Searching for Musical Sources in RISM’s Online Catalogue
About the catalogue
RISM’s online catalogue of musical sources is the gateway to over 700,000 music manuscripts, treatises, and libretti. The works of over 30,000 composers are represented, housed in hundreds of libraries and archives around the world.
The online catalogue includes RISM’s publication Series A/II (Music Manuscripts after 1600). The catalogue also includes the ongoing indexing that has been completed by the RISM working groups since the publication of these volumes. The information in Series B and C is still only available in book form.
Searching the catalogue
The RISM catalogue can be accessed from the home page. To begin searching the catalogue, type a keyword or phrase into the search box and press Go.
Use quotation marks to search for an exact phrase; omit them if the words may appear in any order anywhere in the record. Punctuation and case are ignored.
Examples: Lodo*
autograph cherubini
Ifigenia in
"deux journées"
The Search Results page lists hits alphabetically by composer. To the left of the results is a column to refine your search. Above the results is the search box and a link to the Advanced Search function.
To examine an entry in detail, click on the blue link. The location of the manuscript is found at the bottom of the record. Clicking on the location will give you the address of the institution. To save the record for future reference, click on the Set Bookmark link in the upper right-hand corner and your browser's bookmark function will open. To get the permalink, click on the Quote This Data Record link in the lower right-hand corner of the record.
Filter your search
Back on the Search Results page, you can filter your search by selecting a filter in the Refine Search box on the left. Expand categories by clicking on the + (plus) sign. Clicking on D-B, for example, will show you all the sources within your search parameters that are held by the Berlin State Library. Further refinements are possible: for example, all the sources that are manuscripts and date from 1802-1813.
Deselect a search filter at any time by clicking on the x next to the filter.
Advanced search
An advanced search is available to the right of the search box on the Search Results page. Here you can specify up to three specific fields to search. Truncation and phrase searching are allowed.
Examples: | Field | Text | Notes |
1) | Composer | Haydn |
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| Title | Symphonies | Use the plural for form and genre terms |
| Key | E major | The key of individual movements can also be searched |
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2) | Composer | Hasse |
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| Siglum | -D* | Use the minus sign (-) to exclude terms and the asterisk (*) to truncate. This search will show all Hasse sources outside Germany. |
The full record display describes the source in full, including incipits.
If you click on a term marked with an “i” and highlighted in blue, a window opens with further information, such as explanations of abbreviations.
If you see the phrase “In Collection,” it means that the work described is part of a manuscript collection or collected edition. By clicking on the blue number, you arrive at the collection's main entry. From there, you can view the records for the rest of the works in the collection.
Consult the table of abbreviations, below, as required.
Registered users of RISM may consult the description guidelines, which are published on the website.
Abbreviations and descriptions
A | alto |
a-trb | alto trombone |
a-vla | alto viola |
Ar: | arranger |
arp | harp |
Autograph | autograph |
?Autograph? | presumably autograph |
B | bass (vocal) |
b | bass (instrumental) |
b-trb | bass trombone |
b.fig* (nur als Stimmenbezeichnung) | bass, figured |
Bariton | baritone |
bass: | thorough-bass mentioned |
bc | thorough-bass (figured) |
bombarde | bombardon |
brasses | brass players: cor, clno or tr, trb |
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cb | double-bass |
cemb | clavicembalo, cembalo, virginal, spinet |
cemb 4hands | clavicembalo, cembalo, etc. fourhanded |
chalumeau | shawm |
choir book | choir book |
cl | clarinet |
clav | clavecin |
clno | clarino |
cnto | cornetto |
Co: | cocomposer |
comp: | date of composition |
Contra-A | contralto |
contra-fag | double bassoon |
cor | horn |
cor di bassetto | basset horn |
cor inglese | cor anglais |
Coro | choir parts |
Coro | choir |
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date |
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1691 | in 1691 |
1782a | before 1782 |
1782c | about (ca.) 1782 |
1782p | after 1782 |
18.in | beginning of the 18th century |
18.me | middle of the 18th century |
18.ex | end of the 18th century |
18.1t | 18th century, first third |
18.3q | 18th century, 3rd quarter |
18.2d | 18th century, 2nd half |
18.sc | 18th century |
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18/19 | 18th/19th century |
1691* | born 1691 |
1797p+ | died before 1782 |
1782p+ | died after 1782 |
De: | dedicatee |
Dessus | soprano (vocal) |
dessus | soprano (instrumental) |
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Ed: | publishing company |
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fag | bassoon |
fl | flute |
fl.picc | piccolofuvola |
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guit | guitar |
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hautecontre | alto instrument |
hpcd | harpsichord |
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i | instrumental part |
Incipit corrected | mistakes within incipit corrected |
Incipit incorrect | mistakes within incipit not corrected |
Incipit transposed | incipit is transposed |
Incpl: | incomplete (enumeration follows) |
iSol | solo instrument |
iSol: | instrumental soloists mentioned |
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keyb: | keyboard instruments |
ecclesiastical modes: |
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1t | 1st tone (Dorian) |
2t | 2nd tone (hypodorian) |
3t | 3rd tone (Phrygian) |
4t | 4th tone (hypophrygian |
5t | 5th tone (Lydian) |
6t | 6th tone (hypolydian) |
7t | 7th tone (Mixolydian) |
8t | 8th tone (hypomixolydian) |
9t | 9th tone (Aeolian) |
10t | 10th tone (hypoaeolian) |
11t | 11th tone (Ionian) |
12t | 12th tone (hypoionian) |
Kornetto | cornet (not cnto) |
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lute | lute |
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Mezzo-S | mezzo-soprano |
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No title indicated | no title indicated |
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ob | oboe |
ob d'amore* | oboe de amor |
olim: | old signature |
oN: | further names |
orch | orchestra (instrumental ensemble) |
orch: | further instruments mentioned |
org | organ |
org 4hands | organ (four-handed) |
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oT: | alternative title |
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part | part |
Pe: | performer |
1.perf: | 1st date of performance |
perf: | further date of performance |
pf | pianoforte |
pf 4hands | pianoforte (four-handed) |
Pl.no: | record number |
plck: | plucked instrument(s) mentioned |
Prov: | previous owner |
| (distinction between |
| person and institution) |
publ: | date of publication |
recorder | block flute |
RISM A/I | cross-reference to RISM series A/I |
RISM B/ | cross-reference to RISM series B |
Role: | role |
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S | soprano, cantus, discantus |
score | score |
See: | see: (literary reference) |
short score | piano reduction or |
| compressed score |
Sprechstimme | speech voice |
stck | percussion |
strings | vl 1, 2, vla, vlc, b |
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T | tenor |
t-trb | tenor trombone |
taille | tenor part |
Te: | librettist |
theorbe | theorbo |
timp | timpano(s) |
keys: |
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major (mode): C, G, D, A, E, B, F#, C#, F, Bb, Eb, Ab, Db |
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minor (mode): a, e, b, f#, g#, d#, a#, d, g, c, f, bb |
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for example: |
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A | A major |
B | B major |
b | B minor |
f# | F-sharp minor |
Bb | B-flat major |
tr | trumpet |
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trb | trombone |
Treble | highest voice within sentence |
treble | treble-highest instrumental voice |
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V | (vocal) voice |
V 5 | 5th voice |
Vag | additional voice |
violetta | violetta |
vl | violin |
vla | viol(a) |
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vla d'amore* | viola d`amore |
vla da gamba | viola da gamba |
vlc | violoncello |
vlne | violone |
VSol | vocal solo parts as code: S, A, T, B |
VSol: | vocal solo parts mentioned |
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winds | wind players |
Without shelfmark | without shelfmark |
Without title | without title |
wm: | watermark |
woodwinds | woodwinds: fl, ob, cl, fag |
Wri: | writer |
