REVIEWS
Music Library Association Notes
“Over the years since the first RIPM (Répertoire international de la presse musicale) volumes were published in 1988, librarians and researchers have rejoiced at having bibliographic access to many of the music periodicals of the nineteenth and early twentieth century... The RIPM Online Archive of Music Periodicals (Full-Text) meets the needs of twenty-first-century researchers by providing immediate access to digital images of the periodicals themselves.” [June 2010]
“Most noteworthy among the advantages offered by the electronic format is the ease and speed of obtaining both a wide range of data and very specific information from all indexed periodicals at once, as well as the extraordinary flexibility and control possible in setting and refining search parameters ... Researchers can easily expand their focus ... [or] pinpoint information accurately ... Accessible, and clearly written help guides explain the format of each search mode and the indexing of a particular search field, and give effective search strategies ... A particularly good feature of the full record format is the link to a Web page describing the historical significance and scope of the cited periodical ... Clear and well-placed icons and links facilitate navigation between different formats, records, page locations, and searches; and records can be re-sorted by year of publication (ascending or descending), title, periodical, language, or place of publication as needed.” [December 2001]
Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries
Journal of the Association of College and Research Libraries,
American Library Association
Reviewing RIPM's new interface for the Retrospective Index to Music Periodicals and the RIPM Online Archive: “The ready availability of this vast amount of primary source material from a critical period in music and music journalism makes this database a necessary subscription for all institutions supporting advanced studies in musicology... Summing up: Essential. Upper-level undergraduates and above.” [June 2010]
Rivista italiana di musicologia
“RIPM [creates] possibilities for new research and new consideration of many aspects of nineteenth-century music ... an indispensable resource for scholars.” [26, no. 2 (1991)]
Journal of the American Musicological Society
“Should be on the reference shelves of every major library ... logic and consistency contribute not only to the overall high quality of the volumes, but also to the ease in consulting them ... recognition of the immense value of the series ... all scholars of the period will use these volumes often ... RIPM deserves our gratitude for greatly facilitating access to a wealth of documentation ... a worthy companion to RISM and RILM.” [43, no. 3 (Fall 1990)]
Il Giornale della musica
“It seems almost like a dream. Day after day the music publishing trade, as all others, immerse us in ephemeral novelties that we will never have the time to read. But today in a single breath we can report on [RIPM] ... an editorial initiative of huge mass which we will read and reread as long as historical musicology exists ...” [September 1990]
Music and Letters
“An idea ... brought to fruition through the determination and energy of Robert Cohen of the University of Maryland, College Park ... That idea was to make available the enormous resources of nineteenth-century periodical literature to music historians ... The great achievement of the present project is that it strikes just about the right balance between the desirable and the practical ... an essential stepping-stone into the riches of nineteenth-century periodical literature.” [71, no. 1 (February 1990)]
Revue de musicologie
“Nineteenth-century periodicals are a source of inestimable value for knowledge concerning musical life. We are delighted therefore to see the beginning of this series of publications ... Thanks to H. Robert Cohen, the General Editor, RIPM foresees the publication of about 100 volumes over a ten-year period ... We hope ... that all libraries acquire these well constructed volumes [and] that Robert Cohen continues so efficiently to render service to specialists of the nineteenth century.” [75, no. 1 (1989)]
Times Literary Supplement (London)
“Together, RISM and RILM leave a massive gap in the middle: the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The Répertoire International de la Presse Musicale now helps to bridge the gap ... These are immaculately presented volumes ... The excellence of this worthwhile project is beyond doubt.” [(31 March - 6 April 1989)]
Bulletin des Bibliothèque de France
“[RIPM] is certainly the most extensive resource for research on all aspects of nineteenth-century musical life: biographical, instrumental, composers and performers, chronicles of concerts, the development of instrument making, institutional history ... ” [47, no. 2 (January 2000)]
Fontes Artis Musicae
Journal of the International Association of Music Libraries,
Archives and Documentation Centres
“An immensely worthwhile project ... planned with the greatest care and forethought ... will unlock a mine of information ... scrupulous editorial work ... The general editor, Robert Cohen, and his team at the Center for Studies in Nineteenth-Century Music are to be congratulated on a most auspicious start ... those libraries able to subscribe to the whole set (due to amount to about 100 volumes) will eventually find themselves in possession of a tool which will prove of the greatest value to all working on music from the late-eighteenth to the early-twentieth centuries.” [36, no. 4 (1989)]
Music Library Association Notes
“RIPM is the fourth “R” in the series of music documentation projects sponsored jointly by IAML and IMS, which include Le Répertoire International des Sources Musicales (RISM), Le Répertoire International de Littérature Musicale (RILM), and Le Répertoire International d’Iconographie Musicale (RIdIM). These are, without doubt, the most important current bibliographic documentation projects in the field of music research.” [(December 1983)]
L’Informazione bibliografica
“Exemplary coordination on both sides of the Atlantic ... an essential work for the historical reconstruction of the most diverse and disparate aspects of the cultural and musical life of the nineteenth century ... Indispensable for the creation of reliable and exhaustive chronologies of individual theatres ... the careers of performers ... the repertories and tournées of numerous opera companies ... the history of local musical institutions and associations, for determining the exact date (not always easy to establish) of many music editions and numerous artistic events ... These volumes should be on the shelves of every library ... [they are] indispensable for acquiring humanistic knowledge.” [16, no. 4 (October-December 1990)]
Muziek & Wetenschap
“Of great significance for musicological research ... The importance of [RIPM] ... extends far beyond the field of musicology ... [it] will also open up many sources for other disciplines that deal with the cultural history of the period.” [no. 2 (1991)]
Online Bach Bibliography
“A very welcome addition to our research resources. Given the rapid growth of interest in recent years in researching reception history and “the Bach revival movement” in the nineteenth century, serious bibliographic coverage of this period is long overdue.” [Paper, IAML Conference, Tallinn, July 2003]
ts Tijdschrift voor Tijdschriftstudies
“The ambitious series of publications from RIPM ... should simply not be absent from any Dutch library with a collection of culture and music history.” [no. 2 (1997)]
MLA Newsletter
The RIPM publication Dwight’s Journal of Music by Dr. Richard Kitson received the Vincent H. Duckles Award from the Music Library Association for “the best book-length bibliography or reference work” of 1992. In recommending the award, the MLA Publications Awards Committee recognized: “the monumental contribution this resource will offer to the study of nineteenth-century American music ... the editorial staff of RIPM ... [is] acknowledged and thanked for their pioneering effort and bringing to life a vast heritage of musical journalism.” [(March-April 1993)]