A lost Vivaldi composition has been discovered among a nobleman’s papers in Scotland, it was disclosed today.
The manuscript for the 18th century composer's flute concerto Il Gran Mogol was unearthed at the National Archives of Scotland in Edinburgh.
Southampton University researcher Andrew Woolley uncovered the valuable piece, which belongs to a quartet of concertos, the remaining three of which have yet to surface.
Il Gran Mogol will receive its modern day premiere in Perth in January.
“This piece was previously known only from a mention in the sale catalogue of an 18th-century Dutch bookseller,” Mr Woolley said. “Discovering that it is actually in existence is unexpected and hugely exciting.”
Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) is recognised as one of the great Baroque composers.
The Venetian is best known for his series of violin concertos, The Four Seasons.
The manuscript is believed to have been the property of the flute-playing nobleman Lord Robert Kerr, son of the third Marquess of Lothian. He is thought to have acquired it while on a Grand Tour of Europe in the early 1700s.
The document was preserved among the family papers of the Marquesses of Lothian which were acquired by the National Archives of Scotland in 1991.
Mr Woolley is the first to identify the significance of the work, which is missing a part for the second violin.
He has successfully reconstructed the missing section by referring to the manuscript of another flute concerto by Vivaldi which appears to be a reworking of Il Gran Mogol.
PA