Klarinet Archive - Posting 000304.txt from 2010/09

From: Joseph Wakeling <joseph.wakeling@-----.net>
Subj: [kl] Collaborative Urtext project
Date: Fri, 10 Sep 2010 10:25:06 -0400

Hello all,

As per the discussion about free sheet music, and Mark C's very good
reminder that talk is cheap, here's a modest proposal.

In this community we have various pieces of music that are precious to
us, and there are various people involved here that have experience with
preparing scholarly editions of these pieces.

So, let's select one of these. I will commit to doing the technical
legwork of engraving, if others can supply the necessary source material
(facsimiles of manuscripts, first editions, etc. etc.) and are willing
to provide review, comments, musical and editorial expertise, etc.

>From a technical point of view, here's what will happen.

The work will be engraved using GNU Lilypond. This has three advantages:

(i) Lilypond is Free Software, which is important in terms of
enabling access and participation.

(ii) Lilypond input files are text files with human-readable markup
language. This permits us to employ software version control
to keep track of edits, corrections, etc.

(iii) Lilypond's format also allows us to have "simultaneous readings"
in file to encode differences between the sources. So you can
mark up in the file that at a particular point, the ms has an
A-natural, the proofs have an A-sharp, the first edition has a
C-sharp, and our editorial decision is an A-sharp .... and then
just by tweaking one setting, you can switch between producing
a copy of the manuscript, a copy of the first edition, the final
edited version we decide on ...

The Lilypond input files will be stored in a public code-hosting
service, and we'll use a public "bug-tracker" to track and report
problems with the edition. When it is finished, we will publish it on
IMSLP, woodwind.org and a dedicated project homepage.

All participants will be credited for their work on the edition, which
will be released under a Creative Commons Attribution license (this will
preserve the essential "do what you want" character of the work's public
domain status, but requires credit to the people who worked on the
edition when it is re-used by others).

So, two decisions, to which I open the floor to suggestions:

(i) What work should we pick? (Who can supply source material?)

(ii) Who's interested in providing musicological/editorial expertise,
if I can do the legwork of engraving?

Best wishes,

-- Joe
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