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Over the summer, the Music Library purchased the deluxe color facsimile of the Bologna Q 15 manuscript which is the largest international anthology of polyphonic music (masses and motets) of the early 15th century. It was compiled in the Veneto, in Padua in the early 1420s (stage I) and Vicenza in the early 1430s (stages II-III), all copied by a single scribe between 1420 and 1435. The three illuminations are an unusual luxury for a musical manuscript at this period. It was acquired by Padre Martini in 1757 and is one of the great treasures of his library in Bologna. The purchase includes two volumes: the first volume is an extensive introductory study by Margaret Bent that tells about her work and study of the manuscript which also includes comprehensive indexes and catalogues. She spells out some of the conclusions to be drawn from the partial destruction of the manuscript by its own creator, a unique and extraordinary testimony to changing taste and contemporary reception. The second volume is the actual facsimile. The volumes will be stored with other rare materials owned by the Music Library. Stop by the Music Library service desk and ask to see these two new volumes. |