neumatic but semi-quadratic Aquitanian

parchment

RISM B/IV 1: A 12th-13th century parchment Troper meas. 285 x 175 mm. and containing 119 folios. Fol. 1-2 are more recent paper flyleaves, the first of which bears some remarks in Barbieri's hand. The foliation itself, which begins at f. 2, dates from the 18th century and is in ink at t.r.r. Fol. 118v-119 are blank. The binding of fine skin bears the arms of Philip V, and gilt lettering on the spine spells out the words "Liber cantu[s] chori". The Aquitanian notation is neumatic but semi-quadratic on 14 four-line staves per page in dry point, f or c clefs are always present as well as the custos. The neat minuscule script has red rubrics and many initials in red, blue, green and yellow. Known as the Troparium de Catania after the researches of Misset and Weale, this ms was at least written in Sicily. Formerly in the library of Philip V of Spain, it was brought to Spain with other Sicilian mss by Giovanni Francesco Pacheco, duke of Uceda and viceroy of Sicily from 1687-1696. Later it became part of the ms holdings of the Biblioteca Nacional, but was missed in 1868. Barbieri acquired it from Pereda on April 9, 1869, the latter having himself bought it from a bookseller named Lezcano. While in Barbieri's possession it was examined by Misset and Weale, who published 90 sequence incipits from it in Thesaurus hymnologicus II (1892). The contents of the ms, which is now back safely in the Biblioteca Nacional, consist of 24 troped Kyries of the Regnum and 2 of the Sceptrum, 92 sequences, 21 troped and 1 untroped Sanctus, 8 troped Hosannas, 15 troped and 16 untroped Agnus, 14 troped and 16 untroped Benedicamus, and 5 untroped Ites, together with a set of antiphons at the end of the ms. The polyphony too appears at the end, and consists of 4 two-part organa in score with a notation very like that of Roma, Bibl. Vaticana, ms Ottoboni lat. 3025. Bar-lines appear in nos. 1 and 4, and they are particularly interesting in the latter because they link up the corresponding duplum and T notes. According to Angles, no. 4 is different from the Notre Dame composition F 59. This composition has a set of lines drawn continuously one after the other as a stave. The use of a c clef in the duplum and an f clef in the T is standard in all 4 compositions.

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