Handwritten Music for Voice & Harpsichord, c.1750

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From the title page: V. Cantate Del Sig: D: E Astorgas - Voice & Harpsichord This is quite a find for anyone who'd like to read or transcribe keyboard music from an original 18th-century handwritten manuscript. As near as I can tell, this little book of watermarked (P and G over a crowned harp) paper with chainlines was hand-copied, possibly from the composer's original MS, sometime in the mid 1700's. The five-line, pre-printed musical staff notebook has what looks like the harpsichord (with voice) part only for five (5) different, multi-movement vocal cantatas composed by Italian composer Emanuel d'Astorga (1680/81-1757). The left hand, bass clef part stays for the most part in that clef while the upper part is written both in the G clef as well as the moveable C clef. Surprisingly, there are no numbers over the bass part as one would expect to find indicating a "figured bass". This collection contains five complete cantatas, but there are no page numbers. When I first acquired this MS, I spent several hours at a university music library attempting to determine whether or not this book was written in the composer's own hand. I'm certainly not a handwriting expert, but, after comparing this music with a few other facsimile examples I found, it looks to me like the music here was most likely copied by someone other than M. Astorga. The unique watermark is surely the best clue to the age of this particular collection. If you know anything about Italian watermarks of the 18th century, this would be a good time to put your knowledge to work. In any case, here's what I found out about the composer from the online Encyclopedia Britannica : Emanuele d’ Astorga , in full Emanuele Gioacchino Cesare Rincón, Baron (barone) d’Astorga (b. March 20, 1680, Augusta, Sicily, Kingdom of Naples [Italy]—d. 1757?, Madrid, Spain?), composer known for his dignified and moving Stabat Mater ( c. 1707) and for his chamber cantatas, of which about 170 survive. Astorga belonged to a family of Spanish descent that won a barony in Sicily in the 17th century. The family eventually settled in Palermo . Astorga’s first opera, La moglie nemica (“The Hostile Wife”), was performed privately at Palermo in 1698. Later he quarreled with his father and left home. In Rome he met the poet Sebastiano Biancardi, whose Rime (1732) contains information on Astorga. At Genoa both men were robbed, and they wrote the opera Dafni to raise money. After adventures under an assumed name, Astorga was summoned to Barcelona by the Spanish king Charles III; later he lived in Vienna . Astorga returned to Palermo in 1715 to reclaim his family estates after his father’s death (1712). He married and became a senator, but in 1721 he left after restoring his wife’s dowry. He was subsequently in Lisbon and apparently passed through London en route to Bohemia . In 1744 his estates were sold to pay his wife’s debts. Johann Joseph Abert’s opera Astorga (1866) was based on his life. The first line incipits from each cantata are as follows: (Please keep in mind I don't read Italian.) 1. In questo core piu va crescento 2. Ti parlo, e non mi ascolti 3. Vicino aun Ruscelletto che dal fonte 4. Non e sul la lonto manza 5. A clorinda al suo bene Condition wise, this handwritten, iron gall music book is in very good shape. The spine is falling away some from age, but the covers are still fairly well attached and the pages are secure. There's some sort of stain in the upper right corner of the first blank page, but it does not go through to the lined music portion. USPS Priority Insured postage will be $8.00 in the USA. International mailing will be sent USPS First Class postage without insurance (very expensive!) unless desired. Please feel free to ask questions. I'll do my best to help. read more

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