Bologna Q15: The Making and Remaking of a Musical Manuscript (review)

Abstract

Bologna Q15: The Making and Remaking of a Musical Manuscript. Introductory Study and Facsimile Edition by Margaret Bent. (Ars nova. Nuova serie, 2.) Lucca: LIM Editrice, 2008. 2 vols. [Vol. 1: Pref. & acknowledgements, p. iii–iv; table of contents, p. v–vi; list of illus. and tables, p. vii; table of numberings and foliations, p. viii–xviii; abbrevs., p. xix–xxi; introductory study, p. 1–292; appendix A: plates, p. 293–312; appendix B: editions, p. 313–35; list of ms. sources, p. 337–41; bibliog., p. 343–56; index of composers, p. 357–67; index of texts, p. 369–83. Vol. 2: Facsimile, 342 fols. ISBN 978-88-7096-513-1 (set). €1.000,00] The manuscript Bologna Q15 (Bologna, Museo Internazionale e Biblioteca della Musica, olim Civico museo bibliografico musicale, ms. Q15) is one of the most important and often-discussed manuscripts of Medieval and Renaissance music. Yet in the same way that in the context of the larger musical world we can still call Haydn an underappreciated composer, within the larger musicological community, Bologna Q15 remains an undervalued source. Its pages chronicle nearly all the important developments in sacred (and occasionally secular) music of the early Renaissance, from the decline of Ars Nova styles to the rise of the integrated Mass cycle, from the emergence of English composers to the revitalization of the motet and hymn. It is the unique source for numerous works, including many early-fifteenth-century Italian motets and Mass movements. Clearly, this is a source that deserves and rewards close study. Yet while many less important sources have appeared in facsimile, access to Q15 up to now has remained limited.