The catalogue is searchable by composer, instrument and title in any
combination. We have standardised titles and spellings to help as
far as we can, but as with everything there is a knack - hopefully
these tips might help...
Each search can work on a single word, or even part of a word, so "achm"
entered in the Composer box will find "Rachmaninov", for
example. It isn't clever about recognising spaces within a title
- it will just try to match *all* words (or part words) listed.
We ignore the difference between capital letters and lower case.
COMPOSER
names have been standardised - you only need the initials where
they're needed to identify the correct one, for example: "Beethoven"
doesn't need initials, whereas "Bach" does - typing "bach
c" will find CPE Bach, but ignore JS Bach. If in doubt, ignore
the initials unless you need to reduce the number of entries found.
Please note - type the surname first, then initial (if needed).
INSTRUMENT
descriptions have also been standardised and are spelt out in full.
We may have one or two areas of inconsistency in the small ensemble
descriptions, but normally using the traditional descriptions (such
as "Piano Trio") will
score a hit. If all else fails, try "ensemble"! Choral
work uses the "SA", "SATB" combinations and
large scale works may use the description "vocal score".
TITLES
are also listed in full, where possible, and mostly in English except
where the work is well known in another language (e.g. Debussy's
"Claire de Lune"). Give it a try - if you don't like the
system, Email us and we'll see how we can improve matters further.
Some titles also distinguish between editions, such as "URTEXT"
and "CLOTHBOUND".
Searching works best where you can enter text that is likely to
locate the work you need, but few - if any - others! Try it out!
