LibGuides: Sacred Music and Hymnology: Finding Primary Sources

Introduction

This page is an introduction to finding primary sources of sacred music and hymnology including early printed editions of hymns, digital copies and facsimiles, and non-musical sources that may help you contextualize the musical works you're studying and develop a more holistic sense for the time period and social circumstances surrounding the work you've selected.

Locating Music Manuscripts and Early Printed Editions

Depending on the subject you're researching, it may not be immediately obvious what kinds of primary sources are available to you. We've collected resources to help you identify what kinds of primary sources survive for the specific work you are studying.

In particular, this box includes tools to find manuscripts and early printed editions, as those source types can be particularly tricky to track down.

Répertoire International des Sources Musicales This link opens in a new window
RISM is a resource that specializes in providing documentation about music manuscripts 1600-1800 and printed music before 1800. Their online database allows you to easily search for works. While RISM will not take you directly to a digital surrogate of a manuscript or early edition, it does provide information about where the item is housed. With this information, you will be able to check the websites of individual institutions to see if they provide online access to a digitized copy, or contact the institution directly to inquire about obtaining a copy or arranging a visit.
WorldCat This link opens in a new window
WorldCat is a collective online catalog containing information about the holdings of libraries across the country and the world. WorldCat is another useful resource for finding out which library (or libraries) house an early printed edition. You may use the search bars at the top of their main web page to search by keyword, title, author, or other criteria. Once you have selected an item record, look under the "Availability / Holdings" tab to view a list of libraries with copies.
Oxford Music Online This link opens in a new window
For well-known composers, the works lists in Oxford Music Online (or New Grove) may contain information about the location of the manuscript or earliest extant copy. The panel on the left side of the screen will allow you to navigate directly to the "Works" section of the entry for a given composer. Please note that Oxford/Grove does not provide a list of works for all composers in their database.

Collected Works & Thematic Catalogs
Refer to our page on Collected Works & Thematic Catalogs in the Finding Music Materials guide for additional information and tips to help you locate thematic catalogs for particular composers.

Finding a Digital Copy

Although some early editions and manuscripts exist only in particular libraries and archives that you might not be able to access in person, there are a wealth of online versions and facsimiles that you can search for once you know exactly what you're looking for. In some cases, scores and manuscripts have been digitized and are posted online for public access.

There are several ways you can check to see if a copy is available online. If you know the institution that houses the item, check their website to see if the item is part of any digital collections. If not, there are several online resources that specialize in facilitating access to digitized materials.

HathiTrust Digital Library
The HathiTrust Digital Library offers access to digital surrogates of many publications that are no longer under copyright, inlcuding some musical scores and books.
Digital Image Archive of Medieval Music (DIAMM)
This website is a portal to information about and images of worldwide collections of medieval polyphonic music manuscripts (the resource does not include plainchant). The music and the manuscripts date from approximately 800 to 1550 with some prominent later sources included as well. This website includes detailed information for all the known sources of European polyphonic music (which is almost entirely vocal) and high-quality color images of some manuscripts.
Southern and Western American Sacred Music and Influential Sources (SWASMIS)
This database chronicles the history and dissemination of sacred music from Europe and the American Eastern Seaboard to the American south and west from the Colonial Period to the Era of Reconstruction following the American Civil War (1750-1870). It catalogs every known southern and western sacred music composition appearing in manuscript and printed sources, as well as the significant material that directly influenced these compilers.

Eighteenth Century Collections Online (ECCO) This link opens in a new window
ECCO specializes in providing digital access to English-language and foreign-language titles printed in England and the Americas during the eighteenth century. The ECCO is primarily a resource for literature and does not generally include printed scores; however, it does provide access to some historical texts on music and religion, containing musical examples and pedagogical materials. Digital surrogates of some items listed in the Hymn Tune Index may be available to view through the ECCO database.

ViFa: Virtual Library of Musicology
This website is heavily geared towards European musicological interests. One of the most useful features of the site is that it provides a links to major digital library collections from institutions around the world.
Digital Resources for Musicology
This is another website that specializes in providing links to prominent digital projects and digitized score collections, across multiple branches of musicology.

MPAL Microfilm Collection

To supplement use of The Hymn Tune Index, MPAL also houses a collection of hundreds of microfilm copies of hymn editions, primarily dating from the 16th century to 1820. Patrons interested in this collection may review the microfilm inventory below. Please inquire at the Music and Performing Arts circulation desk to borrow microfilm for in-library use.

Hymn Tune Microfilm Inventory

Finding Non-Musical Sources

When doing music research, it is important to contextualize the musical work(s) with cultural events and objects of that time. Some types of sources will help with this, such as newspapers, books, and article clippings containing topics such as book reviews, performance reviews, and current events. We've collected several databases and catalogues below that can help you track down non-musical primary sources that might be of use.

Early English Books Online This link opens in a new window
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Early English Books Online (EEBO) features page images of almost every work printed in the British Isles and North America, as well as works in English printed elsewhere from 1470-1700. Over 200 libraries worldwide have contributed to EEBO. From the first book printed in English through to the ages of Spenser, Shakespeare and of the English Civil War, EEBO's content draws on authoritative and respected short-title catalogues of the period and features a substantial number of text transcriptions specially created for the product.

Early American Imprints I. - Evans (1639 - 1800)
Includes lists of books, pamphlets, and broadsides published during the 17th and 18th centuries from the bibliography by Charles Evans and Roger Bristol's Supplement. Published in cooperation with the American Antiquarian Society.
Early American Imprints II. - Shaw - Shoemaker (1801 - 1819)
Includes lists of books, pamphlets, and broadsides published during the early 19th century from the bibliography by Ralph R. Shaw and Richard H. Shoemaker. Published in cooperation with the American Antiquarian Society.
English Short Title Catalog
The English Short Title Catalogue (ESTC) lists over 480,000 items focusing on: items published between 1473 and 1800 mainly, but not exclusively, in English published mainly in the British Isles and North America. It draws from the collections of the British Library and over 2,000 other libraries.