Inhalts Never Deliver What they Promise
So I've slowy begun to realize how little stock I should put in consulting the inhalts (table of contents) of the journal volumes I'm perusing for opera reviews. Occasionally there is a review featured by a signed auther and included in the list of contents. However, I've found from experience that the reviews more frequently turn up in the news sections of the journals (Nachrichten), supplied by various correspondents whose identity is only surmisable. I'm thrilled to find more data. But had I known to look in these sections, I wouldn't be requesting some volumes a second time. The other difficulty is that it takes 3 or 4 times as long to get through a volume when you have to skim through every piece of Nachrichten, which is usually printed in Fraktur. If I went only by the Inhalts, I'd just flip to relevant pages and be done in no time. But now I'm developing calluses and straining my eyes more farsighted. Some years there are no opera reviews of value in the Nachrichten; other years there are dozens. Too bad Google hasn't made a search engine for these journals yet. I guess I'll have to survive the great ol' musicological rite-of-passage that my professors endured.
posted by Casino Kev @ 2:57 PM
2 Comments:
At 12:41 AM,
Josh said…
i think that rite of passage is part of the fun.
sometimes i think about how my professors composed before finale, etc. with pens, drawing their own staves and starting each page over with every mistake. i wonder if i would have taken a path of less resistance or still felt compelled to compose. although now i don't compose with software (though, of course i use it to notate and print scores and parts), part of the draw of composition years ago was the cool software. i didn't know anything about copywork or music publishing. a little ironic since as the software has gotten better, i use it less. but i don't know how i feel about drawing noteheads and beams. and i'm glad this struggle over my personal motivation is completely irrelevant ;)
google doesn't search opera reviews? yeah, it's completely overrated.
At 2:18 AM,
Casino Kev said…
I still write every paper, and page of this dissertation, out by hand. My mind does not process thoughts at the same speed as my typing. Some might say it's a waste of time to have to transfer from paper to screen, but the extra go through the material helps me with some preliminary editing and clarifying. I'm sure you can find plenty of opera reviews on google, but few penned from 1798-1830.
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