Andrea di Modona - Canto Harmonico - 1690

Sixteenth-Century Manual of Canto Fermo with Musical Annotations: Theory and Practice
A treatise from 1690, enriched by musical scores and manuscript study traces.

ABSTRACT
Printed in Modena in 1690 by the Cassiani heirs, the Harmonic Song by Andrea di Modona is a didactic treatise devoted to learning canto fermo. Its objective is stated from the outset: to accompany the reader toward the “perfect cognition” of this musical practice. In the introduction to the work, the author recounts that the book was initially conceived for his own study, to more easily master the theory and practice of canto fermo; only later, urged to publish it, did he decide to print it so that it could be useful to others as well.

The work is structured in five parts and addresses the principles of the canto, its origin, its definition, and the different species or orders of canto fermo. The explanations are accompanied by numerous musical examples and by a woodcut apparatus that includes friezes, initials, tail-pieces, and a Franciscan vignette on the title page. Bibliographic repertoires also describe three tables, including one with the Guidonian hand, a pedagogical tool tied to solmization.

This copy preserves traces of its own scholarly history: manuscript musical scores on the back cover, an index applied to the front flyleaf, and folded notes with an harmonic scale on the rear flyleaf. The contemporary soft cardboard binding and later annotations document the volume’s practical use as a learning aid for music education. It is a significant testimony to the circulation of liturgical canto theory in religious circles and to Modena’s late Seicento printing production.

WHY BUY IT
A 17th-century sacred music treatise dedicated to Francesco Spilimberti and published by the Cassiani heirs, episcopal printers. The scores, the plates described in the repertoires, and the manuscript insertions of the exemplar enhance its interest for collectors of music books, the history of liturgy, and Franciscan culture.

ESTIMATED RANGE
Indicative range: €400–600; Finarte reported an estimate of €400–600 in 2021; Gonnelli a starting auction price of €650 in 2013.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION AND STATE OF CONSERVATION
In Modana, for the Cassiani heirs, Episcopal Printers, 1690. Pagination: 228, 90 (but actual 92), [2], for a total of 322 pages. The fifth part has independent numbering. Repertoires describe the edition with three plates, two of them folded.
Contemporary cardboard binding with traces of manuscript musical scores on the back; modern half-leatherette case with titles and gilded ornaments impressed on the spine. Title page with a woodcut Franciscan vignette; woodcut friezes, initials, and tail-pieces; numerous musical scores in the text; woodcut printer’s mark on the register.
The binding shows signs of use and small tears on the spine; most of the pages are browned. Overall, a very good plus copy. On the front flyleaf is an attached manuscript index; there are erased owner’s notes and, on the rear flyleaf, folded notes with an harmonic scale.

FULL TITLE AND AUTHOR
Canto Harmonico in five parts divided, by which one can arrive at the perfect cognition of the Canto Fermo, of Father F. Andrea di Modona Minor Observant of Saint Francis. To the Very Reverend Father Francesco Spilimberti, General Preacher, Jubilate Reader, and Provincial Minister of the Minor Observants of Saint Francis. In Modana, for the Cassiani heirs, Episcopal Printers, 1690.

CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE
Canto fermo was an essential component of musical and liturgical formation. Andrea di Modona’s treatise aims to make its theoretical and practical foundations accessible, organizing the exposition in a didactic sequence and accompanying it with musical examples. The Guidonian hand described among the plates is linked to mnemonic solmization methods used in teaching.

The manuscript annotations present in the exemplar also make it a testimony of reading and study: they connect the printed text to the practice of its reader, though it is not possible to determine with certainty when they were added or who authored them.

BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
Biographical information on Andrea di Modona is scarce. Repertoires also record him as Andrea da Modena and place him in the 17th century; the title page identifies him as a Minor Observant of Saint Francis. The dedicatee, Francesco Spilimberti, is indicated as general preacher, Jubilate reader, and provincial minister of the Order. In the absence of reliable corroboration, no more precise biographical dates are added.

PUBLISHING HISTORY AND CIRCULATION
The edition was printed in Modena by the Cassiani heirs, episcopal printers, in 1690. The cant ferm repertoire catalogs and bibliographic catalogs describe the work in a single volume, structured into two typographical sections and five parts according to the title. The fifth part’s autonomous pagination is a feature to record in the exemplar’s collation.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
Catalogo SBN; repertory Trattati italiani di canto fermo, Université de Tours; Library of Congress, edition entry for 1690; Gonnelli auction catalogs, 2013, and Finarte, 2021.