University of Virginia Library

Normal Patterns

The most common format for printed music produced during the mid-sixteenth
century is well known. Works were printed in partbooks, in quarto
(either portrait or landscape). Each partbook was distinguished from the
others by two indications. The first was, of course, the part name—Tenor,
Cantus Chorus Secundus, etc.—which normally appeared on the title-page,
and also on at least one headline of each opening. The other comprised two
elements, the system of signatures, and an additional phrase, usually an abbreviated
title of the book, printed on first folios of most gatherings.[5] At
other times, as in the case of some books printed by Petrucci, Pierre Attaingnant
and Tylman Susato (among others),[6] this phrase was replaced by

a typographical emblem or sign, which would differ from those used in other
partbooks or other titles. Taken together, these acted for the binder as a
confirmation that he was collecting together only the sheets for that one title,
and arranging them in the correct order. Normally, therefore, each partbook
had a different sequence of signatures, often selected so that the whole series
formed a continuous alphabetical sequence. The following examples start
from the standard practice of the sixteenth century and diverge into a number
of different situations and solutions, all within the basic concept of a sequence
of signing letters uniting all the books of a set.

• 1. Massaino: Quaerimoniae . . . Op. 34. Venice: Alessandro Raverio, 1609.

  RISM M1288. Copy at Lodi, Duomo, Archivio Capitolare.

  Quarto: [C:] A-D4; [T:] E-H4; [A:] I-M4; [B:] N-Q4; [5:] R-V4.

This was the most widespread pattern for much of the sixteenth century:
the Cantus partbook was almost always signed first in sequence (whenever
it was actually set in type), and the Tenor normally second. The Bassus
usually appears fourth, after the Altus, and before any subsequent parts—
Quintus, etc. This sequence reflected a traditional hierarchy of voices in
composition and style, although that hierarchy was largely obsolete well
before the middle of the sixteenth century.

The pattern would necessarily be modified whenever the music did not
fit exactly into a sequence of standard quarto gatherings.

• 2. Stivori: II Sacrarum Cantionum. Venice: Ricciardo Amadino, 1593.

  RISM S6447. Copy at Kassel, Landesbibliothek und Murharsche Bibliothek.

  Quarto: [C:] A-B4 C6; [T:] D-E4 F6; [A:] G-H4 I6; [B:] K-L4 M6; [5:]
  N-O4 P6; [6:] Q4 R6; [7:] S4.

• 3. Chamatero: II Madrigali à 5. Venice: Girolamo Scotto, 1569.

  RISM C275=156926. Copy at Kassel, Landesbibliothek und Murharsche
  Bibliothek.

  Quarto: [C:] A-C4 D2; [T:] E-G4 H2; [A:] I-L4 M2; [B:] N-P4 Q2; [5:]
  R-T4 V2.

The principal parts for each of these books all contain 14 folios, though
imposed differently. The Amadino edition supposes that Amadino had decided
to have a six-folio last gathering before reaching the middle of gathering
C and its equivalents. This was not necessary for Scotto. While Scotto

often followed the pattern of Example 3, other printers tended to adopt the
other. But all are still following the normal sequence of letters, and signing
the parts in the conventional order.

This conventional sequence of signatures seems to have been taken seriously
during much of the sixteenth century: care is taken to ensure that all
the letters are used, and in the correct order within books. In one case, the
Gardano firm prepared a book in which the last partbook, the Sextus, apparently
started two signature letters too late: a correction was made in the
preceding part, by signing gathering T with "T.V.X." and "T.V.X.ij":

• 4. Agostini: Canones, et Echo à 5. Venice: Figliuoli di Antonio Gardano,
  1572.

  RISM A405=157213. Copy at Augsburg, Staats- und Stadtbibliothek.

  Quarto: [C:] A-D4; [T:] E-H4; [A:] I-M4; [B:] N-Q4; [5:] R-T4; [6:]
  Y-Z4 AA4.

For the next example, the only surviving partbook has a similar signing:
the last of five gatherings was signed with the double letters "EF". Presumably,
the next partbook (probably the Tenor), was signed from the
letter G.

• 5. II delle Muse à 3. Canzon villanesche alla Napolitana. Rome: Antonio
  Barrè, 1557.

  RISM 155713. Copy at Leipzig, Städtische Bibiotheken, Musikbibliothek.

  Quarto: [C:] A-D4 EF4.

This order of parts was not always maintained. Girolamo Scotto was one
printer who varied the order of partbooks, even from early in his career.
Particularly interesting for an analysis of his craftsmen's activities is the way
in which different orders of signing seem to occur only for short periods. The
pattern shown here, for example, can be found in a number of books published
in 1549, with the Bassus signed first, followed by Cantus, Altus, Tenor
and fifth or further books:[7]

• 6. Gero: II Madrigali à 4 a notte negre. Venice: Girolamo Scotto, 1549.

  RISM G1648. Copy at Bologna, Civico Museo Bibliografico Musicale.

  Quarto: [B:] A-C4; [C:] D-F4; [T:] K-M4.

  Note. The Altus partbook is not extant but must have been signed with
  the letters G-I.

Scotto was certainly not the only printer to adopt different orders of
books, though his examples are perhaps the most consistent within themselves.[8]

Other printers adopted various patterns at odd times, with no apparent
reason:

• 7. Naich: Exercitum Seraficum. I Madrigali à 4-5. Rome: Antonio Blado
  [in or before 1544].

  RISM N7. Unique copy at Vienna, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek.

  Quarto: [A:] A-F4; [T:] G-M4; [B:] N-R4; [C:] S-Y4; [5:] a4 b6.

• 8. Has quatuor missas à 4,5,8. Rome: Giovanni Pietro Collini, 1651.

  RISM 16511. Copies at Bologna, Civico Museo Bibliografico Musicale and
  Lucca, Seminario Vescovile.

  Quarto: Choir I: [C:] A18; [A:] B18; [T:] C16; [B:] D16; [Bassus ad Organum:]
  E16; Choir II: [B:] F8; [T:] G8; [C:] H10; [A:] I10.

Such patterns must say something about the order in which the partbooks
were set for the press, but, in the absence of any other evidence, we can not
speculate as to possible reasons for the unusual sequence—in Example 8 because
the two choirs are not set and signed in the same order.

A different pattern was increasingly adopted during the seventeenth
century, in which the Altus was signed before the Tenor:

• 9. Cazzati: Antifone, letanie e Te Deum à 8, Op. 19. Bologna: Gioseffo
  Micheletti, 1686.

  RISM C1608. Copy at Lucca, Seminario Vescovile.

  Quarto: Choir I: [C] A16; [A:] B16; [T:] C16; [B:] D16; Choir II: [C:]
  E16; [A:] F16; [T:] G16; [B:] H16; [Organo:] I14.

• 10. Scelta di motetti de diversi. Rome: Lodovico Grignani, 1647.

  RISM 16471. Copy at Bologna, Civico Museo Bibliografico Musicale.

  Quarto: [C1:] A-B12; [C2:] C12 D10; [A:] E16; [T:] F10; [B:] G8; [Organo:]
  H18.

It seems reasonable to suggest that this followed, with the delay traditional
to craft skills, a recognition of the declining pre-eminence of the
Tenor in the construction of sacred music.

It would be interesting to trace the stages at which different publishers
adopted this arrangement as normal practice. The rather random evidence
that I have collected so far suggests that Filippo Lomazzo in Milan was
among the first, for the pattern appears in editions he put out with the Tini
heirs in 1607 (B. Regio: I Missarum ac sacrarum cantionum à 5, 8, RISM
R725) and 1608 (Baglioni: I Sacrarum Cantionum, Op. 2, RISM
B644) and

it continues throughout his career: he was followed by Rolla (although with
a few exceptions, such as Levi's I Salmi di Terza of 1647). Roman printers
soon followed suit, for the Altus is signed second in books by Bartolomeo
Zannetti in 1614 (Selectae Cantiones, RISM 16143), by Luc' Antonio Soldi
from 1620 (Tarditi, II Psalmi [etc.], RISM T225), by Giovanni Battista
Robletti from 1622 (Nenna: Sacrae hebdomodae responsoria à 5, RISM
N381), though not consistently, and by Paolo Masotti from his earliest editions
in 1626 (Talone, Armonicus parnasus à 3-4, Op. 1, RISM T62). Lodovico
Grignani was using this arrangement by 1647. On the other hand, the
two principal publishing families in Venice, the Magni and Vincenti, both
preserved the traditional arrangement for much longer: for Vincenti, the
change occurred during the years 1649 and 1650. In 1649 his edition of
Capuana's Motets, Op. 3 (RISM R952) uses the new sequence of parts:
although this rapidly became the norm, at least one edition of 1650 retained
the old order. For Magni, the change seems to have come even later,
perhaps as late as 1660. Bolognese publishers had certainly adopted the new
sequence by then: indeed Cazzati takes the practice somewhat further, in
that solo instrumental parts are signed first, even before the principal vocal
parts: for his Messa e salmi à 5, Op. 36 (Bologna: M. Silvani, 1665), the violin
parts are signed with A and B, and the Alto Viola with C; solo vocal parts
use D-H and the Ripieno I-L, with the two continuo parts signed M and N.
The same pattern can be found in his later books, though not consistently:
Le quattro Antifone annuale, Op. 42 (Bologna: s.n., 1667) has the single
vocal part signed with C, with the two violin parts using A and B and the
Organ part D. However, his Salmi brevi à 4, Op. 58 signs both choirs of
singers before any instruments.

If the set of books used more than 23 gatherings, the series could be
extended with a few conventional signs—an asterisk, an obelus, even an
ampersand:

• 11. Motetti del frutto, I à 6. Venice: Antonio Gardano, 1539.

  RISM 15393. Copy at Verona, Academia Filarmonica.

  Landscape quarto: [C:] A-D4; [T:] E-H4; [B:] I-M4; [A:] N-Q4; [5:] R-V4;
  [6:] X-Z4 *4.

  Note. This is another case where the traditional order of signing books
  has been changed, in this instance with the Bassus signed earlier in
  the sequence than the Altus. In his first book of five-voiced Motetti
  del frutto, of 1538, Gardano signed the Bassus before the Tenor
  book.

If several gatherings were involved, a second alphabet of signatures
would become essential. Ideally (and normally during the sixteenth century),
this second alphabet would be distinguished from the first by some simple
typographical device (perhaps an asterisk following the letter), or, for example,
with the use of doubled letters:

• 12. Villani: V Psalmi à 8. Venice: Angelo Gardano, 1611.

  RISM V1554. Copy at Piacenza, Archivio e Biblioteca Capitolare.

  Quarto: Choir I: [C] A-D4; [T:] E-H4; [A:] I-M4; [B] N-Q4;

  Choir II: [C:] R-V4; [T:] X-Z4 Aa4; [A:] Bb-Ee4; [B:] Ef-Ii4.

This pattern of four gatherings per partbook, each with four folios in
portrait quarto, is surprisingly common, given the wide variety of styles that
were included in printed books. It is as if the printers and publishers felt
that 16 folios contained as much music (with title, table of contents, and
perhaps dedication) as the average purchaser was willing to pay for, or
perform. It is even to be found fairly frequently in music for two choirs:
apart from Examples 9 and 12, see also Lambardi's Psalmodia Vespertina II
of 1605 (printed by the Cenobio Santo Spirito in Venice) or Sorte's Vespertina
(Venice: Angelo Gardano, 1593), among many others.

The use of small gatherings, usually in quarto, would continue for
many years. But already before 1600, Vincenti was printing in longer gatherings,
and signing them as in the next examples:

• 13. F. Anerio: I Sacri Hymni à 8. Venice: Giacomo Vincenti, 1596.

  RISM A1080. Copy at Bologna, Civico Museo Bibliografico Musicale.

  Quarto: Choir I: [C:] A12; [T:] B12; [A:] C12; [B:] D12;

  Choir II: [C:] E12; [T:] F12; [A:] G12; [B:] H12.

• 14. Sacra Corona. Motetti à 2-3. Venice: Francesco Magni, 1656.

  RISM 16561. Copy at Washington, Library of Congress.

  Quarto: [C1:] A40; [C2:] B42; [B:] C32; [Basso Continuo:] D32.

Such large gatherings could raise a problem for the print-shop: the house
foreman had to be able to cast off copy fairly accurately, so that a compositor
would be sure of the size of a gathering and sheets could be set and printed
without any fear of miscalculation. Sometimes, things did not quite work
out: the compositor might decide too soon that he had reached the midpoint
of the gathering, and start to complete the central formes. The result
could then be a need for a short additional gathering at the end of a part-book:

• 15. Bonetto: Mottecta à 1-12. Venice: Francesco Magni, 1662.

  RISM B3466. Copy at Wroclaw, Biblioteka Uniwersytecka.

  Quarto: [C1:] A64 2A4; [5:] E20 2E4; [Organo:] I48 K56; [etc.]

The first gathering of the Cantus is signed normally, from A2, with
arabic numerals. The second gathering is signed on the first sheet with the
phrase "A in fine" and on the second with "A2". After 32 folios, the compositor
was apparently confident that he was about at the middle of his
material, but on reaching the end, he found that there was a little more,

necessitating a supplementary gathering. A similar miscalculation marks all
the partbooks, and is reflected in the organ book, where the second gathering
has to be slightly larger than the first.[9]

• 16. Cazzati: Compieta e letanie à 4, Op. 7. Venice: Alessandro Vincenti, 1647.

  RISM C1585. Copy at Bologna, Civico Museo Bibliografico Musicale.

  Quarto: [C:] A14 Aa2; [T:] B16; [A:] C14 Cc2; [B:] D16; [Basso Continuo:]
  H-I12.

In this book, it seems that the compositor for the Tenor book had learned
from the experience with the Cantus or Altus book.

Some editions appear to show a compromise solution, in which two
signature letters were allocated to each partbook: the second could act to
collect together whatever was left after the first had been set up and printed.
This probably explains the irregular structure of gatherings in the following
example:

• 17. Has alteras sacras cantiones. Rome: Lodovico Grignani, 1645.

  RISM 16452. Copy at Bologna, Civico Museo Bibliografico Musicale.

  Quarto: [C:] A12 B16; [T:] C16 D14; [A:] E16; [B:] F12 G10; [Organum:]
  H-I12.

For some repertories, given the manner in which they were presented,
this may have been almost the only possible solution. The many "scores"
for solo madrigals and motets, and so on, printed in score layout in a single
book, provide an excellent example. The very diverse rhythmic structure of
these works, not to mention the presence of recitative sections, produced
different amounts of music to the page: as a result, it would be much more
difficult to cast off the music in advance. Only a very experienced musicprinting
shop could have divided such a book between equal gatherings, or
between two compositors. A second result, for long gatherings, is that we
can normally assume the presence of many more sorts in the case for a
music fount, whenever the musical text could not be cast off in advance.