A Computer-Produced Thematic Catalog: The "Pièces de Violes" of Marin Marais

A Computer-Produced Thematic Catalog: The "Pièces de Violes" of Marin MaraisAuthor(s): GARRETT H. BOWLESSource: Fontes Artis Musicae, Vol. 26, No. 2 (1979 April-Juni), pp. 102-107Published by: International Association of Music Libraries, Archives, and Documentation Centres(IAML)Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/23505699 .

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102 IAML Annual Conference 1978 in Lisbon

GARRETT H. BOWLES (PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA)

A Computer-Produced Thematic Catalog: The "Pièces de Violes" of Marin Marais

A computer-generated thematic cataloging system called the Thematic Catalog Automated Transcription (or TCAT) system has as its first product a thematic catalog of

the Pieces de violes of Marin Marais. Developed as research for my doctoral dissertation, the system is in use at the Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics at Stan

ford University in California.1 The TCAT system reduces the tedious aspects of preparing thematic catalogs for publication, and eliminates the expensive process of engraving music.

It is the first system to achieve these goals through the manipulation of computer-encoded musical notation to produce indexes, incipits in musical notation, and pages automatically

designed in final format. Its product is a thematic catalog ready for printing. Since the late 1940's, the potential for utilizing computers to eliminate much of the

drudgery inherent in compiling thematic catalogs while maintaining a high degree of

accuracy, has been recognized by many musicologists. The first instance of a computer used to assist the indexing of music was reported by Bertrand H. Bronson in 1949.2

Although not a true thematic catalog, The Traditional Tunes of the Child Ballads (Prince

ton, N.J., 1959-1972) presents the results of that study. While periodic progress reports on a number of computer-aided thematic cataloging and indexing projects have appeared,

only five catalogs or indexes have been published. The first true thematic catalog produced by computer was compiled by Jan LaRue and

Marian W. Cobin.3 Using Plaine and Easie code, their thematic catalog of 111 incipits

(derived from an 18th-century manuscript advertisement of music for sale or copy by

Filipp Ruge) was produced as a demonstration of one method of preparing small thematic

catalogs for direct photo-offset reproduction. Their conclusion points out an important advantage of computer generated catalogs:

One of the most important savings here is in scholarly time: once the input cards have been proof read and corrected, the scholar's time is finished - no longer need he go through this maddening task a second time, possibly even a third time, if he reads both galley and page proof. Furthermore, from the same set of cards, without further expense of scholarly time, one can produce many further manipula tions of the material, notably a locator arrangement by the melodic design of the incipits.

Unfortunately, LaRue and Cobin did not provide a thematic locator, and there have been no further published catalogs utilizing their scheme.

A thematic index in which only textual elements were manipulated by computer was

compiled by Emanuel Leo Rubin as an adjunct to his dissertation on the English glee.4 Five indexes were produced; the principal one presents a numbered index of approxi

1 I wish to thank the Trustees and Directors of the Stanford Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and the Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics for their generous support of computer time and facilities for this project. 1 Bertrand H. Bronson, Mechanical Help in the Study of Folk Song, in: Journal of American Folklore 62 (1949), p. 81-86. 3 Jan LaRue and Marian W. Cobin, The Ruge-Seignelay Catalogue: an Excercise in Automated Entries, in: Elektronische Datenverarbeitung in der Musikwissenschaft, ed. by Harald Heckmann (Regensburg: G. Bosse, 1967), p. 41—56. " Emanual Leo Rubin, The English Glee from William Hayes to William Horsley, (Ph.D. dissertation: University of Pittsbuigh, 1968).



IAML Annual Conference 1978 in Lisbon 103

mately 2,600 individual glees alphabetized by first line of poetry. Incipits were drawn by

hand, and music was not encoded into the computer. A thematic index to Mozart's works was published by George R. Hill and Murray

Gould.s More than 4,400 incipits were encoded in Plaine and Easie code, without rhythm. This is the first published index based upon musical characteristics produced by a

computer. It contains two indexes printed in Plaine and Easie code. The first is arranged

by increasing interval size beginning with unisons followed by descending intervals and

then ascending intervals. The second index is sorted by pitch name after each incipit is

transposed to begin on the note C.

A computer-based thematic index to the works of Heinrich Schütz was compiled by Robert Lee Patrick.6 He developed a system that included the first line of text for vocal

music and the melodic incipit. The pitches of the 1,933 opening outer parts of Schütz's

works were entered on cards using a coding scheme developed by Franklin B. Zimmer

man. There are two indexes: one arranged alphabetically by title and the other arranged by interval beginning with the smallest and progressing to the largest. The interval index

actually uses abbreviated names, e.g., MIN 2, and is therefore easily used.

The most recently published computer-produced thematic index was compiled by Franklin B. Zimmerman.7 Approximately 3,000 vocal and instrumental incipits of the

works of Henry Purcell are indexed in two sequences. The incipits, like those in the two

previously mentioned indexes, lack rhythm. The first index is arranged by pitch after the

incipits have been transposed to C major-minor. The second is an interval index using a

number notation based upon a cumbersome 31-interval scale developed in an attempt to

account for double flats and sharps. It should be apparent that the use of the computer to compile thematic catalogs or

indexes is still in its infancy. No standardized input language has been adopted, nor is

there any agreement on arrangement of incipits; the resulting display has generally been

limited to a code which stands between the catalog's user and the incipit. Before going into more detail, I would like to point out a few of the preliminary

considerations which must be taken into account in employing the computer to compile a thematic catalog, using the Marais catalog as my frame of reference. The basic content

of the catalog must first be defined; in this instance, works for viola da gamba and

continuo published over a forty-year period were chosen. The five books contain 593

pieces, which are often performed in sequences other than those stipulated in the original

publications. A thematic catalog ovbiously facilitates access to these popular works. The

catalog includes listings of the various issues of the works. Marais published five volumes

of his own works, and Estienne Roger in Amsterdam republished the first four books

during the composer's lifetime. In addition, Marais re-issued his pieces from the original

plates, and some contain corrections or changes. A knowledge of the many issues should

assist in the preparation of modern editions of these pieces. The notational convention used in the catalog is an important consideration. Marais's

Pièces follow the conventions of the late 17th and early 18th centuries, and several

significant differences from contemporary practice had to be resolved. My catalog follows

a middle course: alto and soprano C-clefs and the original "incomplete" time and key

signatures are retained. Beaming is modernized, figures are placed below the continuo

part, and ornaments appear above the gamba part. Marais heavily edited his own pieces:

s George R. Hill and Murray Gould, A Thematic Locator for Mozart's Works as Listed in Koechel's

'Chronologisch-Thematisches Verzeichnis' - Sixth Edition (Hackensack, N.J.: J. Boonin, 1970). ' Robert Lee Patrick, A Computer-Based Thematic Index to the Works of Heinrich Schütz (D.M.A. thesis: University of Kentucky, 1971). 7 Franklin B. Zimmerman, Henry Purcell, 1659-1695: Melodic and Intervalle Indexes to his

Complete works (Philadelphia: Smith-Edwards-Dunlap, 1975).




fingering indications and ornaments which indicate performance style have been

excluded, while the trill, mordant, and grace note have been retained. Excepting the grace

note, they are represented by modern symbols. Determination of a numbering scheme and over-all organization of the catalog was

another initial consideration. Since only published works were being cataloged, the order

of publication was followed. Marais did not number the pieces in the first book, although he did number those in the succeeding books. The numbers which he had assigned were

therefore retained, and his system extended to the first book. Each of Marais's publica

tions, becaùse of its length, comprises a chapter in the thematic catalog. A chapter begins with a listing of the editions and issues which were published during Marais's lifetime, followed by multi-staffed incipits of the pieces. Associated with each incipit is a citation

to the pages within the Paris and Amsterdam editions, and references to sound recordings. The catalog also contains a discography of all 78 rpm recordings and those 33-1/3

rpm recordings issued only in the U.S. A suite index for all five books follows the arrange ment of the fourth book (the only book in which suites are specified). A title index is so

permuted that access is available through any word in the title. There are two thematic

locators: one is by interval, using single staff incipits of all parts, and arranged by interval

size, beginning with the largest ascending interval and progressing to the largest descending interval. Rests and unisons are ignored, and incipits are presented in their original keys. The second thematic locator is by meter, arranged by time signature, key, and interval

size, and including only the single staff incipits of the gamba parts. Once the general outline of the catalog was determined, the musical data was translat

ed into a notation upon which the computer could operate and entered into the com

puter. The computer processed the data and prepared it for printing. The remainder of this paper will describe that process.

To process incipits theTCAT system uses an internal notation designed to be efficiently manipulated by the computer. It is, however, inefficient for people to use. One of the initial explorations in the creation of TCAT involved the development of a music character

recognition system to transcribe music directly into the computer's internal notation

using a television camera for input. However, it was abandoned as the input system for the Marais works because of mechanical problems which resulted in very slow transcrip tion. Those problems will continue to be reviewed, with the expectation that they will

finally be resolved.

The TCAT system uses a specially designed simple input notation. After reviewing the

major input codes DARMS, Plaine and Easie, and SCORE, a modification of the SCORE code was chosen, based upon several considerations: SCORE is a simple mnemonic

coding system; it is the language I am most familiar with; and it is the one utilized at Stanford University and in other computer sound generating systems. However, it is a

multi-pass transcription system which is not very efficient for the transcription of incipits. By modifying SCORE into a single pass coding system, we obtained a general-purpose translator which can be easily modified to accept single-pass transcription systems. The TCAT system will be expanded to accept other coding systems, depending upon the codes most familiar to its users.

In addition, using the SCORE transcription system and specific notational conventions allowed many shortcuts in translating music to computer data. (See Example 1 for a complete encoding of an incipit.) The TCAT system, for example, automatically places bar-lines. No indication is necessary unless there is an anacrusis, in which case the simple notation "M" shows the beginning of the first full bar. Stem direction and placement of

8 Leland C. Smith, SCORE, a Musician's Approach to Computer Music, in: Journal of the Audio Engineering Society 20 (1972), p. 7-14.




beams or slurs are also automatically determined in the TCAT system. Therefore a short

line of code is all that is needed to describe each line of music in the incipit.

Example 1

l:15/Sarabande/T3 EGP21, A10;

KB/4D4X/A3->/GWG(2CS-»/4DW2G: D; g2) 8F, /E/4FX/2BFX/4E* CP 12, A6. RMHS 1809.

KB/2. D3, 6F: 4/2CS6: 5F/4D/2. G2F, 6*

The TCAT system automatically combines the viola da gamba and continuo parts into

score format by creating a separate line, or spine (which is later deleted from the incipit), consisting of a conglomeration of the rhythmic attack points of all parts. This basic

rhythmic skeleton is then used to determine the optimum spacing for the parts. The input process itself consisted of transcribing approximately the first three meas

ures of the pieces in each part book. The input was done directly at the CRT terminal

from a photocopy of the appropriate part book. A system editor allows the editing of the

data as it is entered. The material is then processed by a special editor program which

insures that the music is syntactically correct, and that the same number of beats appears in each part. A proof of the incipits is then run from the computer so that one can com

pare the incipit in musical notation with the original edition. The editing process consists

of making corrections and changes in the SCORE code and then generating proofs to

compare with the original edition until errors have been eliminated.

Once a data base of correct SCORE code existed, the thematic catalog was produced.

(See Example 2 for a sample page.) Each incipit was generated using the MS program embodied as part of the TCAT system.9 MS graphically produces music notation which

can be displayed upon a terminal screen (CRT), drawn by a plotter, or drawn by a Xerox

Graphic Printer (XGP). The music displayed on the CRT facilitates editing. Some of the

complex incipits required manual adjustment: one type of manual editing involved raising or lowering a slur's "dip" to avoid overlapping other symbols.

A problem with the MS program, which has since been remedied, was the placement of

textual data onto the incipit. A special incipit editing program in the TCAT system auto

matically places the title, tempo indication, figured bass, and source notes within each

incipit. In addition, it also makes appropriate adjustments to grace notes and to soprano clefs.

Another program in the TCAT system was used to automatically produce each page for printing by taking the appropriate incipits and determining how many should appear on each page, the spacing between incipits so they are justified on the page, and the

running head on each page, including appropriate page numbers. Pages were then pro duced on the XGP.

One problem in the process is the quality of the reproduction. The XGP has a resolution

of 200 lines per inch, which causes some diagonal lines to appear as steps. The problem has two solutions which result in print-ready page copy. 1 ) The pages can be produced in much larger size (some as large as five times final size have been produced) and then

photographically reduced. 2) An output device with a better resolution can be used; some

devices have resolutions as small as 1,000 lines per inch.

At this point the pages containing the musical incipits have been produced and are

ready for printing. There still remains the production of the indexes, both textual and

thematic, as well as the general text of the catalog.

9 Leland C. Smith, Editing and Printing Music by Computer, in: Journal of Music Theory 17 (1973), p. 292-309.




Livre 1 11

12 Sarabande

K • » f f —

17—

=4

—r ^ 4

st

EDITIONS - Caroba : PARIS, p. 18, AMSTERDAM, p. 8; Continuo : PARIS, p. 11, AMSTERDAM, p. S.

13 Courante

\>t .• . r î i, ,r—3 j. p

lv d- -*■ r J

"f—r—a

5 61, 6 4

EDITIONS - Gamba : PARIS, p. 19, AMSTERDAM, p. 9; Continuo : PARIS, p. 11, AMSTERDAM, p. S.

14 D oub1e

.. F f=i

t *•

—1 *■

/ Ö % ! —• ■ J

4=

"""»J

j

v 5 6[, 6 4

EDITIONS - Gamba : PARIS, p. 20, AMSTERDAM, p. 9; Continuo : PARIS, p. 12, AMSTERDAM, p. 5.

15 Sarabande

rJ n a i1' —^ 4 j ?

—1

»TT = r—=*= O2 6[, 6 4 5l>


RECORDINGS - MHS 1809.

Sarabande

* K -—

r f % r"~T"~f

17—

r i —

n L.r i i — /— 4 51,

EDITIONS - Caraba : PARIS, p. 18, AMSTERDAM, p. 8; Continwo : PARIS, p. 11, AMSTERDAM, p. 5.

Courante

Iv .• . r—i i, ,r—3 J. P

r J

y. f

5 61, 6 4

EDITIONS - Cambo : PARIS, p. 19, AMSTERDAM, p. 9; Continuo : PARIS, p. 11. AMSTERDAM, p. 5.

EDITIONS - Gamba : PARIS, p. 20, AMSTERDAM, p. 9; Continue : PARIS, p. 12, AMSTERDAM, p. 5.

Sarabande

rJ n a —^

'Y..

4

ir

i

7

—1

trr = r—=*= 6[, 6 4 5[,


RECORDINGS - MHS 1809.




During the initial processing of the SCORE code, index data is extracted and placed in a separate file for later processing. Textual data (titles and tempo indications in this instance) are permuted and sorted in alphabetical order. A program that plans the format

of the text then produces the appropriate pages of the title index.

Entries using a special code were generated for the two thematic locators during the

initial processing of the SCORE input data and then sorted. The above described program for producing pages subsequently used the sorted data to produce the indexes arranged

by interval and time signature. The appropriate lines were extracted from the incipits in

musical notation, reduced by thirty-five percent, and arranged in two-column pages. Material such as the introduction, discography, and description of editions, was entered

into the computer and then manipulated by a program to put the text into page format

and produce the final print-ready copy. At this time the thematic catalog of the Pièces de

violes of Marin Marais is ready for printing. The preceding description of the TCAT system demonstrates an application of the

computer in producing a tool for musical research. I hope that others can make use of

the TCAT system, which I expect will be refined by usage into a general-purpose system for preparing thematic catalogs. Some areas needing immediate refinement are trans

lations for other coding systems (such as DARMS and Plaine and Easie), provision for the

more efficient processing of vocal music, and better resolution in output. I hope that the

production of thematic catalogs in musical notation (not code) can soon be effected by scholars everywhere using any of the major music input languages.

HELMUT RÖSING (KASSEL)

RISM-Handschriftenkatalogisierung und

elektronische Datenverarbeitung (EDV)

1. Projektbeschreibung

Ziel ist die weltweite Erfassung aller zwischen 1600 und 1800 angefertigten Musik

handschriften, soweit sie der Öffentlichkeit zur wissenschaftlichen Nutzung zur Verfü

gung stehen. Entsprechend den internationalen Regeln zur Katalogisierung von Musik

handschriften werden von den einzelnen RISM-Ländergruppen Karteikartenmeldungen an

die RISM-Zentrale in Kassel geschickt. Bislang liegen hier über 250.000 Titelmeldungen

vor; insgesamt wird mit mehr als einer Million Titel gerechnet. Obwohl die Materialsammlung bei weitem noch nicht abgeschlossen ist, erfolgt in Kas

sel schon jetzt die redaktionelle Bearbeitung von Teilbeständen nach Gesichtspunkten, die

den speziellen Erfordernissen einer Handschriftendokumentation möglichst gut gerecht zu

werden versuchen. Kernbestandteil der Dokumentation sind der originale Titel der Hand

schrift, Text- und Musikincipit sowie - sofern bekannt - der Komponistenname.

Nicht nur aus quantitativen Gründen wird die Dokumentation mit Computerhilfe

durchgeführt. Folgende grundsätzliche, sachorientierte Erwägungen legten eine Computer

bearbeitung von vorne herein nahe:



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A Computer-Produced Thematic Catalog: The "Pièces de Violes" of Marin Marais