IMSLP:Score submission guide/General Information

Contents 1 How to Complete the General Information Section of the Work Page 1.1 Work Title 1.2 Alternative Title 1.3 Composer 1.4 Opus/Catalogue Number 1.5 Key 1.6 Number of Movements/Sections 1.7 Year/Date of Composition 1.8 First Performance 1.9 Year of First Publication 1.10 Librettist 1.11 Language 1.12 Dedication 1.13 Average Duration 1.14 Genre 1.15 Piece Style 1.16 Instrumentation 1.16.1 Chamber Works 1.16.2 Orchestral Works 1.16.2.1 Voices 1.16.2.2 Soloists 1.16.2.3 Orchestra 1.17 Tags 1.18 Related Works 1.19 External Links 1.20 Extra Information 1.21 Versions

How to Complete the General Information Section of the Work Page

This is the official style guide to filling in the General Information section on work pages throughout IMSLP. The goal is to standardize this section to allow for automatic translation into languages other than English, and to permit automated searches on field names. One of the more important things to keep in mind about the General Information section is that it applies only to the composer's own version of the piece—never to an arrangement by someone else.

The fields are listed in the order in which they display on the finished page, but they may appear in a different order while the page is being edited. Note: Older pages will not contain all these fields, but they can be inserted manually, e.g. by typing |First Performance= at the start of a new line.

If the information for any field is unavailable, please leave it empty. Never use "n/a" or "none".

Work Title

Give the title of the work as it appears in the page title, but omitting key signatures and opus/catalogue numbers.

Alternative Title

Titles for the work that are found in the first edition or in standard reference sources, if they differ from the Work Title.

• Different titles in the same language should be separated by spaces and a semicolon.
• Titles in different languages should be placed on separate lines with <br>.

Examples:

The Marriage of Figaro
Die Hochzeit des Figaro ; Figaros Hochzeit

Composer

This is filled in by default, and cannot be edited.

Opus/Catalogue Number

If they exist, give the most commonly used number first, with others separated by spaces and a semicolon.

• Always include the prefix "Op." (with no spaces) when giving the opus number.
• Ensure that the punctuation and spacing of catalogue prefixes is consistent with other works by the same composer.

Examples:

Op.15a

Op.90 ; D.899

Key

Give the key signature for the whole work (if there is one), not individual sections or movements. If there are multiple sections, use the {{Sb}} template for see below

Use either the Key template or the {{flat}} and {{sharp}} templates for flat and sharp keys.

Examples:

C major

B♭ major

G♯ minor

Number of Movements/Sections

State the number and type of sections within the work.

• For works that are continuous without any breaks, "1" can be used without further description.
• For works that were unfinished by their composer, or which have been partly lost, add "(unfinished)" after the section number

Examples:

4 movements

10 numbers

5 chapters

4 volumes in 8 parts

3 acts and 4 scenes (unfinished)

The titles of the individual sections may be listed underneath, starting each line with a colon (:), and numbering them as they appear in the score (or a hash (#) can be used for incremental numbering). Key signatures and numbers of bars/measures can be given if known

Examples:

4 movements:

1. Adagio—Allegro non troppo (B minor, 354 bars)

2. Allegro con grazia (D major, 179 bars)

3. Allegro molto vivace (G major, 547 bars)

4. Adagio lamentoso (B minor, 171 bars)

If you are going to list the individual movements or sections, then insert a line above the "Number of Movements/Sections" that says "|Movements Header=" with a number and a genre, e.g. "1 song" or "3 movements". This is to keep the top of the page uncluttered for those who use their cellphones (with small screens). The "3 movements" will be listed at the top with no other detail, and the individual movement detail will be listed below in the Work Info section. Do not put in the movements in the Misc. Comments section at the bottom of the work page—make a copy of the movements and move them to a discussion thread for the work page along with any extra information about the piece that doesn't fit the General Info fields already there.

Year/Date of Composition

The exact dates when a work was started and completed are often difficult to establish, even when a composer's manuscript is dated precisely, since works may be subject to frequent revision at times of performance and publication. For this reason it is advisable to give just a year or range of years of composition, instead of the exact month and day.

• Use the en dash, without spaces, to separate start and end dates. You can use {{subst:EN}} to create an en dash, or see Wikipedia how to produce this on your keyboard
• Use "ca." (not c.), without a space, to indicate an approximate date (from the Latin word circa)—avoid for composers dead less than 70 years or composers whose death date is unknown (see note below)
• Use "by" or "after" if start or end dates of composition are unknown—avoid for composers dead less than 70 years or composers whose death date is unknown (see note below)
• The symbol "(?)" after a date means that the information preceding it is doubtful
• The term "revised" means that an existing work was subsequently altered by its composer

Examples:

1925

1863–65 [= begun in 1863 and completed in 1865]

1863–65(?) [= probably begun in 1863 and completed in 1865]

1863/65 [= begun no earlier than 1863, and completed no later than 1865]

1871 or before [= start date unknown, but completed no later than 1871]

1732 or later [= begun no later than 1732, but completion date is unknown]

1869, revised 1870, 1880

Note: IMSLP's copyright autotagger reads the composition date in this field as an alternate in the absence of a publication date. It is therefore best to avoid the use of any letters or other symbols in front of the year date for items where (1) the composer has been dead less than 70 years, (2) the composer's death date is unknown, or (3) when the publication date is less than 120 years ago.

First Performance

If the date of the first performance of the work is known, it should be given here. The place, occasion and names of performers may also be given if known.

• Dates should be given in the format YYYY-MM-DD, according to the western (Gregorian) calendar.
• Names of cities should come after the date and be separated by spaces and an em dash (" — ")
• The concert venue or occasion, if included, should come after the city, separated by a comma

Examples:

1824-05-07

1824-05-07 — Vienna

1824-05-07 — Vienna, Kärntnertortheater

• If exact dates are unknown then only the year, or the year and the month may be given

Examples:

1750

1863-05 [= May 1863]

The names of the performers, if included, can be separated from the place of performance by a colon (:), or you can use a <br> to start a new line.

• List any soloists first (in score order), followed by the name of the orchestra/ensemble, and lastly the conductor.
• Identify the role played by the performer in parentheses after their names.
• Names should be separated by a semicolon or comma, followed by a single space.
• Link the names of the performers if they have their own IMSLP category, using the {{LinkName}} template.

Examples:

1909-11-28 — New York, New Theater: Sergei Rachmaninoff (piano), New York Symphony Society Orchestra, Walter Damrosch (conductor)

1791-09-30 — Vienna, Freihaus-Theater auf der Wieden: Benedikt Schack (Tamino), Emanuel Schickander (Papageno), Anna Gottlieb (Pamina)

Year of First Publication

If the date of the first publication of the work is known, it should be given here.

• The place of publication, publisher, plate numbers, and numbers of pages may also be given if known, in the form "Year – City: Publisher. Type of score, number of pages, Plate number"
• The symbol "(?)" after a date means that the information preceding it is uncertain
• Use the en dash, without spaces, to separate start and end dates, or ranges of plate numbers. You can use {{subst:EN}} to create an en dash, or see Wikipedia how to produce this on your keyboard
• If a work was published in different forms (such as full scores and vocal scores) give this information before the plate number. Start a new line with <br> for each different form of the work
• If a publisher page exists on IMSLP, include a link to that page.

Examples:

1802

1810–1815

1897 – Mainz: B. Schott’s Söhne

1894 – Leipzig: Bosworth & Co.,

1900(?) – Braunschweig: Litolff. Plate 1542

1878 – Moscow: P. Jurgenson. Vocal score, 249 pages. Plates 3302–3323
1880 – Moscow: P. Jurgenson. Full score, 357 pages. Plate 3901.

Note: IMSLP's copyright autotagger reads the publication date in this field for determination of copyright status along with the composer's death date. It is therefore best to avoid the use of any letters or other symbols in front of the year date for items where the composer has been dead less than 70 years or the composer's death date is unknown.

Librettist

The authors of text (librettists) used in the work are very important, as they can affect the work's copyright status. A work can have more than one librettist.

• Give the names of all the librettist(s) for the work, including any translators, and the authors of literary works who are named as the source of the libretto
• Check each name against the list at Category:Works by librettist, and use the form of their name listed there, if it appears
• Link the name(s) of the librettist(s) using the {{LinkLib}} template (even if they are not yet listed at Category:Works by librettist)
• Include the years of birth and death, where known, in parentheses after their names
• The Lied, Art Song, and Choral Texts Page can be helpful in identifying librettists and their dates
• Use the en dash, without spaces, to separate birth and death years. You can use {{subst:EN}} to create an en dash, or see Wikipedia how to produce this on your keyboard
• If the text comes from an identified literary source, give the title of the source and its year of publication, if this is known
• Use "traditional" or "unknown" if the author of the text is unidentified

Examples:

Johann Conrad Lichtenberg (1689–1751)

Friedrich Rückert (1788–1866)

Lorenzo Da Ponte, based on Pierre Beaumarchais: La folle journée, ou le Mariage de Figaro (1784)

Heinrich Heine (1797–1856), translated by Mikhail Mikhaylov (1829–1865)

Norwegian traditional

Unknown

• If individual parts of a work have different librettists, then repeat the list given under "Number of Movements/Sections", but replacing the titles with the names of the librettists

1. Nikolay Ogarev (1813–1877)
2. Vasily Zhukovsky (1783–1852)
3. Mikhail Lermontov (1814–1841)

Language

This is only required for vocal works that have texts, or for literary works.

• Give the name of the language as it is known in English (for instance, "German" not "Deutsch")
• If a work includes the same text in more than one language, list them in the order in which they appear, separated by spaces and the forward slash (/).
• If individual sections of a work use different languages, so that all of them are needed to perform or read the work in full, list them in the order in which they appear, separated by spaces and a semicolon, and identify the sections in parentheses.
• Use the language(s) of the first edition, and not any later translations. The Lied, Art Song, and Choral Texts Page can be helpful in identifying the original language

Examples:

French

German / English [= both languages are used in parallel, with the German text shown above the English]

Swedish (Nos.1–3 and 5) ; Danish (Nos.4 and 6) [= in a cycle of six songs, Swedish is the language used in four of them, and Danish in the remainder]

Polish / German (Nos.1–3) ; Czech / German (Nos.4–6) [= in a cycle of six songs, Polish was used in the first three, and Czech in the last three, with German translations given in the first edition for all six songs]

Dedication

The name of the person or institution to whom the work is dedicated (if there is a dedication). This can be given in the form it appears in the score, with clarification given in parentheses if necessary. If the dedicatee is a musician with their own category on IMSLP, then include a link to that category, using the same spelling of the name.

Examples:

Dr Eugenio Egas

"To my wife" (Elisabeth Bortkiewicz)

"K.R." (Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich of Russia)

The Philharmonic Society of London

Franz Liszt

John Smith and Henry Jones

If the individual parts of a work are dedicated to different persons, then repeat the list given under "Number of Movements/Sections", but replace the titles with the names of the dedicatees.

Examples:

1. Mariya Kondratyeva

2. Anna Davydova

3. Anna Merkling

Average Duration

This should be given in whole minutes, with the word "minutes" written out in full.

• For short pieces, ranges should be used instead of fractions (e.g. "2–3 minutes" not "2.5 minutes" or " 2′30″ ").
• If the piece lasts less than a minute, then seconds can be used instead.

Examples:

5 minutes

1–2 minutes

100 minutes

20–30 seconds

Timings for individual movements (as specified in the previous section) can also be given, if they are known.

Examples:

40 minutes (15 + 10 + 15)

125 minutes (45 + 25 + 30 + 25)

Genre

This field is no longer used, and it can safely be deleted from any pages where it is found.

Piece Style

This is filled in automatically, based on the overall style set for the composer. It can be changed for an individual piece, using the descriptions shown on the Browse by composer time period page.

Instrumentation

It is important to give correct and precise information in this section.

• Names of instruments and ranges should be given in English, normally in the sequence shown below, in lowercase, separated by commas, without using the word "and":

Voices (solo) — voices [unspecified], sopranos, mezzo-sopranos, contraltos, altos, tenors, baritones, bass-baritones, basses, narrators;

Choruses — mixed choruses, female choruses, male choruses, childrens voices;

Woodwinds — piccolos, flutes, alto flutes, bass flutes, flutes d'amore, recorders, oboes, oboes d'amore, English horns, bass oboes, chalumeaux, clarinets, bass clarinets, basset clarinets, basset horns, saxophones, bassoons, contrabassoons;

Brass — horns, trumpets, cornets, saxhorns, trombones, euphoniums, tubas, bass tubas;

Folk instruments — accordions, bagpipes, cimbaloms, concertinas, dulcimers, erhu, flageolets, harmonicas, musettes, ocarinas, pan pipes, pipa, sheng, toy instruments, vuvuzelas, xiao flutes, zithers

Percussion — timpani, drums, cymbals, triangles, celestas, glockenspiels, tubular bells, bells, marimbas, vibraphones, xylophones

Strings (plucked) — arpeggiones, guitars, lutes, barytons, banjos, ukeleles, mandolas, mandolins, harps

Strings (bowed) — violins, vielles, violas, tenor violas, violas da gamba, violas d'amore, viols, violones, cellos, cellones, double basses

Automated instruments — mechanical instruments, mechanical organ, electronic instruments, ondes martenot, synthesizer, theremin

Keyboard — claviers, clavichords, harpsichords, lute-harpsichords, pianos, piano left hand, piano right hand, piano 3 hands, piano 4 hands, piano 5 hands, piano 6 hands, 2 pianos 8 hands, toy pianos, pedal pianos, organs, organ 4 hands, harmoniums

Basso continuo — continuo

Chamber Works

For chamber or vocal works where each performer has a unique solo part:

• Separate the names of instruments with a comma followed by a space, without using the word "and".
• Use numbers to group two or more instruments (e.g. "3 trombones", but don't use "1" before a single instrument name)
• Give instruments in lowercase letters (except for "English horn")
• Keys for transposing instruments may also be given in parentheses after their names. For example: "clarinet (B♭)"
• Alternative instruments, where one instrument may be completely replaced by another, should be indicated by the word "or". For example: "flute or violin, piano" means that the work can be performed either by flute and piano, or by violin and piano.
• Optional instruments, which can be omitted, should be listed in parentheses. For example: "flute (+ piccolo), oboe" means that the piccolo part is optional. The words "ad lib." may also be used.

Examples:

piano

violin, cello or viola

2 violins, viola, cello

2 flutes, 2 oboes, English horn, 2 clarinets (B♭), bass clarinet (B♭)

Orchestral Works

For larger works involving the orchestra or large ensembles:

Voices

• List any vocal parts first, starting the line with the word: "Voices" (in italics), and a colon.
• Details of soloists should come before the chorus, separating both with spaces and the plus sign (+).
• The names of characters in stage works should be followed by their voice parts in parentheses, and separated from each other by spaces and a semicolon
• For choral works, the letters S, A, T and B (without spaces) may be used in parentheses to represent the soprano, alto, tenor and bass parts of a chorus. For example, "mixed chorus (SSATTB)" means that the chorus comprises 2 soprano and 2 tenor sections with single alto and bass sections.

Examples:

Voices: 2 mezzo-sopranos, baritone + mixed chorus (SATB)

Voices: Count Almaviva (bass) ; Countess Rosina (soprano) ; Susanna (soprano) ; Figaro (bass) ; Cherubino (soprano) ; Marcellin (soprano) ; Bartolo (bass) ; Basillo (tenor) + mixed chorus (SATB)

Soloists

• In the case of concertos or concertante piece featuring one or more solo instruments with orchestral accompaniment, start a new line with the word: "Solo" (in italics), and a colon.
• Separate the names of solo instruments with a comma followed by a space, without using the word "and".

Examples:

Solo: piano

Solo: violin, cello, piano

Orchestra

• Start a new line with the word "Orchestra" (in italics), and a colon.
• List the instruments in the sequence of woodwind + brass + percussion + keyboard + strings. (Harps should be included with the strings).
• Use numbers to group two or more instruments (e.g. "3 trombones", but don't use "1" before a single instrument name)
• Give instruments in lowercase letters (except for the special case of "English horn")
• The word "strings" should be used instead of the standard orchestral complement (violins I, violins II, violas, cellos, double basses), to save space
• Keys for transposing instruments may also be given in parentheses after their names. For example: "clarinet (B♭)"
• Instrumental doubling may be indicated by a forward slash (/) between the instrument names. For example: "3 flutes/piccolo" means that one of the flute players also substitutes on the the piccolo during the performance.
• Optional instruments, which can be omitted, should be listed in parentheses. For example: "timpani (bass drum, cymbals) + strings" means that the bass drum and cymbal parts are optional. The words "ad lib." may also be used.

Examples:

Orchestra: 2 horns, strings

Orchestra: piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, English horn, 2 clarinets (B♭, A), 2 bassoons + 4 horns (F), 2 cornets (B♭, A), 2 trumpets (B♭, A), 3 trombones, tuba + timpani, triangle, tambourine, side drum, cymbals, bass drum, tam-tam, glockenspiel + piano + harp, strings

Orchestra: piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 4 clarinets (1 in E♭, 3 in B♭), 2 bass clarinets (in F, B♭), 2 bassoons + 4 horns (1 in E♭/F, 3 in E♭), 2 trumpets (in E♭), 2 cornets (in B♭), 3 trombones, euphonium, 2 tubas + snare drum, cymbals, bass drum

The word "Orchestra" (without italics) should be used if a listing of the individual parts is unavailable.

Tags

This field should only be used by members of the IMSLP categorization project team. If you think a work has been incorrectly categorized, contact a team member.

Related Works

If the current work is based on another work, or if its music was used later in other works, then that can be mentioned here in the form of a list (starting each new line with "<br>"). The {{LinkWork}} template can be used to link to other work pages, if they exist.

Examples:

Adapted from the second movement of the String Sextet No.1, Op.18, by Johannes Brahms

Based on themes from the opera I puritani by Vincenzo Bellini

Arranged by Bach from the Concerto for 2 Violins and Cello in D minor, RV 565, by Antonio Vivaldi

External Links

Links to other sites should be placed here, in the form of a list (starting each new line with "<br>")

Examples:

Wikipedia article [[wikipedia:<url text after http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/>|Wikipedia article]]

The Lied, Art Song, and Choral Texts Page

Extra Information

Any relevant information that does not fit into the above headings can be placed here

Examples:

The concerto may be attributed to Johann Caspar Seyfert

Mozart's Requiem was unfinished at the time of his death. Unless otherwise stated the scores below relate to the completion of the work by his student Franz Xaver Süssmayr (1766–1803)

Versions

IMSLP has quite a few works that exist in multiple versions, mostly where a work has been revised by its composer, or where different people have attempted to reconstruct an unfinished work (like Mozart's Reqiuem). Because these different versions (and arrangements of them) can appear on the same page, each of the available performing versions should be assigned letters "A", "B", "C" (etc.), and these letters should be used with the Version template to make it clear which version is being talked about in the headings and the general information section. For example:

Year/Date of Composition : 1869 A ; 1870 B ; 1880 C (standard version)

Year of First Publication : 1871 B – Berlin: Bote & Bock. Full score, 201 pages. Plate 9325.

The version letter should always come before the information to which it relates, separated just by a single space. Headings should include the word "Version" before the version template, but this should be omitted in the general information section.