Recueil d'airs de guitare

[General Discussion]

One I was searching for since a long time... Over 500 pieces for baroque guitar, so we have something to do in the winter.

In general not difficult to play.

Beautiful made, I guess with stamps.

You can download a PDF, but of less quality. Better to save all the 374 pictures...

Thank you very much Bibliotheque Nationale de France!

http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b52500814k/f1.image.r=guitare....

[Monica Hall]

I recently asked the Bn de F for information about it and this is part of their reply. They also sent me a complete list of the contents. I don't think anyone has done a detailed study of it

Type : musique imprimée et manuscrite, monographie
Titre(s) :  Recueil // d'air // de guitar [Musique manuscrite]
Type de manuscrit :  Ms.
Date(s) : [Entre 1735 et 1750]
Imprimeur / Fabricant :  Gerrevink, Lubertus van (16..-1731). Fabricant du papier
Description matérielle :  366 p. ; 26,5 x 37 cm

Note(s) :  Titre propre pris au dos de la reliure. - Contient 540 pièces en tablature française de guitare : pièces originales (principalement de Robert de Visée, également de Francesco Corbetta, Angelo Michele Bartolotti, Henri Grénerin) et arrangements d'extraits d'opéras et d'opéras-comiques (Jean-Baptiste Lully, François Collin de Blamont, Jean-Joseph Mouret, François Rebel, François Francoeur, André Campra), de pièces de clavecin (François Couperin, Jean-Philippe Rameau, Louis Antoine Dornel, Jacques Champion de Chambonnières), d'extraits de sonates pour violon (Jean-Baptiste Sénaillé, Jean-Marie Leclair), de contredanses, de vaudevilles et de noëls. - Copie calligraphiée avec des encres de plusieurs couleurs, mais comportant de nombreuses erreurs. - Daté d'après la présence d'arrangement du ballet "Le triomphe des sens" de Mouret (1732). - Table alphabétique des pièces aux p. 346-364. - On a joint une notice manuscrite de Wilhelm Tappert, datée 19.12.78
Filigrane(s) : LVG / IV ; Fleur de lis sur écu polonais

It includes two unique pieces attributed to Corbetta .

[gilles T]

Dear Monica Hall,

I feel honored and grateful you took the time to shed some light on my request. Considering the number of pieces by de Visée, we may assume that this MS dates back to the end of the 17th century, if not the beginning of the 18th century. Mouret and Senaillé both were born in 1685-1687, so it's very likely that their works were collected well after 1700... But by who, and for what purpose ? We may never know, but that would surely be a fascinating inquiry.

Regards,

gilles

[Monica Hall]

The information was from the music librarian Francois Pierre Goy who catalogued the ms.in full after I contacted him. Some of the mss. are still only listed in a card  catalogue so it's an ongoing task. He sent me a complete list of the contents but that is too long to include here. The new catalogue entry should now be on line. De Visee's music continued to be played well into the 18th century - even Napoleon Coste arranged some of it I believe.