Later mensural notation - photo 1
Later mensural notation - photo 2
Later mensural notation - photo 3
Later mensural notation - photo 4

Later mensural notation

Lot 75
08.11.2023 11:00UTC +00:00
Classic
Sold
£ 6 048
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUnited Kingdom, London
Buyer Premiumsee on Website%
Archive
The auction is completed. No bids can be placed anymore.
Archive
ID 1053189
Lot 75 | Later mensural notation
Estimate value
£ 5 000 – 8 000
Later mensural notation
Psalms in mensural notation, decorated manuscript on paper [France, c.1700]
An unusual, late example of mensural notation in an attractive choirbook setting of psalms made in France c.1700.

Two-part settings of 152 psalms, tenor and bass parts notated on facing pages on up to three staves per page. 308 pages, 135 x 305mm, watermark: bear within a shield, notation in black ink with the tenor parts heightened in colours and with foliate decoration at the end of the staves (possibly lacking title page and a leaf at the end, first two leaves loose). Contemporary French sheep binding, clasps.

Provenance:
(1) Sotheby’s, 4 December 2007, lot 109.

(2) Schøyen Collection, MS 5404.

Mensural notation, in use from the end of the 13th century until the early 17th century, was the first system in European music to systematically use individual note shapes to denote duration: the evolution of the mensural – or ‘measured’ – system, with its highly complex rhythmic possibilities, marked a fundamental change in the writing of Western vocal polyphony and became the standard form of notation for Renaissance music. The note-heads were diamond- or rhombic-shaped rather than oval, with their stems perched directly on top or below. Black mensural notation, with note-heads filled in solid black, was used up to about the mid-15th century; white mensural notation with void note-heads was used after that time. The present manuscript seems to be in white (void) mensural notation; the coloured note-heads for the tenor parts seem to be employed primarily for decoration and ease of reading purposes. Coloured notes, first introduced in the 14th century, offered another way of denoting duration, but red and blue note-heads were most usually employed: the use of grey, blue, red, yellow and green here corresponds to no known mensural scheme.

Published: R. Malikènienè, Muzikos Labirintai (2010), pp. 49, 52, 69; Neumi - Cantus volat signa manent (2011), pp.30-31.
Place of origin:France
Auction house category:Letters, documents and manuscripts
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
8 King Street, St. James's
SW1Y 6QT London
United Kingdom
Preview
02.11.2023 09:00 – 17:00
03.11.2023 09:00 – 17:00
04.11.2023 12:00 – 17:00
05.11.2023 12:00 – 17:00
06.11.2023 09:00 – 17:00
07.11.2023 09:00 – 17:00
Phone +44 (0)20 7839 9060
Email
4FQ.AYGKAGLUQ@FO3G@
Buyer Premium see on Website
Conditions of purchaseConditions of purchase

Related terms

Frequently asked questions

First of all, you should register to be able to purchase at auction. After confirming your email address, enter your personal information in your user profile, such as your first name, last name, and mail address. Choose a lot from the upcoming auction and the maximum amount you want to place on it. After confirmation of your choice, we will send your application by e-mail to the appropriate auction house. If the auction house accepts a request, it will participate in the auction. You can view the current status of a bid at any time in your personal account in the "Bids" section.
Auctions are performed by auction houses and each of the auction houses describes their terms of auction. You can see the texts in the section "Auction information".
The results of the auction are published within a few days after the end of the auction. In the top menu of the site, find the tab "Auctions". Click on it and you will be on the auction catalog page, where you can easily find the category "Results". After opening it, select the desired auction from the list, enter and view the current status of the interested lot.
The information about the auction winners is confidential. The auction winner will receive a direct notification from the auction house responsible with instructions for further action: an invoice for payment and the manner in which the goods will be received.
Each of the auction houses has its own payment policy for the won lots. All auction houses accept bank transfers, most of them accept credit card payments. In the near future you will find detailed information for each case in the section "Auction information" on the page of the auction catalog and the lot.
Shipment of the won lot depends on its size. Small items can be delivered by post. Larger lots are sent by courier. Employees of the auction houses will offer you a wide range to choose from.
No. The archive serves as a reference for the study of auction prices, photographs and descriptions of works of art.