Beneventan neumes - photo 1
Beneventan neumes - photo 2

Beneventan neumes

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£ 15 120
Auction dateClassic
08.11.2023 11:00UTC +01:00
Auctioneer
CHRISTIE'S
Event location
United Kingdom, London
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ID 1053142
Lot 28 | Beneventan neumes
Beneventan neumes
A fragment from a Antiphonal, in Latin, decorated manuscript on vellum [Montecassino, second half 12th century]
A fragment of a Beneventan choirbook with a splendid interlace initial, the text with the vigil of the St Benedict himself, founder of the famous Abbey at Montecassino.

c.129 x 210mm, a partial leaf, 6 visible lines of text written in a very fine Beneventan minuscule of the Montecassino type, 6 lines of Beneventan neumes on a single line red F-staff, initials in red, 3-line initial with foliate design in black infilled with yellow, 5-line initial 'B' in very fine interlaced design of multiple spirals with entwined leaves and plants infilled in yellow (likely recovered from use as a wrapper and consequently with a central vertical crease where the spine was, some staining).

Provenance:
(1) Sotheby’s 22 June 1993, lot 14.

(2) Schøyen Collection, MS 1681.

Text:
The text is from the feast of St Gregory (12 March) and the vigil of St Benedict himself (20 March), founder of Montecassino in 530.

Script and music:
Though on a much smaller scale, the interlaced initial is of very high quality and can be compared with those in the Montecassino Breviary, dated 1153, now J.P. Getty Museum, MS. Ludwig IX.1 (V. Brown, ‘A Second New List of Beneventan Manuscripts (III)’, Mediaeval Studies, 56 (1994), p.317). The script of Montecassino is characterised by horizontal, vertical and oblique strokes towards the left that were very thick, and oblique sections towards the right that were very thin. Moreover, the horizontal strokes connecting some of the letters are perfectly aligned with each other, which produces the impression of words that were crossed by a single thick line. The short vertical shafts (for example, for m and for i) are broken and appear to consist of two small diamonds; the system of abbreviations contains a sign similar to a '3' to indicate the lack of 'm' or 'n', and uses a typical abbreviation for 'eius'.

Beneventan music is not governed rigidly by its text: the melodies are lively and fluent in their own right. A decisive advance in the development of notation was made when the scribe drew a horizontal red line to represent the pitch F, and grouped the neumes about the line. In time a second line, usually yellow, was drawn for C. This invention of the staff made it possible to note precisely the relative pitch of the notes of a melody, and freed music from its hitherto exclusive dependence on oral tradition. It was one of the most important events in the history of music (see D.J. Grout, A History of Western Music, 1962, pp.55-56.)
Place of origin:Italy
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
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