RORE, Cipriano de 1515/16-1565.

Il secondo libro de madregali a cinque voci [Subtitle]: insieme alcuni di M. Adriano et altri autori a misura comune novamente posti in luce a cinque voci. [Cantus part only]

      Antonio Gardano ,, Venice: 1544 - First Edition in this form. Very rare. Lewis I 58. New Vogel 2401. RISM 1544/17 (no holdings in the U.S.). "De Rore was one of the most important composers of the middle decades of the 16th century. Although he lived to be only 49 years old, his music, particularly his Italian madrigals, underwent profound changes in style from his early to his late works. His innovations both in harmonic language and in texture created a dramatic style intensely expressive of the text and very important for later developments in the madrigal." Grove online "In all, there were six editions entitled Il secondo Libro of Rore, this one being the first. However, only eight of the madrigals it contains are by Rore. The later editions are 1551/15 and 1552/24 (both issued by Gardano), 1562/20 (Scotto), 1563/14 (Gardano) and an edition of 1593 by Angelo Gardano (not in RISM). Eight of the madrigals in this first edition had appeared in that same year (1544) in Scotto's enlarged collection of Rore's five-voice madrigals. To those eight pieces, of which six were by Rore, Gardano here added nineteen others - two by Rore, the rest by other members of the Willaert circle. The editions of 1551, 1552, and 1563 retained the contents of 1544/17. Scotto's 1562 edition omitted six of the madrigals from 1544/17, while the 1593 edition by Angelo Gardano is really a conflation of Rore's second and third books, retaining only six madrigals from Il Secondo Libro." Lewis I, p. 436. Oblong octavo. Modern patterned paper wrappers. [i] (title incorporating vignette of a lion and a bear), xxxviii, [i] (index) pp. With historiated woodcut initials throughout. Music printed in diamond-head notation. Wrappers slightly worn and torn. Minor soiling and browning; small embossed collector's stamp to modern endpaper. [Attributes: First Edition; Soft Cover]