Autograph musical fragment from the Italian composer known for his more than 80 operas, including Il matrimonio segreto. 14 measures of music for three unidentified instrumental voices (likely two violins and viola), penned over 2 pp. on recto and verso of a leaf with ten hand-drawn staves.  Light toning and foxing; overall fine. 11.25 x 8.5 inches (28.3 x 21.4 cm).

"Cimarosa’s reputation in his last years, and during the early part of the 19th century, was unparalleled in Italian opera until Rossini. His facility at writing music resulted in the creation of almost 60 stage works, most of which were comic pieces. His operas were performed on all the major European stages, including Prague, Copenhagen, Stockholm, St Petersburg, Hamburg, London and Berlin... Cimarosa’s harmonic vocabulary is diatonic and unadventurous; the strength of his music lies in the richness of his melodic invention, the brilliance and energy of his rhythmic and melodic motifs and his constantly lively accompaniments. He expanded the parameters of opera buffa by creating a genre permeated with sentiment, simplicity, elegance and delicacy. The freshness and vigour of his music was unmatched by his Italian contemporaries." (Jennifer E. Johnson and Gordana Lazarevich, New Grove Online.)