Category Archives: RILM

RILM Editor wins Outstanding Dissertation Award

Former RILM Editor Woo Shingkwan (胡成筠) has just won the International Musicological Society’s 2018 Outstanding Dissertation Award for The ceremonial music of Zhu Zaiyu.

Zhu Zaiyu (1536–1611) was a mathematician, physicist, music theorist, choreographer, and composer; he is particularly remembered today for creating the theory of 12-tone equal temperament.

Congratulations to our former colleague! Above, a page from the dissertation.

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Filed under Asia, RILM, RILM news, Theory

RILM’s one millionth record

RILM’s one millionth record is now online!

The record documents 音乐考古学与古代音乐遗迹研究 (Archaeomusicology and research on music relics) by 方建军 (Fang Jianjun) (Zhongguo yinyue/Chinese music 3:147 [2017] pp. 75–82, 106).

Fang’s article discusses the relationships between archaeological environments and musical functions, between ancient workshops and the building of instruments, and between soundscapes and music performance, with reference to archaeomusicological sites in Europe and Africa as well as China. China has many such sites, among them Xiaoshuangqiao of the early Shang dynasty (16th–11th century B.C.E.) in Henan province, Sanxingdui in Sichuan province, and the Neolithic tomb sites at Jiahu village, also in Henan province.

Above, flutes excavated at the Jiahu site; below, reproductions of bronze bells from a tomb dated around 433 B.C.E.

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Filed under Antiquity, Asia, Instruments, RILM, RILM news

RILM publishes its 200,000th full-text record!

 

In 2016 RILM announced the release of RILM abstracts of music literature with full text on EBSCO Information Services. Today we celebrate the publication of our 200,00th full-text record!

The milestone record is a review by Markus Lutz of Martin und Johann Christian Hoffmann: Geigen- und Lautenmacher des Barock—Umfeld, Leben, Werk (Leipzig: Hofmeister, 2015) published in Journal of the Lute Society of America (XLVI pp. 80–88). Above, a lute made by Johann Christian Hoffmann; below, a copy of a lute made by Martin Hoffmann.

Highlighting this review gives us an opportunity to remind you that reviews in RILM’s database are always linked to the item under review—so when you read a book review the record for the book itself is just one click away!

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Filed under Baroque era, Instruments, RILM, RILM news

RILM broadens indexing of Chinese dramatic genres

When RILM started out in the mid-1960s, our indexing naturally mirrored the publications that we were working with.

For example, relatively little was available in the West about non-Western dramatic genres, while far more publications discussed Western dramatic genres like opera. Accordingly, we developed several indexing headings for those Western genres—opera seria, oratorio, zarzuela, and so on—while only one headword, dramatic arts, served for all non-Western genres (as well as for publications about more than one or two Western genres).

In early 2000 RILM started to expand its collection to include a large amount of East Asian-language publications, especially those from China. Since then the need for more refined indexing terms for non-Western dramatic genres has grown.

In spring 2017 RILM editors approved 13 new headwords for theatrical genres. Three of these new headwords, xiqu—general, xiqu—by genre, and xiqu—by place, are for those genres commonly known in the West as Chinese opera. Another three new headwords, quyi—general, quyi—by genre, and quyi—by place, are for traditional Chinese dramatic genres that are less known in the West.

For both xiqu—by genre and quyi—by genre, lists of second-level terms specifying individual xiqu or quyi genres have also been developed, and are continuously growing. Many of the genres covered by these two new headwords are unknown to most Western scholars, but have been extensively discussed in the Chinese publications that we now index. Updated in early February 2018, our list of xiqu genres is here, and our list of quyi genres is here. By the time you read this, more terms will have been added!

Above, an example of ganju (Jiangxi opera); below, another example of ganju from Jiangxi province, followed by an example of sixianxi from Hebei province. These genres are indexed under the headword quyi—by genre.

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Filed under Asia, Dramatic arts, RILM, RILM news

RILM takes over Index to Printed Music

In May 2017 James Adrian Music Company (JAMC), owner of Index to Printed Music: Collections and Series (IPM), signed an agreement transferring ownership of IPM to Répertoire International de Littérature Musicale (RILM), effective 30 June 2018.

IPM combines index, bibliography, series, and names databases into a highly comprehensive resource for searching and identifying individual pieces of music printed in standard scholarly music editions. Currently the database includes 22,975 entries for individual volumes, an authority file with 25,889 personal names, 1133 entries for series and sets, and an index to 538,354 individual pieces of music. It provides superior access to this content for scholars, performers, teachers, and other researchers, including powerful searching capabilities for finding information on specific performing forces and repertoire. Many of the sets and series indexed in IPM are adding volumes continuously, and new editions appear on the market. Therefore, IPM grows every year to be as comprehensive and up-to-date as possible. IPM is curated by a team of experts and is available on EBSCOhost and via the EBSCO Discovery Service.

IPM is a natural addition to RILM’s suite of music resources. Since 2016 RILM has been expanding its resources for music researchers beyond its flagship publication, RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, adding RILM Abstracts with Full Text; RILM Music Encyclopedias; and, in partnership with Bärenreiter and J. B. Metzler, MGG Online. With the addition of IPM, RILM is entering the world of printed music. RILM’s authority lists—including names, work titles, publishers, and terms—as well as RILM’s proven database capabilities and subject expertise will contribute to the further development and enhancement of IPM.

The founder of the Index to Printed Music, Dr. George R. Hill, states: “We are pleased that with RILM’s acquisition of IPM, its continuation, properly supported by an established leader in providing databases related to music, is assured. Over the years, IPM has largely depended on a dedicated group of musicologists and librarians devoted to its survival and growth. They include Joseph M. Boonin, Garrett Bowles, Lenore Coral, Mary Wallace Davidson, Elizabeth A. Davis, Vincent Duckles, Paul Emmons, Robert A. Falck, Virginia S. Gifford, Irving Godt, Ruth B. Hilton, Barton Hudson, Richard E. Jones, Sterling Murray, Barbara A. Renton, John H. Roberts, Gordon S. Rowley, Norris L. Stephens, Susan T. Sommer, and Eric Western.”

Dr. Barbara Dobbs Mackenzie, the Director of RILM, adds, “IPM is an indispensable resource for anyone looking for scholarly, reliable editions of individual musical works. RILM is delighted to be able to take ownership of this resource, and to bring our experience to bear to ensure IPM’s reputation for accuracy and comprehensiveness, and to bring new digital capabilities to enhance the database and its search and discovery potential.”

James Adrian Music Company, Bergenfield, NJ, a non-profit entity, supports and guides the creation, development, and distribution of the several databases collectively known as IPM. Components of IPM include digital files for name authorities, series, bibliography of editions indexed, and, most centrally, the index to music contained in the various editions. By adhering to established standards for bibliographic scholarship, JAMC is committed to providing a reliable and useful tool for musicians and researchers throughout the world. A hallmark of IPM has been the accuracy of index data, gathered directly by an examination of the printed music itself, not from secondary sources.

Répertoire International de Littérature Musicale (RILM), New York, facilitates and disseminates music research worldwide. It is committed to the comprehensive and accurate representation of music scholarship in all countries and languages, and across all disciplinary and cultural boundaries. RILM’s flagship publication, RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, is a comprehensive international bibliography of writings on music covering publications from the early 19th century to the present. RILM Abstracts of Music Literature with Full Text includes the bibliography as well as full text articles from over 200 journals linked from the bibliographic records. RILM Music Encyclopedias is a full-text repository of over 40 seminal music encyclopedias. In partnership with the publisher Bärenreiter and J.B. Metzler, RILM publishes MGG Online, which comprises the 2nd edition of Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart along with new and substantially updated content. RILM is a joint project of the International Association of Music Libraries, Archives, and Documentation Centres (IAML); International Council for Traditional Music (ICTM); and the International Musicological Society (IMS). RILM is housed at The Graduate Center of the City University of New York. For further information, please visit http://www.rilm.org.

 

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Filed under Resources, RILM, RILM news

Bibliolore reaches 300!

 

Bibliolore now has over 300 followers! Sure, plenty of music blogs have more, but we have staked out such a tiny niche that we are truly honored. Many thanks to all of our followers and friends!

Below, we celebrate by watching someone turn 300 napkins into something resembling wooden tiles.

 

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Filed under RILM, RILM news

Spoof articles

Many reference works for music—and presumably other topics—contain articles about fictitious characters. Sometimes writers for these works slyly slip them by their editors (an article on “Verdi, Lasagne” was almost typeset for printing in The new Grove dictionary); others are incorporated with the collusion of all parties.

For an example, look up Otto Jägermeier in Komponisten der Gegenwart (available through RILM music encyclopedias) or in Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart (available through MGG Online). You will find that Jägermeier composed, among other intriguing works, an opera called Der Idiot with a libretto by Fëdor Dostoevskij, and a work for solo clarinet called Psychosen. The name Jägermeier is a play on Jägermeister, a popular German cordial (above).

RILM is not above adding a spoof article or two to its database. Of course we won’t tell you which ones they are, but we’ll give you a hint: One includes a reference to the very real and wonderful Malcolm Bilson, who favors us with a Mozart concerto below.

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Filed under Curiosities, Humor, RILM

Podcasts

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Consistent with its mission to cover all types of publications about music, RILM is now abstracting and indexing podcasts.

Podcasts are serial digital media files that can be downloaded for use on local computers or portable media players. They are typically in audio or video formats, but they may involve other file formats as well.

RILM inaugurated its podcast coverage with Ethnomusicology today, which is published by the Society for Ethnomusicology; this open-access series features interviews with the authors of articles recently published in the society’s journal, Ethnomusicology.

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MGG Online

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The encyclopedia Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart is now available as an online database.

 MGG Online, a digital encyclopedia containing the entire second edition of Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart along with updated and new content, was launched on 1 November 2016 on a powerful platform with the most up-to-date search and browse functions, integrated translation, sortable works lists, and much more.

Further information is here.

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Helicopters in music encyclopedias

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The cross-volume search capacity of our new database RILM Music Encyclopedias offers some quirky surprises—for example, this resource currently includes nine different music-related articles with references to helicopters. These include entries on Madonna, Mickey Rooney, and the following excerpt from the article “Highland region of Papua New Guinea” in The Garland encyclopedia of world music:

“The texts [of girls’ coming-of age songs] address topics broadly sorted in four sets: daily routine, recalling netted bags (made by all women), sores (irritated by flies), and pleasure over good food (grown or gathered); unusual events, like sighting a helicopter, European missionaries’ arrival, and death in a hospital; desires, including the romantic, with meanings often hidden in metaphor, but also the adventuresome, like wanting to ride in a vehicle; and the coming-of-age performance itself speaking of dancing together, laughing together, and becoming adults.”

Above, an organization that searches for new species in Papua New Guinea by helicopter—perhaps the subject of the sighting; below, a performance by the Girl Guides Association of Papua New Guinea.

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Filed under Australia and Pacific islands, Curiosities, RILM