Miscellaneous collection of 23 folios containing manuscript music, and 3 folios containing printed music, mounted on modern paper leaves. Fragments, dating from 12th to 17th centuries, are mostly unrelated, and include monophonic music in various forms of chant notation, instrumental polyphony in tablature, and vocal polyphony. Only last fragment between pp. 108/109, the single fragment between pp. 110/111, and two fragments between pp. 112/113 matter here.

The first two fragments are in black full notation, copied by a single scribe, originally belonged to same choirbook. The latter two fragments (the 'Fayrfax fragments') are in black void notation, copied by one or two scribes; the first is apparently a half-sheet from the same original manuscript as WellsC (2), the second is a continuation of the piece on the rear flyleaf of Drexel 4183. Copied in England. THe Fayrfax (and other related) fragments are brought together in a ‘virtual manuscript’ here.

Some items possibly owned by John Stafford Smith (1750-1836) and Edward Rimbault (1816-76); the pp. 112-113 fragments may have originally been used in binding the Drexel partbooks - specifically 4181 front and 4182 back (FallDrex) (several of those binding fragments are now missing from the Drexel set). Later, unidentified owner collected fragments and had them bound into his exemplar of David-Lussy Histoire. Volume donated to present library by Mrs. Dudley S. Blossom in 1940.

Mounting sheets now bound into printed Histoire between pp. 56/57, 58/59, 96/97, 98/99, 100/101, 102/103, 104/105, 106/107, 108/109, 110/111, 112/113, 114/115, 136/137, and 138/139 respectively.

Top fragment between pp. 112/113 bears portion of same watermark (hand with six-petalled flower) found in WellsC (2).

black full mensural and black void mensural

not received yet

13-14v

Inked Gothic initials for pieces in black full notation; no initials or decoration for pieces in black void notation.

33 paper and parchment; 3 paper

Exemplar of printed book (Ernest David and Mathis Hussy: Histoire de la Notation Musicale [Paris, 1882]), with manuscript polyphony:

1 Mass, 3 English secular pieces, 1 textless piece = 5* (all fragmentary)

*See physical description below. Above summary includes only those items with repertory within scope of [the Census] catalogue.

(Fayrfax)-1, anon-4

Miscellaneous collection of 23 paper and parchment folios containing manuscript music, and 3 paper folios containing printed music, of widely varying sizes (some fragmentary), mounted on modern paper leaves, 340 x 222. Mounting sheets now bound into printed Histoire between pp. 56/57, 58/59, 96/97, 98/99, 100/101, 102/103, 104/105, 106/107, 108/109, 110/111, 112/113, 114/115, 136/137, and 138/139 respectively.

Fragments, dating from 12th to 17th centuries, are mostly unrelated, and include monophonic music in various forms of chant notation, instrumental polyphony in tablature, and vocal polyphony in black and white mensural notation. Only last fragment between pp. 108/109 (parchment, 210 x 154, black mensural notation), single fragment between pp. 110/111 (parchment, 218 x 316, black mensural notation), and two fragments between pp. 112/113 (paper, 145 x 183, white mensural notation) are within scope of [the Census] catalogue. Fragments in black notation, copied by a single scribe, originally belonged to same choirbook; fragments in white notation, copied by one or two scribes, apparently from same original manuscript as WellsC (2).

Inked Gothic initials for pieces in black notation; no initials or decoration for pieces in white notation. Top fragment between pp. 112/113 bears portion of same watermark (hand with six-petalled flower) found in WellsC (2).

Late 15th century (pieces in black notation); early 16th century (pieces in white notation). Copied in England. Some items possibly owned by John Stafford Smith (1750-1836) and Edward Rimbault (1816-76). Later, unidentified owner collected fragments and had them bound into his exemplar of David-Lussy Histoire. Volume donated to present library by Mrs. Dudley S. Blossom in 1940.

[see also WellsC (2)]