The Endangered Music Archive adopts a transparent, collection-based methodology designed to balance historical fidelity with practical accessibility. The archive’s approach reflects the reality that historical music collections are often incomplete, inconsistent, and shaped by the conditions of their survival.
Rather than attempting to impose modern systems of order or interpretation, the archive seeks to document collections as they exist, while clearly identifying the limits of what can be known.
A collection-first approach
Each archive entry belongs to a specific historical collection. Collections are treated as primary historical artefacts, not merely as containers for individual works.
This approach recognises that:
- repertoire choices reflect institutional and social contexts
- catalogue structures reveal patterns of use and circulation
- omissions and anomalies carry historical meaning
Where possible, relationships between works, parts, publishers, and ensembles are preserved as evidence rather than normalised.
Documentation before interpretation
The Endangered Music Archive prioritises documentation over interpretation.
Descriptions aim to record what is present, observable, and verifiable. Interpretive commentary is limited and clearly separated from descriptive data. Where uncertainty exists — for example regarding dates, authorship, instrumentation, or completeness — it is acknowledged explicitly rather than resolved speculatively.
This approach allows users to form their own conclusions based on transparent evidence.
Digitisation principles
Digitisation within the archive follows principles of proportionality and respect for original materials.
- Materials are digitised to preserve informational content rather than to create performance-ready editions.
- Visual features such as annotations, stamps, wear, and layout are retained where they contribute to historical understanding.
- Digitisation does not imply completeness, authority, or editorial correction.
The archive does not aim to replace physical collections, but to supplement them through documentation and access.
Metadata and structure
Metadata is used to support discovery, context, and comparison across collections.
The archive employs structured descriptive fields to record:
- titles and alternative titles
- names of individuals and organisations associated with materials
- instrumentation and ensemble type (where evident)
- publication or circulation details
- relationships between items within a collection
Metadata reflects the state of current knowledge and may evolve as further research is undertaken.
Transparency and revision
The Endangered Music Archive is a living scholarly resource.
Records may be revised, expanded, or corrected over time as new information becomes available. Changes reflect the ongoing nature of historical research rather than errors in principle.
Users are encouraged to treat the archive as an evolving documentation project rather than a fixed or final authority.
Limits of the method
No attempt is made to:
- create critical or modernised editions
- reconstruct missing materials speculatively
- standardise historical inconsistencies
- impose contemporary classification systems retrospectively
These choices are deliberate and reflect the archive’s commitment to historical honesty.
Relationship to other pages
This methodological approach underpins all areas of the Endangered Music Archive. For further context, see:
Method is not a constraint on discovery, but the means by which discovery remains credible.