This guide will help students in MUS_THRY 4224W/7224, as well as others interested in locating early music manuscripts and researching or making transcriptions.
For your project, you need to find a composition from the Renaissance or Baroque period that either is not written in modern notation or not realized accurately. A large portion of the transcriptions of early music held in Ellis Library are of high quality, so it may be easier to find a manuscript, rather than a transcription done in modern notation but with errors. Manuscripts are usually digitized images of the original scores. These are also sometimes called facsimiles.
click/tap the screenshots to see the search results in Discover@MU:
You can try expanding your search a little by toggling to TX All Text for the search term manuscripts. Some of these scores may, however, include high-quality modern transcriptions of the compositions alongside images of the original manuscripts.
When using a descriptive term for the period or style, such as Baroque, don’t select Subject Term from the menu.
Of course, if you have identified a composer whose work you would like to transcribe, you may search for their name (last name, first name), but there is no guarantee that there will be manuscripts or transcriptions of their work that is suitable for this project.
Todini, Michele, Basilio Onofri, & Jacob Reiff. Harpsichord. Italian. 1670, wood, gilt, ebony, ivory, parchment. The Met.
Some online resources to find music manuscripts, including from the Renaissance or Baroque periods:
Many early works are published in large anthologies or collections. Find these in the call number ranges M1 or M2 (4th floor east). M = music scores.
Many include works by lesser known composers and most of the collections are of transcriptions done in modern notation. Browsing in person is the best way to determine if any transcriptions are potentially erroneous, and candidates for your transcription assignment.
de Bray, Jan. A Group of Men and Women Playing Chamber Music Within a Portico. Dutch, 1652, drawing, The Met.
Try searching for the composition in Worldcat, Discover@MU, and/or in IMSLP.
International catalog containing over 95 million records of books and other materials held in libraries worldwide. Titles unavailable elsewhere can be requested here.
Date Coverage: Before 1000 BC-date
Maximum Users: Unlimited
Truncation:
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When using Worldcat or Discover@MU, search for the work name as a title keyword, and the composer as an author keyword:
Try using a thematic catalogue to determine if the work in modern transcription has been published. A thematic catalogue will list all the locations that a composer’s works have been published.
You can also search for thematic catalogues using online resources:
Note: some works are hidden in collections.
You can use Grove Music entries for composers available through Oxford Music Online to look up where a piece you have found has been published. See the "works" list in the composer’s entry. This should include the location of each work in collections.