Seeking beautiful examples of ancient chant neumes
  • francis
    Posts: 10,703
    If you all haven't seen my dragndrop chant pallet, well, I have decided to create a bunch of pallets for your use. I want to use the most beautiful examples of Gregorian Chant neumes to be found in older (and newer) manuscripts. I have done a lot of searching through Codices online (and there are some incredible resources out there!) but nothing that would make an artistic font face other than we already have in the few already available.

    Is anyone aware of some good examples? JO and Adam, you are two that immediately come to mind on this, and perhaps Fr. Spencer, but if anyone else has suggestions, do chime in!

    Dr. Mahrt, might you also have some suggestions?

    Thanks in advance.

    fk
  • incantuincantu
    Posts: 989
    I'm partial to parts of SG 359.
  • francis
    Posts: 10,703
    I discussed doing a set of these with Adam B which we hope to do in the future. Right now I just want to focus on a set of Gregorian. I am thinking the liber might be a simple but very functional set which doesn't have the curves that the others have. Do you have any favorite styles of older GC?
  • perg1224perg1224
    Posts: 9
    Saint Gall MSS are nice because they are viewable online and have a fairly liberal usage policy. Nice MSS include the aforementioned 359, but also 339, 390-391, 381, and 484.
    Besides these, consider those MSS in the Paleographie Musicale series (B/W facsimiles printed at Solesmes).
  • incantuincantu
    Posts: 989
    I'm confused by your use of the term "Gregorian," since everybody knows St. Gregory's scribe wrote like THIS. (I'm kidding, of course -- the illustration being anachronistic to say the least).

    But in seriousness, you're looking for examples of beautifully handwritten square notes? Or do you not really mean manuscripts, but typography from early print sources? Of course, the Liber is not "early," but it is one of the most recent publications that wouldn't involve issues of copyright on the font (which, it seems to me, could be a can of worms).
  • francis
    Posts: 10,703
    incantu:

    I am a designer (by one of my trades) so I would design my own font based upon an earlier existing beautiful one. But there are just none to be found. I tried! (well, as far as googling codices goes... and that probably isn't even the tip of the iceberg)
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