Sheet Music Published in 19th Century Prague

… paper and lead …
Sheet Music Published in 19^th Century Prague and Housed in the Collection at the Music Department of the National Library of the Czech Republic
Ludmila Šmídová

English version of the publication, which focuses on the sheet music that was printed and published in 19th century Prague and constitutes part of the collection of the Music Department of the National Library of the Czech Republic. It opens up the specific issue of its production with several insights from different viewpoints. The introductory essay briefly introduces the collection of the Music Department of the National Library in which the music in question is housed and its origins. The chapter entitled The Musical Life of 19th Century Prague as Reflected in the Locally Published Sheet Music presents the music repertoire that can be found in the period sheet music in confrontation with the knowledge of music historiography, while the associated text reveals how some educated musicians and culturally aware individuals of the 19th century viewed the composition of the printed repertoire. The other chapters deal with bibliological aspects and endeavour to cast light on the secrets of the used music-printing techniques, which developed rapidly during the period in question based on a wide range of experiments. These chapters will also acquaint the reader with the individuals who created and distributed the local sheet music, i.e. Prague’s book merchants, publishers, engravers, lithographers and printers. The treatises have been supplemented with reproductions of the sheet music and references to specific pieces of printed music, usually presented with more detailed comments in the final section of the publication, i.e. the catalogue of the exhibited sheet music.

National Library of the Czech Republic, Prague 2022, 1^st edition, 107 p., 332 CZK
ISBN 978-80-7050-763-6

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