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Music

Uniform Titles

Uniform Titles are assigned to music scores because a musical work can be published in multiple editions with varying versions of the title (i.e. variable order of form, medium, key, opus numbering), use a programmatic title such as Beethoven's Sonata Pathetique for his Sonata op. 13, no. 8, or have a title in a different language.

Uniform title qualifiers are added in a prescribed order that identifies the piece. Keyword Boolean searching of scores is enhanced when you know any or all of the qualifiers for the piece you need.

In the case of works with generic titles, the genre or form appears first (in plural, unless the composer ony wrote one work in that genre/form), followed by medium (i.e. instrumentation), numbering (serial, opus, or thematic catalogue) and key.

  • Beethoven. Sonatas, piano, no. 8, op. 13, C minor:
For works with distinctive titles, the uniform title is based on the original language of  publication.
  • Mozart. Nozze di Figaro (i.e. NOT Marriage of Figaro): 

For arrangements, transcriptions, or reductions, "arr." is appended to the uniform title to indicate that the score is not the original version.

  • Concierto de Aranjuez; arr.

Music Scores

Types of Scores

  • Performance scores: Performance scores searchable in Omni are classified in M6 to M9999 and often include editorial or interpretive markings.
  • Miniature/Study scores are classified in the same way as the Performing scores but, because of their size, are shelved separately. These are suitable for analysis and study while listening to a piece of music.
  • Historical Sets, classed in M1 to M5, include the collected works of the masters and anthologies of historically significant works (many not found in performing editions). See the index listings in: Harriet Heyer's bibliography, Historical Sets, Collected Editions, and Monuments of Music: A Guide to Their Contents (Ref. ML113 .H52 1980 2 vols.). Also, annotated FACSIMILES of composers' manuscripts are shelved in  ML93 - ML96 .5. 

Find Music Scores in Omni

All music scores are accessible through Omni searching by Author (i.e. composer), Title, Subject or Any Field (using Boolean operators). Boolean searches are most useful to allow combination of terms (see under Uniform Titles) and avoid retrieving sound recordings.

Examples: mahler AND wunderhorn NOT (disc OR sound)

                  beethoven AND symphon* AND (pastoral* OR "no. 6" OR "op. 68") NOT (disc OR sound)
Note that excluding the sound recording format will retrieve scores, as well as historical, critical, and analytical works about the music. The call number will indicate if it is a score (M) or a book (ML).
Find Music Recordings in Omni
 

Example: beethoven AND sonat* AND piano AND "op. 13" AND "compact disc"

Request a mobile music cart at the Stauffer Reserve Desk and book a Music Listening Room when using audiovisual materials.  

Compact discs on the 2nd floor circulate for one week. DVDs on the ground floor in the Multimedia Collection circulate for 3 days. LP recordings (33 1/3 rpm) in Music-Storage can be requested at the Circulation Desk for 3-hour in-library use only. Album covers and booklet inserts are a valuable source of historical, analytical and performer information.  

The shelf numbers reflect the date of accession to the collection. e.g. SRCD04-1156 means the 1156th Sound Recording Compact Disc acquired in 2004.  Ask for LP numbers (e.g. SR11-047 ) in Music-Storage to be retrieved at the Circulation Desk.

Music Collection Call Numbers

Floorplan: Stauffer 2nd floor Music Collection. Items are arranged according to the Library of Congress Classification.

Generally, items are shelved alphabetically in author order within each subject class number. 

  • M - Scores. Scores are shelved in 3 sections, by size: miniature (study scores), regular stacks and oversize.
  • ML - Books on music literature, history and criticism. The BIOGRAPHY/CRITICISM number for composers is ML410. Books are grouped in alphabetical order by the biographee/subject. e.g. Bruckner ML410 .B88
  • MT - Books on Music Theory, Teaching/pedagogy or Technique for instrumental/vocal study

Online Scores

Classical Scores Library (15th-21st century). Includes full, study, piano and vocal scores, as well as piano reductions. All opera, vocal, and choral texts are configured to allow for deep searching and textual analysis.

IMSLP/Petrucci Music Library

Sheet Music Consortium (includes York University and University of Alberta collections)

ChoralWiki: free choral/vocal scores, texts, and translations.

Canadian Sheet Music: Digitized subset of 4,000 items featuring either a Canadian imprint or Canadian composer (University of Toronto)

Choral Library Score Collection

The Choral Library belongs to the Queen's DAN School of Drama & Music. It is housed on the 3rd floor mezzanine level of the Douglas Library. It is also referred to as the Queen's School of Music Performance Library Scores Database. A paper index to the music is located with the collection.

To make a borrowing request, please contact:

Darrell Christie
DAN School of Drama & Music, Queen's University
Continuing Adjunct Lecturer, Queen's University
Artistic Director, Kingston Chamber Choir
Room 307, Harrison-LeCaine Hall,
39 Bader Lane, Kingston, K7L2S8
darrell.christie@queensu.ca

Find Song Titles

Search a song title in Omni Simple or Advanced Search mode using quotation marks: e.g. "il pleure dans mon coeur".

Use the Song Index to help locate songs from published collections/anthologies housed in the music collection stacks. If title access does not yield the song (since the search string is followed literally), try searching only by the composer's last name.

Canadian Sheet Music Collection

Canadian Sheet Music Collection: Consult this finding aid to view the list of titles that are held in the Jordan Special Collections Library.