ABSTRACT Title of Document: MOZART, PERGOLESI, HANDEL?: A STUDY OF THREE FORGERIES Erin Elizabeth Smith, Master of Arts, 2014 Directed By: Dr. Richard G. King, School of Music, Musicology & Ethnomusicology Division Forgeries of musical manuscripts are little discussed in the musicological literature, but their serious study can be valuable. This thesis outlines a method for the comprehensive study of music forgeries and shows how that method might be used by examining three autograph forgeries in depth. These forgeries are of Pergolesi’s “Non mi negar signora” and Mozart’s “Baci amorosi e cari,” both at The Library of Congress, and Handel’s “Rejoice greatly” from Messiah , in the University of Maryland’s Special Collections in the Performing Arts. Tobia Nicotra, a prolific forger from the 1920s and 1930s created the two Library of Congress manuscripts and elements of his forging style are identified. Finally, though J. M. Coopersmith claimed the “Rejoice greatly” forgery was Nicotra’s, this study shows that it is not Nicotra's due to differences in the forging methods used. MOZART, PERGOLESI, HANDEL?: A STUDY OF THREE FORGERIES By Erin Elizabeth Smith Thesis submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Maryland, College Park, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts 2014 Advisory Committee: Professor Richard G. King, Chair Professor Olga Haldey Professor Patrick Warfield © Copyright by Erin Elizabeth Smith 2014 ii Table of Contents Table of Contents.................................................................................................................ii Chapter 1: Introduction........................................................................................................1 Objectives of this Thesis..........................................................................................3 The Value of Studying Forgeries.............................................................................4 Significance of Chapters 3 Through 5.....................................................................7 Literature Review.....................................................................................................8 Document Examination...............................................................................8 Music Forgeries.........................................................................................11 Conclusion.............................................................................................................14 Chapter 2: Methodology....................................................................................................15 Stave Ruling...........................................................................................................15 Writing Tool...........................................................................................................16 Ink..........................................................................................................................17 Handwriting...........................................................................................................18 Paper......................................................................................................................20 Anachronisms/Style...............................................................................................21 Conclusion.............................................................................................................22 Chapter 3: “Baci amorosi e cari”.......................................................................................23 Stave Ruling...........................................................................................................23 Writing Tool...........................................................................................................25 Ink..........................................................................................................................26 Handwriting...........................................................................................................26 First Impressions........................................................................................27 Systems......................................................................................................29 Clefs...........................................................................................................31 Accidentals.................................................................................................34 Beams.........................................................................................................36 Open Note Heads.......................................................................................37 Rests...........................................................................................................39 Dynamics...................................................................................................40 Conclusions................................................................................................42 Paper......................................................................................................................43 Conclusion.............................................................................................................44 Chapter 4: “Non mi negar signora”...................................................................................45 Stave Ruling...........................................................................................................46 Writing Tool...........................................................................................................47 Ink..........................................................................................................................48 Handwriting...........................................................................................................49 Clefs...........................................................................................................49 Accidentals.................................................................................................54 Flags and Beams........................................................................................57 Open Note Heads.......................................................................................59 Signature....................................................................................................60 iii Rests...........................................................................................................61 Conclusions................................................................................................62 Paper......................................................................................................................63 Conclusion.............................................................................................................64 Chapter 5: “Rejoice greatly”..............................................................................................65 Stave Ruling...........................................................................................................65 Writing Tool and Ink.............................................................................................66 Staff Lines..................................................................................................66 Other Writing.............................................................................................67 Handwriting...........................................................................................................68 Accidentals.................................................................................................69 Stems..........................................................................................................71 Beams and Flags........................................................................................72 Rests...........................................................................................................73 Clefs...........................................................................................................74 Conclusions................................................................................................75 Paper......................................................................................................................76 Conclusion.............................................................................................................77 Chapter 6: Synthesis..........................................................................................................79 The Author of “Baci amorosi e cari” and “Non mi negar signora”.......................79 Nicotra’s Forging Methods and Style....................................................................81 Writing Tool and Ink.................................................................................81 Handwriting...............................................................................................82 Chemical Treatment of the Paper..............................................................84 Paper and Stave Ruling..............................................................................85 Content.......................................................................................................86 Why We Might Think Nicotra Created “Rejoice greatly”.........................87 The “Rejoice