Resources - Ciaran's Musica Codex

Resources and Links

Primary Sources

Add. MS 29987
The Additional Manuscript 29987 from the British Library is one of the foremost sources of the Trecento. Dating from the late 14th century and previously owned by the Medici family, it is among the earliest known manuscripts of profane (or secular) music. It’s 15 dances are some of the only surviving instrumental profane music of the period and it is the primary resource for the saltarello.

Reina Codex
The Reina Codex, found in the Bibliothèque Nationale de France contains 220 works in total, including 185 14th century compositions and 35 15th century compositions. It spans both Italian and French profane (secular) music.

Squarcialupi Codex
The Squarcialupi Codex is a beautifully illuminated manuscript which consists of 216 parchment folios. Containing 353 compositions of Italian secular music, it is the largest primary source of Trecento music. The Squarcialupi Codex is in the collection of the Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana in Florence, Italy.

John Playford’s Dancing Master – First edition 1651
John Playford’s Dancing Master – Tenth edition 1698

John Playford’s Dancing Master, also known simply as “Playford’s”, is a collection of English Country Dances with melody published between 1651 and 1728. The first edition was known as the English Dancing Master.

Il Primo Libro Di Madrigali D’Archadelt

The first book of madrigals by Archadelt. This 1546 work contains the works from Caravaggio’s lute player written in musical notation contemporary with that period.

Premier Livre de Tabulature de Guiterre

Tiers Livre de Tablature de Guiterre

Adrian le Roy’s first and third books of music for renaissance guitar, written in tablature of the period. These books were originally published in 1551 and 1552 respectively.

Software

MuseScore
Free open source music composition software which allows you to to create and view music scores.

LilyPond
Free text-based programmatic music engraving software. LilyPond has great flexibility but a steep learning curve. It allows for the creation of complex scores.

Frescobaldi
Frescobaldi is a free sheet editor for use with LilyPond.