[comp.music] Research Digest Vol. 4, #55

daemon@BARTOK.ENG.SUN.COM (09/10/89)

Music-Research Digest       Sat,  9 Sep 89       Volume 4 : Issue  55 

Today's Topics:
                  Machine-readable JSBach? (3 msgs)


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Date: 6 Sep 89 15:19:24 GMT
From: John Ioannidis <read.cs.columbia.edu!ji@edu.columbia>
Subject: Machine-readable JSBach?
To: music-research@uk.ac.oxford.prg

[[I had posted a similar request to rec.music.classical a few months
ago and all I got was one answer along the lines of ``good luck''.
This is hopefully a more appropriate forum.]]

Does anyone have or know where I can find scores of Johann Sebastian
Bach works in machine-readable form? I'm particularly interested in the
WTK, the organ preludes/tocattas and fugues and the Art of the Fugue.

Thanks in advance,

/ji

In-Real-Life: John Ioannidis   | Science is to Computer Science as 
E-Mail-To: ji@cs.columbia.edu  | Hydrodynamics is to Plumbing

			... It's all Greek to me!

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Date: 8 Sep 89 01:54:34 GMT
From: Brad Rubenstein <bartok!bradr@com.sun>
Subject: Machine-readable JSBach?
To: music-research@uk.ac.oxford.prg

In article <6485@columbia.edu> ji@read.cs.columbia.edu (John Ioannidis) writes:
>Does anyone have or know where I can find scores of Johann Sebastian
>Bach works in machine-readable form? I'm particularly interested in the
>WTK, the organ preludes/tocattas and fugues and the Art of the Fugue.
>
>Thanks in advance,
>
>/ji

Compiling the Bach corpus online was one of the major projects
of the Center for Computer Assisted Research in the Humanities.
Send them paper mail at CCARH, 525 Middlefield Road,
Menlo Park, CA 94025.

Here is an extract from a leaflet they publish:

----------------------------------------------------------------------

The Center for Computer Assisted Research in the Humanities (CCARH) is
an independent facility engaged in the development of computer-assisted
methodologies intended for specific academic purposes. It was
established in 1985 [by Dr Walter B. Hewlett] as a non-profit
organization.

In the field of musicology the present goals of the Center are:
    (1) to develop hardware and software to support the processing of
musical data;
    (2) to develop data bases of large musical repertories and various
text sources of proven significance to the discipline;
    (3) to identify areas of scholarship that might be aided
significantly by the application of such emerging technology; and
    (4) to coordinate and disseminate information concerning
technological developments and applications.

The computer system used at the Center is called IBYCUS. It was designed
by David Woodley Packard for use in the Classics. Its particular
strengths include text processing and the representation of non-Roman
alphabets and foreign languages generally, as well as speed and
efficiency in searching and manipulating large textual data bases. These
features are of potential value in handling both music and the unusual
range of foreign languages with which it may be associated.
[ ... ]
An important goal of the Center is to develop and make available to the
musicological community a large range of data, both musical and textual.
[ ... ]
Currently an Urtext data base of all the music of J.S. Bach is in
formation at the Center. Among the works that have been entered are The
Well-Tempered Clavier, books I and II, the French and English Suites,
the Inventions and Sinfonias, the Brandenburg Concertos, the Orchestral
Suites, the trio sonatas for organ, and a number of cantatas.
[ ... ]
The study of potential computer applications in musicology and the
dissemination of information about current applications are ongoing
concerns of the center. 
[ ... ]
The Center is developing a small library of materials related to the
discipline and maintains an address list of those with an interest in
this field. Enquiries, news, and observations are cordially welcome.

---Brad Rubenstein-----Sun Microsystems Inc.-----bradr@sun.com---

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Date: Sat, 9 Sep 89 07:36:43 bst
From: Stephen Page  <sdpage@uk.ac.oxford.prg> 
Subject: Machine-readable JSBach?
To: read.cs.columbia.edu!ji@edu.columbia

Brad Rubenstein's reply gave a good summary of the work at CCARH on
Bach coding. I have in fact worked with a tape from CCARH - I used the
Well-Tempered Clavier to test my query language for my D.Phil thesis. For
information, here is a short extract from the start of BWV846. The data
contains a header, listing edition, number of parts, etc., then it
lists pitches and durations for each note in a "track" (voice). Those who
know BEV846 will soon recognise the extract. I've wrapped it around into
five columns to make the newsletter more readable.

Those who have read my thesis or read my ravings in this newsletter will
know that I use CCARH's Bach encoding as an example of "reduced information
content", in that (unlike, say, a DARMS encoding) it cannot be used to
reconstruct a printed score. For example, tied notes are collapsed into
a single total duration (typical for databases compiled from "played"
input); and accidentals are in sounded, not written form. Nevertheless,
the availability of this data is a very significant achievement which
CCARH should be congratulated for. (Now, if only we could get them to
participate in the discussions in this newsletter...!)

UK readers who would like a copy of this tape may be interested to know
that it was donated by Walter Hewlett to the Oxford Text Archive.

BEGIN	       G4    1	      G4    1	     E5	   1	    A4	  1
846   1	       C5    1	      D5    1	     rest  2	    E5	  1
Bischoff       E5    1	      F5    1	     G4	   1	    A5	  1
1883/1884      measure 2      G4    1	     C5	   1	    measure 6
	       rest  2	      D5    1	     E5	   1	    rest  2
3 1	       A4    1	      F5    1	     G4	   1	    F#4	  1
35 0 16  4     D5    1	      rest  2	     C5	   1	    A4	  1
4 4 0 1	  1    F5    1	      G4    1	     E5	   1	    D5	  1
measure 1      A4    1	      D5    1	     measure 5	    F#4	  1
rest  2	       D5    1	      F5    1	     rest  2	    A4	  1
G4    1	       F5    1	      G4    1	     A4	   1	    D5	  1
C5    1	       rest  2	      D5    1	     E5	   1	    rest  2
E5    1	       A4    1	      F5    1	     A5	   1	    F#4	  1
G4    1	       D5    1	      measure 4	     A4	   1	    A4	  1
C5    1	       F5    1	      rest  2	     E5	   1	    D5	  1
E5    1	       A4    1	      G4    1	     A5	   1	    F#4	  1
rest  2	       D5    1	      C5    1	     rest  2	    A4	  1
G4    1	       F5    1	      E5    1	     A4	   1	    D5	  1
C5    1	       measure 3      G4    1	     E5	   1	    measure 7
E5    1	       rest  2	      C5    1	     A5	   1	    rest  2

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End of Music-Research Digest