Incipits

As the Britten Thematic Catalogue will be published exclusively online, it is the project’s intention to fully employ the benefits afforded to it through use of a virtual format, specifically when presenting thematic incipits for each work. In addition to typeset incipits, which in the case of the Britten Thematic Catalogue will extend beyond the traditional opening fragment of music, corresponding audio examples will also be included that will enable users to not only view but hear Britten’s compositional development, particularly during his childhood. Whilst extracts from existent recordings and published scores will be used to this end for the composer’s published works, the majority of pieces to be included, principally the bulk of Britten’s juvenilia, will need recording and typeset for the first time. a task that project staff continue to address throughout the catalog’s progression.

In addition to recordings made by project staff onsite at BPF,  recent developments have seen the establishment of a number of incipit recording initiatives with a variety of music schools and university departments in both the UK and USA. These sub-projects will hopefully result in a number of recording sessions with students and faculty at the schools involved throughout 2011 and 2012, providing core audio content for the Britten Thematic Catalogue.