The popularity of Franco-Flemish polyphony and the prestige of the composers from this area can be deduced, among other things, from the international dissemination of their music. It is not uncommon, moreover, that certain compositions can only be found in sources held abroad. The manuscript Urb.lat.1411, preserved in the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, testifies to the fifteenth-century transmission of Franco-Flemish repertoire across the Alps. It is a small chansonnier containing nineteen compositions for two, three, or four voices on French and Italian texts, including several unique pieces. All but the first two compositions are attributed in the manuscript to Gilles Binchois, Guillaume Du Fay, Johannes Ciconia, and John Dunstable. Their names are written in strikingly large blue letters above the music.
 
An inscription and the heraldic sign on the first pages give us a first clue to the manuscript's provenance. In the coat of arms we recognize the seven palle characteristic of the Medici family as well as the coat of arms of the influential Montefeltro family from Urbino. It is unclear who exactly was the chansonnier’s original owner or beneficiary. The inscription at the beginning of the songbook mentions that the manuscript was a gift of Piero di Chosimo de Medici to Piero de Archangelo de li Bonaventuri da Urbino, an important diplomat in the service of the Montefeltro family. The inscription is probably to be dated later than the remainder of the manuscript, but provides a starting point for further study of the manuscript’s origin and date. In addition, some spelling variations in the chanson texts reveal that the copyist was not very familiar with the French language and was probably Italian. Urb.lat.1411 has therefore long been regarded as an unreliable source with poor readings of its compositions, even though it remains an important source for the transmission of the Franco-Flemish chanson repertory.

View the source:   Ms. Urb. Lat. 1411