The intermezzo La serva padrona first appeared between the acts of Pergolesi’s Il prigioniero superbo in 1733. This was the standard way in which to present an intermezzo. The work served as comic relief in the midst of more solemn opera serie, and incorporated elements of the improvisational commedia del’arte tradition. For instance, the few characters are drawn from stock types, such as the servant Serpina.

Goldoni turned to Samuel Richardson’s novel Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded (1740) as the inspiration for his La buona figliuola. In 1750, he wrote the play Pamela nubile and then turned it into a libretto for Duni. Although Duni’s La buona figliuola (1756) was a failure, Piccinni’s setting in 1760 was a huge success. The hilarious comedy coupled with Piccinni’s sentimental treatment of Cecchina contributed to the popularity of the opera, which still receives performances to this day. Typical of opera buffe, La buona figliuola features chain-like finales that propel the plot and characters to the end of the act (at that time, sectional finales were new to Rome). Other features of his music that receive praise are the beautiful, Italianate melodies, energetic accompaniments, and the variety of musical treatment throughout the opera.

This is a [ca. 1743] score of "Giulio Cesare," an Italian opera seria in three acts by Handel. The performance forces include: flute, oboe, horns (in A and D), strings (violin, viola, violoncello, bass), continuo (theorbo and viola da gamba), harp, chorus of mixed voices (soprano, alto, tenor, bass), and soloist singers. A list of solo arias and duets of each act appears on p.170 followed by a list containing the names of the subscribers on pp.[171-172]. Two mythological figures [possibly, the god Apollo and the Muse Erato] and musical instruments signed by the London engraver [John] Strongitharm of Pall Mall appear on the title page. The name of each character appear at the top of p.3 with the names of the actual performers inscribed with pencil. The names of the casting coincide with those listed in the Oxford Dictionary of Music (online, 2009): "the castratos Senesino, Gaetano Berenstadt and Giuseppe Bigonzi (Caesar, Ptolemy and Nirenus), Francesca Cuzzoni (Cleopatra), Margherita Durastanti (Sextus), Anastasia Robinson (Cornelia), Giuseppe Boschi (Achillas) and John Lagarde or Laguerre (Curius)."

Piano-vocal score for Puccini's La Bohème, autographed by Puccini.

Libretto for Il martirio di S. Adriano. Grove Music Online and similar items in WorldCat point to authorship by Girolamo Gigli for a composition by Giuseppe Fabrini, circa 1690.

Piano-vocal score of Bellini's opera Il Pirata.

Second violin parts for Sei quartetti per due violini, alto e violoncello obbligati, Dedicati a veri dilettanti e conscitori di musica, opera I ; Sei divertimenti per due violini, alto e violoncello, opera XI, libro quarto di quartetti ; Six quatuors à deux violons, viole et basse obligés, oeuvre XXXII / Boccherini. Trois quatuors nouveaux pour deux violons, alto, et basse, op. 37 ; Trois quatuors pour deux violons, alto, et basse / Mozart. Bound subsequent to publication.

First violin parts for Sei quartetti per due violini, alto e violoncello obbligati, Dedicati a veri dilettanti e conscitori di musica, opera I ; Sei divertimenti per due violini, alto e violoncello, opera XI, libro quarto di quartetti ; Six quatuors à deux violons, viole et basse obligés, oeuvre XXXII / Boccherini. Trois quatuors nouveaux pour deux violons, alto, et basse, op. 37 ; Trois quatuors pour deux violons, alto, et basse / Mozart. Bound subsequent to publication.

Piano-vocal arrangement of Mozart's La Clemenza di Tito, with German and Italian lyrics.

Viola parts for Sei quartetti per due violini, alto e violoncello obbligati, Dedicati a veri dilettanti e conscitori di musica, opera I ; Sei divertimenti per due violini, alto e violoncello, opera XI, libro quarto di quartetti ; Six quatuors à deux violons, viole et basse obligés, oeuvre XXXII / Boccherini. Trois quatuors nouveaux pour deux violons, alto, et basse, op. 37 ; Trois quatuors pour deux violons, alto, et basse / Mozart. Bound subsequent to publication.

Basso parts for Sei quartetti per due violini, alto e violoncello obbligati, Dedicati a veri dilettanti e conscitori di musica, opera I ; Sei divertimenti per due violini, alto e violoncello, opera XI, libro quarto di quartetti ; Six quatuors à deux violons, viole et basse obligés, oeuvre XXXII / Boccherini. Trois quatuors nouveaux pour deux violons, alto, et basse, op. 37 ; Trois quatuors pour deux violons, alto, et basse / Mozart. Bound subsequent to publication.

Libretto for Giuditta. The preface is dated May 10, 1697. Gigli is identified here under the name Amaranto Sciaditico.

One page of musical score written in black ink.

Although Sacrati’s La finta pazza (1641) was immensely popular and influential, the opera has received little discussion in modern scholarship, due in large part to the absence of the music (even the number of extant copies of librettos is very small). Since Lorenzo Bianconi discovery of a score that was used for traveling productions, the opera has received increasing attention.

This partbook contains the "quinto" part for "Il Primo Libro de Madrigali a Cinqve Voci, con Tre Sesti, et Tre Dialoghi a Otto, Nouament e da lui Composti, & per Antonio Gardano dati in luce." Carli dedicated his First Book of Madrgials "all' Illustrissimo Signor Conte Alfonso Gonzaga Conte di Nuuolara." A table of contents at the end of the partbook lists the madrigals alphabetically in three categories: five-voice pieces, six voice pieces, and eight-voice dialoghi.

Bound compilation of sheet music compiled by Mrs. Bright. Almost all selections in the volume were published in London, with songs in English, German, and Italian. Six out of the forty-six titles in the volume are by Henry R. Bishop, with several works by J. Augustine Wade and Peter von Winter as well, among others.

Bound compilation of sheet music. The dates of publication range between 1840 and 1880, and most of the publishers' imprints were located in New York or Philadelphia, along with several other locations. Discard stamps from the Columbus, Ohio public library, and a stamp for R.B. McAdow, Music Dealer in the same city suggest the compiler's residence was also there; the name Minnie S. Greene is written in pencil on the first page of music. Page 127 of the scan, or 114 of the music, is also inscribed "Presented to Minnie Greene."

Bound compilation of parts to accompany the volume M218.C67. This collection's contents do not overlap entirely with those of main volume. The library catalog record follows the handwritten numbering in the main volume, which generally assigns numbers to titles held in common between the two volumes. Therefore, some works are described by their position relative to numbered items. The set of parts also has several short manuscript pieces added at the end; some parts are for both violin or flute, or for flute but playable on violin. The volume itself heavily emphasizes "potpourris" and other arrangements of larger works, such as those by Gaetano Donizetti and Vincenzo Bellini. Charles Auguste de Bériot is prominent in this volume as both a composer and arranger. About half of the works were published in Mayence (present-day Mainz) or Offenbach (surmised from other evidence in some cases), with Fils de B. Schott as the most prominent publisher.

Bound compilation of sheet music for violin and piano, assembled by the Columbus Public Library (now the Columbus Metropolitan Library). This volume consists of scores and piano parts, although its contents do not overlap entirely with those of the accompanying set of violin parts. The library catalog record follows the handwritten numbering in the volume, which generally assigns numbers to titles held in common between the two volumes. Therefore, some works are described by their position relative to numbered items, such as a set of three between numbered selections 23 and 24. The volume itself heavily emphasizes "potpourris" and other arrangements of larger works, such as those by Gaetano Donizetti and Vincenzo Bellini. Charles Auguste de Bériot is prominent in this volume as both a composer and arranger. About half of the works were published in Mayence (present-day Mainz) or Offenbach (surmised from other evidence in some cases), with Fils de B. Schott as the most prominent publisher.

Excerpts of Verdi's opera Rigoletto arranged for piano by Franz Liszt.

By the time of Mozart and Da Ponte’s collaboration on Don Giovanni, the Don Juan legend had been represented in musical entertainments and on the popular stage a number of times. Although it was an unusual topic for Viennese court opera, the retelling of the Don Juan story was immensely appealing for the Italian troupe in Prague. Don Giovanni did eventually make its way to Vienna, but the opera did not meet the same success it had received in Prague.

This a manuscript copy of two Mass movements, Kyrie and Gloria, gathered from a "Messa à 4." The copyist, Vincenso Marchetti, attributed this mass to the composer Matteo Bisso. The texts of both movements of the Mass are divided in several sections and set musically for an ensemble of mixed choir (S.A.T.B), vocal soloists, strings and basso continuo. Each section reflects changes of tonality, tempo, and musical meter. The composer indicated dynamics, the use of muted strings (e.g., p.[84]) and performance indications such as unison and col parte (e.g., p. [76] and p.[79]). The last section for the Chirie [sic] is set musically as a slow fugue in triple meter.

1686 libretto for Giuseppe Fabrini's opera La forza del sangue, e della pietà. The music for all of Giuseppe Fabrini’s operas, including La forza del sangue e della pietà, is lost. However, the libretti by Gerolamo Gigli, have been preserved for these dramas that were performed at the Collegio Tolomei in Siena. La forza del sangue e della pietà translates as “The Force of Blood and Pity.”

By the time of Mozart and Da Ponte’s collaboration on Don Giovanni, the Don Juan legend had been represented in musical entertainments and on the popular stage a number of times. Although it was an unusual topic for Viennese court opera, the retelling of the Don Juan story was immensely appealing for the Italian troupe in Prague. Don Giovanni did eventually make its way to Vienna, but the opera did not meet the same success it had received in Prague.