All items guaranteed authentic without limit

All items guaranteed authentic without limit

Your cart

Your cart is empty

Lully, Jean Baptiste. (1632–1687) [Lambert, Michel. (1610 - 1696)]. Autograph Musical Manuscript.
Single sheet of autograph musical notation, very possibly a manuscript copy from the original manuscript or published work by Michel Lambert, penned in the hand of his son-in-law, the most celebrated composer of the French Baroque, Jean-Baptiste Lully, of whom no other examples of confirmed musical notation are known to exist.  1 page, text and vocal part identified at the head "2me Couplet," nine systems on two sides. Recto seemingly unrelated to that on verso, being the second stanza of the anonymous poem "Je suis aymé de celle que j'adore," as set by Michel Lambert as it appeared in the "XXIXe Livre d'airs de differents autheurs [...]" (Paris 1686):

Quand le respect me fait cacher ma flame
O témoins importunes de nos doux entretiens,
Ses yeux s'instruisent dans les miens,
De tous les secrets de mon âme ;
Et me font connoistre les siens.

The verso with text beginning "Philis a des attrais il est vray...".  The recto inscribed at left edge in a different ink and somewhat later unknown hand (translated), "Score written by the hand of Mr. de Lully", with red wax seal remnant with unidentified family crest of three left-facing horse heads, and a pasted 1923 Drouot auction label.  9.6 x 6.5 inches; 24.5 x 16.5 cm. 

Madeleine Lambert was the daughter of the composer Michel Lambert; she married Jean-Baptiste Lully in 1662. While there are no known musical autographs of Jean-Baptiste Lully, there are autograph manuscript annotations in his hand on documents which are available for comparison and upon review of those documents, we note a distinct resemblance between those and the letter formations in our manuscript, in particular with the letters “q”, “r”, “t”, “y”.  At the same time, the musical notation on the present page is decisively not that of any of the 150 known period copyist hands in the database assembled by Laurent Guillo of IReMus.  Without any known exemplars of Lully's musical writing, it is indeed impossible to positively authenticate the attribution here. However, given all of the above, as well as the date of the source composition and the profound connection of Lully with Lambert and his music, it seems certainly an eminently plausible conclusion that this may, in fact, be the only surviving musical manuscript in the hand of the most important composer of the French Baroque.

We are very grateful for the generous assistance of Pascal Denechau and Laurent Guillo of IReMus in the cataloging of this item.

Lully, Jean Baptiste. (1632–1687) [Lambert, Michel. (1610 - 1696)] Autograph Musical Manuscript

Regular price $35,000.00
Unit price
per 
Fast Shipping
Secure payment
 More payment options
Pickup available at Schubertiade Music & Arts @ "B" DRY GOODS

In stock, Usually ready in 2-4 days

Schubertiade Music & Arts @ "B" DRY GOODS

Pickup available usually ready in 2-4 days

679 Franklin Avenue
Brooklyn NY 11238
United States

+16173084019

Shipping calculated at checkout.

Have questions? Contact us

Secure payment

Lully, Jean Baptiste. (1632–1687) [Lambert, Michel. (1610 - 1696)]. Autograph Musical Manuscript.
Single sheet of autograph musical notation, very possibly a manuscript copy from the original manuscript or published work by Michel Lambert, penned in the hand of his son-in-law, the most celebrated composer of the French Baroque, Jean-Baptiste Lully, of whom no other examples of confirmed musical notation are known to exist.  1 page, text and vocal part identified at the head "2me Couplet," nine systems on two sides. Recto seemingly unrelated to that on verso, being the second stanza of the anonymous poem "Je suis aymé de celle que j'adore," as set by Michel Lambert as it appeared in the "XXIXe Livre d'airs de differents autheurs [...]" (Paris 1686):

Quand le respect me fait cacher ma flame
O témoins importunes de nos doux entretiens,
Ses yeux s'instruisent dans les miens,
De tous les secrets de mon âme ;
Et me font connoistre les siens.

The verso with text beginning "Philis a des attrais il est vray...".  The recto inscribed at left edge in a different ink and somewhat later unknown hand (translated), "Score written by the hand of Mr. de Lully", with red wax seal remnant with unidentified family crest of three left-facing horse heads, and a pasted 1923 Drouot auction label.  9.6 x 6.5 inches; 24.5 x 16.5 cm. 

Madeleine Lambert was the daughter of the composer Michel Lambert; she married Jean-Baptiste Lully in 1662. While there are no known musical autographs of Jean-Baptiste Lully, there are autograph manuscript annotations in his hand on documents which are available for comparison and upon review of those documents, we note a distinct resemblance between those and the letter formations in our manuscript, in particular with the letters “q”, “r”, “t”, “y”.  At the same time, the musical notation on the present page is decisively not that of any of the 150 known period copyist hands in the database assembled by Laurent Guillo of IReMus.  Without any known exemplars of Lully's musical writing, it is indeed impossible to positively authenticate the attribution here. However, given all of the above, as well as the date of the source composition and the profound connection of Lully with Lambert and his music, it seems certainly an eminently plausible conclusion that this may, in fact, be the only surviving musical manuscript in the hand of the most important composer of the French Baroque.

We are very grateful for the generous assistance of Pascal Denechau and Laurent Guillo of IReMus in the cataloging of this item.