Ravel & Beethoven Facsimile Scores!

This month gets two Resources of the Month: facsimile scores of Ravel's Fugue in F minor and Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, op. 125. These aren't just any old score though. Take a look...



Ravel's Fugue in F minor was a student piece and until now it had remained safely stored away in the archives at Northwestern University Music Library. Through a fantastic combination of scholarship, musicianship, and ingenuity this piece was brought out of the archive, transcribed, performed, and published in a limited 500 edition run. In other words, even though this is published it's still not a piece that everyone can see - count yourself lucky!


So what is it, exactly, that we're so excited to make available to you? As i said already, this was a student piece written early in Ravel's career, before he lost the Prix de Rome and was, as a result, kicked out of the Paris Conservatory. This is such a student piece that the corrections and notes of Ravel's composition teacher stand out in colored pencil against Ravel's led pencil annotations. This publication includes a color facsimile (fancy speak for color photocopy) of the original score, a transcription of the work for four voices, the first and, to date, only recording of the work, and, last but not least, critical commentary and discussion of Ravel, the work, and the transcription process.

Needless to say, since this is a limited edition of a score published no where else, we want to be sure to keep it safe and accessible. The publication is located the rare score & book collection at the Music & Media Center. Bring the call number ML96.5 .R29 F8 2011 to a staff member in the Music & Media Center so we can pull it for you. Once you have it you can view the score at our long study table and listen to the recording on our top of the line listening equipment.

The second resource of the month is a facsimile score of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, op. 125. Just like the Ravel, this isn't just any score. Color images from Beethoven's original autograph score means you don't have to travel all the way to Berlin to study this amazing primary resource but can stay right here in good ol' New Orleans! Not only that, but you can see these high quality facsimile images, as if you're looking right at the real thing, and read critical commentary from three leading Beethoven scholars: Lewis Lockwood, Jonathan Del Mar, and Martina Rebmann. 40 pages worth of scholarly writing about the work translated into English, German, and Japanese! Just this writing alone is an excellent research paper resource. 

This one wasn't cheap though, and we want to keep it safe and available to research for a long time. To accomplish both of these goals this score, just like the Ravel, is housed in the rare books collection in the Music & Media Center. Give the call number ML96.5 .b44 op. 125 2010 to one of the folks working up there and we'll pull it out for you. We have a lovely study table, with electrical outlets, right next to the windows where you can settle in to take a look at the score. You can also use our listening station to listen to all 50 of our different recordings of Beethoven's Ninth while you peruse this amazing resource.