Chapter 4 - The physical objects of the compositional process

Summary

Terminology

From expensive handmade paper to Conlon Nancarrow’s player piano rolls, composers have employed a vast variety of physical objects to work out and conserve their musical ideas. Whatever their current condition may be (extremely fragile or extraordinarily robust), they will deteriorate over time, and sooner or later disappear. The steps taken by libraries and archives to mitigate this process will impinge (both positively and negatively) on the study of the information these objects convey. Crucially important source material may be temporarily or permanently removed from consultation because the paper can no longer sustain further manipulation. In the past, this has forced scholars to work with murky microfilm copies on which un-stemmed noteheads and specks of dust were sometimes rather difficult to distinguish. This chapter will examine the physical objects that composers use as vehicles for the transmission of their work and some of the most common techniques employed to preserve and conserve them.

What do we mean when we speak of the archival preservation or conservation? Often these terms are used as though they were synonymous. Librarians, curators, archivists and the institutions they work for employ them to establish hierarchical categories. For example, Library and Archives Canada uses archival preservation as an umbrella term that refers to all actions taken to prevent damage and ensure the long-term survival of the physical object and its content, as well as the relevant metadata contained in archival records. Such actions typically include the housing of objects in a secure environment and the careful management of risk. Within the broad category of preservation, the term conservation is defined more restrictively. It refers to invasive actions through which changes are brought to bear on the physical object to improve or maintain its attributes. This can include the de-acidification of paper, the repair of tears and holes and the removal of external substances that are harmful to the long-term stability of the object. Numerous institutions, including the British National Archives, define preservation and conservation in these terms and they will be applied here.