«Pien di contento in seno». The Music Reserve XI at the National University Library, Turin

Abstract

In 2004, the National University Library, Turin, acquired a batch of documents (372 musical manuscripts, one manuscript libretto, and eighteen printed-music editions) on the antique book market. All this now forms the Riserva Musicale xi. It is a significant testimony of the Italian music scene from the late 18th to the early 19th century. Rossini has the lion’s share, alongside Andreozzi, Anfossi, Bertoni, Cimarosa, Donizetti, Farinelli, Fioravanti, Generali, Giordani, Manfroce, Morlacchi, Nasolini, Nicolini, Orlandi, Pacini, Paër, Paisiello, Pavesi, Sarti, and others. This inventory makes up the bulk of this essay and constitutes a research tool allowing scholars to peruse this hitherto inaccessible material. It made it possible to get useful information on the production circuit and the music book circulation in the cited period, with special reference to Roman theaters (Apollo, Argentina, delle Dame, Valle) and amateur audiences, mostly female, attested in Central Italy.