Early autograph musical manuscript in the hand of the Italian operatic composer. 32 pp. total, numbered in a later hand; pp. 1-16 are in Bellini's hand; pp. 17-32 are in an unknown hand. Half vellum binding with printed cover label titled "Studio del Contrappunto fatto da Vincenzo Bellini, Napoli 1819, Autografo." 11.5 x 9 inches (29.5 x 23.5 cm). Some light edge wear and foxing, especially to the later pages not in Bellini's hand, and one chip to the binding, but overall in fine condition.
The manuscript was previously in the collection of the American musicologist H. C. Robbins Landon (1926-2009) and was discussed in Bellini scholar Friedrich Lippmann's 1977 article "Belliniana: Nuovi Documenti."
The music in Bellini's hand consists of a series of contrapuntal exercises in three parts, over a series of simple bass lines, all in C major. First, the young composer works out basic voice-leading models for a I-V-I cadence, and then writes increasingly complex variations on the same short bass; this procedure is repeated for a I-IV-V-I cadence, a I-iii6-IV-#IV6-V-I progression, and ascending and descending scales in the bass. The musical writing gains in complexity over the relatively few pages, by the final examples incorporating imitative and canonic writing. The final page in Bellini's hand bears two studies in four voices.
Early autograph musical manuscript in the hand of the Italian operatic composer. 32 pp. total, numbered in a later hand; pp. 1-16 are in Bellini's hand; pp. 17-32 are in an unknown hand. Half vellum binding with printed cover label titled "Studio del Contrappunto fatto da Vincenzo Bellini, Napoli 1819, Autografo." 11.5 x 9 inches (29.5 x 23.5 cm). Some light edge wear and foxing, especially to the later pages not in Bellini's hand, and one chip to the binding, but overall in fine condition.
The manuscript was previously in the collection of the American musicologist H. C. Robbins Landon (1926-2009) and was discussed in Bellini scholar Friedrich Lippmann's 1977 article "Belliniana: Nuovi Documenti."
The music in Bellini's hand consists of a series of contrapuntal exercises in three parts, over a series of simple bass lines, all in C major. First, the young composer works out basic voice-leading models for a I-V-I cadence, and then writes increasingly complex variations on the same short bass; this procedure is repeated for a I-IV-V-I cadence, a I-iii6-IV-#IV6-V-I progression, and ascending and descending scales in the bass. The musical writing gains in complexity over the relatively few pages, by the final examples incorporating imitative and canonic writing. The final page in Bellini's hand bears two studies in four voices.