Transcript Mellon RIPM Final - Scholarly Communications

RIPM: Retrospective Index to Music Periodicals
Mellon all-projects meeting for musicology and music information retrieval
New York City, 5 -7 June 2007
A Very Short History of RIPM…
What is RIPM?
Répertoire International de la Presse Musicale=Retrospective Index to Music Periodicals



Producing annotated indexes to music periodicals (1800 to 1950)
In three formats: RIPM in Print, RIPM Online, RIPM on CD-ROM


An internationally-coordinated undertaking
Publishes 10–12 volumes & 20,000+ annotated records annually
Publications to date: 200+ volumes; 500,000+ annotated records in database
RIPM functions under the auspices of
The International Association of Music Libraries, Archives, and Documentation Centres (IAML)
The International Musicological Society (IMS)
UNESCO’s International Council for Philosophy and Humanistic Studies
_________________________
“RIPM is quite simply the finest large-scale bibliographical project in musicology.”
Reviewer, National Endowment for the Humanities (USA)
A short history of RIPM
25th Anniversary
200 volumes completed
500,000+ annotated records
RIPM Online Archive of Music Periodicals
RIPM’s International Scope

Collaborators currently working in 23 countries.
RIPM strives to extend its international coverage. One new
initiative is the creation of national RIPM groups in Latin America.

Countries represented in RIPM
Argentina
Austria
Belgium
Bulgaria
Canada
Chile
Czech Republic
France
Denmark
Germany
Great Britain
Greece
Hungary
Italy
Mexico
“Should be on the reference shelves of every major library”
Journal of the American Musicological Society
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Russia
Spain
Sweden
USA
16
Sixteen things you need to know about RIPM…
Because RIPM provides…
1.
Unique access to a monumental corpus of primary source material

the reader to view music history as it developed and as seen through the
eyes of its contemporaries

direct access to facts and perceptions unfiltered by later writings

the examination of this immense body of literature with in-context
annotated references, provided by internationally-recognized scholars
and editors

the study of an almost daily chronicle of music and musical life
throughout Europe and the Americas
RIPM is the first internationally-coordinated initiative to treat this vast
documentary resource--an undertaking first called for in 1938 by the MLA.
Because RIPM provides…
2.
An essential complement to RILM, the Music Index, and IIMP
RIPM alone offers extensive coverage of music periodical literature to 1950.
IIMP
Music Index
RILM
RIPM
1800
1850
1900
1950
2000
The International Index to Music Periodicals (IIMP) treats only four journals published before 1900.
Because RIPM provides…
3.
Coverage of complete runs of music journals
RIPM, in nearly all cases, indexes the complete run of a journal.
RILM coverage begins in 1967. Any journal with a publication date
before 1967 is not treated in its entirety.

The Music Index begins coverage in 1949, with the online database
beginning in 1979. Any journal with a publication date before 1949 is
not treated in its entirety.


Approximately 75% of IIMP’s titles are not treated in their entirety.
Because RIPM provides…
Superior indexing methods
RIPM and RILM supply readers with extensive editorial commentary dealing
with content, RIPM in the form of annotated records, and RILM in the form of
abstracts.
 For its small group of pre-1996 journals indexed, IIMP offers author-title records
only and no editorial commentary concerning content.

Example: RIPM vs. IIMP
Modern Music is one of the
few journals treated by both
RIPM and IIMP.
 RIPM’s annotated citations
produced 800+ indexing terms
for a single issue.
 IIMP’s citations-only
approach produced 151
indexing terms for the same
issue.
Comparison of RIPM and IIMP indexing of
Modern Music 21, no. 3
900
800
Index terms
4.
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
RIPM: Annotated citations
IIMP: Citations only
Because RIPM provides…
5.
Highly annotated citations outlining content
Music in America (New York, April 9) [Overview of concerts; repertoire of the Metropolitan
Opera. Bach Choir, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania: Bach, Mass in B minor; Frank Damrosch (conductor).
Philharmonic Society: Beethoven, Symphony no. 9]
Author: H. E. Krehbiel Author as Edited: Krehbiel, Henry Edward Source: The Musical Times
No. 687 --- Vol. 41 (May 1, 1900): 330-31
Section Title: Vienna [Anniversary of Gluck's death. Verdi to compose a new opera for the
Théâtre-Italien (Paris)]
Author: Anon. Source: Dwight's Journal of Music Vol. I, No. 20 (August 21, 1852): 159
Within: Author: Anon. Principal Title: Musical intelligence
Films and theatre [Soviet film: "The Siege of Leningrad" and "Moscow Strikes Back". The life of
George M. Cohan. Gruenberg's film score for "Commandos Strike at Dawn". René Clair's "I Married
a Witch"]
Author: Elliott Carter Author as Edited: Carter, Elliott Source: Modern Music Volume XX,
Number 3 (March-April 1943): 205-06
 RIPM’s highly-annotated citations allow deep access to content. Imagine these
records without annotations…
5.
The same author-title citations without annotations
Title: Music in America (New York, April 9)
Author: Krehbiel, H. E.
Source: The Musical Times No. 687 --- Vol. 41 (May 1, 1900): 330-31
Title: Films and theatre
Author: Carter, Elliott
Source: Modern Music Volume XX, Number 3 (March-April 1943): 205-06
 If RIPM used IIMP’s methods, this is what citations would look like. How much
information do these citation-only records provide?
Because RIPM provides…
6.
A unique perspective on music before 1800
RIPM’s content is not limited to the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The
nineteenth century’s interest in history is clearly reflected in RIPM which offers a
vast bibliography on composers and music of earlier periods.
Composer
Citations
Composer
Citations
Bach
3795
Haydn
3987
Clementi
559
Méhul
408
Cimarosa
355
Mozart
8175
Field
331
Purcell
353
Gluck
1616
Palestrina
518
Grétry
362
Scarlatti
237
Handel
6172
Spontini
785
“A very welcome addition to our research resources . . . serious bibliographic coverage of
this period is long overdue.” Online Bach Bibliography
Because RIPM provides…
7.
A new international initiative: the RILM-RIPM collaboration
RILM and RIPM collaborate to provide access to music periodical
literature of the entire twentieth century.

RIPM and RILM will offer access to complete runs of
journals.

Together, RILM and RIPM will eventually offer access
to over two centuries of music periodical literature, from
the late eighteenth century to the present.

Subscribers to RILM and RIPM can search the two
databases simultaneously through a single interface.

1800 - 2007+
Because RIPM provides…
8.
An essential complement to the New Grove and MGG
Bibliographies in the New Grove and MGG mostly ignore the
contemporary press.

Using Ferdinand Ries (pianist, composer, and student of Beethoven)
as an example:
The bibliography of the Ries article in the New Grove
contains only one nineteenth-century periodical citation.
The bibliography of the Ries article in the MGG contains only
two nineteenth-century periodical citations.
RIPM offers 536 nineteenth-century periodical citations for
Ries, and the number is growing.
Because RIPM provides…
9.
An immense quantity of new citations for well-known composers
Composer
RIPM citations
RILM citations
Beethoven
10477
7233
Mendelssohn
7680
1845
Berlioz
2666
1442
Schumann
3610
2948
Verdi
10605
2953
Donizetti
7169
568
Saint-Saëns
1065
325
Bizet
928
367
Paganini
977
370
Rossini
8292
1295
Totals
53469
19346
RILM
27%
RIPM
73%
RIPM contains nearly
three times as many
references as RILM.
Because RIPM provides…
10.
Ground-breaking core citations from periodicals for less wellknown composers
Composer
Over 31 times as many as the New Grove
 Over 37 times as many as MGG

RIPM
Grove
MGG
Bargiel
243
5
3
Czerny
573
1
7
Thalberg
988
12
13
Marschner
455
30
31
Onslow
330
25
15
Pacini
1249
26
2
Raff
433
31
27
Ries
512
16
26
Totals
4783
149
124
Grove
3%
MGG
3%
RIPM
94%
Because RIPM provides…
11.
An immense bibliography of music for performers and researchers
In addition to an immense bibliography of music, RIPM supplies references to
7700+ musical examples printed in the journals. Many are complete works not
published elsewhere … a treasure-trove of unexplored repertory.
Because RIPM provides…
12.
The primary source for reception history and biography
With 250,000+ reviews, readers have access to firsthand accounts of
performances and new publications of music and books.

Reviews and news columns reveal the geographical dissemination of
compositions, their “national” receptions, and possible influences.

Reviews are also a primary source for repertory and for information
concerning performance practice, such as instruments employed and
elements of interpretation.

RIPM’s 11,500+ biographical citations offer a unique opportunity to
explore the contemporary view of almost all significant and, today, lesserknown musical personalities.

RIPM’s biographical citations alone constitute a research tool of
unequaled value.

Because RIPM provides…
13.
Access to iconography and advertising
Nearly 6200 images offer visual descriptions of
people, performances, instruments, ensembles,
concert halls, theaters, productions and staging,
as well as caricatures

41900+ advertisements, a significant resource
for:


publishers’ lists

concert repertory

musical instruments
everything from improving a tenor’s
technique to transposing pianos

Because RIPM provides…
14.
A major electronic teaching tool

RIPM is used as a basis for undergraduate and graduate courses and seminars.
RIPM’s usefulness extends beyond music. Contemporary music periodicals chronicle
issues of interest to social, political and cultural historians as well.


Examples of North American university courses using RIPM include:

numerous specialized courses in nineteenth- and twentieth-century music

Graduate Research Methods/Music Bibliography

“The City in Early Modern Europe” at the University of California, San Diego

“Attending to Early Modern Women” at the University of Maryland

“Nineteenth-Century American Music” at Duke University

a research tool for Ethnomusicology at UCLA
Because of RIPM, “students are being better educated and trained, librarians and archivists serve
their collections and readers much more efficiently.”
(Reviewer,
National Endowment for the Humanities)
Because RIPM provides…
15.
Access to English-language translations of primary documents
RIPM offers access to 5000+ English translations of foreign-language documents,
an ever-growing number.

Primary sources, many still unavailable elsewhere, news items, and articles from
foreign journals were translated into English for publication in British and US
music periodicals.

RIPM gives users access to a wealth of information already translated for them,
opening up international music history to English-language readers.

Because RIPM provides…
16.
Immense possibilities for new research
RIPM creates possibilities for significant new research on an almost endless
list of topics.

Composers & reception of works

Dissemination of musical cultures

History of musical genres

Teaching methods

Concert life

Performance practice

Repertory & concert programs

History of instruments

Biographical studies

Musical life in a city or region

Ensembles & companies

Opera & theaters

Music education

Politics & music

The sociology of music

Musical institutions & societies
Publishers & the publishing
industry


Development of musicology
Aesthetics

Without RIPM …
RIPM Online Archive of Music Periodicals
Features include:
• Annotated Records
• Zoned or Highlighted Records on Journal Page(s)
• Easy Access to browsable journals
• Annotated Calendar introducing Browse mode
• Grayscale or bitonal image delivery based on internet connection speed
• Easy setting of display resolution based on monitor size
• Off-On highlighting switch
(continued)
•Flexible image manipulation: fit page, fit width, zoom
• Page “turning” options: next/previous in journal or citation,
• Next/previous citation button
• Simultaneous access to search results and journal page
• Simultaneous access to Calendar page and journal page
• Save and Print options
• Access to journal information and RIPM print introductions
ANNOTATED RECORDS 1
In these records editorial annotations describing content are highlighted in yellow; this reveals the extensive nature of the
commentary. Annotated editorial commentary is one of the hallmarks of the RIPM system.
ANNOTATED RECORDS 2
The search terms “Clara Schumann” entered into RIPM Search Mode, retrieve annotated records containing editorial
commentary. These editorial additions provide the context in which the search terms appear and permit the researcher to
review records quickly for pertinence.
ZONED OR HIGHLIGHTED RECORDS 1
After selecting a record and clicking on it, the pertinent journal page appears with the cited article or section
thereof highlighted and thus easily identified by the user. This highlighting, or zoning, is also one of the
notable features of the RIPM system.
BROWSE MODE OPENING SCREEN 1
The user selects the journal to browse from a drop-down menu listing all available journals.
BROWSE MODE 2
The user then selects a specific year to browse.
BROWSE MODE 3
Finally, the user selects a volume and issue.
ANNOTATED CALENDAR INTRODUCING BROWSE MODE 1
After making these selections, RIPM’s Browse Mode displays an HTML representation of the pertinent pages of a RIPM
annotated chronological Calendar. These pages appear as they do in RIPM In Print, in a hierarchical presentation displaying the
relationship between, for example, an article and its constituent parts: sections, subsections, music examples, illustrations,
collective titles, etc. By clicking on the “Previous” or “Next” buttons, one can browse through individual issues of the journal.
ACCESS TO HIGHLIGHTED JOURNAL PAGE(S) FROM BROWSE MODE 1
The red arrow refers to a user-selected record which if clicked upon …
Note in the RIPM annotated Calendar the manner in which the editor described this untitled section’s content.
HIGHLIGHTED RECORD ACCESSED DIRECTLY FROM BROWSE MODE 2
The untitled section “Perabo’s fourth and fifth matinées …” would be difficult to locate on the
journal page without the highlight.
ACCESS TO HIGHLIGHTED JOURNAL PAGE(S) FROM BROWSE MODE 3
In this example note that the editor annotated the sub-section of an article. When selected …
ACCESS TO HIGHLIGHTED JOURNAL PAGE(S) FROM BROWSE MODE 4
… it would be difficult to locate the pertinent subsection without the highlighting as no graphic delimiter set offs
the title “P.S.”
USE OF GRAYSCALE 1
Grayscale scanning provides a much more realistic representation of the page, and communicates the historical nature of the
document by allowing the texture of the page to be viewed by the reader. It also offers some distinct advantages with respect to
readability and faithful reproduction of poor originals. Note, for example, the differences in the images of the composer E. Robert
Schmitz, reproduced from a relatively poor microfilm copy respectively with a bitonal and grayscale scan. In this and the
following example the grayscale images communicate far more information, displaying the advantages of grayscale for such
microfilms.
USE OF GRAYSCALE 2
The ink stain in the bitonal image (left) obliterates the text; despite the stain, the text is discernable in the grayscale scan (right).
FUNCTIONALITY: GRAYSCALE AND BITONAL DELIVERY 1
While the default image displayed is in grayscale (as above), users may select “Dialup” if they have slower internet connections.
Selecting this option results in the delivery of bitonal images which are smaller in file size, delivered more quickly, but lower in
quality.
FUNCTIONALITY: GRAYSCALE AND BITONAL DELIVERY 2
Bitonal display of grayscale image in previous slide.
FUNCTIONALITY: DISPLAY RESOLUTION AND HIGHLIGHTING
A toggle switch permits the user to turn off the highlighting when it is not useful, for example, when viewing a
portrait.
FUNCTIONALITY: DISPLAY RESOLUTION AND HIGHLIGHTING 2
Image without highlighting.
FUNCTIONALITY: DISPLAY RESOLUTION AND HIGHLIGHTING 3
To determine the optimum window size, the user need only select the appropriate option: small,
medium or large monitor.
PAGE MANIPULATION 1
By clicking on the drop down box, and selecting “Fit Page” the entire journal page is displayed on the monitor.
PAGE MANIPULATION 2
Choose “Fit Width” and the appropriate part of the image is displayed.
PAGE MANIPULATION 3
In this case, a 100% size representation of the page offers a level of magnification quite easy to read.
It is possible to increase the Zoom up to 200% of the original.
PAGE TURNING OPTIONS
(Top) Next or previous page in journal. (Middle) Next or previous page in article (useful when pages do not follow consecutively).
(Bottom) Next or previous Journal Citation is useful when exploring a list of records generated by the search engine.
ACCESS TO SEARCH RESULTS WHEN CONSULTING JOURNAL PAGES
Similar to Browse Mode, the screen displaying the search results may be viewed as one clicks through journal
pages from one record to the next.
ACCESS TO ANNOTATED CALENDAR WHEN BROWSING JOURNAL PAGES
In Browse Mode one can simultaneously view a Calendar page and the associated journal page(s) as the
Online Archive operates with two browser windows.
“SAVE TO DISK” AND “PRINT” FEATURES VIA ADOBE ACROBAT
The current article may be downloaded in PDF format by clicking on the “Save/Print” button.
“ABOUT THE JOURNAL” PAGE AND JOURNAL INTRODUCTIONS 1
Access to “ABOUT THE JOURNAL,” a brief summary of the journal’s importance … (www.ripm.org).
“ABOUT THE JOURNAL” PAGE AND JOURNAL INTRODUCTIONS 2
… and the introduction to the journal as it appears in RIPM In Print. (www.ripm.org).
Current Initiatives
Retrospective Index
Monumental Music Journals of the Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries
The Americas Initiative
RIPM Archive
RIPM Online Archive of Music Periodicals
RIPM Full-Text Supplement
We express our gratitude to the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
for its support of RIPM’s work on the
Monumental Music Journals of the Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries.