Collection of Songs and Hymns

Collection of Songs and Hymns

This paper manuscript is a composite of originally separate fascicles and small gatherings that have been assembled into the most comprehensive surviving collection of secular songs of the late 14th and early 15th centuries. It consists of 326 secular and religious pieces by 56 named composers as well as 4 anonymous composers: 1 Kyrie, 12 Glorias, 6 Credos, 1 Sanctus, 1 Agnus, 1 Magnificat, 38 motets, 6 laude, 235 French secular pieces, 24 Italian secular pieces. Of the 326 pieces, 216 are unica. Although the manuscript was made in Italy, probably in or near Venice, its repertoire is primarily French, with the composers mostly originating from the north. It is unillustrated except for large Gothic initials that mark the beginning of each song.
The codex’s white parchment binding dates from ca. 1784, when it was owned by the Venetian Jesuit antiquarian Matteo Luigi Canonici (1727–1805). The Canonici collection passed to Giovanni Perissinotti in 1807, who sold this manuscript to the Bodleian Library in 1817. There are contributions from nearly every contemporary composer, making this codex central to an understanding of 15th century song traditions. Thanks to the copyist’s clear and distinctive hand, it is also significant for studies of mensural notation from the Late Middle Ages.

The First Composers

The most famous name associated with this manuscript is Guillaume Dufay (1397–1474) and 52 of his pieces are featured in it. Dufay is also regarded as the leader of the first generation of European musicians to be considered “composers” by occupation. His fame is due to what was perceived as his perfect control of the forms in which he worked, as well as his gift for memorable and singable melody. His reputation as the greatest composer of the 15th century has remained largely intact to this day. The Franco-Flemish composer Gilles Binchois (ca. 1400–60) was the second greatest contributor to the manuscript, which has 29 of his pieces. Binchois was a close colleague of Dufay’s and is ranked just behind him by art historians although his works were widely cited, emulated, and used as source material after his death.