![Courtin, H[enri]. (1779 - 18?)? Le Vieux Gondolier Chanson Vénitienne... For voice and piano or harp [Manuscript]](http://www.schubertiademusic.com/cdn/shop/files/Courtin_2C_H_Le_Vieux_Gondolier_Chanson_Venitienne_For_voice_and_piano_or_harp_21786a.jpg?v=1722190392)
![Courtin, H[enri]. (1779 - 18?)? Le Vieux Gondolier Chanson Vénitienne... For voice and piano or harp [Manuscript]](http://www.schubertiademusic.com/cdn/shop/files/Courtin_2C_H_Le_Vieux_Gondolier_Chanson_Venitienne_For_voice_and_piano_or_harp_21786b.jpg?v=1722190392)
Courtin, H[enri]. (1779 - 18?)?. Le Vieux Gondolier Chanson Vénitienne... For voice and piano or harp [Manuscript]. Musical manuscript in unidentified hand. Unbound upright folio. Bifolium with 16 staves to all pages, calligraphic title with dedication to "Mademoiselle Cély Laisné." Poet identified as "M. Flori***"; composer identified as "Musicien du Roi & de l'Academie Royale de Musique." Music on fol. 1v and 2r; fol. 2v blank. A minor, 2/4. Strophe 1 as text underlay, strophes 2 and 3 as residual text. 13.5 x 10 inches (34 x 26 cm). Edges somewhat frayed with minor tears. Lower right corner bumped. Otherwise in good condition.
While the terms "Musicien du Roi" and "Academie Royale de Musique" strongly suggest a date before 1793, the identities of composer, poet, and dedicatee remain somewhat mysterious. While no composer named "Courtin" is listed in the standard reference works, and there is no concordance in the RISM database, the BnF Database describes one Henri Courtin as a student of the Conservatoire, winner of the 2nd Prize in Bassoon 1796-97 and Harmony, 1799 - 1800 and subsequent Professor of Harmony. The style of the music is clearly classical and consistent with a date around 1780 or 1790. However, another setting of the poem, by Hippolyte Colet (1808-1853), published in Le Ménéstrel in 1834, attributes the text to Charles Hubert Millevoye (1782-1816), which would contradict the assumption that the present romance dates from the ancien régime. A third setting, by Charles Plantade (1764-1839), again completely different and published in 1837, does not attribute the text at all.
Courtin, H[enri]. (1779 - 18?)?. Le Vieux Gondolier Chanson Vénitienne... For voice and piano or harp [Manuscript]. Musical manuscript in unidentified hand. Unbound upright folio. Bifolium with 16 staves to all pages, calligraphic title with dedication to "Mademoiselle Cély Laisné." Poet identified as "M. Flori***"; composer identified as "Musicien du Roi & de l'Academie Royale de Musique." Music on fol. 1v and 2r; fol. 2v blank. A minor, 2/4. Strophe 1 as text underlay, strophes 2 and 3 as residual text. 13.5 x 10 inches (34 x 26 cm). Edges somewhat frayed with minor tears. Lower right corner bumped. Otherwise in good condition.
While the terms "Musicien du Roi" and "Academie Royale de Musique" strongly suggest a date before 1793, the identities of composer, poet, and dedicatee remain somewhat mysterious. While no composer named "Courtin" is listed in the standard reference works, and there is no concordance in the RISM database, the BnF Database describes one Henri Courtin as a student of the Conservatoire, winner of the 2nd Prize in Bassoon 1796-97 and Harmony, 1799 - 1800 and subsequent Professor of Harmony. The style of the music is clearly classical and consistent with a date around 1780 or 1790. However, another setting of the poem, by Hippolyte Colet (1808-1853), published in Le Ménéstrel in 1834, attributes the text to Charles Hubert Millevoye (1782-1816), which would contradict the assumption that the present romance dates from the ancien régime. A third setting, by Charles Plantade (1764-1839), again completely different and published in 1837, does not attribute the text at all.