The Library of Congress >> Especially
for Librarians and Archivists >> StandardsThe Library of Congress >> Especially
for Librarians and Archivists >> Standards
HOME >> MARC Development >> Proposals List
MARC FAST-TRACK PROPOSAL
DATE: April 2, 2018
REVISED:
NAME: Revising Published Definition of Subfield $r in Field 382 in the MARC 21 Bibliographic and Authority Formats
SOURCE: Music Library Association
SUMMARY: This proposal seeks to revise the final published definition of subfield $r (Total number of individuals performing alongside ensembles) in MARC field 382 (Medium of Performance) in order to restore the original intent for the subfield as set out in the establishing Proposal 2016-02.
KEYWORDS: Subfield $r, in field 382 (AD, BD); Total number of individuals performing alongside ensembles (AD, BD); Field 382 (AD, BD); Medium of performance (AD, BD)
RELATED: 2016-02
STATUS/COMMENTS:
04/02/18 – Submitted to the MARC Steering Group for consideration as a MARC Fast-Track proposal.
04/24/18 – Results of MARC Steering Group review - Approved, with the following editorial amendment (also approved by MLA): Reword the proposed definition as follows:
$r – Total number of individuals performing alongside ensembles (NR)
The total number of individual performers given in all instances of subfield $a and subfield $b needed to perform in the musical work/expression alongside one or more ensembles. Use subfield $s to record total number of individual performers when no ensembles are involved.
04/27/18 – Changes made to the MARC documentation as part of MARC Update No. 26 (April 2018).
This proposal seeks to revise the final published definition of subfield $r in MARC field 382 in order to restore the original intent for the subfield as set out in the establishing Proposal 2016-02. The proposed text from the proposal:
$r – Total number of individuals performing alongside ensembles (NR)
The total number of individual performers needed to perform in the musical work/expression when the work/expression also requires one or more ensembles. Include both individuals recorded in subfield $a and soloists in subfield $b. Use subfield $s to record total number of individual performers when no ensembles are involved.
In effect, in all works involving ensembles and additional individuals, regardless of whether they were soloists or serving in another role, subfield $r would serve as the place to record the number of all individual performers, and subfield $t would record the numbers of ensembles. The hope is that a query service could be built to allow a user to query for an exact medium of performance using the total numbers of individuals and ensembles.
Below, however, is the final text as published in the MARC21 documentation for the Bibliographic and Authority formats:
$r - Total number of individuals performing alongside ensembles
The total number of individual performers given in all instances of subfield $b needed to perform in the musical work/expression alongside one or more ensembles. Use subfield $s to record total number of individual performers when no ensembles are involved.
The revised wording would allow the coding in Field 382 of the exact number of soloists and ensembles. However, it would not allow the clear coding of the fairly common scenario in music where a work or expression will be scored for solo parts, one or more ensembles, and one or more additional individual performers whom a musician would not consider to be soloists. The most common example of this would be of a piano accompanist performing alongside vocal soloists and an ensemble such as a chorus. The current subfield $r definition would not permit the accompanist to be coded in any of the total subfields--neither $r, $s, nor $t. With this information missing, it would be less likely that a query on this data could return a definitive medium of performance statement when these additional performers are present.
This example is from the original Proposal 2016-02, but still relevant to this discussion.
Amy Beach’s Service in A, for soprano, alto, tenor, bass solo voices, SATB chorus, and organ, coded below in accordance with the original wording of 2016-02:
382 01 $b soprano voice $n 1 $b alto voice $n 1 $b tenor voice $n 1 $b bass voice $n 1 $a mixed chorus $e 1 $v SATB $a organ $n 1 $r 5 $t 1 $2 lcmpt
The above coding definitively states that a total of one ensemble and five additional individuals are required. That four of the individuals serve in solo roles can be ascertained from their being recorded in subfield $b. With the revised wording currently in place, there would be no way to record the total number of all individuals.
Original works such as this, scored for individuals performing solo and accompanying roles alongside ensembles, are not unusual. Perhaps more common are arrangements of larger works where an accompanist might play the part originally written for an orchestra accompanying a chorus with soloists, of which the following expression is an example.
Mark Grey’s Enemy slayer, a Navajo oratorio, originally scored for baritone soloist, mixed chorus, and orchestra, here published as a piano/vocal score where the orchestral parts have been arranged for one piano. As in the preceding example, this field has been coded along the lines of the original wording in 2016-02:
382 01 $b baritone voice $n 1 $a mixed chorus $e 1 $a piano $n 1 $r 2 $t 1 $2 lcmpt
If a cataloger were to attempt to code this example under the current definition of subfield $r, they would be able to record the single soloist and one orchestra, but would be forced to leave in limbo the piano part.
It has been suggested that best practices could be developed so that non-soloists could be coded as soloists for situations like the two scenarios above. However, there is a clear distinction in musicians’ minds between soloists and other musicians such as accompanists. Adjusting coding definitions for these scenarios would prove confusing and would not be well received.
If the revised wording for subfield $r is accepted, the two examples currently in the documentation would continue to be accurate. We would suggest adding one of the examples above to show that subfield $r would be used in a medium of performance statement that would include both soloists and other kinds of individual performers performing alongside an ensemble.
In field 382 (Medium of Performance) of the MARC 21 Bibliographic and Authority Formats, revise the definition of subfield $r as follows:
$r – Total number of individuals performing alongside ensembles (NR)
The total number of individual performers needed to perform in the musical work/expression when the work/expression also requires one or more ensembles. Include both individuals recorded in subfield $a and soloists in subfield $b. Use subfield $s to record total number of individual performers when no ensembles are involved.
HOME >> MARC Development >> Proposals List
| The Library of Congress >> Especially for Librarians and Archivists >> Standards (04/27/2018) |
Legal | External Link Disclaimer | Contact Us |