Historical Performance Practice

Collected editions, historical sets, and Monuments of Music are all terms for authoritative, scholarly publications of music that have been edited and researched by experts.  These multi-volume editions are useful to scholars and performers alike because they are based on research of the original manuscript and print sources; they also often contain essays with much information about the history of the pieces contained, the extant sources, and performance practice of the composer's time. Most of these are anthologies of music by various composers, organized by time period, nationality/region, or instrument.  Many of these editions contain rare music from church and state archives, and often might be the only published source for minor composers and anonymous collections.

Collected editions, historical sets, and Monuments of Music can be found in the Music Reference collection, and usually have call numbers starting with M2.  Each volume is cataloged individually, but all volumes in a given series share the same call number and are shelved together.

The following collected editions contain music from the Middle Ages through the 20th century, organized by country or region, and can be rich sources of repertoire and information for historically-informed performers.  This is a sample only; additional collected editions series are available in the Music Reference scores.

Central & Northern Europe

Southern Europe & the Spanish New World

North America