bryant, david & pozzobo, michele - review

7/28/2019 Bryant, David & Pozzobo, Michele - Review

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Musica devozione citt: La Scuola di Santa Maria dei Battuti (e un suo manoscritto musicale)nella Treviso del Rinascimento by David Bryant; Michele PozzobonReview by: Jonathan E. GlixonEarly Music History, Vol. 16 (1997), pp. 310-317Published by: Cambridge University PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/853807 .

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ReviewsDAVIDBRYANT nd MICHELEPOZZOBON,Musicadevozioneitta:La Scuola di Santa MariadeiBattuti (e un suo manoscrittomusicale)

nella Trevisodel Rinascimento.Memorie/Monografie 4. Treviso,Fondazione Benetton Studi Ricerche/Editrice Canova, 1995,253 pp.The night of 7 April 1944 was a tragic one for musicology.Following an American bombing raid on the city of Treviso, afire broke out in the room that housed the cathedral's musicmanuscripts, which had been left behind when other, more valu-able materials were moved to a secure location. This pricelessresource, twenty-five manuscripts that comprised a nearly intactrecord of the musical repertory of a Renaissance cathedral, wasapparently destroyed. Tantalisingly, a nearly complete inventoryof the contents of these sources, completed by the cathedral'sassistant librarian, Giovanni D'Alessi, only a week before thefire, survived to tell us of the riches they contained. With thepublication of D'Alessi's book in 1954' the sad story seemed tobe at an end.The persistence of modern musicologists in the face of seem-ingly lost causes was demonstrated in 1987 in a remarkable littlebook by Bonnie Blackburn,2 in which she reconstructed two ofthe lost manuscripts, numbers 29 and 30, unusual among theholdings of Treviso Cathedral in that they were sets of partbooks,rather than the more usual choirbooks. Working with D'Alessi'salphabetical inventories, she reconstructed the contents of thetwo sources, highlighting the extraordinary number of unica bymajor composers included, especially in MS 29. Blackburnuntangled the situation by her discovery, based on an annotationby D'Alessi in his entry for one motet, that nearly all of thesupposed unica were, in fact, contrafacta, grafting texts withlocal significance onto previously published motets or works inthe choirbooks of the cathedral library. She further was able torecover two motets by Ghiselin Danckerts (one in each source)by using photographs taken by J. de Bruijn for his 1942 thesis.

G. D'Alessi, La cappellamusicaledel Duomodi Treviso 1300-1633) (Vedelago, 1954).2 B. J. Blackburn, Music for Treviso Cathedral in the Late Sixteenth Century:A Reconstructionof the Lost Manuscripts 29 and 30, Royal Musical Association Monographs 3 (London,1987).

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Bryant and Pozzobon, MusicadevozioneittaOne of them, Tu vas electionis, in MS 29, was, Blackburn dis-covered, a contrafactum, and she was able to illumine muchabout the technique employed in the Trevisan source, which attimes was closer to arranging rather than simple retexting.Finally, Blackburn published transcriptions of four additionalmotets by Trevisan maestri di cappella (Giovanni Nasco, FrancescoSantacroce and Pietro Antonio Sapienza), two from each source,which D'Alessi had transcribed before the war but had neverpublished. The story that had seemed to have a final, tragicending in 1944, had received a new and somewhat more cheerfulchapter.Now, unexpectedly, David Bryant and Michele Pozzobon haveadded several more chapters in the story of one of the twomanuscripts, MS 29. In addition to presenting archival discoveriesthat illuminate the history and context for the source, the authorsmake several important revelations. First, they found a microfilmin the collection of Knud Jeppesen, now in the State Library ofArhus, Denmark, containing selections from several of the sourcespresumed lost in 1944, including some from MS 29. Though thefilm is in poor condition, it makes reconstruction of several moremotets possible. Secondly, in the papers of D'Alessi, who died in1969, they uncovered transcriptions, unknown to Blackburn atthe time she wrote her book, that he had made of ten additionalmotets in the source. Finally, and most surprisingly of all, follow-ing an indication in a typescript of a book left unpublished atD'Alessi's death, they have discovered that seven of the cathedralmanuscripts, including MS 29, as well as thirty musical prints,thirteen liturgical manuscripts and four treatises, were notentirely destroyed in the 1944 fire. Badly burned, they have lainunmarked and unrecognised for decades, wrapped in newspapers.3They are now being restored and photographed under the aus-pices of the Fondazione Benetton. Bryant and Pozzobon use allof these new discoveries to reconstruct, to a significant extent,a repertory of motets for a religious institution in late-sixteenth-century Treviso.As the authors make clear early on, however, this repertory

These discoveries were first announced in English in Pozzobon's review of Blackburn'sbook in Early Music History, 9 (1990), p. 259.311


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Reviewswas not that of the Treviso Cathedral choir. Blackburn hadsuggested, based on the repertory and the unusual format, thatMS 29 might have been used in the cathedral in special situationsor perhaps in processions, or, still within the cathedral, at cer-emonies of one of the confraternities housed there. It is in thislast direction that Bryant and Pozzobon turn. In their first chap-ter, they examine briefly institutions in Treviso other than thecathedral choir that regularly employed polyphonic music in theirceremonies. Only two monasteries in the city, the DominicanSan Niccol6 and Franciscan San Francesco, had permanent cap-pelle,while for other conventual or parish churches only occasionaluse of music can be documented. According to what the authorshave found, none of the confraternities housed in the cathedralappear to have had musical establishments active enough towarrant the compilation of an entire manuscript of motets, nordid any similar institutions located in other churches, thoughthe authors admit that much archival work still needs to be donein that area. They have, in the end, turned to the city's flagellantconfraternity, the Scuola di Santa Maria dei Battuti, to whichthey devote all of their second chapter.The confraternity was founded, along with a hospital with thesame name, some time in the second half of the thirteenthcentury. As in similar confraternities in nearby Venice and else-where in Italy, the members pledged themselves to mutual assist-ance in times of need, and to common prayers and devotions forthe health of their souls and those of deceased members. Essen-tial elements in these devotions were services at the Scuola'saltar in the cathedral and flagellant processions to other churcheson designated feast days. The earliest surviving statute, of 1329,specified services in the cathedral on the first Sunday of eachmonth, on the four major Marian feasts, on Corpus Christi andon the feasts of the patron saints of the city of Treviso. Noneof this is particularly remarkable. Of much greater interest,however, is another provision that listed sixteen flagellant pro-cessions including seven to churches other than the cathedral.Over the years, additional processions were added, so that bythe end of the sixteenth century, during the time when MS 29was compiled, Bryant and Pozzobon count in the payment regis-ters between 90 and 105 processions each year. Included were

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Bryant and Pozzobon, Musicadevozioneittavisits to nearly all the parish and monastic churches of the cityon their feast days. The authors provide a simple calendar theyhave compiled for 1582. Though the 1329 statutes made nomention of singers in the devotions of the Scuola, their presenceseems already well established by the time of the revision of1400. The records for the period 1345-1436 are almost entirelylacking, but Bryant and Pozzobon have discovered extensive docu-mentation on the employment of singers from that point throughthe end of the sixteenth century, and present here a summaryof their findings. Though the number of salaried singers variedsomewhat, the norm in the sixteenth century was ten, dividedinto two choirs. While many of the singers were apparently notfull-time musicians, there was a distinct presence, by the latesixteenth century, of members of the cathedral choir, includingseveral of the maestri di cappella.

Returning to the manuscript under discussion, the authorsexamine the peculiarities of its repertory, in particular the textsrepresented. Most notable, of course, is the large number ofcontrafacta texts for local feasts, many of which would not havebeen celebrated with polyphony in the cathedral. Bryant andPozzobon also note that many of these texts include litany-likephrases particularly suited for processional purposes, are prayersfor intercession, or make reference to illness. Motets with thesecharacteristics predominate at the beginning of the source, upthrough no. 78. There follow settings of texts for the Proper ofthe Time and the Proper of the Saints (nos. 79-99) and for theCommon of Saints (nos. 100-27), with a small group of five againfor the Proper of the Saints (nos. 128-32); the compiler clearlymade an effort in this section to fill in the gaps in the liturgicalyear left open in the first seventy-eight motets. Part II of MS29 contains forty-four Marian motets, many of which, the authorsnote, contain phrases of text reminiscent of laude. The completetexts of all the motets, along with their liturgical assignments,are provided in Appendix I.

Determining the dating and origin of a manuscript is, ofcourse, an important musicological goal, and Bryant and Pozzo-bon marshal several important kinds of evidence in their effort.Establishing the general provenance of MS 29, was, of course,not difficult: it was housed in the Treviso Cathedral Library and

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Reviewscontained texts for celebrations of saints especially venerated inTreviso. On the other hand, its partbook format and repertoryof motets for feasts not celebrated in polyphonyat the cathedralpoint to another institution in the city. Blackburn had earlierestablished an important element in the chronology of the manu-script: based on the publication dates of the prints utilised bythe compiler/arranger of the source, she proposed a terminus ostquemfor the source of 1575, a date confirmed by Bryant andPozzobon. D'Alessi had determined the name of an early ownerof the manuscript on the evidence of the now destroyed bindings:each partbookbore the coat of arms and initials of Pietro Varisco,a priest (and perhaps also member of the choir) at TrevisoCathedral from 1550 until his death in 1584. Bryant and Pozzo-bon add now a vital piece of information, the identity of thecopyist and presumed arranger. On the basis of research conduc-ted in the clerical tax records in the State Archives of Venice byanother Venetian scholar, Elena Quaranta, Bryant and Pozzoboncarefully and convincingly identify the handwriting as that ofGiovanni Ferrandino. Ferrandino was a native of Treviso, a priestin the cathedral and, from at least 1565, a member of the cappella,where he was still employed in 1581 - the date of the lastreference to him in documents of the cathedral, and most prob-ably the year of his death. Ferrandino also, along with fellowmembers of the cathedral choir, was employed as a singer andpriest by the Scuola dei Battuti. The final piece of evidencebrought forth by Bryant and Pozzobon is an archival documentfrom the Scuola dated 1582 recording payment for the bindingof five 'libri di canto'. Looking at all the evidence together, theauthors propose that MS 29 was copied by Giovanni Ferrandinofor the Scuola dei Battuti between 1575 and his death in 1581,at which point it passed into the hands of his colleague PietroVarisco, for whom it was bound by the Scuola in 1582. Sometime after Varisco's death in 1584 (but not before 1595, the dateof an inventory in which it is not mentioned) MS 29 was acquiredby the library of Treviso Cathedral.Bryant and Pozzobon's conclusions regarding the dating andcopyist of MS 29 seem completely convincing; but their effortsto link the source directly with the Scuola dei Battuti appearless persuasive, and the evidence may well point in a somewhat

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Bryant and Pozzobon, Musicadevozioneitta'different direction. One of the bases for their conclusions is thecorrespondence of the repertory preserved in the manuscript withthe liturgical requirements of the Scuola. While it is certainlytrue that the number of matches between the two is large, thedifferences are troubling. In fact, of the approximately one hun-dred motets in MS 29 with specific, non-Marian liturgical desig-nations (omitting, that is, those for the Common of the Saints),close to one-quarter are for feasts not included in Bryant andPozzobon's account of the confraternity's activities. Since theappearance in MS 29 of feasts not celebrated in polyphony atthe cathedral is one of the reasons (and a very sound one) forexcluding that institution as the commissioner of the source, thesame argument would remove the Scuola from the picture. Theauthors also appear convinced that the 1582 payment for thebinding of 'cinque libri di canto' refers to this source. However,according to D'Alessi, the partbooks of MS 29 bore not thesymbol or the name of the Scuola dei Battuti but, rather, thecoat of arms and initials of Pietro Varisco, thus indicating himas the owner. It seems highly unlikely that a confraternity wouldhave paid for the binding of books belonging to somebody else.The payment might not even refer to the binding of a set ofpolyphonic partbooks - which would more likely (but, of course,not universally) be referred to as 'libri di musica' - but ratherto chant books. For a confraternity to possess polyphonic musicwould, in itself, be quite unusual, though again not impossible.A simple alternative explanation can account for all of theevidence, and it also fits a pattern observed elsewhere. Onemight propose that MS 29 was compiled by Ferrandino not forthe Scuola but, instead, for use by a company of singers, eitherentirely or in part from the cathedral, who earned money bysinging for religious institutions throughout Treviso, including,of course, the Scuola dei Battuti. They would also have sung atother churches, however, and would thus have needed motetsfor occasions not celebrated by the Scuola. Such groups, eitherformal (as in Venice in the 1550s and later) or informal, werean important resource both for churches without their own choirsand for confraternities. Singers hired either for single occasionsor on a recurring basis were expected to provide their ownmusic. MS 29 corresponds exactly to what we might expect for

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Reviewsa collection prepared for such a company: it is in partbookformat, suitable for carrying through the streets, and especiallyfor processions, which were a common element in many of thefestivities for which they would be employed; and its large reper-tory contains motets suitable for feasts at practically everyreligious institution in the city. Ferrandino might have himselfbeen the leader of the company, or perhaps he was simply thebest suited among the members for preparing a compilation ofmusic suitable for all of their needs. It is even possible thatVarisco was in some way connected with this company and mighthave, in fact, been the original owner of the partbooks, havingpersonally, or on behalf of the company, commissioned the workfrom Ferrandino. Though this hypothesis would exclude theambiguous 1582 payment record from this story, it would notinvalidate Bryant and Pozzobon's proposal that MS 29 includesthe repertory performed for the Scuola dei Battuti. The signifi-cant difference is that the alternative implies that the manuscriptincludes much more than that: that it contains the repertorythat was heard at churches and confraternities throughout thecity.On the strength of the one contrafactum she was able torecover, Blackburn demonstrated that the compiler of MS 29had done more than simply retext his models - he oftenrearranged them significantly. Bryant and Pozzobon have beenable to add several complete pieces to this picture and, just asimportantly, have been able to utilise the restored remnants ofthe cantusand altus partbooks to discover Ferrandino's techniqueeven in works that cannot be fully reconstructed. They discuss avariety of methods, ranging from simple retexting with rhythmicadjustments, to the excision of excess music, to complicatedscissors-and-pastejobs. In these most complex examples, Ferrand-ino rearranged music to fit texts in new forms, most frequentlyadapting a standard two-part motet to responsorial form (aRbR).He occasionally even used music from more than one original.While Ferrandino was, as Bryant and Pozzobon demonstrate,quite ingenious in discovering ways to set his new texts to existingmusic, his compositional skills were not always quite up to thetask, and he left some rather awkwardjoins. This whole processraises some rather troubling questions. Were Renaissance motets

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Bryant and Pozzobon,Musicadevozioneittanormally performed just as they were composed, preserved inmanuscripts and disseminated in prints, or were they regularlyrearranged for performance, especially in smaller centres or forperipheral institutions? Was Ferrandino's effort an unusual one,or is it just the survival of hs manuscript that is unusual?

Bryant and Pozzobon conclude with several useful and interest-ing appendices. First are the already mentioned complete textsof the motets, to which the authors have added indications ofthe prints and manuscripts Ferrandino apparently drew upon inmaking his compilation. Editions of eight works follow, based onJeppesen's microfilm and D'Alessi's unpublished transcriptions.Three of these are unica (one each by Francesco Santacroce,Innocenzo Alberti and one Tugdual), while the others are con-trafacta. For four of these contrafacta the originals are alsopublished here, providing the opportunity for a first-hand lookat Ferrandino's technique. Unfortunately, none of them are ofthe most complex and unusual types, but they do offer someexamples of the way he removed excess material and reattachedthe loose ends. Last of all are brief accounts, by the expertsthemselves, of the restoration of MS 29 (at the hands of padreGerardo Garegnati and don Giacomo Pedron of the Abbey ofPraglia), and of the photographic and computer-enhancementtechniques used to recover the music from the badly burnedremnants (by Massimo Tosello), the latter accompanied by twofascinating colour photographs showing different stages of theprocess. It is to be hoped that this important work, done withthe support of the Fondazione Benetton, will continue, and thatthese skilled craftsmen can bring back, even if only in part, thisrich legacy of a once active and vital musical world. Equally tobe wished for is that future restorations will benefit from the kindof careful and comprehensive musicological scholarship shown byBryant and Pozzobon in this fine book.

Jonathan E. GlixonUniversity of Kentucky

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bryant, david & pozzobo, michele - review

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