IMSLP Forums

Forgive me if this has been raised before but it seems to me that much would be gained by entering into some sort of collaborative relationship with the Choral Public Domain Library and its excellent collection. I much appreciate the links on IMSLP to the relevant page of the (also magnificent) bach-cantatas.com website for each J S Bach cantata as it saves so much hassle and wonder if something similar cannot also be done by, say, linking the CPDL index to IMSLP. Really have much admired and benefited your work over the years. WITH MANY THANKS.

Octavius wrote:I much appreciate the links on IMSLP to the relevant page of the (also magnificent) bach-cantatas.com website for each J S Bach cantata as it saves so much hassle .

Thank you.

I once suggested the possibility of merging the two collections (CPDL and IMSLP), but Choralia quickly talked me out of the idea .

BKhon wrote:Choralia quickly talked me out of the idea

Yes, we (Bkohn and myself) privately discussed about the possibility to merge CPDL and IMSLP. My personal opinion (that does not necessarily represent CPDL's opinion) is that there are some specific aspects in CPDL that are not present in IMSLP, and vice versa. Having a unique project without losing such specific aspects of both projects seems currently quite difficult.

Generally speaking, creating and maintaining "transversal" links between different websites requires a significant effort. The risk that something is changed on a website resulting in a broken link on the other website is pretty large. I would propose something that is simpler to create and maintain: a "transversal search page" that looks for the same keywords (e.g., composer, work title, etc.) both on IMSLP and CPDL, and provides a single output with all results found on either website. So, the user may know, through a single query and a single output page, all results available on IMSLP and on CPDL. The principle might be then extended to other websites, such as bach-cantatas.com as mentioned by Octavius, or the Werner Icking Music Archive.

Max

Many thanks for these responses. Choralia's suggestion of a "transversal search page" seems most excellent to me: I do hope some progress can be made in that direction. Adding other websites would also be great. I would agree that one could be the Werner Icking Music Archive. And what about The Lied, Art Song, and Choral Texts Page (at http://www.recmusic.org/lieder/) which I increasingly visit?

What a wonderful and constructive use you have made of the world wide web. The last time I wrote was to offer encouragment during your close-down period. I am sure that I am but one of countless music makers (along with the heavenly host of composers now no longer with us) who were delighted at the outcome and have since watched you grow with admiration and a deep appreciation of all you have accomplished.

I've created a (rather horrible) "transversal search page" prototype, that searches IMSLP and CPDL using the same keywords, and provides the results on the same window, divided into two sub-windows (IMSLP results on top, CPDL results at the bottom). This is the URL of the prototype:

http://www.choralia.net/scorefinder/scorefinder.php

Usage is quite obvious: enter a keyword and press "search". The "IMSLP option" and "CPDL option" drop-down menus allow to choose some search options, including the possibility to exclude either website from search, or to get the results provided by google for the same keyword on the website in subject.

Maybe useful for somebody, or just rubbish?

Max