Chantilly Codex OME 007 , New Complete Edition in 2 Vol. Softcover

Few music manuscripts have captured the scholarly imagination as powerfully as the legendary Chantilly Codex (Ch). A principal source for the musical repertoire commonly known as Ars Subtilior, it has long occupied a central place in both musicological research and performance. Compiled towards the end of the fourteenth century, or perhaps at the beginning of the fifteenth, the manuscript offers an exceptional glimpse into the musical culture cultivated at the courts of some of the period’s most opulent and influential rulers. Several of its compositions make explicit reference to prominent figures such as Jean, Duc de Berry, and Gaston Fébus. The Chantilly Codex shares its renown with the Modena Codex and, to a lesser extent, the Reina Codex. Unlike these manuscripts, however, whose contents encompass a considerably broader range of repertories, the Chantilly Codex presents a more focused and coherent collection. 

 Ch is a manuscript devoted primarily to works of considerable complexity, ranging from moderately intricate compositions to pieces whose complexity remains impossible to fully decipher even today. 1  From the outset, it was clearly intended as a luxury manuscript. Its large format, the spacious layout, the sketches for planned polychrome decoration, and, above all, the blank spaces deliberately reserved throughout for illuminated initials introducing the texts of the compositions and the words Tenor and Contra Tenor all point to the production of a sumptuous volume worthy of the prestige and status of its owner.