Musical Source Material: Documentation and Archival Work at the Swedish Music HistoryArchiveAuthor(s): Inger EnquistSource: Fontes Artis Musicae, Vol. 34, No. 2/3 (April-September 1987), pp. 108-112Published by: International Association of Music Libraries, Archives, and Documentation Centres(IAML)Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/23507416 .

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108 I- Enquist: Musical Source Material: Documentation and Archival Work...

publishing companies. However, it seems to me that the opposite is the case. 200 years, even

100 years ago, the activity of Swedish music publishing was hardly of any real importance for

the world outside of Scandinavia. But today quite obviously, the output of Swedish music

publishing is a necessary part of the global music world. Not only because there are some

Swedish composers and some Swedish music that form an integrated part of the music life of

many countries, but also because foreign music publishers would not be able to find the

avenues towards Swedish and Scandinavian music life without Swedish and Scandinavian

colleagues as relay-stations. No publishing company in the world is able today to survey and analyse the structure and

thereby the market, of all other countries. The greater efficiency of music production, distribution and consumption have not only in some ways integrated the world, but also in

other respects made it more necessary to identify and localise the regional "know-how".

This is the most important reason for optimism for the future of music publishing in Sweden.

La musique des compositeurs suédois n'a pas toujours été publiée par des éditeurs suédois. A une certaine époque, presque tout était publié à Leipzig. Même à l'heure actuelle, toute la musique suédoise n'est pas publiée, bien que certaines maisons se soient spécialisées dans des domaines particuliers, comme la musique de la jeune avant-garde. La plus grande partie de la production est constituée d'œuvres scolaires et chorales. Bien que l'édition musicale suédoise soit identique à celle d'autres pays, il existe des différences importantes, notamment la grande quantité de musique chorale publiée. Le 19e siècle a produit beaucoup de musique «en location» ainsi que de très beaux tirages de partitions vocales. Il s'agissait, dans de nombreux cas, du seul contact du public avec la musique. A notre époque, on consomme beaucoup plus de musique par la radio ou le disque. L'âge d'or de l'édition musicale est

révolu, mais il reste des raisons d'espérer. Dans un monde à présent très international, on a toujours besoin du savoir-faire local.

*

Die Musik schwedischer Komponisten erschien nicht immer in schwedischen Verlagen, sondern z. B. in Leipzig. Auch heute wird nicht alles gedruckt, obwohl sich einige Verleger etwa auf die Musik der

Avantgarde spezialisiert haben. Den größten Teil der Produktion macht jedoch Material für Schul- und Chormusik aus. Gerade durch die große Menge an Chormusik unterscheidet sich das schwedische

Musikverlagswesen von anderen Ländern, auch wenn es im allgemeinen ähnlich ist. Im 19. Jahrhundert

gab es sehr viel mehr „Leihmaterial" und schön gedruckte Chorpartituren, für viele Menschen oft der

einzige Weg, mit Musik in Kontakt zu kommen. Heute wird Musik vor allem durch das Radio und die

Schallplatte aufgenommen. Das goldene Zeitalter des Musikverlags ist vorbei. Doch dürfte am „Know how" des örtlichen Fachmanns immer Bedarf sein in einer Welt, die sehr international geworden ist.

Musical Source Material: Documentation and Archival Work at the Swedish Music History Archive' Inger Enquist (Stockholm)'

Many different kinds of organizations have archives that are-or certainly should be-of interest to musicologists. Those of a business, say of an instrument maker's firm, may tell a lot about their production. Military regiments offer another good example ; their inventories often show that their archives include both written music and documents about their musical activities. The presence of music manuscripts in family or estate archives is far from a rare

* Paper given at the IAML Congress in Stockholm 10-15 August 1986 at a meeting of the Project Group on

Archives.-For a short history and general description of the Swedish Music History Archive see the article by Veslemöy Heintz in: Fontes artis musicae 33/2 (1986), p. 171-174. * *

Inger Enquist is Archivist at the Svenskt Musikhistoriskt Arkiv, Stockholm.

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I. Enquist: Musical Source Material: Documentation and Archival Work... 109

occurence. And then of course there are all the different kinds of corporate bodies such as

musical societies, choral groups and so forth. Naturally, these kinds of organizations with

obvious musical ties fall under the inventoriai eye of a documentation center such as the

Swedish Music History Archive (SMA). Yet even non-musical organizations may hold

important musical source material. The types of archives considered by SMA for inventory and registration are therefore not only far-flung but surprisingly varied. And it is chiefly on

this account that SMA does not function as a repository. For one thing it is doubtful whether

one should make depots restricted to a certain subject matter; for another, since a great deal

of the material in question is found in archives which are not primarily musical in nature, their holdings belong more properly to other sorts of institutions. In Sweden official records

are by law administered by archive authorities. The SMA therefore concentrates its

resources on amassing detailed information about musical source material, from the single document to complete archives, wherever it may be deposited throughout the country.

When working with archival material it is necessary to keep in mind certain well

established terms and the principles behind them. Here the distinction between collection

and archive deserves emphasis. A collection is an accumulation of documents of any

provenance. It is brought together on the basis of some common characteristic such as

subject matter, whereas an archive has to do with a single provenance. Provenance refers to

the institution or the individual that created and accumulated the records in the conduct of

its (his/her) business. Thus the documents also reflect their different activities and explain

why it is important to keep records of the same provenance together and not intermingle them with those of any other provenance. This is the so-called "principle of provenance". The information value is found in the archive as such and not only in each separate document ; in an archive the documents are in one way or another connected with each other

and it is this tie which must not be destroyed. How does SMA go about collecting information on source material? To a certain extent

the staff can make its own inventories of holdings ; but in order to come to grips with the

great bulk of material it must have outside assistance. To this end SMA sends out an annual

questionnaire to archives, libraries and museums throughout the country. Together with the

answers to these questionnaires, institutions often kindly send along inventories of specific archives in their holdings. These are simply lists of what the records contain and work as

finding aids. An inventory often has an introduction including a brief history of the organization in

question. This is followed by a list of various series. A series contains related items resulting from the same kind of activity and may consist of several volumes covering a number of

years. One series, for example, may hold minutes from meetings, chronologically arranged;

another, membership lists; a third correspondence; then there may be a series devoted to

book-keeping; and so on. Each series has its own signum corresponding to the labels on the

boxes in which the actual papers are stored. Thus by using the inventory one can easily locate the volume of interest.

Making the information on archival materials known to the community of scholars at large

is one of the guiding principles of SMA. Thus it publishes an annual list of new acquisitions

and holdings in its Bulletin. For further information, however, the reader is encouraged to

consult SMA's National Register of Musical Source Material. Here the information is

recorded on special forms, closely related to those used by the National Archives of Sweden

for their registration of private archives (see illustration, p. 111). Similar forms have of

course the advantage of facilitating exchange of information. The following specifications

are made: provenance (usually simply the name of the record), location and active period of

the organization/person in question and type of record (e. g., official record, business

archive, archive of a corporate body, family or estate). Naturally the present location of the

record is also registered. The identity of the actual owner of the material is also of

importance, because depositors sometimes place restrictions on usage. If SMA has an

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110 I. Enquist: Musical Source Material: Documentation and Archival Work...

inventory of a particular record or perhaps even reproductions of some of the items in it, then these details appear on the form as well. Finally, one finds a description of the content:

usually an abridged version of the inventory; for a single item in a non-musical

organization's record, however, quotation of the excerpt is often sufficient.

The next and probably most vital step in the documentation process involves arranging these categories of information so that the researchers can find their way into and through

specific kinds of archival material. After all, the usefulness of a documentation center is only as great as the possibilities for searching it permit. For this reason, at SMA a decisive factor

influencing the further subdivisions of the National Register has been the types of questions most commonly asked regarding source material. Requests like the following typical

examples thus helped to determine the choice of index entries under which copies of the

main forms in the Register are filed. One scholar may, for instance, ask to see a specific

archive; another may be interested in the musical activities of a certain kind of corporate

body or the musical life in a particular town or wish to know about a specific musician ; a

third may look for particular kinds of documents-text or written music-or have questions on a special subject. In the latter case subject headings provide ready access to the relevant

material. The possibilities for retrieval of information are therefore manifold and keyed to

seven index entries: provenance, category of archive, repository, type of document,

topographical entry, biographical entry and subject headings. In addition to dealing with archival material that is already properly administered, SMA

also offers practical assistance to individuals and corporate bodies on how best to preserve their records. Since keeping papers at an archival institution usually provides the surest

guarantee that they will be protected from destruction, giving advice on suitable deposit of

records constitutes one of SMA'a important duties. The category of records in question determines what sort of institution is recommended. Possibilities include the National

Archives, a regional or local archive or, in some cases, a library or museum. Questions of

proper repository only arise in connection with private archives because official records are

already protected by law and handled by archive authorities throughout the country. SMA

also tries actively to trace records of musical organizations. All too often interesting private archives have been lost.

A further aspect of this practical side of SMA's work include the actual arrangement of

records and the making of inventories, both procedures in themselves involving several

steps. When making an arrangement one must have respect for the existing archival

structure: the arrangement should reflect the function of the originating agency. Arranging sometimes brings up the delicate question of weeding, something which of course must be

tackled carefully. Usually one tries merely to get rid of copies in order to save space.

Nowadays the work of arranging and making inventories is facilitated by classification

plans-a kind of "thinking ahead" concerning current records and open files. A predeter mined filing plan is used for the physical arrangement, storage and retrieval of files.

In quantity and diversity SMA's archival work represents a level of ambition (unfortu

nately) not matched by existing funding. Slow progress, alas, is often the unavoidable

concomitant of limited economic resources. But even if circumstances more than justify the

designation "long-term-enterprises" for a good deal of SMA's regular work, occasional tasks such as giving lectures or archival guidance fill an important role and deserve not to be

neglected. Finally, on the other end of the spectrum, the goal is to elaborate upon the material collected and publish compilations, surveys of interesting collections, annotated inventories and the like. The possibilities are myriad ; musical research can only benefit from their achievement.

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I. Enquist: Musical Source Material: Documentation and Archival Work... Ill

SMA-Form for the Registration of

Musical Source Material in Sweden

name Provenance

verksamhetstid/levnadsAr Active period

ort/region Place, region

kategori Category of archive e.g. official records, business

archive, archive of corporate body, family or estate

omfattning Size, in volumes or

linear metres

tid Period covered by documents

aktualitet Information received /

year

seriebetecknin g/signum/in V. -nr. Signum

innehAll/Arende

Content

Agare Owner/Donor

forvaringsplats

Repository

forvArv/villkor Gift, deposition, restrictions

forteckningslage Inventory

kopior/bilder/inspelningar Reproductions

kalla Source; that is from where sma have received the information

litteratur Literature

paforda amnesord Subject headings

index entries

Provenance Type of document

Category of archive Biographical entry

Repository Topographical entry

Subject headings

De nombreux organismes possèdent des archives intéressant les musicologues, comme par exemple

les facteurs d'instruments et les régiments militaires. Mais il existe des organismes non-musicaux tout

aussi importants. C'est pour cette raison que les Archives de l'histoire de la musique suédoise (SMA) ne

sont pas un dépôt. Le SMA privilégie plutôt la collecte des informations permettant la localisation de

tout matériel d'archives concernant la musique. Pour se tenir informé de l'entrée de nouveaux

documents dans les collections d'archives, le SMA envoie un questionnaire annuel aux archives,

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112 G. Grahn: Stiftelsen Musikkulturens främjande

bibliothèques et musées. Il arrive aussi que certaines institutions envoient d'elles-même des informa tions. Le SMA publie dans son Bulletin une liste annuelle des nouvelles acquisitions et possède aussi son

propre fichier de sources d'information musicale. Le SMA peut aussi être consulté sur des problèmes de conservation. L'insuffisance des subventions limite souvent cette activité ainsi que d'autres. Mais tout le travail accompli présente un intérêt pour la recherche musicale.

Viele Organisationen besitzen Archive, die auch für Musikwissenschaftler von Interesse sind: etwa die Instrumentenbauer und Militärregimenter. Ebenso wichtig können Organisationen sein, die nichts

mit Musik zu tun haben. Das schwedische musikgeschichtliche Archiv (SMA) bewahrt nicht die Quellen selbst auf, sondern konzentriert sich darauf, Informationen über den Standort solcher Archive mit Musik betreffendem Material zu sammeln. Um über den Zustrom solchen Materials auf dem laufenden zu bleiben, verschickt das SMA jedes Jahr Fragebogen an Archive, Bibliotheken und Museen. Ebenso senden die Institutionen von selbst Informationen. In ihrem Bulletin veröffentlicht das SMA jährlich Listen über neue Erwerbungen. Ein Register erschließt das Quellenmaterial. Darüber hinaus bietet das SMA auch Ratschläge über Schallplattenaufbewahrung an. Diese und andere Aktivitäten werden

jedoch oft durch die Begrenzung der Mittel eingeschränkt. Doch kommt all diese Arbeit der

Musikforschung zugute.

Stiftelsen Musikkulturens främjande' Göran Grahn (Stockholm)"

Rudolf Nydahl was born in 1882. He was extremely interested in music and for some years at the turn of the century he studied at the Paris conservatory. On his return to Stockholm he

joined the navy and was eventually transferred to the coast artillery. When his mother died

in 1916 Nydahl took over the family wine shop in Stockholm. A couple of years later a state

monopoly on trading with wine and spirits was introduced in Sweden and the Nydahl shop was purchased by the state.

Rudolf Nydahl now saw his chance to realize his most cherished dream, the founding of a French music conservatory in Stockholm. With the money he had made on the selling of the wine shop he bought some real estate and used the proceeds from this to start his

conservatory. Influenced by what he had seen in Paris, Nydahl also wanted to have a museum with old instruments and manuscripts as part of the conservatory. He began therefore in 1920 to build up a collection which was continuously enlarged until the mid 1960's. The conservatory including the museum was made into a foundation in 1920,

Stiftelsen Musikkulturens främjande (The Foundation for the Furthering of Musical

Culture). During the 1920's and 1930's some music was taught at the Foundation, but this ceased when Nydahl had to serve in the coast artillery during World War II.

By getting in contact with relatives of musicians and composers, visiting auctions and

corresponding with dealers of instruments and manuscripts Nydahl managed to collect some 1200 music manuscripts, 5000 letters etc from composers and other music personalities, ca 550 old music instruments, a wide selection of printed music, and opera posters, pictures, paintings and furniture connected with music or musicians. Due to his great love of France, French material plays an important part in the collection. The following autographs are just

Paper given at the IAML Congress in Stockholm 10-15 August 1986 at a meeting of the Research Libraries Branch. * Göran Grahn is Curator at the Stiftelsen Musikkulturens främjande, Stockholm.

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