MS Mus. 1778/1/1

Assorted sketches for 'The Mask of Orpheus' by Harrison Birtwistle. Arrangement reflects groupings of material on acquisition.

(1). ff. 1-193. Sketches and working drafts, mostly of A4 and A5 plain, manuscript, and graph paper; some leaves dated at the time of composition. Much of this material is clearly related to particular elements of the score.

• ff. 1-27. Sketches for 'Flower of Reason I' (i.e. The First Allegorical Flower of Reason, Act 1, Scene 2).
• ff. 28-32. Typescript fragment of an early version of the libretto, together with a letter from Peter Zinovieff to Birtwistle containing detailed notes about the work’s development.
• ff. 33-71. Assorted written instructions, and numerous detailed notes on instrumentation.
• ff. 72-114. Rhythmic and structural planning for various sections of the opera, some of which are annotated in pencil by the composer, and some of which are dated April 1974. Some miscellaneous leaves at the end (ff. 104-114).
• ff. 115-125. Sketches for the tape part in Act 3.
• ff. 126-193. Miscellaneous sketches and jottings, many of which relate to identifiable passages in the opera. Includes notes on phonetics for the invented language; material relating to Apollo’s interjections; structural and rhythmic plans; and many text-setting sketches.

(2). ff.194-469. Miscellaneous sketches and workings, mostly on A4 and A5 plain, manuscript, and graph paper; some leaves dated at the time of composition. Most of this material has not been identified against the score, and remains in the order it was received by the British Library.

• ff. 194-207. 2 sets of 7-page continuous sketches of the same 32-bar passage, on plain paper. One set is a basic rhythmic sketch; the other contains pitch and phrase structure indications.
• ff. 208-218. A series of structural plans on plain paper, mentioning instrumentation. Originally paginated 2-12; p.1 is lacking.
• ff. 219-275. Pitch schemes on manuscript paper, and other manuscript jottings. Some leaves dated April 1974. Originally stored in a ring binder. The first page is retrospectively titled by the composer: ‘Mask of Orpheus schemes. HB ‘82’.
• ff. 276-304. Miscellaneous additional manuscript paper jottings and sketches; various sizes of paper, and various methods of working are represented.
• ff. 305-327. Numerical pitch workings, on plain paper.
• ff. 328-420. Assorted unidentified workings and sketches, many relating to rhythm and structure; some numerical. Originally stored in a separate folder.
• ff. 421-469. Assorted numerical workings.

(3). ff. 470-511. Pink A4 notebook dating from the composer’s time in Swarthmore, USA (1973). Retrospectively titled ‘Notes for Mask of Orpheus’. Includes extensive pulse schemes, and early written notes for various sections of the opera. Badly deteriorating physical condition.