| |
| Id |
36049 |
| Category |
antiquarian book |
| Author / Composer |
ANTONIOTTO, Giorgio (1692-1776) |
| Title |
L'Arte Armonica or A Treatise on the Composition of Musick, In Three Books; With an Introduction, on the History, and Progress of Musick, from it's [sic] beginning to this Time, Written in Italian by Giorgio Antoniotto, and Translated into English. Vol.I [and II]. |
| Place |
London |
| Publisher |
Printed by John Johnson |
| Publication Date |
1760 |
| ISBN / Plate No. |
|
| Series |
|
| Size |
Two volumes in one. Folio. [x (title, subscribers, contents errata)], 109; [ii (title)], 62pp. |
| Description |
Polished quarter calf with linen boards. Some water-staining to edges of some leaves. With the ownership signature to both titles of the composer John Gerard (d.1788). Folding leaf on pp.7/8 of vol.2. Antoniotto was born in Milan but worked in London for more than twenty years. The Monthly Review complained that the translation lacked purity and elegance of style, but found it invaluable for students of music. New Grove notes that it is "an up-to-date and sophisticated presentation of theory, for instance in its use of Corelli's opus 5 no.1 to illustrate the transformation of chord progressions into melodies and counterpoint". The first part of the work, after the engraved title-page, is letterpress text, while the second part is engraved throughout, with musical examples. Among the subscribers are Thomas Arne, William Boyce, Charles Burney, John Hawkins, Samuel Pegge, and numerous English organists. The Whig politician Sir George Saville subscribed for twenty copies. |
| Reference |
RISM B/VI/I p.91. Hirsch I.29. ESTC T91692. |
| Price |
£3000.00 |
|
