Paper and Copyists in Viennese Opera Scores

Current Period: 1760–1775

Selenometry

Developed by Alan Tyson, selenometry is a method of measuring the three crescents in (northern Italian) watermarks and, by doing so, identifying them. Imagine the three crescents in a horizontal row, one next to the other. x, y, and z represent three points on the axis of symmetry: x, where the axis cuts the outer line of the big crescent; y, where it cuts its inner line; and z, where it cuts the inner line of the small crescent.


Selenometry. Figure drawn from Alan Tyson: Wasserzeichen-Katalog. Textband, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Neue Ausgabe sämtlicher Werke X/33/2 (Kassel etc., 1992), p. XVI. © 1992 Bärenreiter-Verlag Karl Vötterle GmbH & Co. KG, Kassel

Because of varying sizes of the crescents, the two twins of a watermark normally show different distances between x, y, and z; they have to be treated separately.
In the scores of the Imperial collection, paper is normally cut along the described axis of symmetry, making it difficult to measure the exact distance between the three points. Therefore, numbers may vary from 1 to 2 mm.

xz xypapermotif
65   19  P21A3 crescents
66   20  P54A3 crescents
68   18  P21B3 crescents
69   18  P54B3 crescents
71   12  P17B3 crescents / REAL
71   14  P45A3 crescents / REAL
71   15  P63B3 crescents
71   22  P48AAZ / C in crowned coat of arms
72   15  P38B3 crescents
72   18  P71A_var13 crescents / M
72   18  P71A_var32 crescents / M
72   18  P71B_var13 crescents / M
72   22  P20B3 crescents
73   12  P17A3 crescents / REAL (mirrored)
73   13  P63A3 crescents
73   14  P90B3 crescents
73   18  P20A3 crescents
73   18  P48BAZ / C in crowned coat of arms
73   19  P71A3 crescents / M
73   19  P71A_var23 crescents / M
74   13  P35A3 crescents / R
74   17  P37A3 crescents
75   14  P1A3 crescents
75   14  P45B3 crescents / REAL
75   15  P1B3 crescents
75   15  P40A3 crescents / crossbow
75   15  P7A3 crescents / crossbow
75   18  P85A3 crescents
75   19  P49B3 crescents
75   20  P71B3 crescents / M
76   12  P84B3 crescents / F (mirrored)
76   15  P38A3 crescents
76   16  P40A_var13 crescents / crossbow
76   16  P79A3 crescents / M
76   17  P81B3 crescents
76   19  P25A3 crescents / P
76   21  P49A3 crescents
77   13  P29A3 crescents / A
77   13  P41A3 crescents / A
77   15  P35B3 crescents / R
77   16  P80B3 crescents
77   17  P80A3 crescents
77   18  P55B3 crescents
78   13  P52B3 crescents
78   16  P89A3 crescents / M
78   19  P59A3 crescents
78   20  P22B3 crescents
79   10  P2A3 crescents / A
79   15  P14A3 crescents / REAL
79   15  P41Blily / AS
79   15  P79B3 crescents / M
79   15  P89B3 crescents / M
79   17  P55A3 crescents
80   12  P46A3 crescents / REAL
80   13  P10B3 crescents / C
80   13  P88B3 crescents / F
80   14  P96A3 crescents / P (mirrored)
80   15  P52A3 crescents
80   15  P84A3 crescents / F (mirrored)
80   18  P60B3 crescents
80   19  P61B3 crescents
80   20  P90A3 crescents
80   22  P25B3 crescents / P
81   16  P73A_var13 crescents / A
81   19  P33B3 crescents
81   20  P51B3 crescents
81   20  P7B3 crescents / crossbow
81   21  P51A3 crescents
81   22  P66B3 crescents
81   23  P22A3 crescents
82   15  P11A3 crescents
82   19  P81A_var13 crescents
82   20  P59B3 crescents
82   21  P40B_var13 crescents / crossbow
82   23  P76B3 crescents
82   23  P97A3 crescents / P
83   13  P92A3 crescents
83   14  P72A3 crescents / M
83   16  P73A3 crescents / A
83   17  P96B3 crescents / P (mirrored)
83   19  P81A3 crescents
83   20  P66A3 crescents
83   21  P40B3 crescents / crossbow
83   21  P60A3 crescents
84   13  P2B3 crescents / A
84   13  P46B3 crescents / REAL
84   15  P11B3 crescents
84   16  P14B3 crescents / REAL
84   16  P44A3 crescents
84   16  P5B3 crescents / M
84   17  P39A3 crescents
85   13  P10B_var13 crescents / C
85   15  P5A3 crescents / M
85   16  P39B3 crescents
85   18  P44B3 crescents
85   23  P93B3 crescents / F
85   27  P93A3 crescents / F
86   19  P58A3 crescents
86   20  P58Blily / RA
86   20  P69B3 crescents
86   22  P33A3 crescents
88   16  P95A3 crescents
89   17  P92B3 crescents
89   17  P95B3 crescents
89   19  P91A3 crescents
89   20  P69A3 crescents
89   20  P73B3 crescents / A
90   16  P88A3 crescents / F
90   18  P56A3 crescents
90   21  P61A3 crescents
90   24  P27A3 crescents / REAL
91   18  P87B3 crescents
92   18  P56B3 crescents
92   20  P87A3 crescents
93   17  P86A3 crescents
93   18  P86B3 crescents
93   18  P91B3 crescents
93   19  P37B3 crescents
94   15  P94A3 crescents
94   16  P94B3 crescents
95   18  P10A3 crescents / C
95   19  P68A3 crescents
95   19  P83A3 crescents
95   25  P76A3 crescents
96   18  P68B3 crescents
97   18  P10A_var13 crescents / C
98   19  P93B3 crescents
99   19  P72B3 crescents / M
100   18  P82A3 crescents
100   26  P65B3 crescents
101   20  P42A3 crescents
101   20  P42B3 crescents
102   19  P82B3 crescents
104   19  P27B3 crescents / REAL
105   25  P65A3 crescents




Literature: 

Alan Tyson, Mozart: Studies of the autograph scores (Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press, 1987) 

Alan Tyson, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Neue Ausgabe sämtlicher Werke. Serie 10, Supplement, Werkgruppe 33, Dokumentation der autographen Überlieferung: Wasserzeichen-Katalog (Kassel: Bärenreiter, 1992)


DOI: https://doi.org/10.21939/ekivwy
License: CCBY-SA
Last edited: 30.01.2025
How to cite:
Paper and Copyists in Viennese Opera Scores / Paper / Selenometry, last edited 30.01.2025,
https://doi.org/10.21939/ekivwy, retrieved 14.05.2025