Reference Sources
Reference sources are designed to provide users with quick and authoritative background information on a given subject. They are the ideal place to familiarize yourself with a subject and its existing literature, although they should never be the culmination of your research process. On this page, learn about important reference databases like Oxford Music Online, explore specific entries, and view recommended reference books.
Online Reference Databases
Oxford Music Online is the primary reference source for music research. Its detailed entries on many of the great figures in music, musical instruments, and genres make it the best place for you to begin your research. Much of its content derives from a print publication called The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Second Edition, and sometimes your professors might refer to Oxford Music Online as "the Grove." Many entries, however, have been updated since that work's publication in 2001, and Oxford Music Online also incorporates entries from The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, Second Edition, The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, and The Grove Dictionary of American Music, Second Edition. Therefore, Oxford Music Online offers valuable information, regardless of genre.
To search Oxford Music Online, type the name of a composer, musician, instrument, genre, or another term into the main search bar near the top of your screen. You can also browse entries by clicking "Browse" and selecting from one of the categories provided. Narrow down your results by selecting filters to your left. Be aware that some terms will have multiple entries due to Oxford's incorporation of multiple print publications. You can determine which publication you have found by looking at either the URL or date of publication. Select the one which is most comprehensive or best suits your needs.
Because Oxford entries are designed for reference and not for continuous reading, you might wish to read only sections of longer entries. Notice the pane titled Article Navigation to the left of your screen and use it to navigate to relevant sections. Also use it to jump ahead to various lists at the end of each entry. These include lists of compositions (or "Works") by composers as well as the "Bibliography" section. These can each be vital tools as you expand your research outward to specific compositions and the scholarly writings of other authors.
Although Oxford Music Online is the most comprehensive music reference work, other databases and websites offer more specialized information within their subdisciplines. Among these, The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music is primary in the field of ethnomusicology. Garland is available both in print and through Alexander Street's Music Online platform. Meanwhile, The Encyclopedia of Popular Music can be accessed through Oxford Reference Online. Websites like the African Diaspora Music Project, Boulanger Initiative Database, and IRCAM Resource Center are excellent, free resources with specific concentrations: African and African American classical music, music of women composers, and contemporary classical music, respectively.
Reference Databases and Resources:
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African Diaspora Music Project The African Diaspora Music Project seeks to create a repository for the concert works of composers of the African Diaspora; to provide access to scores, recordings, and programmatic information about these composers and their extant works for students, teachers, professionals and presenters; to encourage the research, exploration and performance of these works; and to assist students who wish to enter the George Shirley African American Art Song and Operatic Aria Competition with appropriate repertoire choices.
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Biography Reference Source Biography Reference Source is a comprehensive collection of full-text biographies and unique narrative biographies. You can either search using a person's name or browse categories such as occupation and nationality. This database can be useful for finding information on poets, novelists, playwrights, and other historical figures who might not be included in music encyclopedias.
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Boulanger Initiative Database (BID) Boulanger Initiative advocates for women and all gender marginalized composers. We foster inclusivity and representation to expand and enrich the collective understanding of what music is, has been, and can be. We promote music composed by women through performance, education, research, consulting, and commissions. At the Database, explore over 8,000 works by more than 1,200 composers with ease, available to you for free.
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Composer Diversity Database From the Institute for Composer Diversity at SUNY Fredonia, the Composer Diversity Database is a searchable listing of women and non-binary composers, those from historically excluded racial, ethnic, or cultural heritages, and/or people who identify in the LGBTQIA2S+ community. Only composers who have consented to being included appear in the Database. Started in 2016, the Database is still largely under construction.
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The Encyclopedia of Popular Music Edited by Colin Larkin, this encyclopedia's 30,000 entries cover all genres and periods of popular music from 1900 to the present day, including jazz, country, folk, rap, reggae, techno, musicals, and world music. The expanded Fourth Edition includes thousands of new entries on trends, styles, record labels, venues, and music festivals. Key dates, biographies, and further reading are provided for artists covered, along with complete discographies that include record labels, release dates, and a 5-star album rating system. Included in this Oxford Digital Reference Shelf edition are online-exclusive entries that originally appeared on Oxford Music Online.
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Gale eBooks Gale eBooks is a collection of searchable subject encyclopedias and reference books from Gale Publishing and many other publishers, including nearly 500 specialized background sources in a wide variety of subjects. Choose your field of study under the "Subjects" heading to see the titles in your area. For music books, look under the subject "Arts."
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The Grove Dictionary of American Music Edited by Charles Hiroshi Garrett, The Grove Dictionary of American Music is the largest, most comprehensive reference publication on American Music. Twenty-five years ago, the four volumes of the first edition of the dictionary initiated a great expansion in American music scholarship. This second edition reflects the growth in scholarship the first edition initiated. At eight volumes, it provides greatly expanded coverage, particularly in the areas of popular music, cities and regions, musical theater, opera, concert music, and music technology, as well as the musical traditions of many ethnic and cultural groups.
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IRCAM Resource Center (formerly B.R.A.H.M.S. Database) The IRCAM Resource Center (formerly B.R.A.H.M.S. Database on Contemporary Music) is published by the Institute for Research and Coordination in Acoustics/Music (IRCAM) and provides information about contemporary composers and their works. Although much of the text is in French, many entries allow users to select an English translation.
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Music Online: The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music Online provides electronic access to the award-winning print resource of the same name. It contains more than 700 articles contributed by experts on the music of the world's peoples and is over 9,000 pages long. The database, which includes all illustrations from the print edition, also includes audio examples of musical performances from around the world.
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Oxford Companion to Music Edited by Alison Latham, this new online-only edition of The Oxford Companion to Music is a partial revision that focuses on living composers and their music, and adds some terms, works, and cross-references to the original text. Bibliographies have also been substantially revised and updated. This classic reference work includes articles that range from clear, concise definitions of musical ideas and terms to extended surveys of musical forms and styles, with specialist coverage of virtually every musical subject. It places music in its social and cultural context, with a range of new entries on topics such as politics, religion, psychology, and computers. The book covers current research in and approaches to music, including analysis, theory, ethnomusicology, and performance practice. All varieties of musical forms are covered, including jazz, popular music, and dance.
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Oxford History of Western Music The Oxford History of Western Music online offers an unmatched account of the evolution of Western classical music by one of the most prominent and provocative musicologists of our time, Richard Taruskin. Since its original publication in print Taruskin’s landmark study has received universal acclaim and numerous awards. The full text, which was printed in five thick volumes in print, is now available for the first time in an interactive digital format. The online version includes all 1.25 million words, 500 images, and 1,800 musical examples from the updated paperback edition with sophisticated search and browse functionality designed to maximize the dynamic possibilities of online reading and research.
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Oxford Music Online Oxford Music Online is the authoritative resource for music research with over 52,000 articles written by nearly 9,000 scholars charting the diverse history and cultures of music around the globe. It is the gateway to Grove Music Online which compiles invaluable resources like The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Second Edition (2001), The New Grove Dictionary of Opera (1992), The Grove Dictionary of American Music (2013), The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz (2002), and others. Oxford Music Online also provides access to The Oxford Dictionary of Music (2013) and The Oxford Companion to Music (2011), resources which are based in Oxford Reference Online.
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Oxford Reference Online Searchable and browsable collection of highly trusted reference books. Dictionaries and encyclopedias in Oxford Reference Online include general works, foreign-language works, and specialized subject works in the arts, humanities, sciences, and social sciences. Note: Oxford Reference Online is separate from the familiar Oxford Music Online, and it has its own set of twelve music dictionaries and encyclopedias. These can be found under the Subject tab or through the search bar.
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RISM Inventory of Musical Sources RISM is a comprehensive index of musical sources produced by the Répertoire International des Sources Musicales. It contains records for manuscripts, printed editions, libretti, and treatises held in music libraries, archives, churches, private collections, and other institutions around the world. It also contains many digitized items.
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Wind Repertory Project The Wind Repertory Project is a comprehensive database of wind literature, expanded by contributions of band directors/conductors, students, and wind band enthusiasts worldwide. Our goal is to help you find detailed information about wind band literature, including program notes, instrumentation, errata, media links, academic resources, and more.
Also be sure to consult librarian-designed research guides and specialized print reference works, such as bibliographies and discographies, as you pursue your research.
Print Reference Books
Most reference books for choral music are located in the Music Reference section shelved in ranges 36 through 38. The recommended books below are sorted by their call numbers and include specialized dictionaries (ML102.V6), encyclopedias (also ML102.V6), and bibliographies (ML128.C48). Other reference works are shelved nearby according to their genres, including madrigals and spirituals. Hover over the info icon to see a description of the book.
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Historical Dictionary of Choral Music
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The rich history of choral music, primarily in the Western world, is the subject of this new volume by Unger, professor of music at Baldwin-Wallace College. He has compiled entries for composers and their choral works, choral genres, and technical terms as well as prominent conductors and organizations known for their contribution to choral music. The chronology preceding the main text provides a glimpse at key historical choral events, beginning with the standardization of Roman Catholic plainsong during the reign of Pope Gregory the Great (AD 590-604) and continuing with other choral milestones, premieres, etc., through 2003. Biographical entries vary in length from short paragraphs to several pages and include cross-references to teachers, influences, styles, and so forth. Unger's approach is to focus on each composer or artist as associated with choral music. Sergey Prokofiev, for example, is known primarily for orchestral and stage works, and readers must wade through a typical reference entry about him for information about his choral output
Call Number: ML102.V6 U54 2010 (Music Reference)Publication Date: 2010 -
American Masses and Requiems
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Giving brief, essential information on some 700 works, this guide illustrates the scope of Mass and Requiem compositions of the United States from the early nineteenth century to the present day.
Call Number: ML128.C2 D4 1990 (Music Reference)Publication Date: 1990 -
The Chorus in Opera: A Guide to the Repertory
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Choruses excerpted from nearly 850 operas from the Baroque to the present day.
Call Number: ML128.C48 D47 1993 (Music Reference)Publication Date: 1993 -
Choral-Orchestral Repertoire: A Conductor's Guide
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Choral-Orchestral Repertoire: A Conductor's Guide, Omnibus Edition offers an expansive compilation of choral-orchestral works from 1600 to the present. Synthesizing Jonathan D. Green's earlier six volumes on this repertoire, this edition updates and adds to the over 750 oratorios, cantatas, choral symphonies, masses, secular works for large and small ensembles, and numerous settings of liturgical and biblical texts for a wide variety of vocal and instrumental combinations. Each entry includes a brief biographical sketch of the composer, approximate duration, text sources, performing forces, available editions, and locations of manuscript materials, as well as descriptive commentary, a discography, and a bibliography. Unique to this edition are practitioner's evaluations of the performance issues presented in each score.
Call Number: ML128.C48 G68 2020 (Music Reference)Publication Date: 2020 -
Choral Music: A Research and Information Guide
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This is an annotated bibliography to books, recordings, videos, and websites on choral music. This book will serve as an excellent tool for librarians, researchers, and scholars in sorting through the massive amount of new material that has appeared since publication of the previous edition.
Call Number: ML128.C48 S53 2011 (Music Reference)Publication Date: 2011 -
Choral Repertoire
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Choral Repertoire is the definitive and comprehensive one-volume presentation of the canon of the Western choral tradition. Designed for practicing conductors and directors, students and teachers of choral music, amateur and professional singers, scholars, and interested vocal enthusiasts, it is an account of the complete choral output of the most significant composers of this genre throughout history. Organized by era (Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and Modern), Choral Repertoire covers general characteristics of each historical era; trends and styles unique to various countries; biographical sketches of over 500 composers; and performance annotations of more than 5,000 individual works. This book will be an essential guide to programming, a reference tool for program notes and other research, and, most importantly, a key resource for conductors, instructors, scholars, and students of choral music.
Call Number: ML128.C48 S57 2009 (Music Reference)Publication Date: 2009 -
The Choral Music of Latin America: A Guide to Compositions and Research
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The first general reference work on Latin American choral music, this research guide catalogs composers and their works from 1550 to the present. It provides bio-bibliographical and stylistic information about composers and detailed information about specific works, including choral and instrumental requirements, and duration and source information such as publishers, manuscripts, locations, and recordings. In addition to the main catalog, the volume offers a brief history of music in Latin America emphasizing choral music; a guide to research in the field; bibliographies of literature on the subject, of biographies, and of periodicals; and a discography with library holdings. Useful appendixes list music publishers and recording companies of Latin American classical music; scholars, research institutions, and schools of music in the United States with a special interest in Latin American music; scholars, research institutions, and schools of music in Latin America; and music archives in Latin America. A comprehensive research tool for Latin American choral music, this volume will also serve scholars and researchers as a basic guide to sources for Latin American classical music. Both scholarly and practical, it will be valuable for choruses, orchestras, and other performing groups.
Call Number: ML128.C48 T5 1992 (Music Reference)Publication Date: 1992 -
Catalogue of Choral Music Arranged in Biblical Order
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Designed as an aid for the church musician or pastor who would like to locate choral settings based on a particular passage from the Scripture. This second edition of Laster's Catalog combines in one volume the listings from the first catalog with the huge amount of material that has appeared since 1973. Entries are arranged from Genesis through Revelation.
Call Number: ML128.C54 L4 1983 (Music Reference)Publication Date: 1983 -
The Madrigal: A Research and Information Guide
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The Madrigal: A Research and Information Guide is the first comprehensive annotated bibliography of scholarship on virtually all aspects of madrigal composition, production, and consumption. It contains 1,237 entries for items in English, French, German, and Italian. Scholars, students, teachers, librarians, and performers now have access to this rich literature in a single volume.
Call Number: ML128.M2 L49 2011 (Music Reference)Publication Date: 2011 -
Spirituals: A Multidisciplinary Bibliography for Research and Performance
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Spirituals originated among enslaved Africans in America during the colonial era. They resonate throughout African American history from that time to the civil rights movement, from the cotton fields to the concert stage, and influenced everything from gospel music to blues and rap. They have offered solace in times of suffering, served as clandestine signals on the Underground Railroad, and been a source of celebration and religious inspiration. Spirituals are born from the womb of African American experience, yet they transcend national, disciplinary, and linguistic boundaries as they connect music, theology, literature and poetry, history, society, and education. In doing so, they reach every aspect of human experience. To make sense of the immense impact spirituals have made on music, culture, and society, this bibliography cites writings from a multidisciplinary perspective. This annotated bibliography documents articles, books, and dissertations published since 1902. Of those, 150 are books; 80 are chapters within books; 615 are journal articles, and 150 are dissertations, along with a selection of highly significant items published before 1920. The most recent publications included date from early 2014. Disciplines researched include music, literature and poetry, American history, religion, and African American Studies. Items included in the annotated bibliography are limited to English-language sources that were published in the United States and focus on African American spirituals in the United States, but there are a few select citations that focus on spirituals outside of the United States. Of the one thousand annotations, they are divided, roughly evenly, between: general studies and geographical studies; information about early spirituals; use of spirituals in art music, church music, and popular music; composers who based music on spirituals; performers of spirituals (ensembles and individuals); Bible, theology, and religious education; literature and poetry; pedagogical considerations, including the teaching of spirituals as well as prominent educators; reference works and a list of resources that were unavailable for review but are potentially useful. This book also offers considerable depth on particular topics such as the Fisk Jubilee Singers and William Grant Still with over thirty citations devoted to each. At the same time, materials included are quite diverse, with topics such as spirituals in Zora Neale Hurston's novels; bible studies based on spirituals; enriching the teaching of geography through spirituals; Marian Anderson's historic concert at the Lincoln Memorial; spiritual roots of rap; teaching dialect to singers; expressing African American religion in spirituals; Samuel Coleridge-Taylor's music; slave tradition of singing among the Gullah. The book contains indices by author, subject, and spiritual title. Additionally, an appendix of spirituals by biblical reference, listing both spiritual title to scriptural reference as well as scripture to spiritual title is included.
Call Number: ML128.S4 A29 2015 (Music Reference)Publication Date: 2015
Interlibrary Loan
Users are encouraged to search for items beyond University Libraries' catalog via RILM Abstracts of Music Literature and WorldCat. Materials not available in print or online may be requested through Interlibrary Loan. Please allow up to seven days for electronic delivery and up to fourteen days for delivery of physical items.