Bach, Johann Sebastian
See Guides to Composers and Their Works—J. S. Bach
Beethoven, Ludwig van
See Guides to Composers and Their Works—Beethoven
See Guides to Composers and Their Works—Berlioz
Handel, George Frideric
See Guides to Composers and Their Works—Handel
Haydn, Franz Joseph
See Guides to Composers and Their Works—Haydn
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus
See Guides to Composers and Their Works—Mozart
Brook, Barry S., and Richard Viano. Thematic Catalogs in Music: An Annotated Bibliography, 2d ed. Annotated Reference tools in Music, no. 5. Stuyvesant, N.Y.: Pendragon Press, 1997. Mus Ref ML 113 .B86 1997
Use: Annotated bibliography of thematic catalogs (i.e. any ‘catalog’ that may be of documentary significance).
Coverage: International coverage.
Annotated bibliography makes up the bulk of the text.
Appendix A- Manuscript thematic catalogs before 1830
Appendix B- Printed thematic catalogs before 1830
Appendix C- Catalogs recommended for use in uniform title references
Appendix D- Concert spirituals
Pros: Includes computer generated catalogs and some internet sites.
Cons: Lengthy, long winded introduction. Defines every aspect of the text.
Uses: Useful for studying thematic development in the orchestral works of composers, and for identifying a work by its theme.
Coverage: Covers selective early orchestral works to 20th century orchestral works.
Organization: Main body consists of ten thousand musical themes arranged by composer. Contains a notation index/theme finder for locating the work by the remembered theme.
Pros: Contains complete index of themes with every important theme in a work included.
Cons: No vocal works included, unless composed for orchestra. Ultramodern works not included. Certain works omitted because of unavailability of scores. Not complete.
Haberkamp, Getraut. Thematischer Katalog der Musikhandschriften: Sammlung Proske Manuskripte des 16. und 17. Jahrjunderts aus den Signaturen A.R., B, C, AN, vol 1. With a history by August Scharnagl and a forward by Paul Mai. Kataloge Bayerischer Musiksammlungen, 14 vols. Munchen: G. Henle Verlag, 1989. Mus Ref ML 136 .R33 B5 1989 vol. 1
Use: A cataloque or handwritten manuscripts from the 16th and 17th centuries.
Coverage: 16th and 17th century manuscripts from the European area (?).
Organization: Numerically organized in manuscript categories of A.R. (Antiquitates Musicae Ratisbonenses), B (Butsch), C (Continuatio der Sammlung Butsch), and AN (Antiquitates Novae). Includes a helpful list of abbreviations and two indexes: a title and text index, and a name and place index. Entries might include incipits of the music, the title, composer’s name, date it was written, information about the paper, originals, and copies.
Pros: Includes themes or incipits for most entries written in the manner of the original notation. Includes some very nice facsimiles.
Cons: All in German.
Use: A graded thematic guide to the standard repertoire for solo piano. Valuable for piano teachers of serious students.
Coverage: Listing of most of the solo piano pieces by Bach, Handel, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Mendelssohn, Schubert, and Schumann. Also includes some sonatinas by other composers such as Clementi.
Organization: Four volumes organized roughly chronologically by composer. Vol 1 covers Bach, Handel, Haydn, and lesser known composers, Vol. 2 covers Mozart and Beethoven, Vol. 3 covers Chopin and Mendelssohn, and Vol. 4 covers Schubert and Schumann. Each volume provides a chart that gives an overview of the pieces and gradings contained in that volume. Pieces are grouped by composer and are listed roughly in order of composition. Includes incipits of all movements of a piece, with a separate grading for each movement.
Pros: Fairly thorough and organized coverage of the standard solo piano repertoire. Easy to use. Includes both large and small scale works.
Use: Presents a thematic catalogue of the holdings of the Barry S. Brook Symphonic and Chamber Music Facsimile Archives.
Coverage: Only includes works found in the Barry S. Brook Archives, which have been assembled from libraries and collections worldwide. Is unique in its inclusion of lesser-known notated music. Includes autographs, manuscripts, and printed copies. Excludes symphonic and chamber works of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven. Not as comprehensive and more concise than The Symphony, 1720-1840 (does not include numerical explanations, modern scores, and recordings).
Organization: Preface followed by alphabetical index of composers. Main body organized alphabetically by composer; includes birth and death places and dates and a list of works in alphabetical order. Each work cited in the list also includes notated themes, list of movements, instrumentation, date, and source of score.
Use: To find compositions by Johannes Brahms.
Coverage: The known and available music of Johannes Brahms
Divided into two parts:
1 Thematic Catalog. Which is also divided into two sections, the first lists works with an opus number, the second lists those without opus numbers.
2 Catalogs and Index. Also divided into two parts, the first is a catalog by medium of performance. The other is alphabetical by title and first line of the vocal works.
Entries include opus number, title, dedications, musical incipits and other specifications fitting to the individual works.
Cons: Not up to date on posthumous publications of Brahms’s music.
Charteris, Richard. Giovanni Gabrielli: A Thematic Catalogue of His Music with a Guide to the Source Materials and Translations of His Vocal Texts. Thematic Catalogues, ed. Barry S. Brook, no. 20. Stuyresant, N.Y.: Pendragon Press, 1996. Mus Ref ML 134 .G11 C43 1996
Use: Thematic catalogue and guide to source materials regarding the music of Giovanni Gabrielli.
Coverage: The complete works of Giovanni Gabrielli, both published and unpublished. Information on first prints, manuscript sources, as well as modern editions is given. Translations of his vocal text are included.
Organization: Abbreviations listed. The order of chapters and entries follows the order found in the author’s 12 volume edition of Gabrielli’s complete works. Chapters 1-4 contain his motets and madrigals, arranged by their appearance in early prints. Chapters 5, 6,and 10; incomplete motets and madrigals, instrumental works, and contrafacta pieces, are arranged alphabetically. Chapters 7and 8 discuss instrumental ensemble works. Chapter 9 lists keyboard works by genre. Chapters 11 and 12 deal with works that have either doubtful or spurious ascriptions to Gabrielli. For all of the above entries, early print information, manuscript sources, modern editions, indexes, text used, and a brief commentary are provided. A concordance with Egon Keaton’s thematic index is included, along with a discography, list of facsimiles, and bibliography. Indexes included are arranged separately by title, numerical order, textual origin and liturgical use, and by names of other people mentioned in the catalogue.
Pros: Black and white illustrations. Thematic incipits for each entry. Discography.
Sherman, Charles H., and T. Donley Thomas. Johann Michael Haydn (1737-1806): A Chronological Thematic Catalogue of His Works. Thematic Catalogues, no. 17. Stuyvesant, N.Y.: Pendragon Press, 1993. Mus Ref ML 134 .H28 A33 1993
Use: For student or scholar seeking for certain works of Johann Michael Haydn or to find out information on a specific piece.
Coverage: Covers Haydn’s music found in the initial survey of holdings from the former Esterházy collection (found in the National Széchényi Library in Budapest, T. Donley Thomas’ work done on information about the authentic copies and secondary source material, as well as Charles Sherman’s data concerning the known surviving autographs.
Organization: One of the main influences of the Catalogue’s organization was the significant thematic catalogues compiled near the time of his death by Nikolaus Lang and Werigand Rettensteiner (see preface). These thematic catalogues provided dates for a number of his works. Works that shared a common, non-specific date were given the following criteria of placement in the book: vocal works precede those for instruments alone: sacred works appear before secular ones; Latin-texted works come before those in the vernacular. In every category, works that are larger come before smaller ones. Where a chronological block includes many works of the same genre, these are arranged either alphabetically by title, or in order of their keys (ascending from C, major and minor). Works in sets were given in the order in which they usually appeared in manuscripts of the time. Entries are arranged chronologically by date. For exceptions or eluded dates see the above paragraph under Coverage or the preface. Each entry includes a musical incipit of the principle melodic voice of the movement, the title of the work, date and place of composition, types and numbers of instruments, other catalogues where it is included, and information on autograph manuscripts (for other criteria for invalid scores, see preface). Most entries include a list of other editions. Final sections include a list of late additions entitled Addenda, pictures of the watermarks used on the manuscript scores and copyist scores, as well as a bibliography, an index of first lines and titles, an index of works cross-referenced to Klafsky, and to Perger (preface notes for bibliographic information on these authors and the book cross-referenced to).
Pros: Thorough Preface, helpful indexes. Watermarks helpful for additional research.
Cons: Some abbreviations are not noted anywhere in the book. Organization is difficult to understand.
Use: Useful for scholars studying the collective works of Johann Joachim Quantz.
Coverage: Covers the works of Johann Joachim Quantz from 1708-1773. Includes his years in Merseburg, Dresden, and Potsdam.
Organization: Six sections: Variation for Flute, other Instruments, and Continuo; Sonata for two Instruments and Continuo; Work for three Flutes with Continuo; Concert for Flute, two Violins, Viola and Continuo; Concert for two Flute, Strings, and Continuo; and Vocal Works. Each entry is organized by QV number, includes the title, incipit, tonality, tempos, number of measures, duration of piece, references to the work in other sources, and author’s remarks.
Pros: Includes a single line incipit for each movement along with tempo markings.
Review: Delius, Nikolaus. Tibia, no. 11 (1986): 48-49.
Deutsch, Otto Erich. Franz Schubert Thematisches Verzeichinis seiner Werke in chronologischer Folge. In Franz Schubert: Neue Ausgabe samtlicher Werke, serie VIII, supplement band 4. Kassel: Barenreiter, 1978. Mus Ref ML 134 .S38 D48 1978
Use: This thematic index provides information related to Schubert’s music. One might find detailed descriptions of autograph, holograph or manuscript versions as well as valuable attributation material. For searching Schubert’s music via title or thematic incipits.
Coverage: Any composition attributed to Franz Schubert, current to 1978. Includes some spurious works or items in need of examination to validate origin.
Organization: Entries by date of composition. Preface/introduction in English. Includes instrumental/vocal music cross reference/index.
Pros: Thematic incipits easy to read and well placed (space used nicely). Entries are thorough and contain a variety of information (see organization).
Cons: Reference is dated, and is in need of an addendum to include clarifications found since 1978.
Use: Thematic Catalog. This resource is a thorough reference to works (compositions) attributed to Antonio Vivaldi. Using a theme-oriented navigation, RV numbering system cross reference, or genre-based table of contents, one may locate sufficient information about any composition (see coverage for specifics). Identifying original editions, original instrumentation and etc.
Coverage: Any composition attributed to Antonio Vivaldi, current to 1986. Includes some spurious works or items in need of examination to validate origin. Entries may include information on autographs, printed versions, editions, dates of printing, cataloging of such and so forth.
Organization: The book is organized as follows: Preface (French, English, German), Introduction, addenda, bibliographies, abbreviations, Collections of Printed Manuscripts, Collections of Printed Manuscripts with Opus Numbers, Collections of Printed Manuscripts without Opus Numbers. The Instrumental Compositions, Veu D’Ensembles des Composition Instrumentales (a table listing the pieces according to the labeling system and the RV numbers), then the Individual Compositions. On page LVII a key to the Repétoire is provided. The key gives detailed explanations to the systematic labeling, RV numbers and how the pieces are organized. Basically, pieces are organized into categories based on instrumentation, the key of the work, and the meter. The individual pieces show the RV number and the systematic number, the piece title, the instrumentation, a musical incipit of the work, a description of the source, whether it is an autograph copy or not, the score’s location (town, library, shelf #), the number of leaves, the number of pages, format and dimensions, other indications of the instrumentation on the actual score, score organization, printed sources, and the other catalogs in which the pieces are identified (Fuch, Bachman, Rinaldi, Pincherl, Fanna). The catalog includes a concordance to the other catalogs mentioned (Fuch, Bachman, Rinaldi, Pincherl, Fanna) and three indexes; Index of: Titles; Vocal Works; Names. The table of contents is in the back of the catalog.
Pros: An excellent source for information related to the compositions of Antonio Vivaldi. Very comprehensive and well constructed (multiple means of navigation).
Cons: May need an addendum or supplement.
Craggs, Stewart R. William Walton: A Thematic Catalogue of his Musical Works. With a critical appreciation by Michael Kennedy. London, New York and Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1977. Mus Ref ML 134 .W25 A13
Use: Provides easy identification of and information on the music of William Walton. Helps in locating materials for performance of and research on Walton's music.
Coverage: Includes all compositions and arrangements of William Walton as known at the time of publication.
Organization: Thematic catalogue proceeded by critical appreciation, introductory notes and acknowledgments. Compositions organized chronologically. Each entry includes selected information on the following: instrumentation, duration, length (in measures), name of the person to whom the work is dedicated, first performance, location of the manuscript, related bibliographical citations, recordings, revised editions, who commissioned the piece, the London premiere. Includes incipits. Catalogue followed by general bibliography, classified list and index of works, and general index.
Pro: Excellent indexing makes it easy to locate information quickly.
Con: Current only through 1977.
Use: Aids in locating materials for performance of and research on the music of William Walton. Revision of the 1977 thematic catalogue.
Coverage: Aims to be a comprehensive and definitive source of musical and documentary information relating to Walton's life and work.
Organization: Begins with introduction, acknowledgments, and compiler's note. Catalogue organized chronologically by work. Does not include printed examples of the works listed. Each work given a catalogue number (Craggs number). Includes information on composition date, commissioner of the work, instrumentation, first performance, London premiere, publication details, location of autograph score, a bibliography, a discography and notes. Ends with a bibliography, an alphabetical list of works, a classified index of works, and a general index.
Pros: More complete than the 1977 version.
Cons: Lack of incipits limits access to information.