As I have been searching the web for interesting and beneficial digital collections, I have run across a collection of scores that are on the University of Michigan’s website. The collection contains 1112 scores that have been digitized so that users may access them from home. The site includes pdf versions of each score on its website. The scores include a variety of genres: instrumental works, choral pieces, songs, and orchestral works. Highlights of the collection are works by Austrian composer Ignaz Brüll and American conductor and composer Kurt Schindler.
The collections is very helpful for students and researchers alike. The collection allows searching by Boolean operators, keywords, and proximity searches. For those that are not looking for anything in particular, one can also browse the collection by title, author (composer), and subject. The subject option is very interesting. Many of the subjects that are used are genres, styles, and instruments. However, they also include subjects of the pieces themselves. For example, the subject Edgar Allen Poe brings up a song entitled “To Helen.” This song is written by Phillip Greeley Clapp with words by Edgar Allen Poe.
Other useful features include a bookbag. As you are searching you may put things in your bookbag so that you may easily come back to them once you have finished your search. Also, the website offers a print option so that you may print the scores that you are interested in. However, when browsing I did run across a couple of pieces that were unavailable on the site due to copyright issues, but most of the scores I viewed were available for printing at home. This is an excellent source for music students and instructors.
