EarlyMusicNews.org

“This database holds details of pre-1850 music sources preserved in libraries and archives in the UK and Ireland. It includes manuscripts from national, public and academic libraries, county and city record offices, cathedral and chapel libraries and some private collections.  It also now includes more than 300 printed anthologies from the 16th century, with links to digitised originals in the Early Music Online collection at Royal Holloway. We estimate that about two-thirds of surviving manuscript sources in the UK have now been documented. “

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Added on: Oct 16, 2011 | Hits: 811

"Recorder MusicMail supplies an extensive range of sheet music from around the world to recorder players in the UK and overseas. We are also agents for the fine Dolmetsch Nova recorder range. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Apr 17, 2008 | Hits: 1184

“We produce performing Urtext editions of early music, based on original sources. We are constantly adding new titles to our catalogue, but don't worry if you can't find something - let us know and we'll try to produce a new edition for you! ..“

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Added on: Jun 16, 2010 | Hits: 964

"Nicola Antonio Porpora Born Naples 17th August, 1686 Died Naples 3rd March, 1768

A celebrated composer and singing teacher, Porpora's ability to set the Italian language to music was internationally acknowledged during his lifetime.

"...The Cantatas of Nicolo (sic) Porpora have been always much esteemed, on account of the excellence of their Recitatives, and the good taste and truly vocal style of the airs…Porpora's Cantatas particularly the Recitatives, are still regarded in Italy as models of perfection for narrative Music…"

He numbered among his students Metastasio, Farinelli, Caffarelli, Antonio Uberti (known as "Porporino"), Regina Mingotti and the composer Franz Joseph Haydn.

The Porpora Project has been established in order to display and support the investigations into the life and music of Nicola Porpora by performer and musicologist James Sanderson.

Through his fascination with the vocal music of this much-neglected composer and singing teacher, Sanderson intends to create an accurate portrayal of the depth and breadth of Porpora's work and the effect it had on music-making in the 18th century.

As new transcriptions and research become available, you will be able to access them through this site and add your comments and suggestions for further or different research angles. ... " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Jul 30, 2008 | Hits: 984

"Welcome to the new Lute Song website.

The lute song, particularly the English lute song is the passion of those involved with this website. Composers from Dowland to Rossiter and Campion wrote songs for solo voice accompanied by the lute which have become immortal.

Join our quest to make this art form more accessible and to encourage discussion and debate on matters pertaining to the lute song. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Jul 30, 2008 | Hits: 1871

"This new site is devoted to this incredibly diverse repertoire. Songs and cantatas that astound both performer and audience alike! Much of this repertoire has been unavailable since its original publication and we aim to change that and bring the music to a wider audience. Each song will be available in single form or as part of a larger collection. We have just made it possible to 'pick & mix' your own song volume. Use the 'Song Selector' link on the left to create your own customised collection (at a discount!). ... " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Jul 30, 2008 | Hits: 1055

"King's Music specialises in the provision and publication of facsimile or Urtext performing editions. Most of our output has originated from the requirement of professional baroque orchestras and ensembles. " See website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Mar 11, 2008 | Hits: 1096

“John Dowland is without question the most famous lute player and composer of all time, arguably more popular now than at any time in the past, including his own time. His fame is justifiable. Whatever musical genre he turned to, whether solo lute, song, vocal or instrumental ensemble, he created something without precedence and set the path for others to follow.

This website aims to celebrate his genius, record his complete works for free download, and provide thoughtful analyses of his oeuvre. Here you will find recorded performances by both professional and amateur lute players, singers and viol consorts, and possibly other instrumentalists and ensembles as well. You will also find essays by renowned academics and by performers moved to describe the experience of performing Dowland's works.

The existence of the site depends on contributions - in all areas: performances, videos, essays, scores, etc. If you feel you have something to contribute, please go to the Contributions page in the first instance. I particularly hope to hear from viol players and singers. ..“

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Added on: Dec 27, 2009 | Hits: 1244

"Based in an 18th century farm complex in the Yorkshire Pennines, we supply the needs of early music enthusiasts world-wide. We hold large stocks of sheetmusic in facsimile and modern editions, books and CDs Anything we do not have in stock, will be obtained on demand. Look in the Catalogues page for publishers' catalogues."

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Added on: Apr 17, 2008 | Hits: 1078

"Johann Adolph Hasse Il Sassone (1699 - 1783) was for a number of decades the most prolific and popular composers of opera seria in Italy and German-speaking countries. He was '...a German with the musical passions of an Italian...' A close association with Metastasio and a series of important positions in the musical world meant that his works were presented in an appropriate manner in some of the major theatres of the time from London through Italy and Germany to Vienna.

The Hasse Project plans to make more of his music available through invaluable access to both autograph and copy scores of Hasse's works.

The emphasis will be on his vocal works, initially cantatas and arias, but hopefully we will include some of his major works at a later date. ... " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Jul 30, 2008 | Hits: 1704

“English Lute Manuscripts and Scribes 1530-1630
Book version of a doctoral dissertation by Julia Craig-McFeely, awarded by Oxford in 1993

An examination of the place of the lute in 16th- and 17th-century English Society through a study of the English Lute Manuscripts of the so-called 'Golden Age', including a detailed catalogue of the sources.

Web publication by
Julia Craig-McFeely
Oxford, 2000“

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Added on: Jun 29, 2010 | Hits: 1159

“From the first book published in English through the age of Spenser and Shakespeare, this incomparable collection now contains about 100,000 of over 125,000 titles listed in Pollard & Redgrave's Short-Title Catalogue (1475-1640) and Wing's Short-Title Catalogue (1641-1700) and their revised editions, as well as the Thomason Tracts (1640-1661) collection and the Early English Books Tract Supplement. Libraries possessing this collection find they are able to fulfill the most exhaustive research requirements of graduate scholars - from their desktop! - in many subject areas, including: English literature, history, philosophy, linguistics, theology, music, fine arts, education, mathematics, and science. ..“

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Added on: Sep 20, 2009 | Hits: 916

“

The principal goal of ECOLM is to store and make accessible to scholars, players and others, full-text encodings of sources of music for the Western-European lute (and other relevant sources), together with graphical images from manuscripts and printed music, such codicological and paleographical detail as is helpful to the potential users, and bibliographical data, including, if possible, the texts of important studies where necessary permissions can be obtained.

Relevant ‘other’ sources might include keyboard versions of lute pieces, but would where possible also be full-text encodings. They would typically comprise music for keyboard, wind or string instruments, especially the viola da gamba, or vocal ensemble.

The technical resources of ECOLM will include facilities for online searching of the bibliographical and musical material, and complete access via the World Wide Web (with suitable restrictions according to the classes of material and user). Also viewing, playing (via computer sound-system or MIDI) of lute music, and printing (again subject to relevant permissions). ..“

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Added on: May 18, 2009 | Hits: 985

"This is an information service for Restorers, Players, Owners and Researchers into Pianos built BEFORE 1837 and similar important historical instruments.

The main reason for this website it to publish the Register of Extant Broadwood Grands

Any relevant information will be considered for inclusion - especially research information for which there is no other suitable vehicle for publication or which ideally is regularly updated. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Feb 24, 2008 | Hits: 1030

“Early Music Online

Early Music Online is a pilot project in which 300 of the world’s earliest surviving volumes of printed music, held in the British Library, have been digitised and made freely available online. You can browse the digitised content in Royal Holloway's digital repository.

You can also explore detailed descriptions of the content via the British Library Catalogue. Included are in the catalogue are full details of each digitised book, with an inventory of the contents of each, searchable by composer name, title of composition, date and subject, and with links to the digitised content. (Click 'I want this' in the Library catalogue to access the digitised content.)

Full descriptions of each volume, with links to the digitised content, have also been included in the RISM UK database and COPAC, enabling researchers to locate and access this digitised content by several different means.

You may use the digitised content on Early Music Online in any way and for any such purposes that are conducive to education, teaching, learning, private study and/or research as long as you are in compliance with the terms and conditions of our licence.“

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Added on: Oct 16, 2011 | Hits: 846

"Francesco Durante

born in Frattamaggiore 31st March 1684
died Naples 30th September 1755

Francesco Durante was a highly respected composer and teacher during the first half of the 18th century in Naples. He chose to concentrate on sacred music rather than the more fashionable opera composition favoured by other Neapolitans and his works became examples of 'good composition' used for teaching.

Durante was primo maestro at the two major Conservatorii in Naples S Onofrio and S Maria di Loreto and taught composers ranging from Sacchini to Piccini and Paisiello. Not a composer of a large quantity of work, his music exhibits great skill and invention and a dramatic flair well suited to the style of music he chose to write. ... " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Jul 30, 2008 | Hits: 1496

“This website is a portal to information about and images of worldwide collections of medieval polyphonic music manuscripts (the resource does not include plainchant). The music and the manuscripts date from approx 800 to 1550 but we do have images from a few prominent later sources. This website includes detailed information for all the known sources of European polyphonic music (which is almost entirely vocal) and high-quality colour images of some manuscripts.“

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Added on: Dec 27, 2011 | Hits: 830

Did Bach really mean that?  by Colin Booth

“Did Bach Really Mean That? Deceptive Notation in Baroque Keyboard Music is an introduction to some of the most important conventions underlying the notation used by Baroque composers. Without an understanding of these conventions, a modern performer can fall into a literal reading of the score, which can sometimes result in either a partial, or a mistaken interpretation. Such a performance may not only be different from what the composer intended: it may also be simplistic and unexciting.

Colin’s long-standing concern for possible meanings lying beneath the surface of notation, was particularly encouraged by twenty years of teaching by Colin Tilney (at Dartington and at other summer schools) and by discussions with Dr. John Byrt, a passionate advocate of idiomatic rhythmic performance of apparently equal notes.

The book originated in a series of lectures given at Dartington International Summer School. Colin was repeatedly asked by participants, whether the content of the lectures was to be available as a book, and the present volume is the result of a further decade of work to that end. It eventually took the form of a systematic exploration of notational conventions, from the most basic (note-length and touch) through to rhythmic complexities, notational formulae, and certain aspects of ornamentation.

Far from imposing any rules, however, the book can liberate players from a literal dependence upon the score, reveal hidden possibilities within it, and enable performers to get that bit closer to the mindset of Baroque composers themselves. J.S.Bach was and is the most important of these, and Colin’s recording of the Goldberg Variations is not just a personal “take” on this magnificent work, but an audible demonstration of his understanding of certain features of it, as explored in the book. “

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Added on: May 20, 2011 | Hits: 898

"Female musicians at the courts of Ferrara and Parma, 1565-1589

This website comprises the public pages of 'Female musicians at the courts of Ferrara and Parma, 1565-1589', an AHRB-funded collaboration between the ensemble Musica Secreta and musicologist Laurie Stras. The collaboration was formed in order to investigate performing practices at the Farnese and d'Este courts in the latter half of the sixteenth century. The project is generating transcriptions, performing scores and recordings of music associated with the two courts, made available to the wider musical community via this site. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Oct 08, 2008 | Hits: 1106

“This book is about the instrument which evolved into the bassoon. My original idea was to compile a complete guide to all extant curtals and all known references to their use. This has proved to be an impossible task since not only are new instruments still occasionally found, but also because there are enough references to their use in Spain alone to warrant a whole lifetime researching them all. The chronological and repertoire sections in particular should therefore be regarded as giving representative examples, illustrating the enormous use which was made of these instruments. ..“

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Added on: Apr 17, 2010 | Hits: 1119

“Corda Music Publications have many hundreds of editions currently available, and regularly add new items to the catalogue. The website is intentionally designed without complicated graphics and animations so that information will download as quickly as possible. We apologise to those who prefer to sit by their flickering screens for hours at a time in order to admire kneecap-cracking graphics and all-singing all-dancing fantastickalls from the whizz kids of the Web.  …

The Early Music Catalogue is mostly on one long page, but there are some digressions available, - for example, the work on Jane Austen's music Jane Austen, including CDs, and another features the books by Judy Tarling on Baroque String Playing and The Weapons of Rhetoric. Our Early Music editions are for period instruments from approximately 1550 - 1800. They include a variety of consort music for viols, and works for voices and instruments. There is a range of books by the internationally acknowledged teacher Alison Crum designed for those learning to play the viol. Though we specialise in early music for strings, many of the consort pieces can also be performed by recorders, etc.  …”

Corda Music Publications, 183 Beech Road, St Albans, Herts AL3 5AN, Great Britain. Tel / Fax: (+44) 0 1727 852752

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Added on: Aug 30, 2011 | Hits: 1189

“Cambridge University Press is the publishing department of the University of Cambridge. Dedicated to excellence, our purpose is to further the University's objective of advancing knowledge, education, learning, and research.

Our extensive peer-reviewed publishing lists comprises over 40,000 titles covering academic research, professional development, over 280 research journals, school-level education, English language teaching and bible publishing. This list is growing at a rate of over 4,000 ISBNs every year and spans subjects from aesthetics through to zoology, with authors ranging from Shakespeare to English language teaching author, Ray Murphy.

A pioneer in our field, we are committed to supporting innovation in learning and teaching. We publish without boundaries, ensuring our resources are accessible across the globe, in print, digital and online formats.

We take pride in supporting community programmes across the globe. Staff are encouraged to offer practical help, advice and funding to nurture vital charitable, educational and voluntary partnerships.

Playing a leading role in today’s global market place, we have over 50 offices around the globe, and distribute our products to nearly every country in the world. We publish authors based in over 100 different countries. …“

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Added on: Oct 10, 2011 | Hits: 743

" ... The Serenata is one of the more fascinating genres of the baroque period. Usually written for a specific occasion such as birthdays or to celebrate great events, the Serenata was neither opera (as it was generally performed at most in a semi-staged manner) and more than a cantata (although many serenatas were subtitled Cantata à 2/3/4/5 etc).

The research of the people involved in this site revolves around the works of Neapolitans like Alessandro Scarlatti, Domenico Sarri, Leonardo Leo and Nicola Porpora to name but a few. We are editing, performing and recording works within the genre and hope that you will contribute to the site's work by letting us know of your experiences within this style. Performers, musicologists and interested amateurs are all welcome to make comments and suggestions, to contribute music or articles, even advertise performances around the globe. ... " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Jul 30, 2008 | Hits: 1205

"We hope you will spend time wandering around the site and exploring what exciting music we have to offer, in addition to our articles and composer biographies. Please add to the resources if you can, and submit your music-related site to our links page.

We aim to be a directory and a series of web-based resources for baroque music performers and researchers with a particular bias towards the UK. Join our discussions, add articles and your own editions and transcriptions. ... " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Jul 30, 2008 | Hits: 1301

"Baroque Aria has been launched to offer arias from Baroque operas, serenatas, dramme per musiche and cantatas which were much fêted in their day and still stand today as excellent examples of the genre. You can preview, audition and purchase music, much of which is not available in any other place.

Composers such as Handel and Porpora, Giacomelli and Mancini (with occasional forays into the work of composers both earlier and later).

Select the music you'd like to view and suggest music you would like to see available on the site.

We have access to some of the greatest collections of manuscripts in the world, both autograph copies of whole operas and excellent contemporary collections of arias by a vast range of composers. Take advantage of this and the music and articles available. ... " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Jul 30, 2008 | Hits: 987