Music & Dance

Italian Music Manuscripts in the British Library

The British Library's large collection of manuscripts of Italian music of the 17th, 18th, and early 19th centuries has been divided into four sections corresponding to significant periods. Composers have been placed in that section to which the most significant examples of their work belong.

Section A covers the period c.1640–c.1720 and includes music by composers such as Cesti, Carissimi, Reggio, Benevoli, Colonna, Melani, L. Rossi, Giovanni Bononcini, G.B. Bononcini, Steffani, Caldara, Pollaroli, and Perti.

Section B covers the period c.1720–c.1740 and includes music by Durante, Alessandro Scarlatti, Leo, Porpora, Vinci, Marcello, Hasse (here regarded as Italian), Pergolesi, Geminiani, and Feo.

Section C covers the period c.1740–c.1770 and such composers as Auletta, Cafaro, Pietro Guglielmi, Latilla, Jommelli, Bertoni, Tartini, Contumacci, Fenoglio, Galuppi, Perez, and J.C. Bach.

Section D covers the period c.1770–c.1820 and such composers as Cimarosa, Zingarelli, Trento, Bianchi, Viotti, Anfossi, Paisiello, Mayr, Piccinni, Rossini, Salieri, Giardini, and, notable among composers of music other than opera, Dragonetti.

Click the "Guide, Sections A-D" link for a list of contents. To search several collections at once, click here, and then scroll through the list of collection titles to "Italian Music Manuscripts." Select the collections to be searched by pressing the "Ctrl" (PC) or "Command" (Mac) key while clicking. An item-level index is also available on CD-ROM (M2 .P75) and a printed guide is shelved under the same call number as the microfilms.

Section A (46 reels): Italian music manuscripts, c. 1640-c. 1720.  Guide, Sections A-D

• pt. 1. Manuscripts from the Egerton, Harleian and Kings' Collections, and Additional Manuscripts 5044-16110
• pt. 2: Manuscripts from Additional Manuscripts 16150-62716
• pt. 3. Manuscripts from the Royal Music Collection

Section B (77 reels in 79): Italian music manuscripts, c. 1720-c. 1740. Guide, Sections A-D

• pt. 1: Manuscripts from Egerton and Additional manuscripts 14101-14207
• pt. 2: Manuscripts from Additional manuscripts 14201-31519
• pt. 3: Manuscripts from Additional manuscripts 31526-54573, and printed book e.29
• pt. 4: Royal music

Section C (60 reels): Italian music manuscripts, c. 1740-c. 1770. Guide, Sections A-D

• pt. 1: Manuscripts from Egerton and Additional manuscripts 11589-16141
• pt. 2: Manuscripts from Additional manuscripts 16142-56253
• pt. 3: Manuscripts from the Royal music collection 21.a .-24.f.3

Section D (100 reels): Italian music manuscripts, c. 1770-c. 1820. Guide, Sections A-D

• pt. 1: Manuscripts from Egerton, Stowe 1083, and Additional manuscripts 14144-16021
• pt. 2: Manuscripts from Additional manuscripts 16022-24289
• pt. 3: Manuscripts from Additional manuscripts 24298-57538
• pt. 4: Manuscripts from R.M.17.c.2 through R.M.23.k.6

For more information: Introduction: Italian Music Manuscripts