Robinson, Michael

Giovanni Paisiello: A Thematic Catalogue of his Works (2 vols.)

2023 1-4955-1161-8
"This two-volume catalogue attempts to classify and enumerate all the music of Italian composer Giovanni Paisiello (1740-1816) and to identify which sources purporting to be of his music are authentic. Since it was a common practice among performers, copyists and publishers in Paisiello's time to adapt and change a composer's music to suit themselves, modern reseachers of this period of music history should not assume that the contents of a score are as described on the title page[s]...or [rely on] library lists [compiled on the basis of them]. ...When commencing the research for this catalogue we, the authors, determined to visit as many libraries as possible to see for ourselves what was contained in manuscripts and printed scores of Paisiello's music. Between 1975 and 1982, we visited, either together or singly, 150 libraries and archives in 17 countries. ...[W]e also obtained by correspondence details of the Paisiello holdings of 41 libraries which we were not able to visit personally. ...[T]his catalogue is a significant step forward toward clarifying just what Paisiello wrote and when, based on the evidence of over 3000 catalogued items in 191 public and private collections." -Michael F. Robinson [Foreword] The first volume of this work was originally published by Pendragon Press in 1991; the second volume was published by Pendragon Press in 1994.