Antonius Divitis (ca. L4715-ca. 1525) was born in Louvain, Belgium, and belonged to the generation between Josquin and Gombert. Divitis is listed in various sources as Antoine de Rycke, Le Riche, Davitz, Davtitz, and possibly Richardus Antonius, all of which mean "Anthony the Rich." His extant works include three complete masses, two parts of masses, three magnificats, five motets, two fragments (probably parts of motets) and one chanson. The purpose of this study was to collect, transcribe, and collate all existing manuscripts and prints of Divitis' compositions as well as biographical information about the composer, and to analyze the compositions for information about his techniques, as well as those of his contemporaries. Only two compositions came to the investigator in modern notation, with the remainder in various manuscripts and printed editions by such notable printers as Attaingnant, Gardane, Giunta, Petreius, Petrucci, Rhaw and Rotenbucher, from the first half of the sixteenth century. All variants in the sources were recorded and, in several instances, included in this edition wherever they seemed'to improve the musical readings.

Favorable judgment of a work of art, or of a man, usually means that the work of art, or a record of the man, will be preserved for future generations to judge for themselves. An unfavorable judgment may result in a richly deserved obscurity or an irreplaceable loss, unless favorable circumstances combine to preserve the evidence for a more perspicacious generation. One can be forgiven if he distrusts history's judgment; mistakes which have been corrected are legion (the case of J. S. Bach comes most vividly to mind) and skepticism is warranted unless or until the facts are available for confirmation. It is difficult to explain the paucity of information about Jacques-Christophe Naudot, Not that he is another J. S. Bach; neither Fleury, who made the first serious effort to revive interest in his music in the early 1920's, nor Ruf, who has done much in this regard recently, nor this writer makes any such claim. He does not, however, deserve the obscurity that has been his lot. If his music is not always profound, it nevertheless has both intrinsic and historical value, and some of his works reveal considerable contrapuntal skill. It may be that Naudot stood in the …

The chansonnier held by the Biblioteca Casanatense in Rome, designated Codex 2856 (0. V. 208), is a handsome volume containing 123 polyphonic compositions in the style of the Franco-Flemish School, circa 1450 to 1400. Although no text beyond the incipit is found in the manuscript, the value of the source is enhanced by the names of the composers of 106 of the compositions. Volume one focuses on the manuscript, giving a physical description of the manuscript, recounting the history of the manuscript, and includes discussion of selected composers and a concordance. Volume two contains the music of the chansonnier Biblioteca casanatense 2856.