University of Virginia Library

Miscalculations

In many volumes (principally those not containing madrigals or other
secular vocal music), the various partbooks had to be of different sizes, to
contain music of differing complexity in the various parts. This would not
normally cause a problem in planning the signatures:

• 22. Portinaro: III Madregali à 5-6. Venice: Antonio Gardano, 1557.

• RISM P5226. Copy at Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek.

• Quarto: [C:] A-C4 D2; [T:] E-H4; [A:] I-M4; [B:] N-Q4; [5:] R-V4.

In this case, a compositor or his foreman realised that all partbooks
would need at least part of a fourth gathering, and planned accordingly. It
does not matter which voice-part he used to make the calculation, for all
would have yielded the same conclusion. Occasionally, however, the lengths
of the various parts might differ significantly. A competent compositor (or
house editor) could plan ahead, and assign signatures accordingly, before
work started:

• 23. Brumel: Misse. Venice: Ottaviano Petrucci, 1503.

• RISM B4643. Copy at Vienna, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek.

• Quarto: [S:] A-B8 C4; [T:] D10; [A:] E-F8 G4; [B:] H-I8.

• 24. Sabino: V Madrigali à 5-6. Venice: Giacomo Vincenti & Ricciardo Amadino,
  1586.

• RISM S50. Copy at Krakow, Biblioteta Jagielloʼnska.

• Quarto: [C:] A-C4; [T:] D-G4; [A:] H-K4; [B:] L-N4; [5:] O-Q4.

• Note. In the second example, Vincenti and Amadino placed the music
  for the Sexta Pars in the few pieces with six voices at the end of the
  Tenor book: they provided for this in the pattern of signatures, in
  which the Tenor was allocated an extra gathering and signature
  letter.

In some cases, the printer seems not to have been able to foresee this
need, and was faced, late in the process, with inserting an extra gathering at
the end of one or more of the partbooks:

• 25. Annibale Padovano: I Ricercari à 4. Venice: Antonio Gardano, 1556.

• RISM A1250. Copies at London, Royal College of Music, and Szombathely,
  Püpöski Könyvtár.

• Quarto: [C:] A-C4 *2; [T:] D-F4 +2; [A:] G-I4; [B:] K-N4.

Here, the original plan had evidently been to have three gatherings for
each partbook, though in fact three of the parts required more space, only
the Alto conforming to pattern. For the Basso, which was last in sequence,
there was no problem in assigning a signature: the additional fourth gathering
could be signed with the next letter in the alphabet. For the Canto and
Tenore, however, this would have resulted in duplicated letters, and conventional
signs were used instead.[15]

When an additional gathering had to be inserted in this manner, an
alternative method (and one perhaps of more use to the binder) was to use a
different form, or a double statement, of the immediately preceding signing
letter, as for the Altus of the following example:

• 26. Animuccia: I Madrigali à 4-6. Venice: Antonio Gardano, 1547.

• RISM A1421. Copy at Verona, Accademia Filarmonica.

• Quarto: [C:] A-E4; [T:] F-K4; [A:] L-P4 PP2; [B:] Q-V4; [5:] X-Z4.

This example does indeed look as though it represents a miscalculation
in the printing shop: but in many cases, we can not tell whether the signatures
indicate a change of plan (for example, involving the addition of more
compositions) or a miscalculation:

• 27. Lassus and others: I Missae à 4-5. Milan: Francesco & eredi di Simone
  Tini, 1588.

• RISM 15884. Copy at Bologna, Civico Museo Bibliografico Musicale.

• Quarto: [C:] A-D4 e4; [T:] E-H4 i4; [A:] I-M4 n4; [B:] N-R4; [5:] S4.

• 28. Corfini: Il secondo libro de motetti. Venice: Alessandro Gardano, 1581.

• RISM C3932. Copy at Lucca, Seminario Arcivescovile.

• [C:] A-D4, 2D2; [T:] E-H4; [A:] I-M4, 2M2; [B:] N-Q4, 2Q2; [5:] R-V4, 2V4;
  [6:] X-Z4 AA-BB4.

• Signatures:] Aij [$2-1,1.[16] No signatures on title-pages. The first of each
  two-folio gathering signed in the pattern] D3

In both these cases, I suspect, there was a slip on the part of the printer,
who had apparently allocated four gatherings (and signature letters) to each
voice part. In the first case, he had discovered the problem before the Quinta
Pars was set, so that the Bassus could have a normal fifth signature. In the
second, it looks as though Gardano planned the book on the basis of the
Tenor part. All the other parts have an extra gathering, and all except the
Sesto employ a repeat signature.[17]

On occasion a section of music is omitted. This could occur because the
compositor made a simple mistake, perhaps a haplograph, or because the
imposition of the pages in the forme omitted one or two complete pages.
The latter seems to be the likely cause of the following:

• 29. Massaino: Concentus quinque vocum. Venice: Angelo Gardano, 1576.

• RISM M1266. Copy at Bologna, Civico Museo Bibliografico Musicale.

• Quarto: [C:] A-D4 (C4 + 1).

The folio after C4 is a single leaf containing omitted material. The leaf
has a line reading:] Questa Carta Va posta drieto il numero 22 in Cantus.[18]