[MEI-L] MEI, variant readings, encoding

[Richard Freedman]

Friends,

Since we've started various discussions about encoding and early  
music, here are some questions that arise from my interest in making  
digital editions of Renaissance repertories (16th century).  In our  
editions (as opposed to sources) there is relatively little that one  
could not find in the 'common practice' set of figures.  The only  
thing unusual here would be ficta signs, and perhaps the need to mark  
some ligatures.

I am especially interested to know how one would go about encoding  
variant readings in ways that readers could turn 'on' or 'off'  
depending on their choice of base text, etc.  Stefan Morent has  
already demonstrated how this might work for plainchant.  Attached  
find a pdf of a transcription we made with Sibelius in which the  
variant readings are shown as ossia parts, just for the measures in  
question.

What would a such variants look like in MEI encoding?  (Just give me  
simple explanation for one bar, perhaps).

Related questions:  since I am now starting to think about a revised  
proposal to the NEH to support the completion of the Du Chemin  
project, I am now curious to know whether MEI could be a standard for  
the encoding of the variants, or perhaps even the editions  
themselves.  All of this leads me to the next question:  how soon  
might we have tools for encoding that would look like a music editor?   
And how soon might we have some tools that would allow rendering-- 
perhaps of variants, perhaps of entire scores?

Attached please find a PDF of the edition in question.  See measure  
7-10 for an idea of the kinds of variants I have in mind.

Richard


Richard Freedman
John C. Whitehead Professor of Music
Chair, Department of Music
Haverford College

rfreedma at haverford.edu
610-896-1007 (o)
610-896-4902 (f)
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