User:Symphonick/CSG Work Titles
| Status: This page describes an active style guideline proposal and is not official. |
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General principles
The title for a classical work in MusicBrainz should be the same as the title for works in any other genre:
The canonical title of the work, expressed in the language it was originally written.
The classical works guideline deals with how to establish an original language, what to do with works without an actual "title", and other details specific to classical music.
Overview
Title
The title is usually found at the top of the first page of the score, in a large typeface. In some cases, the actual title is only printed on the front page, and the title in the actual score is a shorter version.
The work title field in MusicBrainz should only contain the title given by the composer, sometimes along with a catalogue number, unless you are dealing with a so-called untitled work, see below.
Examples:
- The Lark Ascending
- I Crisantemi
Sources
It is recommended to use a reliable printed source for titles, such as a recent urtext edition.
If that is not available, just use the best source you can find. Titles can be corrected later.
- Publishing companies (Bärenreiter, Henle etc) sometimes list titles on their websites.
- IMSLP have downloadable scores of older editions (often first edition; see Canonical titles below)
Note: Wikipedia and similar online sources cannot be considered reliable in this context.
Canonical titles
In general, we do not alter the title given by the composer, but in some cases, the original title is never used. A recent edition will likely have the title you want. If in doubt, use the "modern" title in the composer's language. E.g. use "Matthäus-Passion" instead of the original "Passio Domini Nostri J.C. Secundum Evangelistam Matthaeum", "Tannhäuser" instead of "Tannhäuser und der Sängerkrieg auf Wartburg" and "Don Giovanni", not "Il dissoluto punito, ossia il Don Giovanni".
Untitled works
Instrumental music and some vocal music from before the 20th century often has no actual title. Instead these works are referred to using their form and/or instrumentation (ex. sonata, quartet, mass, symphony, cello concerto), sometimes with key (e.g. Sonate a-Moll)
If and what to append to the basic form depends entirely on the context. Try to follow convention.
The title field should not be used to put in general information (like keys and instrumentation) when it is not needed
for disambiguation and it is how you usually would refer to this work.
For instance, if a composer only wrote one concerto for a specific instrument, ex. cello, the key is unnecessary. The concerto would likely be known simply as that composer's cello concerto.
A prelude by J.S. Bach is often referred to by key (ex. "Prelude in d-minor") while a prelude from an instrumental suite is usually referred to as the "prelude from the G-major suite", as an example.
Note: This is for untitled works only, otherwise the type of work (e.g. aria, sonata, trio) is stored in the work type field, never inside the title.
Examples:
Generic titles by the composer
If a composer has titled a work using (among other words) a "generic" term, this is regarded as an actual title and should not be altered, even if the work also can be described using form/instrumentation/key.
Examples:
- Ouvertüre nach Französischer Art, BWV 831
Language
As stated before, the title should be expressed in the language the work was originally written.
If a work is available with translated titles and it is unclear which is the original, use the language of the first performance (if the work was written with a specific performance or audience in mind). If this fails, use the composer's preferred language, usually found in the autograph or first edition.
See the respective CSG-language pages for how to format language-specific details. Also see below for untitled / generic titled works.
Note: Works with translated lyrics (as opposed to works with only a translated title) should have the specific translation as default language.
Language for untitled works
Untitled works should be listed in the language in which the work was originally titled by the composer.
Note: All forms are not translated into every language, e.g. Mazurka.
Translated titles
Translated titles, such as "The Firebird" and "Christmas Oratorio" should be entered as aliases.
As there can be only one primary alias per language; try to find the standard translation for your specific language.
More translations can be entered as secondary aliases.
Note: Only use existing translations, do not enter your own.
It is expected that eventually, both a title (alias) in the user's preferred language AND the default work title can be shown in the UI.
Nicknames
Nicknames (such as "Moonlight Sonata") are not by the composer. Nicknames can be used only in secondary aliases and in annotations,
never in the title field.
Since nicknames are local, they can be problematic in the disambiguation field (which is global).
Examples:
- Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor "Quasi una fantasia", Op. 27, No. 2 (“Moonlight Sonata”)
- Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major, K. 467 (“Elvira Madigan”)
- Rachmaninoff’s Всенощное бдение, op. 37 (“Vespers”)
Sub-title
The line below the title can contain a subtitle, ex. Nixon in China, Foxtrot for orchestra; and 1812, Торжественная увертюра. Sometimes you can find instrumentation, or even key and/or opus.
Sub-titles should not be appended to the title. If you believe a sub-title is useful for searching, put it in a secondary alias. Otherwise you can use an annotation.
Dedication
Sometimes found above the title, sometimes below, or just on the front page. Dedications should only be in annotations.
Instrumentation
Instrumentation can be added to the annotation.
Instrumentation for untitled works
Certain untitled works need basic information about instrumentation, mostly concertos and sonatas.
Note: Direct translations of instrumentation is not always an option. E.g. a literal translation of "Quartet for Strings" will not work for every language, perhaps the form "String quartet" is more appropriate.
Examples:
- Violinkonzert e-Moll op. 64
Tempo / character
Musicbrainz has currently no field for storing the tempo of a work. The annotation can be used for this purpose.
Tempo / character for untitled works
It is common for untitled works to have only tempo or character as title; ex. Allegro, Slow. This is common for movements of generic works, like sonatas and concertos. Note that you should not translate tempi (possibly transliterate). If you believe a translated alias is needed as search help, that alias should not be official.
Only use the first tempo in the title field, do not list tempo changes inside the work. A second tempo can be used when a work is divided into different sections by the composer, e.g. Menuet - Trio. Or for instance in Beethoven's piano sonatas, when there is a short introduction in a slower tempo than the main part of the movement. These type of works are usually referred to with both tempi outside MusicBrainz too.
Note: The final part of multi-part works is often listed with both "Finale" and tempo, e.g. "Finale: Allegro". This formatting should not be used anywhere else; tempo information is separate from titles and does not belong in the title field.
Key / Modus
There is no field for keys in MusicBrainz currently. Keys can only be in annotations.
Keys in untitled works
For certain generic-titled works, the key is used as an identifier and should be added to the title. This is a workaround until there is a specific field for keys, in which case keys will be removed from all titles.
Try to follow convention; ex. you can have a standalone "Minuet in g", but you would never list keys for minuets inside a symphony.
- Untitled symphonies, sonatas, masses and concertos very often have the key as identifier (if the composer wrote more than one).
Examples:
Ouverture g-Moll, BWV 822
Catalogue numbers
Ideally catalogue should be put in specific fields, but since catalogue numbers are an important part of identifying a work, as a workaround one catalogue number can be appended to the title. If more than one catalogue is used for a work, try to find the most commonly used catalogue.
Examples:
Catalogue of parts
Usually only main works have a catalogue, but note that collections of standalone works (which looks like a main work with parts in MusicBrainz), is treated like standalone works in this regard.
Examples:
- Mazurka, op. 17 no. 4
Vocal music
Quotes
Especially in older vocal music, the title can be made up of (a part of) the first line in the lyrics. Do not use quotation marks, and try to find a good source for the length of the quote if not available in the score.
Dramatic roles
Roles (e.g. Evangelista, Carmen) can only be put in annotations.
Excerpt works
When an excerpt of a larger work can be considered part of the standard repertoire, ex. Bridal chorus from Lohengrin,
you can create a work for this excerpt. Try to find the most commonly used title, in the same language as the lyrics.
Another situation that makes convenience works necessary is when different editions of the same work have different sub-parts. Examples include some certain piano sonatas by Beethoven; one edition has two movements where another edition has three. Use the disambiguation comment to explain the situation as clearly as possible.
Do not create more than one excerpt work for the same section. No matter if the boundaries are not exactly the same, or if the excerpt is preceded with a recitative or not.
Note: This is not about "excerpts" as in edited audio. Do not connect performances of the larger work (ex. opera act) to an excerpt work.
Old practices
- You should not manually concatenate main work and part work titles like the old track titles in MusicBrainz before NGS.
- Do not add ordering numbers to part works (common in the old track titles). Unfortunately there is currently no ordering system available in MusicBrainz. Until a solution is in place, the disambiguation field can be used if necessary; e.g. "Allegro (1st mvt)" vs. "Allegro (3rd mvt).
Examples
| Title | Worktype | Lyrics Language |
|---|---|---|
| Carmen | Opera | French |
| Москва, Черемушки, Op. 105 | Opera | Russian |
| Jeu de cartes | Ballet | No linguistic content |
| Overture | Overture | No linguistic content |
| 1812, op. 49 | Overture | No linguistic content |
| Ouvertüre nach Französischer Art, BWV 831 | Suite | No linguistic content |
| Ouverture | Overture | No linguistic content |
| Ouverture g-Moll, BWV 822 | Suite | No linguistic content |
| Erster Aufzug | "Act"  no worktype available - use "Opera" and "Ballet"? |
German |
| III. Aria II | Aria ?? | No linguistic content |
| Il mio tesoro intanto | Aria | Italian |
| Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben, BWV 147 | Cantata | German |
- Excerpt work
Type "Pseudo" ?? - oratorio recitativo
- Wie unglücklich bin ich nit, K. 147 (125g)
- translated song
- "fantasia super:"
- Allein Gott in der Höh' sei Ehr', BWV 771
- ballet scene
Type "Ballet" ?? - symphony
- symphony movement
- maybe symphony excerpt
- sonata movement
