Histoire de la Notation Musicale Depuis ses Origines

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Fred G. Unn
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Histoire de la Notation Musicale Depuis ses Origines

Post by Fred G. Unn »

So some of you may know I collect style guides and books on notation, and I just made a sort of grail purchase! For a bit of a backstory, in 1878 and 1882 there were 2 very important books on the history of notation published: Studien zur Geschichte der Notenschrift by Hugo Riemann in 1878 (German), and then Histoire de la Notation Musicale Depuis ses Origines by Ernest David and Mathis Lussy in 1882 (French). I just received an original copy of Histoire signed by one of the authors, Mathis Lussy! Here are a few pics:

Image

Image

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As it's softcover, it's very fragile so I doubt I'll be opening it often. Google Books has a PDF scan of a library edition anyone is curious, but I can't imagine there are many other signed copies (if any) floating around out there.
bophead
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Re: Histoire de la Notation Musicale Depuis ses Origines

Post by bophead »

Congratulation, I like old books from the 19th century because of their clear typography.

BTW there is a better scan (signé aussi par M. Lussy) from Brigham Young University
https://archive.org/details/histoiredel ... i/mode/2up

Looking through the pages I was wondering if the staff examples were set in movable type or engraved. They look different from the typical movable type notations I have seen. On the other hand I recently found some piece of sheet music on the internet archive that was obviously set in movable type and looked much more sophisticated than the typical examples I had seen before. I will post it if I find the bookmark. I think it was piano music.
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John Ruggero
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Re: Histoire de la Notation Musicale Depuis ses Origines

Post by John Ruggero »

Judging from the smoothness of the staff lines under high magnification, one would think it was engraved. It would be interesting to see the moveable type example you mentioned. Does it look better than this:

https://s9.imslp.org/files/imglnks/usim ... elehre.pdf
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bophead
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Re: Histoire de la Notation Musicale Depuis ses Origines

Post by bophead »

I think it was this one from 1908 with a nice art nouveau cover:

https://archive.org/details/dieornament ... s/mode/2up

I had seen a lot of song books, hymn books and tons of banjo schools on the internet archive set in movable type and had thought that technology was only usable for simpler tasks before seeing this one dealing with musical ornaments.
bophead
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Re: Histoire de la Notation Musicale Depuis ses Origines

Post by bophead »

Fred G. Unn wrote: 13 Mar 2022, 00:45 So some of you may know I collect style guides and books on notation
Got this one already? ;)

https://archive.org/details/elementsnot ... ew=theater

I realized there are quite a few different movable music typefaces, but I think the one in this book is the one I have come across most often with its typical inverted bass clef:

https://archive.org/details/elementsnot ... ew=theater
bophead
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Re: Histoire de la Notation Musicale Depuis ses Origines

Post by bophead »

This one has beautiful text typography and rather basic movable type notation.

https://archive.org/details/catechismof ... ew=theater

Someone was bored in class LOL

https://archive.org/details/catechismof ... ew=theater

I had never seen a quarter rest written like that but Englisch wiki has it as an alternative, too:

https://archive.org/details/catechismof ... ew=theater
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Fred G. Unn
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Re: Histoire de la Notation Musicale Depuis ses Origines

Post by Fred G. Unn »

bophead wrote: 13 Mar 2022, 19:50 I think it was this one from 1908 with a nice art nouveau cover:
I hadn't seen that one before! Very cool cover! The typeface isn't as interesting but I have this one from 1903:
Image
bophead wrote: 13 Mar 2022, 20:12 Got this one already? ;)

https://archive.org/details/elementsnot ... ew=theater
I actually thought I did, but I guess I just had a PDF that I had downloaded. If anyone is interested in looking into in any of the following, here's my list of what I actually physically have. All are original except where noted as a reprint or PDF. (The PDFs are only listed when I've never seen an actual physical copy)

Essential
Gould, Elaine. Behind Bars. Faber Music, 2011.
Read, Gardner. Music Notation: A Manual of Modern Practice. Taplinger Pub. Co., 1979.
Ross, Ted. The Art of Music Engraving & Processing. Hansen Books, 1970.
Stone, Kurt. Music Notation in the Twentieth Century. W.W. Norton & Co., 1980.

Essential Hand Copying
Roemer, Clinton. The Art of Music Copying, 2nd ed. Roerick Music, 1985.
Williams, Ken J. Music Preparation: A Guide to Music Copying. Ken J. Williams Publications, 1980. (2 different copies, 1 perfect binding, 1 ring)

General Notation
A-R Editions, Inc. Style Guide. A-R Editions, Inc., 1999. (PDF only)
Boehm, Laszlo. Modern Music Notation: A Reference and Textbook. Schirmer Books, 1961.
Bray, David. Boosey & Hawkes Style Guide, 2nd ed. Boosey & Hawkes Music Pub., 2010.
Bussler, Ludwig. Elements of Notation and Harmony, 5th ed. G. Schirmer, 1890.
Button, H. Elliot. System in Musical Notation. Novello, 1920. (Library copy, reprint date unknown)
Chlapik, Herbert. Die Praxis des Notengraphikers. Doblinger, 1987.
Cole, Hugo. Sounds and Signs: Aspects of Musical Notation. Oxford UP, 1974.
Feist, Jonathan. Berklee Contemporary Music Notation. Berklee Press, 2017.
G. Schirmer. The G. Schirmer/AMP Manual of Style and Usage. G. Schirmer/Associated Music Publishers, 2009.
Gehrkens, Karl W. Music Notation and Terminology. A.S. Barnes Co., 1914.
Gerou, Tom, and Linda Lusk. Essential Dictionary of Music Notation. Alfred Pub. Co., 1996.
Gerou, Tom, and Linda Lusk. Alfred’s Essentials of Music Notation. Alfred Pub. Co., 2009.
Major Orchestra Librarians’ Association Publications Committee. MOLA Guidelines for Music Preparation. Major Orchestra Librarians’ Association, 2017. (PDF only)
Music Publishers’ Association. Standard Music Notation Practice. Music Publishers’ Association, 1993.
Nicholl, Matthew and Richard Grudzinski. Music Notation: Preparing Scores and Parts. Berklee Press, 2007.
Powell, Steven. Music Engraving Today. Brichtmark Music, 2002.
Read, Gardner. Modern Rhythmic Notation. Indiana UP, 1978.
Rosenthal, Carl A. Practical Guide to Music Notation for Composers, Arrangers and Editors. MCM Music, 1967.
Universal Edition. Product Design Standards. Universal Edition, 2010. (PDF only)
Wood, Dale. Hemidemisemiquavers … and Other Such Things: A Concise Guide to Music Notation. Heritage Music Press, 1989.

Hand Copying
Boustead, Alan. Writing Down Music: A Practical Guide to Preparing Music Manuscript. Oxford UP, 1975.
Donato, Anthony. Preparing Music Manuscript. Prentice-Hall Inc., 1963.
Heussenstamm, George. The Norton Manual of Music Notation. W.W. Norton & Co., 1987.
Jacob, Archibald. Musical Handwriting, 2nd ed. Oxford UP, 1960.
Johnson, Harold M. How to Write Music Manuscript: An Exercise–Method Handbook. Carl Fischer, 1946.
Mender, Mona. Music Manuscript Preparation: A Concise Guide. Scarecrow Press, 1991.
Rosencrans, Glen. A Music Notation Primer, 4th ed. Glen Rose, 2002.

Historical
Apel, Willi. The Notation of Polyphonic Music 900-1600, 5th ed. Mediaeval Academy of America, 1961.
Barksdale, A. Beverly. The Printed Note: 500 Years of Music Printing and Engraving. Toledo Museum of Art, 1957. Da Capo Press, 1981.
Craig, Jean. The Story of Musical Notes. Lerner Pub. Co., 1962.
David, Ernest and Mathis Lussy. Histoire de la Notation Musicale Depuis ses Origines. Paris, L’Imprimerie Nationale, 1882. (Signed by Lussy)
Hader, Karl. Aus der Werkstatt eines Notenstechers. Waldheim-Eberle, 1948.
Gamble, William. Music Engraving and Printing. London, 1923. Arno Press, 1979.
King, A. Hyatt. Four Hundred Years of Music Printing. The British Museum, 1968.
Kelly, Thomas Forrest. Capturing Music: The Story of Notation. W.W. Norton & Co., 2015.
Krummel, D.W. and Stanley Sadie. Music Printing and Publishing. W.W. Norton & Co., 1990.
Meyer, Kathi, and Eva Judd O’Meara. “The Printing of Music.” The Dolphin, No. 2, 1935, pp. 171–207.
Rastall, Richard. The Notation of Western Music. St. Martin’s Press, 1982.
Williams, C.F. Abdy. The Story of Notation. Walker Scott Pub. Co., 1903.
Winternitz, Emanuel. Musical Autographs: From Monteverdi to Hindemith. Princeton UP, 1955. Dover Pub., 1965, 2 vols.

Modern
Boretz, Benjamin and Edward T. Cone. Perspectives on Notation and Performance. W.W. Norton & Co., 1976.
Cope, David. New Music Notation. Kendall/Hunt Pub. Co., 1976.
Dimpker, Christian. Extended Notation: The Depiction of the Unconventional. Lit Verlag, 2013.
Karkoschka, Erhard. Das Schriftbild der Neuen Musik. Moeck, 1966.
Read, Gardner. Pictographic Score Notation: A Compendium. Greenwood Press, 1998.
Risatti, Howard. New Music Vocabulary: A Guide to Notational Signs for Contemporary Music. University of Illinois Press, 1975.
Valle, Andrea. Contemporary Music Notation: Semiotic and Aesthetic Aspects. De Sono, 2018.

Related Works With Some Notation Info
Berger, David, Christian Dancy and Marc Schwartz. Streamlined Sibelius. Such Sweet Thunder, 2022.
Grenet, Emílío. Musica Popular Cubana. Carasa y Cía., 1939. (Purchased in Havana, Cuba Dec. 2010. Reprint date unknown.)
Mancini, Henry. Sounds and Scores. Northridge Music, 1962.
Messiaen, Oliver. The Technique of my Musical Language. Alphonse Leduc, 1966.
Playford, John. An Introduction to the Skill of Musick, 12th ed. London, 1694. Da Capo, 1972.
Sebesky, Don. The Contemporary Arranger, Definitive Edition. Alfred Pub. Co., 1994.
Solomon, Samuel Z. How to Write for Percussion: A Comprehensive Guide to Percussion Composition, 2nd ed. Oxford UP, 2016.
Tufte, Edward R. Envisioning Information. Graphics Press LLC, 1990.
Uribe, Ed. The Essence of Afro-Cuban Percussion & Drum Set. Warner Bros., 1996.
Uribe, Ed. The Essence of Brazilian Percussion & Drum Set. Warner Bros., 1993.
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John Ruggero
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Re: Histoire de la Notation Musicale Depuis ses Origines

Post by John Ruggero »

The Beischlag is even better than the Schenkeran and closer to engraving. Much better clefs and noteheads.

Great list, Fred! Thanks.
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