AA.VV. - Quatuor Alto - 1768

SECRET HARMONIES: BOCCHERINI, HAYDN AND MANNHEIM – A COLLECTION OF STRING QUARTETS AND SYMPHONIES
An extraordinary musical collection of the 18th century, an authentic testimony to the European circulation of chamber music among France, Italy and the German-speaking area. The volume, kept in its fascinating contemporaneous binding, brings together six rare autonomous musical editions dedicated to repertoire for quartet and symphony, intended both for private performance in aristocratic salons and for professional court and academy practice. The presence of composers such as Boccherini, Haydn, Toeschi and Beck provides a vivid panorama of European instrumental music at a moment of full assertion of the galant and pre-classical style. The old label “ALTO QUATUOR,” applied to the plate, also reveals the original practical destination of the volume as a collection for viola and ensemble music - The term “alto quartet” generally refers to a chamber music ensemble or an orchestral formation in which the viola is the central or prominent instrument.
MARKET VALUE
Composite eighteenth-century music collections printed in the period binding and including works by Boccherini, Haydn, or the Mannheim school are today quite sought-after on the international antique market. Similar copies typically fetch between €500 and €1,000, with higher values when complete, well preserved, and of historical-musical relevance of the individual fascicles.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION - COLLECTOR'S COPY
Contemporary full vellum binding, spine decorated with raised cords, title label; further label on the first cover. Binding with some gaps and signs of use; corners worn. Interior with some foxing and traces of musical handling. In old books with centuries-long histories, a few imperfections may be present, not always noted in the description. Pp. (4); 12; 18; 14; 12; 10; 10; (4).

FULL TITLE AND AUTHOR
Composite collection of 18th-century instrumental music.
Paris and Lyon, at Richomme, Venier, Chevardière, Frerès le Goux, Castaud, 1768.
Franz Ignaz Beck / Denoose / Joseph Haydn / Luigi Boccherini / Carlo Giuseppe Toeschi / Guilielmo Kuffner.

CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE
This collection represents an exceptional document of European musical culture in the mid-18th century, a time when the quartet and the symphony consolidated as central forms of modern instrumental music. The presence of Italian, German and Franco-German authors testifies to the deeply international character of the repertoire circulating in aristocratic salons and musical academies.
Particularly significant is the presence of Joseph Haydn and Luigi Boccherini, decisive figures in the development of the string quartet and classical chamber music. Haydn, regarded as the father of the modern symphony, contributed fundamentally to codifying instrumental dialogue; Boccherini, a famous Lucca-born cellist, brought the chamber language to a level of extraordinary melodic elegance. The works of Carlo Giuseppe Toeschi and Franz Ignaz Beck point to the influence of the Mannheim school and the transformation of the European orchestral language between the galant style and early classicism. Also authors now less known, like Denoose and Kuffner, belong to that broad intermediate repertoire that fed the domestic and professional musical practice of the 18th century. The collection, likely assembled by a musician or a cultivated amateur, thus preserves not only bibliographic and musical value but also a strong historical and material dimension: it is a true practical object of European 18th-century musical life.

BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHORS
Franz Ignaz Beck (1734–1809), a German composer active mainly in France, was one of the leading preclassical symphonic authors and contributed to the evolution of the European orchestral form.
Joseph Haydn (1732–1809), among the greatest composers of Viennese Classicism, is universally considered the father of the symphony and the modern quartet.
Luigi Boccherini (1743–1805), Lucca-born cellist and composer, authored a vast chamber music output characterized by melodic elegance and harmonic refinement.
Carlo Giuseppe Toeschi (1731–1788), violinist of the Mannheim school, spread across Europe the new German orchestral style through his compositions and concert activities.
Guilielmo Kuffner and Denoose belong to that generation of composers now less known but fundamental for understanding the chamber repertoire and the European musical market of the 18th century.

PRINTING HISTORY AND CIRCULATION
The individual works were published separately by French music publishers specialized in instrumental music, such as Venier and La Chevardière, pivotal in disseminating European instrumental music in the second half of the 18th century. Paris was then one of the most important editorial centers on the continent, capable of collecting and distributing Italian, German and French repertoires intended for professionals as well as aristocratic amateurs. The practice of grouping separate music fascicles into miscellany volumes was very common and answered practical needs of performance and consultation. Each collection thus became a unique object, progressively built over time according to the owner’s musical taste.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
RISM – Répertoire International des Sources Musicales, series A/I.
New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, entries: Haydn; Boccherini; Beck; Toeschi.
Lesure, François, Bibliographie des éditions musicales françaises du XVIIIe siècle.
Heartz, Daniel, Music in European Capitals: The Galant Style.
Hoboken, Anthony van, Joseph Haydn: Thematisch-bibliographisches Werkverzeichnis.
ICCU / OPAC SBN, catalogues of 18th-century printed music.
BnF – Bibliothèque nationale de France, Department of Music.
Devriès, Anik, Dictionnaire des éditeurs de musique français au XVIIIe siècle.