Finding Pieces in Collected Works Editions
Many pieces of music are published in anthologies, or in scholarly reference editions (often called a composer's Works edition), and it can be difficult to find them using only HOLLIS. Although no single source lists the contents of every anthology, several reference books and databases can help.
Use them by looking up the composer's name, checking for the title of a piece and the collections it's been published in, then searching HOLLIS for the titles of those collections.
- Oxford Music Online/Grove Music OnlineMany articles on individual composers include works lists. Look here for references to their complete works editions, opus/thematic catalog numbers, premiere dates, and initial publication information.
- Index to Printed Music: Collections and SeriesThe online, updated version of Hill's Collected editions, historical series and sets and monuments of music.
- Historical sets, collected editions, and monuments of music: a guide to their contentsHeyer, Anna Harriet. Historical sets, collected editions, and monuments of music: a guide to their contents, 3rd ed. Chicago: American Library Association, 1980. Loeb Music Aldrich Room: ML113 .H52 1980
- Collected editions, historical series and sets and monuments of music: a bibliographyHill, George Robert. Collected editions, historical series and sets and monuments of music: a bibliography. Berkeley, CA: Fallen Leaf Press, 1997. Loeb Music Aldrich Room ML113 .H55 1997
- A Handbook of music and music literature in sets and seriesCharles, Sydney Robinson. A Handbook of music and music literature in sets and series. New York: Free Press, 1972. Loeb Music Spalding Room ML113 .C45
- Finding Songs In CollectionsMusic Library Research Guide with more tips
Reading Works Lists in Oxford Music Online
To find a composer's Complete Works (a scholarly reference edition), search in HOLLIS using "Works" as a title keyword and the composer's name as an author keyword.
To locate a piece in one of these editions,consult the Works Lists in Oxford Music Online. Although a few sections of this video are specific to the McGill Library, the techniques within Oxford Music remain the same across institutions and we own most of the same scores:
