Research Resources

This page is a directory of Grove Music Online articles that offer overviews of scholarly resources, including Printed and Manuscript Sources and Music Insitutions to help guide you to key research materials


Printed and Manuscript Sources

Congress Reports

An article summarizing the history of the musical congress report, followed by a list of published congress reports, from 1860 to 1998, with full publication details. The list is arranged chronologically.

Dictionaries and Encyclopedias

A comprehensive article discussing the history of music lexicography, followed by a list of more than 1650 works of music reference, ranging from the Old Babylonian period (c. 1800 BCE) to the end of the 20th century. The list is arranged chronologically. This article also includes a link to the "Dictionaries and Guides" article in The New Grove Dictionary of Opera.

Editions

A summary of the modern history of collected editions followed by a list of editions of music, subdivided in three parts: (1) Editions of the complete works of a single composer; (2) Multi-volume editions devoted to unified musical repertory; (3) Anthologies of selections and excerpts from a variety of musical sources.

Periodicals 

A general account of music periodicals and their history, followed by a comprehensive list of music periodicals from 1722 to the present. The list is arranged by continent and country. This article also includes a link to a specialized list of periodicals in The New Grove Dictionary of Opera.

Sources, Manuscript

A review of the character and repertory of the main classes of manuscript in use before 1600, arranged by subject matter and also chronologically. The text is interspersed with descriptions of the major individual sources. After a general introduction, the text is divided by period, region, and genre in eight parts: Western plainchant; Secular monophony; Organum and discant; Early motet; English polyphony, 1270–1400; French polyphony, 1300–1420; Italian polyphony, c. 1325–c. 1420; Renaissance polyphony.

Sources of Instrumental Ensemble Music to 1630

A review of the principal sources up to 1630 of music for two or more instruments (excluding two or more keyboards, lutes and other chordal instruments) to play together without the voice. The text is interspersed with descriptions of the major individual sources. After a general introduction, the list is organized geographically in six parts: Italy, France, Germany, Netherlands, Spain and Portugal, British Isles.

Sources of Keyboard Music to 1660

A review of sources of keyboard music up to c. 1660. The text is interspersed with descriptions of the major individual sources. After a general introduction, the article is organized geographically in six parts: Italy, France, Germany, Eastern Europe and Scandinavia, The Netherlands, Spain and Portugal.

Sources of Lute Music

A review of the manuscript and printed sources of music for the lute. The text is interspersed with descriptions of the major individual sources. After a general introduction, the article is organized geographically in eight parts: Italian sources to c. 1680; Central European sources to c. 1650; French sources, 1529–99; Vihuela sources, 1536–76; The Low Countries, c. 1545–1626; English lute music; French sources, 1600–99; Central European sources after c. 1650.

Institutions

Collections, Private

A comprehensive listing of collections of printed and manuscript music and letters of composers and musicians, books, and theoretical works still in private hands. The material is divided in two parts: "Current Collections" lists those still in the process of formation, and "Historical Collections" lists those that have reached a final destination (as far as can be ascertained) or have now been dispersed.

Festival

An article summarizing the history of the festival from its ancient origins to the present day, followed by a selective list of non-competitive music festivals that have achieved international significance. The list is organized alphabetically by country, and within that, by city and name of festival. This article also includes a link to the list of opera festivals in The New Grove Dictionary of Opera.

Instruments, Collections of

An overview of the history of instrument collecting, followed by a list of collections containing 30 or more musical instruments, and occasionally those with smaller numbers of particularly significant instruments or with a specific theme.

Libraries

An overview of the history, types, and functions of music libraries, followed by a list of institutional libraries containing source materials of Western music. Each entry includes a brief description of the library’s holdings, an address, and any relevant bibliography. This article also includes a link to the list of institutions holding material relating to opera in The New Grove Dictionary of Opera.

Sound Archives

An overview of the history, types and functions of sound and audio-visual archives, followed by a list of such archives with significant musical holdings, arranged geographically.