Lot 517: EXIMENO, ANTONIO

FINE BOOKS ON MUSIC THEORY: THE COLLECTION OF A DISTINGUISHED SCHOLAR. DELL' ORIGINE E DELLE REGOLE DELLA MUSICA, COLLA STORIA DEL SUO PROGRESSO, DECADENZA, E RINNOVAZIONE. ROME: MICHEL' ANGELO BARBIELLINI, 1774 first edition, 4to (c.28.5 x 20.5cm), [12], 16, [8], 21-466, [1 (errata)] pages, engraved portrait of Princess Maria Antonio Walpurga of Bavaria (by Giovanni Brunetti after F.A. Catalano), 21 (of 22) engraved plates (some folding, mainly music) and 'Tavola de' modi' at end, engraved vignette on title and 10 half-page engraved chapter heads (by Brunetti), uncut with deckle edges, modern half cloth, brown-gilt label to spine, lacking one plate, some foxing and occasional browning

Hirsch, i 162; Gregory & Bartlett, i, 86; RISM Écrits, p.299; ICCU\MUS\0057528;

This is one of the most important and controversial treatises on the nature of music in the late eighteenth-century. The historical matter on the origins of music reflects eighteenth-century aesthetics of opera and instrumental music in Italy. The work is dedicated to Princess Maria Antonia Walpurgis of Bavaria (1724-1780), who composed operas under the name "ETPA"; the engraved music includes examples from works by the Princess herself, Nanini, Clari, Corelli and Pergolesi.