Music

Which Type of Score Do I Need?

Full / Orchestral / Conductor's Score - Provides notation for all of the instruments and/or voices in an ensemble; parts are arranged in "score order;" conductor's scores are generally the largest and are for use by conductors in a performance - the larger print enables the conductor to easily read all of the parts.

Study Score / Miniature Score - Full scores of a reduced size or print; usually 25 cm. high (or less); designed to be used for study and analysis rather than for performance.

Score and Parts - An edition of a musical work composed for chamber or larger ensemble (e.g., string quintet, symphony, jazz ensemble, wind ensemble, etc.) which includes both a full or miniature score and parts for all of the instruments.

Piano Reduction - Music originally for orchestra or some larger ensemble that has been reduced so it can be played by a keyboard instrument; often concertos are printed in this format with an accompanying part for the solo instrument.

Piano-Vocal Score / Vocal Score - Scores of large works (e.g., oratorios, operas, etc.) originally composed for voice and/or chorus and instrumental ensemble which have the instrumental parts reduced for keyboard accompaniment. Such scores are often used for teaching purposes, rehearsals, and auditions.

Close Score - Generally found in hymnals, this score format usually presents all the parts transcribed onto two staves.

To find a score or recording of a particular musical work in the TSU Libraries' holdings, the following pieces of information will be helpful:

Composer’s [full] name:

For example: Johann Sebastian Bach, Johann Christian Bach, Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach.  (N.B. four composers with the same last name; it's important to know a first name or first and middle name in this case.)

Also, remember to consider alternate spellings for names that are derived from a language that uses a non-Roman alphabet, ex. Russian, Hebrew, Chinese, etc. Russian names, such as Rachmaninoff, Stravinsky, and Tchaikovsky can be especially problematic. For example:  Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Tchaikovsky also spelled Chaikovsky, Chaikovskii, or Tschaikowsky, and fully Anglicized version: Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky. 

Title of the work in its original language:

For example: Jeux d'eau (Fountains) / Ravel; Kinderszenen (Scenes from Childhood) / R. Schumann; Le nozze di Figaro (Marriage of Figaro) / Mozart.

Alternative titles or nicknames:

For example: "Moonlight Sonata"/"Mondschein-sonate" (Piano Sonata no. 14 in C-sharp Minor, op. 27, no. 2) / Beethoven

You can find more info in the "Works" section of the composer's main biographical entry in Oxford Music Online and A Dictionary of Music Titles by Adrian Room (REF ML 102 .T58 R6 2000). Searching only by a work's nickname may cause you to not find certain things. Not all publishers of scores or recordings use nicknames in the titles they provide.

Name of larger work from which piece comes (if applicable):

For example, a particular movement, such as "Clair de lune" ("Moonlight") from Suite bergamasque by Debussy.

Nationality of the composer: This can help determine the language of your search terms.

For example: piano = Klavier (German) = clavier (French, technically, "keyboard") = pianoforte (Italian) or sonata = Sonate (German) = sonate (French) = sonata (Italian)  N.B. Klaviersonate (sing) and Klaviersonaten (pl.) are compound words in German

Numbers associated with the work, such as sequence, opus, or thematic catalog numbers: Examples of some common thematic catalog numbers include:

• "BWV" = Bach Werke Verzeichnis (J.S. Bach)
• "D" = Deutsch (Schubert)
• "Hob." = Hoboken (F.J. Haydn)
• "K" = Kochel (Mozart)

Key signature: e.g., C-sharp Minor, F Major, B-flat Minor, D-Dur, A-Moll, etc.

Instrumentation (or original instrumentation of work):  e.g., violin (solo), string quartet, wind band, brass quintet, etc.  (Remember:  Sometimes works are arranged or transcribed for an instrument or instruments other than those for which the piece was written.  This is helpful information to know when you are trying to find a score.)

Score format that you desire:

full score = conductor's score = Partitur (this score shows all the parts in "score order")

mini-score = miniature score = study score (this score also shows all parts but is usually no taller than 24 cm)

vocal score = piano-vocal score

piano reduction = full score (usually an instrumental accompaniment for a solo) reduced so that it can be played on the piano.

score and parts or parts (for solo music with piano or chamber music)

What’s the big deal about editions?

Musical scores are produced and made available in a variety of “editions” –

To help you make informed decisions about your personal selection and use of musical editions, below is a brief explanation for some of the more common types:

Urtext – German term = first/prime/original (text); very little editorial intervention; believed to represent composer’s “true” or ultimate intentions.

Historical Editions:

Critical or Scholarly Editions – Editor(s) examine “all” available editions of a given work, including sketches, manuscripts, publisher’s proof copies, early printed editions, etc. ; editor’s decisions based on primary sources.  Often sources used and/or variant readings are identified/cited in footnotes or appendices.

Collected Works or Complete Works – Multi-volume sets representing a composer’s complete compositional output; usually edited by musical scholars or even other composers. A given composer (e.g., J.S. Bach, Beethoven, Handel, etc.) can have more than one published set of complete works. Generally, new editions are published as new scholarship becomes available. Complete works are generally organized by genre. Many include accompanying volumes of critical commentary (Kritische Berichte). Major publishers include: Bärenreiter, Breitkopf & Härtel, Editions Durand, G. Henle Verlag, Scott, Stainer & Bell, etc. Publication is often spread over many years. For additional info, consult Historical Sets, Collected Editions, and Monuments of Music: A Guide to their Contents, 3^rd ed. / Anna Harriet Heyer (REF ML 113 .H52 1980.) Foreign terms associated with collected works include: German: Werke, Sämtliche Werke, Gesamtausgabe; Italian: Opere; and French: Oeuvres.

Facsimile Editions - Grove Music Online defines as: “Name given to a genre of book publishing based on photo-mechanical printing techniques that attempts to recreate the appearance of an original handwritten manuscript or printed edition … The most sophisticated try to be as faithful to the original as possible by replicating its size, colours, paper, binding and, sometimes, physical condition. It is important to note that facsimile editions are not fakes or forgeries. They are produced, conceived and used as tools for study or investigation by scholars, researchers, teachers and others who might not have access to the original material …” Facsimile editions are not intended for use in performance.

Monuments – Multi-volume sets usually produced over a period of several years or decades (some are never finished or change publishers) dedicated to works representing a specific genre/repertory, geographical area/region, or time period. It is not uncommon for individual volumes to have their own specific editors with a general editor or editorial committee overseeing the creation of the series. Some important monument series titles include: Denkmäler der Tonkunst in Ősterreich, Denkmäler deutsche Tonkunst, Musica Britannica, and Recent Researches in Music. Significant publishers include: A-R Editions, Bärenreiter, and Éditions de l’Oiseau-Lyre among others.