The Critical Editing of Music

by Grier

This is the first book to provide an introduction to music editing, including the history of the field, and the issues and problems encountered. The preparation of editions for performance and study is one of the most important activities and contributions of the music scholar to cultural life. Through accessible editions, previously unknown music enters the repertoire, while well-known works receive fresh interpretations. Through a series of test cases, James Grier examines music editing from the early music repertoire to contemporary works, including a number of genres from opera to the symphony. Grier also examines the future of music editing and its application on CD-ROM and related electronic media.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction

267 pages, Paperback

First published August 15, 1996

Reviews

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grier presents an excellent overview of the editorial process for creating "critical editions" of music. The information could be broken into a few separate volumes treating the specific problems of early music (say before 1600, especially, or perhaps 1750) and common practice music, with more information for each (although there would no doubt be much duplication in such a pair of books). Nevertheless the content is solid and students of both periods would be well served by a read. The Epilogue and Appendices are particularly useful offering examples and further information on the subject. Finally the bibliography is a great source for pearl fishing.

If there's one complaint it's that after about 20 years a 2nd edition would be welcome addressing the increased presence of digital editions on the market.

[Antonio Santoyo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Con el advenimiento de la era digital, una gran cantidad de ediciones de música, tanto antiguas como modernas ha sido puesta a disposición de intérpretes y estudiosos por igual; revelando una diversidad inesperada que nos permite comparar versiones diferentes de una misma obra, a veces a uno o dos clicks de distancia.
Por ello no hace falta ser un editor profesional de música para beneficiarse enormemente de este volumen, el cual pude leer gracias a la generosidad del Dr. Gustavo Martín, pues debido a su altísimo costo no hubiera sido posible de otro modo.
En el libro se abordan los procesos relevantes que gobiernan el proceso de convertir un manuscrito musical, o varios, en un texto útil y accesible para el intérprete y el investigador, recuperando hasta donde es posible la idea y el concepto del compositor. La tesis más importante del volumen es que el editor debe llevar a cabo un ejercicio crítico (que involucra no solamente conocimientos de la escritura y la semántica musicales, sino también del estilo, la historia y los métodos de trabajo del compositor) para tener éxito, y sobre esa base desarrolla los diversos métodos para la obtención y clasificación de las fuentes, su división en jerarquías y, finalmente, la selección y el orden en el que los materiales han de aparecer en la edición final.
He de volver a menudo a sus páginas en los meses por venir.

[Thomas Feng · Rating 3 out of 5]

much helpful content especially when describing general guiding principles. the examples, however, become very cumbersome (esp the chapter on stemmatic filiation) and Grier’s habit of enumerating general principles in branching lists feels redundant and tiresome. furthermore, though Grier claims not to write a prescriptive style guide, the later sections of the book do suggest (not unhelpfully) some such prescriptions. rather pedantic writing on really fascinating work