Music for King Henry: BL Royal MS II E XI. [ 2 vols, Folio Society limited edition facsimile of the Royal Choirbook with commentary volume ]

Folio Society, London, limited edition, 2009. Limited edition of 500 numbered (and 20 lettered) copies. 2 vols, Facsimile: quarter-bound in buckram with vegetable parchment sides blocked in gold and coloured foils, all edges gilt, folio, in the publisher's buckram slipcase (blocked in gilt on both sides with the King's arms); commentary volume: buckram with pictorial front board, in publisher's slipcase,8vo,. Facsimile: 36 pp with illustrated frontispiece and ornamented initial letters; commentary: 117 pp, colour ills, musical score. On offer here are the facsimile volume and the separate commentary volume. (Not included is a CD of the music originally sold in conjunction with the books). Only 500 copies of the facsimile were offered for sale - one of the lowest limitations for Folio Society limited editions. From the publisher's promotional material : "Several manuscripts survive to testify to Henry's love of music, but the most important is the Royal Choirbook, now British Library Royal MS II E XI. This magnificent collection of motets was presented to the 27-year-old Henry and Catherine of Aragon in 1518. lt is exceptional for the sheer size and luxury of its production, its exquisite and ingenious heraldic illuminations, and not least, its personal significance to Henry. As part of The Folio Society's commemoration of the quincentenary of his accession, this Choirbook has been reproduced for the first time in facsimile, a precious link with the great musical legacy of King Henry VIII.. In 1515, the Venetian envoy Sebastiano Giustiniano was invited to attend High Mass in the king's private chapel at Hampton Court Palace. He wrote that it was 'gloriously sung by His Majesty's choristers, whose voices are really more divine than human. They did not chant but sang like angels, and as for the counter-bass voices, I do not think they have their equals in the world. Indeed, the choral music produced at the court of Henry VIII was thought by many to surpass what was being produced anywhere else in Europe. Fortunately, the most magnifìcent musical book associated with Henry's reign - the Royal Choirbook, a book of motets composed for the young king and Queen Catherine of Aragon - has survived..This book's magnifìcent frontispiece represents the Tudor dynasty through the symbolism of roses blooming in the garden of England, with the crowned rose ruling supreme. Petrus de Opitus, an Italian merchant, and his son Benedictus, an organist, were responsible for commissioning the Royal Choirbook - and the visual compliments to the king it contains are a testament to their own ambitions. Their lavish tribute extends to the musical and literary content. Near Fine set in slipcases, the slipcase of the facsimile volume being slightly scuffed.