A Checklist of the Manuscript Sources of Henry Purcell's Music in the University of California, William Andrews Clark Memorial Library, Los Angeles

Abstract

The extent of the manuscript holdings of Henry Purcell's music in the University of California, William Andrews Clark Memorial Library, Los Angeles, has hitherto not been revealed in print.(1) Some of the Purcell sources are mentioned in the literature, but other sources have largely escaped scholarly attention. This point is illustrated in the revised edition of the complete works of Purcell, which mentions only a handful of the relevant sources now in Los Angeles.(2) The situation in Franklin B. Zimmerman's Henry Purcell 1659-1695: An Analytical Catalogue of his Music (London: Macmillan, 1963) is more complex, since it indicates that the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library holds three sources, while at the same time indicating four others then owned by other people or unable to be located. One such example is a manuscript copy of Purcell's King Arthur, which has been in the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library for several decades; the precise contents of the manuscript, which were unknown to Zimmerman, are revealed here for the first time. Furthermore, the library owns another five sources that are not mentioned in Zimmerman's catalogue, all but one of which were acquired after he undertook his initial research there.(3) These points highlight the need for a comprehensive examination of this library's Purcell manuscripts, a need the present article aims to meet by providing brief details about each source individually. Each of the Purcell pieces in these manuscript sources is identified by a Z number referring to Zimmerman's catalogue. 1. B217M4 S948 1690 Bound: 4 partbooks; Violin I partbook, 1 front flyleaf, 128 numbered pages, 16 pages of unused staves of which the first page is numbered 129, 2 rear flyleaves; Violin II, and Continuo partbooks, 2 front flyleaves, 128 numbered pages, 16 pages of unused staves, 2 rear flyleaves; the covers measure 22.8 x 29.3 cm.; the manuscript leaves measure 21.5 x 28 cm.; early eighteenth century; not cited in Zimmerman's catalogue. Each of these manuscript volumes is bound in old panelled calf and labelled on the front and back covers with a part name, respectively: Violino: [I.sup.mo], Violino: [II.sup.do], Tenor, and Basso cont:. In addition, each volume has the description Quator by Banister on the outside of the front cover. A further inscription appears on a pasted label on the front cover of the first violin volume: Suittes d'airs et ouvertures du Sieur Banister, a. 4 parties. The volumes were owned by the late Theodore M. Finney, who sold them to the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library in 1970.(4) Before this date, the source was on temporary deposit in the library of the University of Pittsburgh, during which time it was described and partly indexed in an article that Finney published in 1969.(5) Finney suggested that the volumes may once have belonged to the London-based patron of music and amateur musician, Thomas Britton (1644-1714).(6) The source includes works by John Banister, John Barrett, Jeremiah Clarke, Godfrey Finger, Godfrey Keller, Robert King, Mr Morgan, and James Paisible. The Purcell pieces in these volumes consist of suites of movements mostly found in A Collection of Ayres, Compos'd for the Theatre, and upon Other Occasions. By the Late Mr. Henry Purcell (London, 1697): pp. 49-53: [Suite]; [M.sup.r] Purcell. No. 1: OVERTVR [from The Indian Queen]; Z.630(3a, 3b). No. 2: [Trumpet Tune; from The Indian Queen]; Z.630(4a). No. 3: [Air; from Bonduca]; Z.574(4). No. 4: [Air; from Bonduca]; Z.574(6). No. 5: [Hornpipe; from Bonduca]; Z.574(7). No. 6: [Song Tune; from Bonduca]; Z.574(3). No. 7: [I come to sing; from The Indian Queen]; Z.630(6a). No. 8: [Song Tune; from Bonduca]; Z.574(2). No. 9: [First Music; from The Indian Queen]; Z.630(1a). No. 10: [Hornpipe; from The Indian Queen]; Z.630(2b). No. 11: [Second Air; from The Indian Queen]; Z.630(1b). No. …