Sabinet | The sixteenth-century choirbook fragments of the National Library in Pretoria
n South African Journal of Cultural History - The sixteenth-century choirbook fragments of the National Library in Pretoria
Source : South African Journal of Cultural History, Volume 24, Issue 1, Jan 2010, p. 105 - 125
Keyword(s) : cantus, Choir book, Fragment, Gregoriaanse Sanctus, Gregorian chant, Himne, Hymn, Koorboek, Mass, Mis, Nasionale Biblioteek, National Library, Office, Offisie, Sanctus and University of South Africa
Two choirbook fragments, each consisting of two attached vellum leaves with notated Gregorian chant, were discovered in the National Library in Pretoria by a well-known cartographer while she was cataloguing the maps for the library immediately before the move from the old building in Vermeulen Street to the new building in Schubart Street. The fragments are similar, but do not come from the same manuscript. One of the fragments, each leaf measuring 545 mm x 394 mm, contains four Sanctus, part of the ordinary of the Roman Mass; the other, each leaf measuring 546 x 376 mm, contains two hymns that formed part of the Roman Office. Both fragments are in a very good condition. The provenance of one of the fragments is possibly the Friuli region in north-eastern Italy and possibly the Cathedral of Aquileia, because one of the Sanctus notated on it could be found only in two other manuscripts, one of which has that region as provenance, and the other probably originating from nearby. Two of the other three Sanctus on that fragment, although they have a wider distribution, also have connections with that region. The provenance of the other fragment could not be established. Both are very valuable as portion of the general heritage of Western music manuscripts. They are also of great value because they are now here in South Africa, a country so far removed from the centres of early manuscript production. It is not known how they came to be in South Africa.
Die sestiende-eeuse koorboekfragmente van die Nasionale Biblioteek in Pretoria
Twee koorboekfragmente, elk bestaande uit twee gehegte perkamentblaaie met genoteerde Gregoriaanse cantus, is in die Nasionale Biblioteek in Pretoria deur &apos;n bekende kartograaf ontdek. Sy was besig om die landkaarte vir die biblioteek te katalogiseer net voor dit van die ou gebou in Vermeulenstraat na die nuwe gebou in Schubartstraat verskuif is. Die fragmente is soortgelyk, maar nie van dieselfde manuskrip afkomstig nie. Die een paar blaaie, elk 545 mm x 394 mm in omtrek, bevat vier Sancti, deel van die ordinarium van die Roomse mis. Die ander paar, elk 546 mm x 376 mm in omtrek, bevat twee himnes wat deel van die Roomse offisie is. Albei fragmente is in &apos;n baie goeie toestand. Die oorsprong van die een fragment kan bepaal word as moontlik afkomstig van die Friuli-gebied in Noordoos-Italië en waarskynlik die Katedraal van Aquileia. Die rede daarvoor is dat een van die Sancti wat daarop genoteer is, slegs in twee ander manuskripte gevind kon word - een wat uit dié gebied afkomstig is, en die ander straks van daar naby. Twee van die ander drie Sancti op die fragment, hoewel wyer versprei, het ook verbintenisse met die gebied. Die oorsprong van die ander fragment kon nie vasgestel word nie. Albei is nogtans van besondere waarde as deel van die algemene erfenis van Westerse musiekmanuskripte. Hulle is ook van besondere waarde omdat hulle nou in Suid-Afrika is wat so ver van die sentra van vroeë manuskripvervaardiging verwyder is. Dit is nie bekend hoe hulle na Suid-Afrika gekom het nie.
Persistent Link : http://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC30770