K. Hálová - J. Mikuláš, Italian music sources of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries in Bohemia and Moravia

In the Czech Republic, the greater part of the music collections of interest to Italy consist of manuscripts and printed editions dating back to the period between the end of the seventeenth and the beginning of the nineteenth century. Sacred music is housed in the collections of approximately 700 churches and a few monasteries and consists of masses, parts of masses and other liturgical music, including many arias (at times operatic) either adapted for an instrument or with a different text substituted for the original. In castle libraries, instead, the collections consist of instrumental or incidental music according to the taste of the owner. The following Collections of interest to Italians are housed in the Czech Music Museum: Horník (sacred music), Pachta (instrumental music), Monastery of Osek (sacred music), Clam-Gallas, Nové Hrady Castle and Lobkovic (operatic music of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries). Other collections of interest to Italians are: the Cathedral of St. Vito collection at Prague (early eighteenth century composers, including Caldara), the collection of the Order of Cross-Bearers, the collection of Kyšperk-Stubenberk Castle, the Podleská-Batkovà collection, the collection of the Prague Conservatory of Music and the archives of Ceský-Krumlov Castle. Many collections have not yet been catalogued. A conspicuous collectio of Italian librettos is housed in the Prague National Library. Librettos are also to be found in the Lobkovic Library collectio and in that of the National Museum.

A. Morelli, History of the organ in Italy. Bibliography (1958-1992)

The last bibliography on the history of the organ in Italy was published a long time ago, in 1958, by Renato Lunelli. Since then studies in this field (above all during the past fifteen years) have witnessed an exponential growth not only in quantity but also in quality. The present bibliography covers the period 1958-1992 and lists no less thas 900 titles, divided into three sections as follows: I. Publications on the history of the Italian organ, on its sound-quality characteristics and on problems connected with restoration and repair. II. Local publications on the history of the Italian organ (subdivided by Regions). III. Modern or anastatic editions of texts (printed or manuscript) of interest to organ-builders, and catalogues of organ-builders. Analysis of the bibliography of the period under examination (1958-1992) plainly reveals the distinct predominance of studies of a local-historic nature over those of a more general character. In particular, monographs on a single instrument are very numerous, usually appearingon the occasion of its restoration, as well as those on the history of the organ of an important church. Treatises on individual organ-builders, or on families of organ-builders, are also frequent. Finally, there are works cataloguing or inventorying historic organs which are to be found in a town or in a territory (never bigger than a diocese or a province), but taken as a whole these are not yet numerically sufficient to give a reliable statistical picture of the present situation with regard to the patrimony of historic organs in Italy.

A. Cogliandro, The correspondence Malipiero - Bontempelli (1932-1952)

The correspondence between Gian Francesco Malipiero and Massimo Bontempelli furnishes documentary evidence of the multi-faceted relationship existing between these two protagonists of Italian culture in the Thirties. In particular, the letters illustrate their relations with the Fascist regime, and reveal the vehemence of the discussion about modern music. Corroboration of this is given in the footnotes, with references to official documents and newspaper articles. In addition, particulars are given of specific aspects of the life and works of Malipiero such as, for instance, his teaching activity at Venice. In the Introduction, a detailed examination is made of the common dramaturgical concepts shared by Malipiero and Bontempelli as well as of projects of collaboration, clearly revealed by the collection of letters.

A. Vidolin, The preservation and restoration of electronic musical assets

In our era the materials directly connected with contemporary music must also include electroacoustic and electronic musical instruments and media; this type of equipment presents problems connected with protection and restoration which up till now have never been tackled. After analysing the multiple characteristics of the electronic musical heritage, the paper discusses the techniques most generally adopted for guaranteeing its preservation, availability and functionality. Information is also provided relative to the principal initiatives of protection and restoration undertaken both in Italy and abroad. The author advocates action on the part of the authorities in connection with a general inventory of electronic music compositions produced in Italy from the 1950s to today.

E. Ferrari Barassi, Italian Catalogue of Musical Iconography: information and projects

Appendix I - M. Preitano, "Praetorius": a specific database for the Italian Catalogue of Musical Iconography

Appendix II - C. Tessari, Data structuring and file design

The paper discusses the most recent developments connected with this cataloguing initiative. Particular attention has been paid to designing a descriptive file conforming to the national and international standard formats adopted officially. This prototype file is now accompanied by a series of aids, such as a compilation handbook and classified lists of musical instruments, of representation techniques and of subjects, etc. In addiction, a specific software has been designed for the electronic management of the data bank in which the descriptive files are stored. The appendices contain not only a description of this software, but also a complete list of the descriptive data and an example of a duly formatted and completed file.

G. De Longis Cristaldi, A State Archives Administration project: the census of family and personal archives

Family and personal archives form part of a vast, complex, dynamic and heterogeneous reality and, although private property, fall under the protection and supervision of the Ministry of Cultural Assets, Central Record Office and of the various regional Records Offices. The object of the State is to safeguard a patrimony of documentation which is indispensable for historiographic research and which is thus available for consultation and utilization. The census will concern in the first place personal and family archives, stored by individuals under the supervision of the State Archives Administration and entailed (declaration of considerable historical interest) and, secondly, archives which are not entailed but have been mentioned in the reliable reports of inspectors of the local Records Offices. For obvious reasons of completeness, attention should also be paid to family and personal archives and collections which are housed either in the State Archives or under the supervision of public and private Agencies. Personal and private archives stored in charitable or welfare institutions, hospitals, churches, etc. have been excluded from this preliminary study, as well as those housed in other state institutions (museums, libraries, etc.). These particular archives have been taken into consideration solely when they integrate documentation which falls within the scope of this research. The first volume includes data relative to the Abruzzi - Liguria regions, updated to 1990 and filed on 1161 entries.