the venetian printer giuseppe sala: new information based upon archival documents

The Venetian Printer Giuseppe Sala: New Information Based Upon Archival DocumentsAuthor(s): Richard A. McGowanSource: Fontes Artis Musicae, Vol. 36, No. 2 (April-Juni 1989), pp. 102-108Published by: International Association of Music Libraries, Archives, and Documentation Centres(IAML)Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/23507237 .

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102 R. A. McGowan: The Venetian Piintei Giuseppe Sala

4 Background

4.9 %

67.1 %

2.3 %

16.3 %

9.4 %

Library Librarian Music Other Total

science ship subjects

Graduate 0 1 6 8 15

Undergraduate 10 56 60 80 206

Senior High 1 0 0 6 7

Junior College 6 10 13 21 50

Junior High 0 0 0 29 29

17 67 79 144

5.5 % 21.8 % 25.8 % 46.9 %

5 Age Group

under 20 5 1.5 3.1 9 6

21—25 50 15.5 % 17.8 9 6

26—30 61 18.9 % 13.6 9 6

31—35 56 17.3 % 13.0 9 6

36-45 76 23.5 % 27.9 9 6

46—55 44 13.6 % 16.6 9 6

56-63 20 6.2 % 6.7 9 6

over 64 11 3.4 % 1.1 9 6

Total 323

6 Sex

Women (216| (66.9 %) (56.7 %) regular 132 40.9 35.7

non regular 84 26.0 21.0

Men (107) (33.1 %) (43.3 %) regular 90 7.9 36.1

non regular 17 5.3 7.3

Total 323

The Venetian Printer Giuseppe Sala: New Information Based Upon Archival Documents

Richard A. McGowan (Lubbock/Texas)'

Documents in the Archivio di Stato provide new information about Sala's matriculation into the

guild of printers on 7 March 1676 and his subsequent participation in that organization. Guild census rolls and his last will and testament, dated 20 August 1720, add details about his family, including (1) his father, Francesco (who was not a printer), (2) his wife, Domenica Donezoni, (3) his daughter, Maria, and (4) his son, Giuseppe, who (totally ignored in the testament) became a bookbinder and thus did not continue his father's trade. A registration of his death, furthermore, provides the printer's dates: c. 1642—1727. These and other details complement the extensive

findings of Claudio Sartori and, in particular, clarify the perspective in which Sala's later years may be viewed.

Richard A. McGowan is an associate Professor in the School of Music at Texas Tech University.



R. A. McGowan: The Venetian Printer Giuseppe Sala 103

Nearly everything that is currently known about the Venetian publisher, Giuseppe

Sala, stems from the research of Claudio Sartori. Sartori's findings have been reported in

at least five publications, beginning with an entry in his Dizionario degli editori musi

cal! italiani and continuing with two articles that deal, respectively, with the origin of

the firm and a catalogue that Sala printed c. 1715.1 His remaining articles, in Die Musik

in Geschichte und Gegenwart and the Enciclopedia della musica, summarize his

findings as does a more recent article by Stefano Ajani in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians.2 Before considering newly found documents in the Archivio di

Stato, it is necessary to review some of these basic findings. The first editions of Sala appeared in 1676, probably only a short time after the man

was taken into partnership by the musician-priest, Natale Monferrato, who on 30 April of that same year succeeded Francesco Cavalli as maestro di cappella of San Marco. It

was Monferrato, moreover, a person of considerable wealth, who financed the business,

providing space for it in his house near the church of San Giovanni Crisostomo, not far

from Teatro Grimani, and probably also choosing the shop sign, King David Playing the

Harp. According to the testament of Monferrato, written in his own hand and dated 16

November 1684, Sala served as the padrone del negozio della stamperia di musica until

his partner's death, some time before 23 April 1685, when "l'intera proprietà della

ditta"3 passed to him. From the beginning, the editions bore the name of Sala, not of his

partner (just as it was naturally Sala, not the musician-priest, who joined the guild of

printers and booksellers). The influence of Monferrato is clearly seen, however, in the

printing of seven of his own opere,A plus the sale of a broad selection of other sacred

works, some of which had been printed by other firms. First among the long line of edi

tions, it is said, is Monferrato's Salmi concertati a due voci con violini et senza, op. 11, which must have been closely followed by the composer's Salmi a otto voci ... op. 2 ...

nuo[v]amente ristampati.5 The extent of Sala's later work is seen in his Indice dell'opere di musica sin hora

stampate ... (c. 1715). Consisting of 110 printed entries and including prices, the cata

logue (being neither alphabetically nor chronologically organized) classifies the editions

into four basic sections: salmi, motetti, sonate, and cantate.6 Sartori, having studied its

1 Claudio Sartori, Dizionario degli editori musicali italiani, Vol. XXXII of Biblioteca di bibliograßa italiana

(Florence; Olschki, 1958), p. 137; "Le originidiuna casa éditrice veneziana," in: Fontes Artis Musicae VII (1960), p. 57—61; and "Un catalogo di Giuseppe Sala del 1715," in: Fontes Artis Musicae XIII (1966), p. 112—116. The Contents of Sala's catalogue, in a corrected sequence with additional notes, are reprinted in Oscar Mischiati, Indici, cataloghi e awisi degli editoii e libiai musicali italiani dal 1591 al 1798, Vol. 2 of Studi e testi pet la stoiia della musica (Florence; Olschki, 1984), p. 31—32 and 339—44. 2 Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart, ed. by Friedrich Blume, Vol. 11 (1963), cols. 1284—85; Enciclopedia della musica, ed hy Claudio Sartori (Milano: Ricordi, 1963—64), Vol. IV, p. 94; and The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, ed. by Stanley Sadie, Vol. 16, p. 408. 3 Sartori's expression, quoted from "Le origini," p. 60, understand that "the entire property of the firm" in cludes production capital such as equipment, type, supplies, deposits, and credit balances, and also the invento

ry, but excludes fixed assets such as the land and the building, which were passed down according to hereditary right. Specifically, the testament stipulated that Sala would rent the house from two of Monferrato's nephews at an annual rate of forty ducats. 4 Répertoire international des sources musicales, Series A, Vol. I: Einzeldrucke vor 1800, Part 5, p. 566—67. 5 Ibid. 6 The copy described by Sartori, preserved in the Archivio del Duomo at Lodi, also contains a few handwritten

entries, all of them apparently concerning books printed by other firms. See Sartori, "Un catalogo", p. 114 and

116. For the sake of comparison it is noteworthy that one of the books entered in the catalogue is Francesco

Gasparini's L'Armonico prattico al cimbalo. If this entry refers to Antonio Bortoli's edition, published in Venice

in 1715 (rather than Silvani's, published in Bologna in 1713 as Sartori has suggested), then Sala was also

disseminating a competitor's catalogue numbering twenty-two items. The catalogue was the latest in a series

of single-page lists appended to many of Bortoli's own editions plus certain opera libretti that he had printed for

Marino Rossetti and other book-sellers beginning c. 1705. Estienne Roger and other Northern publishers, of

course, had distributed many catalogues by this time.



104 R. A. McGowan: The Venetian Printer Giuseppe Sala

contents and no doubt having relied heavily upon the resources of the Ufficio Ricerche

Musicali in Milano, has supplied the dates of most of the editions, including numerous

edizioni ristampati and many of those that are known or suspected to be the work of

other publishers. Although cautioning the reader about the incompleteness of the cata

logue, Sartori has concluded that the span of the printer's work extends from 1676 to

1715, with the period of greatest activity occurring c. 1685—1705. The implication of

the latter dates is that Sala became considerably more enterprising as a printer once he

had acquired full ownership of the firm.

If at this point one were to comment further about the catalogue, one would stress

that, indeed, Sala's list is by no means cumulative. Omitted, for example, are a number

of earlier editions, including five of Monferrato's own works, four works by Giovanni

Legrenzi, and two by Giovanni Battista Vitali.7 As for Sala's span of work, one would

point out that, although his activity did decline in later years, the decline was not

severe; for based upon the entries in the catalogue alone, one finds at least twenty-five editions dating from 1705 to 1715, five of these appearing in 1707 and six in 1710. More

over, when one also considers the editions of other publishers, Sala's line of merchan

dise seems quite substantial. Thus one might say that Sala, as he very likely had done

with Monferrato in the earlier years, compensated for the lack of new editions by

operating as a book-seller (libraio) as well as a printer [stampatore), both trades of

course being organized under the same guild.8 From another perspective, Sala's decline as a printer corresponds with what appears

to be a shifting balance in the repertory of the firm. Referring to the catalogue, most of

the editions of vocal music date from the seventeenth century, with the cantate typi

cally dating from the 1690's. The instrumental music, however — aside from an early

group of works, some of which were apparently published in Bologna — characteristi

cally dates from the 1700's, a time marked by an incipient loss of commercial leader

ship to, especially, Pierre Mortier and Estienne Roger of Amsterdam.9

Documents in the Archivio di Stato provide considerably more information about the

work of Sala and the perspective in which it should be viewed. For the sake of expedien cy, one might begin with one of the latest of these documents, a death certificate, which

records that Sala died on 1 February 1727 at the age of eighty-four.10 Extrapolating from

this information, one realizes that Giuseppe was bom in 1642 or 1643, that he entered

into partnership with Monferrato and published his first editions of music (in 1676] at

the age of about thirty-four, that he assumed full ownership of the firm and entered into

his years of peak activity (c. 1685) at approximately forty-three, and that he ultimately

7 Monferrato, ops. 11, 13, 16, 17, and 19; Legrenzi, ops. 4, 6, 8 and 14; and Vitali, ops. 2 and 3. Also omitted are four editions of the works of Carlo Marino, ops. 2, 4, 7, and 8, published in 1692—1705. SeeRISM, Einzeldrucke, Pt. 5, p. 290, 428, and 567, and Pt. 9, p. 128. 8 It is remarkable that, in spite of the fact that Sala printed at least fifteen editions of the first four opere of Corelli, he apparently did not publish the solo sonatas, op. 5, which had first appeared in 1700. Although there is presently no evidence to prove it, it may be that Sala agreed to let Silvani in Bologna publish the work in return for the opportunity to sell copies in Venice. Compare Sartori, "Un catalogo," p. 115 with RISM, Einzeldrucke, Pt. 2, p. 204—11 and Hans Joachim Marx, Die Überlieferung der Werke Arcangelo Corellis; Catalogue raisonné, supplementary volume to Arcangelo Corelli, Historisch-kritische Gesamtausgabe der musikalischen Werke (Cologne: Arno Volk Verlag — Hans Gerig KG, 1980], p. 34. In any case it seems certain that reciprocal agree ments formed a basis for trade between Sala and certain publishers in Bologna, agreements that are implicit, for example, in the note on the title page of Sala's catalogue which reads "Vi Sono anco l'Opere Musicali stampate in Bologna." Quoted in Sartori, "Un catalogo," p. 113. 9 See François Lesure, Bibliographie des éditions musicales publiées par Estienne Roger et Michel-Charles Le Cène, Vol. XH of Publications de la Société Française de Musicologie, Deuxième Série (Paris 1969). Sartori has characterized the Venetian repertory as one that, more and more during the eighteenth century, dwelt upon operas, works that of course usually remained unpublished except as libretti. 10 A. S. V. Archivio dei Proweditori alla Sanità, Registro no. 920.



R. A. McGowan: The Venetian Printei Giuseppe Sala 105

concluded his printing activities (c. 1715) at the age of about seventy-three, approxima tely eleven years before his death.

Having reviewed these moments in Sala's life, one may proceed with the other docu

ments. The earliest of these records the matriculation of Giuseppe into the Univeisità

dei Stampatori, Libian e Ligatori. Quoted from the Registio atti, the initial entry, dated 24 February 1676, reads

Comparse avanti al sop? Banca D. Gseppo Sala, e ricercö di esser Matricolato p[er] Stampatore e

p[er] non havere Ii requisiti conto ducati cento Corr? Iusta la Parte 1669 21. ottobre, e fù ballotato

Hebbe di si balle n? 10 di no n? 0 Passé e pagô 100 d[ucati].n

Taken in context, the document indicates that on the above date Sala appeared before

the guild directorate, consisting of ten officers (headed by Andrea Giulani, Prior), and was provisionally accepted into membership by a unanimous vote of this body after

paying an entrance fee of one hundred ducats. The amount of the fee is important, for it

indicates that Giuseppe was entering as a newcomer, not as the son of a guild member,

who would have been admitted gratis. A second entry pertaining to his matriculation, dated 7 March 1676, reads

Comparse avanti il sop : Capitolo Generale D. Gseppo Sala, e fece instanza d'esser accettato nella

nostra Université in Virtù di Parte presa nel medesimo sotto li 21. ottobre 1669. con pagar p[er] ben'intrada ducati cento p[er] una volta tanto come in quello fù Ballottato hebbe Balle di si—n? 41

di no—n? 2 passô ,12

This note records the acceptance of Giuseppe by nine officers and thirty-four general

members (fiatelli) attending the March meeting of the chapter. Comparing it with the former entry, one suspects that Giuseppe had approached the chapter more than five

years earlier on 21 October 1669 (at the age of about twenty-seven), but was unable or

unwilling at that time to pay the one hundred ducat fee required for full admittance as a

master printer.13 In this regard it may have been that Monferrato, Sala's so-called finan

cier, was decisive in enabling him to pay the fee. The dates of the two documents

suggest, furthermore, that the partnership of Monferrato and Sala may date no earlier

than 1676 and that any search for a constitution or an initial contract might concentrate

upon this year.14

Giuseppe's subsequent membership in the guild can be characterized as rather pas

sive, for although records indicate that he attended chapter meetings from the early

1680's until well into the 1710's, it appears that he was never elected to any of its higher

offices. On the other hand, he did serve in at least two lower positions: zonta (i. e.,

aggiunto or assistant) in 1682 and scrivan (scribe) in 1693.15 Guild records also provide other information about the man, although entries of his

age are not only inconsistent, but at times very inaccurate. Among the types of docu

ments found is the guild census report (rollo) which (taken irregularly, more or less only

11 A.S.V. Aichivio delle Aiti, busta 164, Registro atti, No. VI (1672—1684), fol. 29 v. 11 Ibid., fol. 31r. 13 Sala's name was added to the roll of fratelli attending this meeting. Although his previous rank is unclear, it

may be that he had served as a journeyman. A census of the guild dating 1672 indicates a total membership of 228

men, consisting of 47 apprentices [garzoni), 117 journeymen (lavoranri), and 64 masters (maestri). Summarized

in Richard T. Rapp, Industry and Economic Decline in Seventeenth-Century Venice (Cambridge: Harvard Univer

sity Press, 1976), p. 86—87 and 90. Rapp's figures are drawn from three numbered folios entitled "1671 [M. V.] —

adi 26 genaro — Rollo delli Universita di Librari e Stampatori, compreso Lavoranti e Garzoni," preserved in

A.S.V., Archivio della Milizia da Mar, b. 545. 14 Sartori in "Le origini," p. 60 has suggested an earlier date of 1675. However, given the comparatively low

capitalization of a printing business and the probability that during the earliest years Sala and Monferrato opera ted as booksellers as well as printers, simply trading in the editions of others rather than relying totally upon their

own, it seems entirely possible that decisive action was not taken until early 1676. 15 A.S.V., Arti, b. 164, Registro atti, No. VI, fol. 66r and No. VU (1685-1739), fol. 50r.



106 R. A. McGowan: The Venetian Printer Giuseppe Sala

as needed) established the basis for annual tax assessments that were levied upon guilds for the support of the Milizia da Mar or naval galleys of the Armata. Two such reports must be cited, one dating 1705, the other, 1720.16 The earlier one, conducted under

Prior Giovanni Gabriel Hertz, asserts that Sala was at that time sixty years old and that

he was assisted in his shop by a fellow guildsman, Girolamo Calappo, age fifty-five. The report also states that Sala had a son of the same prename (confirmed in documents

that are cited later), age fifteen, who was serving as an apprentice (garzone) in the firm

of Giovanni Battista Zuccato, age fifty-five. The census of 1720, on the other hand,

supervised by Prior Antonio Bortoli, reports that Sala was then sixty-five years old ( ! ) and indicates that he was no longer assisted by anyone in his business. (The great dispa

rity between Giuseppe's recorded age, sixty-five, and his truer, calculated age, seventy

eight, is no doubt a reflection of his withdrawal and infrequency at chapter meetings.) In addition, his son is listed separately as a bookbinder (ligatore) at age thirty-two.17

A register of property valuations (estimo) indicates that Sala continued to reside

during his later years of commercial activity in the Parish of San Giovanni Crisostomo.

However, two entries recording annual payments for a bottegha and an appartamento,

totaling thirty-five ducats and registered separately to noblemen Signori Civran and

Corregio, suggest that, by this time, Giuseppe had left the house of Monferrato and

his heirs.18 The document that provides the most information about Sala's property and family is his testament. Preserved in the file of a notary, Giacomo Agostino, the

principal text reads

In nome del SigÇ Dio, e della Beatiss? Vergine Maria e di tutti Ii Santi, e Sante del Paradiso. Adi 20 Agosto 1720 in Venezia

Volendo Io Giuseppe Sala q[uondam) Francesco disponer le cose mie, anche sono in vita hö

pregato il Sig? Giacomo Agostini pub [blico] N [odaro] Veneto che voglia scriver la présente mia ultima volonté.

Prima raccomando l'anima mia al SigS Dio, et alla Beatiss? Vergine Maria p [erj il perdono de [i] miei peccati.

Dichiàro poi che la mia robba, acquisiti, et investiture di me sta [mpator] e Sala fatte, et acqui state sono state fatte con le mie fatiche, esendovi senza alcun bene Patrimoniale p [er] esser morto il mio Genitore senza beni di fortuna.

Perô ordino, e voglio che dopo la mia morte tutto quello che mi vi troverà aveva tanto di robba, quanto d'acquisti ed investiture, e di tutto quello che capitar mi potesse ragioni, et azioni à me

spettanti sia tutto della mia Amatissima Consorte Domenica Donezoni, e dopo la sua morte, vada tutto alia mia Cariss? unica figliola Maria Consorte di présente II SigS Giuseppe Maria Ziniani mio Genero, ad effetto che tanto mia consorte, quanto mia figlia mai possiano esser molestate da chi si sia, ô per qualche pretensioni ö Cavillationi, o pretesti, e che godano con tutta questa la detta mia robba.

Raccomando poi a mia figliola Maria sud [et] ta d'allevar sempre Ii suoi figlioli col Santo Timor di Dio, accio [cché] doppo la loro morte ancor essi siano eredi di detta mia robba, pregando tutti à ricordarsi nelle loro orazioni appresso S [empre] V [ergine] M [aria] pregando p [er] la saluta della anima mia.

E questo voglia esser il mio Test[amento] et ultima volonté é gloria di Dio. E cosi sia. Io Gioseppe Sala Sudetto Affermo quanto Li contiene in questa Mia Ultima Volonté.19

16 A.S.V., Arti, b. 167, Atti gastaldi 1705—1763, Filza del prioiato di Giovanni Gabriel Hertz and b. 164, Registro atti, No. VII, fol. 121 r. The earlier census is also preserved in an unnumbered double folio entitled "Arte osia Università d. Librari, e Stampatori," in: A. S.V., Milizia da Mar, b. 545. 17 A.S.V., Arti, b. 164, Registro atti, No. VII, fol. 121r. Giuseppe "q(uondam) Gseppo" matriculated into the guild on 31 October 1717, from which time his name appears in guild records until at least 1742. Girolamo Calappo's name seems to disappear after 10 December 1719. See A.S.V., Arti, b. 164, Registro atti, No. VII, fol. 112v. and b. 165, Libro capitoli 1704—1755, fol. 43v. 18 Compare Sartori, "Le origini," p. 59—60 with A. S.V., Archivio dei Died Savi alle Dedme, b. 429, Sestiere di Cannaregio ... Estimo ... 1711, fasicolo per San Giovanni Grisostomo, fol. 682v and 694v. 19 A. S.V., Archivio Notarile, Testamenti, b. 17, Atti Giacomo Agostini (1718—1747), no. 30.



R.A.McGowan: The Venetian Printer Giuseppe Sala 107

Included in the document is the customary declaration of the notary that, among other things, asserts the good health and competence of the testator, states that the

testament has been written by the notary as an appointed confidant, and conveys that

residual proceeds of the estate be divided among the four ospedali of Venice, all of this

being witnessed by Nicolo Maria Cattaneo and Girardo Negroni de Bortolo. Beneath

these attestations is a note dated 8 February 1727, recording the submission of a copy of

the testament according to the petition of Giuseppe's wife, Domenica Donezoni, to the

Magistiato Eccellente delle Acque whose noted receipt is dated 15 February 1727. One

should add also that, whether or not the notary has been precise, Giuseppe is now iden

tified as a bookseller (libier), not a printer, who continues in San Giovanni Grisostomos

at the sign of King David.

Analyzing the testament and also comparing documents that have been considered, one sees that Sala became less active indeed from 1715 onward until 1720, the year in

which his solitary name was entered in the guild census and his testament was written

by a public notary. Moreover, an entry, "D Gseppo Sala," appearing in the roll of a chap ter meeting dated 29 September 1726, following an apparently long absence after his

matriculation in 1717, in all probability signifies the son's return to chapter meetings

just four months before the death of his father.20

The testament also provides considerable information about his family, first of all

indicating once again that his father, Francesco, was not a master printer. This fact

is reinforced by Giuseppe's denial of any significant inheritance [bene partrimoniale) of his own, from which one concludes that his venture into music printing, accepting

partnership with Monferrato, was his own personal initiative and effort (fatiche). In

addition, the description of his wealth and income in terms of roba, i. e., business

and household goods, and investiture, which probably included licenses, privileges, etc. I some of which may have expired by the 1720's), clearly contrasts with the

spirit of ragione (right) and proprietà (property) associated with the testament of Monferrato.11

Of course, the document also provides the names of Sala's wife (the principal benefi

ciary), his only daughter, Maria, and his son-in-law, Giuseppe Maria Ziniani. But what is really puzzling is that Giuseppe's son, his filial namesake, is nowhere even mentio

ned! Perhaps this omission is in one sense consistent with the census of 1720 in which

the son is completely disassociated from the father's business, a point that, further

more, seems corroborated by the fact that, here and in other guild documents, the son is

identified as a book-binder, not a printer. Such facts might even cause one to speculate

whether, prior to dictating the terms of his testament, Giuseppe gave or sold certain

equipment, supplies, etc. to his son, perhaps beginning sometime around 1717, the year

of his son's matriculation. If so, a reader of the testament might presume that the son

had already received his share of the estate. But why is the son's name omitted entirely,

and why does the text dwell so upon the preclusion of false claims, so that the beneficia

ries "may never be bothered by anyone whatsoever, or out of pretensions or quibbling,

or pretexts"? Could it be that Giuseppe had disinherited his son?22

20 See A. S. V., Arti, b. 165, Libio capitoli, fol. 62r. 21 See Sartori, "Le origini," p. 59—60. 22 According to an old practice grounded in Roman Law, one might disinherit one's son or daughter, in a case of

infamy, for example, by ceasing to recognize that person's existence, both during the remainder of one's life and

in one's last will and testament.



108 W. Eldeis: Le problème de l'authenticité chez Josquin

Perhaps if an inventory of Sala's business or some other document is eventually dis

covered one will be able to answer some of these questions.23 In any case, it seems clear

that one should conclude that Sartori was correct in his belief that Sala's firm termi

nated with his death, that it was not carried on by any of his descendants, at least not

under the family name.24

23 The card file of iaventaii in the library of the Archivio di Stato lists nothing under Sala's name. A catalogue entry in the card file of testamenti, however, suggests that a second testament may have been written. The entry, which cites "Atti Agostini, [busta] 17-9," is numbered in red ink, implying that the testament in question would still be legally closed. In addition, the name of Sala's wife, Domenica Donezoni, is entered in the catalogue (a cross-reference?). Neither entry, however, has led to the discovery of a second testament. 24 Sartori, "Le origini," p. 60.

Le problème de l'authenticité chez Josquin et les éditions de Petrucci: Une investigation préliminaire

Willem Elders (Utrecht)'

Les éditions d'Ottaviano Petrucci représentent un très important corpus d'oeuvres écrites par les

compositeurs les plus significatifs de l'école franco-flamande. Avec cent titres, Josquin des Prés

occupe la première place. Après la publication des oeuvres complètes de ce compositeur en 1967,

quelques musicologues conclurent à la suite d'une nouvelle interprétation des sources, que l'édi

teur scientifique Albert Smijers avait accordé une confiance excessive aux éditions de Petrucci en

les prenant comme source de base. Mais si l'authenticité des attributions peut être mise en doute, la discussion reste ouverte. La présente étude a pour but de démontrer jusqu'à quel point les attri

butions de Petrucci sont sûres: seulement quatre d'entre elles s'avèrent erronnées tandis que cinq sont incertaines.

*

The editions of Ottaviano Petrucci constitute a highly important corpus of music by the most

representative Franco-Netherlandish composers of his time. With precisely one hundred titles

Josquin des Prez occupies the first place. After the publication of the works of this composer had

been completed in 1967, some musicologists came in a number of cases to a new interpretation of the sources which made them feel that the editor, Albert Smijers, had relied too heavily on

Petrucci's prints as the primary sources for Josquin. But if, as a consequence of this, Petrucci's

reliability with respect to his attributions must also be doubted is still open to discussion. The

present investigation has been undertaken to find out to what extent Petrucci's attributions to

Josquin are safe. It is shown that Petrucci was in error in only four of his attributions to Josquin, and that five other attributions are doubtful.

La notion d'authenticité dans l'histoire de la musique comprend trois niveaux: (a) la

paternité de l'oeuvre, (b) la forme dans laquelle la musique nous est parvenue, (c) la

manière dont la musique est exécutée. Dans cet étude je veux faire une investigation

préliminaire de l'importance des attributions de l'éditeur vénitien Ottaviano (dei) Petrucci pour notre connaisance de l'oeuvre musicale de Josquin des Prez.

* Dr. Willem Elders est professeur de l'histoire de la musique avant 1600 à l'Université d'Utrecht. Il est le

président du conseil éditorial le la New Josquin Edition.

