) are usually drawn each time a voice part spans across both sides of an opening.
signes-de-renvoi	12
signa congruentiae	16v, 74v-75r
repeat signs	25v-26r, 29v-30r, 36v-37r, 44v-45r, 56v-57r
Later changes	Folios
Erasure	25r, 78r
Notation added in blank staves: practice note shapes etc.	21v, 34v-35r, 45r, 48v, 79r, 83v-84r, 94r-96r, 99r
The book obviously grew over a period of time as is evident not only by the original index only reaching 73 (= f. 67), but also by a number of additions in different hands (either not reflected by the original index at all or added there later), and by the decreasing care taken over precision and calligraphy in the latter sections, even by the main scribe.

Text

Types of script	cursive (humanistic)
Types of script size position	Text incipits or underlay. Voice names in slightly larger, rotunda script, placed at start of stave (not before). First letter usually missing, never provided as initial.
Level of calligraphy	fair
Colour(s) of text	black red Written in black (or dark brown) ink with some texts, incipits or voice names in light red ink, usually as a visual offset against black notation or vice versa (notably from ff. 51v-74r).
Multiple texts	yes 24v-25r, 74v
Text repetitions	very few
Abbreviations	fairly few
Non underlaid vocal text	none
Liminary text	Voice designation for all parts except discantus, below stave or rarely in margin. Composer designation (Cornelius <.>ianus) f. 44v. Verte instruction, f. 60v, 44v, 60v, 61v
Later changes	Vocal text (extensions of incipits, not always clear whether actually appropriate to the piece in question) added on ff. 9r, 13v, 22r, 61v, 74v-75r (?), 73r, Non-vocal text added (pen trials etc.) ff. 1r, 2v-4r, 21v-22r, 42v-43r, 48v, 55v, 92v-93r, 94r-98r, 100v Calculations: ff. 80r, 84r, 1r, 2v-4r, 9r, 21v-22r, 42v-43r, 48v, 55v, 80r, 84r, 92v-93r, 94r-98r, 100v

Decoration

Level of Decoration	poor

Decoration initial type	Frequency	Folios	Initial type(s)	Size position	Description	Discrepancies
penned initials	rarely	6v-7r, 8v-9r, 10v-11r	littera notabilior	Before stave, approximately one stave tall.
initials planned	normally	7v-14r, 15v-17r, 19v-21r, 22v-29r, 30v-37r, 41v-50r, 51v-53r, 54v-76r, 77v-87r, 89v-92r		Indentation of music and text on one stave.	Sometimes each voice is indented, but more typically indentation occurs on only the first voice on each page, or sometimes only the discantus.
Other decoration frequency		Folios	Other decoration type(s)	Size position	Description	Discrepancies
rarely		6r, 15r-17r, 20r-21r, 31r, 57r	decorative final long		Decorative final note.

PRoMs - The Production and Reading of Music Sources