This is a pilot project that will digitise 300 volumes of the world’s earliest printed music from holdings at the British Library, and make them publicly accessible via the internationally-recognised RISM UK music database hosted by Royal Holloway, University of London. These volumes contain approximately 10,000 musical compositions, which will be individually indexed. The digitised content and metadata will be linked to the British Library Integrated Catalogue and COPAC, in order to maximise the exposure and discoverability of these sources of unique international importance.

Early Music Online

Early Music Online is a pilot project that will digitise 300 volumes of the world’s earliest printed music from holdings at the British Library, and make them publicly accessible via the internationally-recognised RISM UK music database hosted by Royal Holloway, University of London.

Visit the collection
The volumes contain approximately 10,000 musical compositions, which will be individually indexed. The digitised content and metadata will be linked to the British Library Integrated Catalogue and COPAC, in order to maximise the exposure and discoverability of these sources of unique international importance.

The outputs of the Early Music Online project will allow students, researchers, and amateur and professional musicians to:
• obtain access to numerous musical compositions that are not available in modern editions
• understand and perform from the distinctive formats and notations in which 16th-century music was transmitted
• study concordances with other manuscript and printed sources

 

Project Staff

Project Director:
Project Manager:

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Summary
Start date
1 March 2011
End date
31 July 2011
Funding programme
Digitisation and Content
Strand
Rapid Digitisation 2011
Lead institutions
Royal Holloway, University of London
Partner institutions
British Library
Committees
  • JISC Infrastructure and Resources Committee
Topic