By A-R's house editors

Three types of editorial intervention occur in the process of critical editing, and there are distinct ways that these interventions are shown in the edition.

  • Regularizations, standardizations, and modernizations of the source notation are best treated as “global changes,” achieved by making the change without notice in the score and giving a statement of the policy in the editorial methods. For example, redundant source accidentals may be omitted from the transcription without individual comment if there is an editorial methods statement such as this: “accidentals that are redundant according to modern practice have been tacitly omitted.”

  • Additions to the source reading are shown graphically in the score whenever possible (e.g., brackets, dashed ties and slurs, etc.). These graphic distinctions are described in the editorial methods. For example, articulations missing in the source may be supplied by the editor in parentheses if there is an editorial methods statement such as this: “editorial articulations are supplied in parentheses.”

  • Emendations of specific pitches, rhythms, texts, slurs, etc., are made in the edition (without any signal in the score) and the erroneous source reading is described in a critical note.

A critical note is not needed for something that is bracketed or otherwise graphically distinguished. Likewise, if a reading in the source is being modified or completed, then either a critical note or a statement in the editorial methods should cover that change, but not both.

For the complete Recent Researches in Music Style Guide, click here (PDF).

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