Types of scores and how to find them

• Scholarly editions, as defined by Laurie Sampsel in Music Research: A Handbook, 3th ed. (p. 282), are: “music edition based on the current standards of editing, for example, the inclusion of a critical commentary and indications of editorial changes”
   
• Scholarly editions include:
  • Collected set editions (found in the M2 sections)
  • Collected works editions (found in the M3 sections)
  • Urtext editions (shelved with performing editions in the general collection)
     
• 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!

• Collected set as defined by Sampsel, 3th ed. (p. 276): “works of music by various composers brought together in a single publication, usually representing music history generally or a certain style period or genre specifically”
   
• Historical set as defined by Sampsel, 3th ed. (p. 279): “collection of music by multiple composers intended to represent music history generally or a specific style period or genre”
   
• Musical monument as defined by Sampsel, 3th ed. (p. 280): “edition of works by multiple composers representing the music of a region or country”
   
• Both Collected Sets (M2s) and Collected Works (M3s) present pieces of music in their definitive form for scholarly purposes but because these materials are usually large in size and very expensive, they’re not practical for use in performance
   
• Examples of collected sets include music of the British isles, polyphonic music of the 14th century, etc. They represent a collection of individual works grouped by time period, geographic region, or genre.
   
• Examples of what these things look like: Check out examples of M2s in this Google Drive folder; TIP: The “Orchestral Music in Salzburg” and “Dudley Buck Victorian Choral Music” are great, easy to read examples and they’re in English!

Where to find collected sets, historical sets, and monuments of music (M2) editions

Find M2s in rows 1 and 2 (these don’t circulate), and row 27ish? and 28ish? (these do circulate! Some have parts and you can perform from them!)

• Sometimes it hard to find individual pieces in M2 editions; this is because:
  • Their Libraries catalog records may not include the contents for each volume of these large sets
  • Individual volumes often don’t include tables of contents
  • These editions are frequently in German, French, or Italian
     

• 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

• Collected/complete works, as defined by Sampsel, 3th ed. (p. 276), are: “the works of a single composer compiled into a single publication”
   
• Collected works editions capture a single composer’s entire output and include information about the sources (manuscript and early edition) for individual works
   

• Some terminology that indicates that you’re looking at a collected/complete works edition:

  • Opera omnia

  • Tutte le opere

  • Oeuvres complètes

  • Gesamtausgabe

  • Sämtliche werke
     

• Both Collected Sets (M2s) and Collected Works (M3s) present pieces of music in their definitive form for scholarly purposes but because these materials are usually large in size and very expensive, they’re not practical for use in performance
   
• These editions are created by experts on a composer’s history and style, and they include text that explains which sources (like a manuscript, correspondence, and early editions of a piece) were used to create the collected works edition and why. These are called critical commentaries or critical reports.
   
• Collected works editions are often in languages other than English, so a critical commentary may also be called a kritischer Bericht (Ger.) or commento critico (It.); a critical commentary/critical report/kritischer Bericht/commento critico might include:
  • General preface to the series and forward to the individual volume - very helpful for understanding the editor’s decisions
  • A list of abbreviations used in the critical commentary
  • Information about the sources:
    • Location
    • Dates
    • Physical description of sources (dimensions, numbers of pages, etc.)
  • List of readings/variants: This is where the editors have compared the sources and noted differences between them
  • Stemma: a flow chart-type diagram that shows the relationship between sources (which one was copied from which other one)
  • Facsimiles: some include images of pages from the important sources
  • Translations, literary sources, info on the performing forces
  • Notes that provide insight on the compositional process
     
• Examples of what these things look like: Check out several examples of M3s in this Google Drive folder - TIP: the Berlioz edition is a SUPER example and it’s in English!

Where to find collected/complete works (M3) editions

Find M3s in rows 3 through 5 (these don’t circulate), and row 27ish? and 28ish? 29ish? (these do circulate! Some have parts and you can perform from them!)

Example of a collected works edition:
 

Liszt, Franz. Grosses Konzertsolo; Sonate; Fantasie und Fuge über das Thema B-A-C-H; Präludium und Fuge über das Motiv B-a-c-h. Edited by Antal Boronkay. Series 1, vol. 5 of Franz Liszt, Neue Ausgabe sämtlicher Werke, compiled by Zoltán Gárdonyi and István Szelényi. Kassel: Bärenreiter, 1983.

Want to see more examples? Check out several other examples of M3 editions in this Google Drive folder.

• Sometimes it hard to find individual pieces in M3 editions; this is because:
  • Their Libraries catalog records may not include the contents for each volume of these large sets
  • Individual volumes often don’t include tables of contents
  • These editions are frequently in German, French, or Italian
     

• 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

• Remember: Not all composers have a collected works edition (M3)! Some wrote works that are still protected by copyright, others have editions that are currently in progress, and some just don’t have one. Others, who have smaller outputs, might be included in an M2.
   
• Search strategy 1: Check the Grove/Oxford Music Online works list: Look at the Grove/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. TIP: 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 Grove/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!
       

• Search Strategy #2: Check the Libraries Catalog

  • 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
       

• Search Strategy #3: Check the shelves

  • Look in rows 1-5 and 27-29?? in the Music Library shelves; these scores are shelved alphabetically by composer last name