Vocal Album for 1868
New York: Antonio Barili, 1867. First Edition. Quarto, 253, [1] pages, original full black leather with ornate gilt lettering and decoration. All edges gilt. Antonio Barili’s Vocal Album for 1868 is a scarce and substantial nineteenth-century vocal music collection by Antonio Barili, an Italian-born composer, conductor, and singing teacher active in New York. The volume contains a large selection of songs and vocal pieces intended for parlor performance, domestic music-making, and vocal instruction, reflecting the popularity of cultivated singing in post-Civil War American musical culture. Barili was associated with New York’s musical world and with the teaching and performance traditions of Italian vocal music, making this album an interesting example of Italian-American musical influence in the United States. This copy is especially attractive in its gilt-lettered and decorated black leather binding, suggesting a handsome presentation or subscriber-style issue rather than a purely utilitarian music book. A desirable volume for collectors of nineteenth-century American music, vocal instruction, decorative bindings, and Italian-American cultural history. Some slight rubbing and wear, with discoloration and foxing. Some offsetting to two pages from a laid-in newspaper clipping, previous owner's inscription, else in very good + condition. Item #375
Price: $750.00