From University of Minnesota
Music-specific encyclopedias will sometimes include information about the location of manuscript sources; try the following options and look at composers' works list for indicators of the location of manuscripts in archives and libraries:
Tips for searching OMO
If a thematic catalog has been created for a composer, it will be shelved in the ML134 section of the Music Library; most of these are located in the reference section, but some may be included in the general collection. Want to find out if a thematic catalog exists for a specific composer? Try searching their name along with the keyword "Thematic catalogs" - for example, "Bach, Johann Sebastian, 1685-1750 -- Thematic catalogs" Thematic catalogs list information about individual pieces of music, including the location of existing manuscript sources, first editions, and other relevant details!
Try searching by publisher name: Some major publishers of facsimiles are Editions Minkoff, Fuzeau, Broude Brothers Performers’ Facsimiles
Searching for facsimiles of published materials (first editions, etc.)? Try a composer/title search and look for a note in the catalog record about the item being a reprint of the first edition; try a keyword search for the printer’s name (e.g. Petrucci and facsimile)
Try the German spelling of facsimile (“faksimile”) when starting your search, too!
These are harder to locate and navigate since they feature the music of multiple composers so unlike collected works editions for individual composers, no one Grove entry will provide a quick index of their contents
A-R Editions Recent Researches publications, which bring together works by genre and time period, are excellent examples of these types of publications (e.g. Recent Researches in the Music of the Baroque Era)
Use the examples in Sampsel, pp. 103-105, the Grove entry for “Editions, Historical,” or talk to Jessica for help
Some terminology that indicates that you’re looking at a collected/complete works edition:
Opera omnia
Tutte le opere
Oeuvres complètes
Gesamtausgabe
Sämtliche werke
There may be more than one complete/collected works edition (an “old” and a “new”)
These editions may not include every piece, including those that were discovered after the edition’s publication or arrangements
Composers with smaller outputs might be included in an M2 edition instead of getting their own complete/collected works edition
Look at the Oxford Music Online entry for the composer and scroll down to works; if they have a collected works edition (Or more than one. Or their music is included in an M2), it will be listed there. Some Grove works lists include information about exactly where the piece is located in the collected works edition. Some list only the series number, while others list the series, volume, and page!
Example of finding a score using a Oxford Music Online works list
If a collected works edition and a thematic catalog exist, the Grove works list will mirror how the edition and thematic catalog are set up
Uppercase Roman numerals = Series number
Lowercase Roman numerals = Volume number
Arabic numerals = Page number on which the score starts in that vol.
Example: I/ix, 1 = Series 1, Volume 9, page 1
Some editions have additional layers of complexity (the New Mozart Edition [Neue Mozart Ausgabe] is an example of a really complex one)
V: 3/2/i, 273 = Series 4, Workgroup 3, Part 2,Volume 1, page 273
V: 15/ii, 65 = Series 5, Workgroup 15, Volume 2, page 65
A workgroup is a subset under series which allows for more granular divisions; for example:
Series V (Series 5) in the New Mozart Edition is for concertos
Workgroup 15 is for piano concertos
Depending on the edition you’re working with, you may not see all the parts listed in these examples. The remaining elements will always be in the same order, though, so you’ll be able to pick out the Series and Volume number if you know the pattern!
Limit your search results to scores only (use the "Material Type" limiter after you see a list of results, or start your search by using Advanced Search and selecting "Scores" from the "Material Type" dropdown menu)
Search for:
Author: [the composer’s name]
Title: Works
Example: Author/creator: Berlioz AND Title: Works
Urtext editions are intended to reflect the composer’s final intention for the piece as accurately as possible.
Urtext editions are scholarly: Sometimes the collected works edition and the urtext edition of a piece are the same and both created by leading scholars in the field; an Urtext edition is considered scholarly because the creator will include references to the sources they consulted and their own rationale for why they included some material and excluded others.
Important tip for all scholarly editions (Collected/Historical Sets/Monuments of Music, Collected/Complete Works, and Urtext): Always read the introduction and editors notes! Conventions for performance practice or ways of notating things could have changed between the time when it was published and when you’re working on the piece, or an Urtext edition might include a mistake because of the sloppy handwriting of a composer or copyist, or it may not take into account newly-researched sources for composers who revised their works frequently. Make sure you know how the editors handled (or didn’t handle) these things!
The smaller size and lower price tag of urtext editions usually means that they’re more practical for use in performance.
Urtext editions are usually created from the composer’s final manuscript or from the first published edition, and are free from editorial markings (i.e. anything that a later editor might want to add to shape the piece).
Do research on a publisher's website that usually put out Urtext editions. For links to these and more publisher's catalogs, see the section below with its own heading for publishers.
Bärenreiter
Henle
Universal Editions
Wiener Editions
Salbert/Heugel
Ricordi
IMPORTANT: Note that not all scores published by these publishers are Urtext editions! Look at the introduction to the score, description in the Libraries catalog, or the publisher website to learn more. Also, if you notice editorial markings that aren’t the same as other editions (bowings, articulations, etc.), then it’s not an Urtext edition.
Advanced Tips for Finding Classical Scores and Audio Recordings
1. Always search in the keyword field, as you never know when the work you are searching might be in a larger collection.
2. Along with the composer name, use plurals for sonatas, symphonies, and other nondistinctive titles, even when searching for only one piece; also, don't include numerical distinctions like "no." or "op." If you are not sure of the numerical distinctions, search in Oxford Music Online by composer and locate their complete works. Examples:
Why? You'll usually miss some holdings when using the singular form and number designations can vary (for more on this, read about uniform titles below).
3. Use the original language for works with distinctive titles and drop all initial articles. Examples:
4. If you can't find the work, or want more editions
About Uniform Titles
Uniform titles provide consistent, standardized ways of identifying individual compositions and groups of compositions. This makes it possible to find works all scores and recordings of a work without having to look up every conceivable title the piece might have been called. A library catalog record gives both the work's Title—meaning the title used by the publisher—and its Uniform Title.
Works with Distinctive Titles
If the work's title is distinctive, the uniform title consists of the original title (from the manuscript or first edition) in the original language. Examples of distinctive titles:
Works with Form or Genre Titles
If the composer's original title is simply a form name or genre (with or without key and number), the title is considered nondistinctive. The first word of the uniform title is the form or genre, and it's always in the plural except when the composer wrote only one sonata, nocturne, etc.Examples of form and genre terms used in uniform titles:
The instrumentation, number (ordinal, opus, and or catalog number) and key are often added to the form name.
Collections of Works in the Same Medium
This type of uniform title is used when one recording or score consists of various types of pieces that are all for the same medium. Examples:
Complete Works of Individual Composers
The uniform title Works is used for a set of the complete works of a composer. Note that many editions of complete works are still in the process of being published—volume by volume. Look at the record to see which volumes are actually in the library's collection.
To locate physical music scores in the library catalog, use the search box on the NEIU Libraries Homepage