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Atys. Paris: de Baussen 1708
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Atys. Paris: de Baussen 1709
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| Atys. Paris: Ballard 1720 |
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title page 1708
Reduced score: 2°: unsigned. P2, 1-225. 9-3/4 X 14-5/16
inches.
M1500 .L95 A8 1708
condition: This engraved second edition of Atys
is presently bound in a handsome contemporary full
white vellum binding with title hand-lettered on the jointed spine. A
binding stiffener cut from an earlier vellum manuscript is visible through
the white endpapers (see the binding
for Bellérophon for a more easily visible example of the
same procedure). Some damage and discoloration to individual pages.
provenance: This volume was purchased from Kenneth Mummery
of Bournemouth, England, in 1961 for $80 by Isaac Lloyd Hibberd, a faculty
member at North Texas State University, as indicated on the recto of the free
front endpaper. Both Hibberd's bookplate and the bookplate of North Texas
State University appear on the inside front cover. A name (Ga? de clerambault)
written in a contemporary hand appears in the upper margin of the title page
(see the full-text
PDF file).
title page 1709
Reduced score: 2°: 
²
A-3L². P2, [1]-225. 10-3/8 X 15-1/8 inches.
M1500 .L95 A8 1709
condition: This engraved second edition of Atys
is presently bound in a contemporary
full sprinkled-calf binding with a gilt coat of arms stamped on the covers
matching the gilt cross motif in the panels of the jointed spine. A red morocco
paste-on label indicates the title. The colorful marbled endpapers are still
glued to the flysheets, although the covers are coming loose from the spine.
A short performance history of Atys up to 1753 is written on the title
page (see full-text PDF file). Some
foxing and discoloration, stains.
provenance: A handwritten note on the inside loose flysheet
refers to "armes de Lenoncourt," apparently referring to the coat
of arms on the cover. A bookplate for Paul Berthier is pasted to the front
paste-down endpaper. The accession number "G-26" is written in pencil
at the bottom of the title page.
All graphics in the volumes in the Lully Collection are listed
in the Graphics Catalog.
title page 1720
M1500.L95 A8 1720
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Edition 2. ed.
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Imprint
Paris, J.B.C. Ballard, 1720.
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Descript 1
score (225 p.) : ill. ; 39 cm.
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Note RISM
A/I, L 2965
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With
figured bass.
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The
libretto by P. Quinault.
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Représentée
par l'Academie royale de musique en l'année 1676.
- Illustrations
at head of prologue and each act portray the stage
Comparison of the de Baussen volumes:
A comparison of these two second edition reduced scores of Atys, both
engraved by Henri de Baussen (the title pages of both volumes include the phrase
"Gravés par H. de Baussen", and the phrase "De Baussen
sculpsit" appears on p. 225--the last page--of both scores), allows an
interesting study of both the limitations and the flexibility of engraving as
compared to movable type.
Both scores were printed on coarse, heavy paper, and show the unmistakeable
imprint of the engraving plate around the printed material. Both also appear
to have been copied from the same exemplar. A page-by-page comparison shows
that, although the two were clearly printed from different plates, the amount
of musical material on each page is almost identical, within a few notes either
way. The music notation in both consists of the traditional symmetrical diamond-headed
notes. Neither volume has any pagination errors--probably because in each case
the entire book was engraved by a single individual, unlike the volumes produced
with movable type which were commonly assigned to several compositors working
in relative independence.
Why de Baussen would have produced two such similar editions just one year
apart is unclear; however, it may have to do with two revivals of Atys
in Paris in November of 1708 and 1709 (see Atys Performance
History). As with the printed first editions, the word "tournez"
("turn") at the foot of pages where a rapid page turn is needed to
keep up with a live performance supports that association.
In other ways, the two are strikingly dissimilar. The 1708 edition seems intended
to imitate the look of a professional manuscript, and in some ways bears more
resemblance to the Isis
manuscript in the Lully collection than to the printed editions. (open the
PDF files for Atys 1708
and 1709
for illustrations of the following descriptions) Like the Isis manuscript,
the 1708 Atys is unsigned. Act and scene headings are indicated in elaborate
calligraphy that provides the only visual embellishment. The G and F clefs are
rounded, slender and irregular, unlike the blocky, angular, old-fashioned clefs
in the Ballard editions.
The 1709 edition, on the other hand, seems designed to mimic a volume produced
with movable type. The folios are signed. The Prologue and each act are introduced
by engraved scenes illustrating the action at the opening curtain. Act and scene
headings are rendered in square, upright letters resembling a printer's display
type of the time. The C and G clefs imitate those found in the Ballard printed
editions. At the same time, the continuous lines of the staves, the neatness
and clarity of the musical notation, and the elaborate scenes obviously created
specifically for this edition show the superiority of the engraving process.
If anyone accessing this page has additional information on the provenance
of this volume, please contact the author, Dorothy Keyser, at dorothy_keyser@und.nodak.edu.
Please include the source of your information for verification. Thanks!
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This page was last updated on December 15, 2000.
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