Special Collections Finding Aids

Italian Vocal Manuscripts Collection - Manuscripts

Accession: SC1996.12

Location: M1B 3,5-4,2

Size: 9 feet

Provenance: The collection most probably originated as the of one of the Italian singing schools, which typically gathered such manuscript material. Otherwise, the provenance is unknown until it passed through the hands of the anitquarian dealer Leo Liepmannsohn during the 1930's.

Scope and Content: This collection is of primary importance to the study of 18th and early 19th century Italian opera. It contains over 300 arias in manuscript. The bulk of the music is from operas written between 1760 and 1810, but it also contains material from as early as the 1730's and as late as the 1820's. Although most of the selections are opera excerpts, the collection does contain a few operas in various stages of completeness, along with some cantatas, oratorios and sacred selection. Some solfeggio exercises are also present, supporting the proposed provenance. The collection contains works by at least 90 different composers. Paisiello, Cimarosa, mayr and Rossini are the most widely represented composer in the collection. An earlier word-processed finding aid exists in special collections and contains much further information.

Associations: Watanabe Special Collections also possesses several manuscript copies of operas from the 18th and 19th centuries that are cataloged individually. In 1996 the library purchased a second, smaller manuscript collection very similar to this one (SC1997.4), which is available under the title "Italian Vocal Manuscripts II."

Restrictions: none

Series: 1

Series Name: Manuscripts

Series Description: The series consists entirely of manuscripts. The first portion of the collection consists of binders collections in which several individual works are bound together. The remainder of the collection consists of individual works, many of which appear to have been disbound from binders collections and rebound. Owing to the limitations of the pre-programmed entry form, in the inventory "box" refers to "volume."