A Musical Transposition Database Strikes the Right Note

Electronic scores, which can be used for instruction, scholarship, or performance, present unique challenges for academic libraries. Performers need scores that are readable and dependable, which means many rely on print formats, even though they may appreciate the convenience and speed of electronic access. Vocalists face the added need to find repertoire that fits within their individual vocal range, which is not always possible with published editions of songs and arias.

Art Song Transpositions (AST) is an electronic database that provides readable editions of public domain art songs and arias for vocalists, transposed into different keys to suit different vocal ranges. Though its user interface and scope are somewhat limited, the flexibility of its formats, quality of its transpositions, and price make it an attractive option.

Product Overview/Description

Given sufficient background in music theory, many musicians can transpose for themselves; they can also use commercially available notation software to automate the process. But ensuring software produces a readable performance score can be time consuming and difficult. AST, founded by pianist Jonathan Mann, provides professionally edited transpositions to ensure quality (Figure 1).

The resource only covers works in the public domain and skews heavily toward the Western European canon of white male composers. Exceptions include a few female composers, such as Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel, and some folk songs and spirituals. Coverage is strongest in nineteenth-century art songs and Baroque arias. Users at subscribing institutions can also request specific repertoire that fits the scope of art songs or arias for solo voice in the public domain; pieces receiving five or more different requests are prioritized for addition. Users can also request new keys for songs already in the database; these are added on a twice-yearly schedule (Figure 2).

User Experience

AST’s homepage shows a list of the most downloaded songs and some highlighted content, which for me included Italian Baroque arias and some specific song cycles, including Schubert’s Winterreise and Die schöne Müllerin and Schumann’s Dichterliebe . Scrolling down reveals testimonials from users and the reasons for using human editors shown in Figure 1. Content is discoverable through a search bar in the upper-right-hand corner.

The search function is unfortunately limited in its lack of facets, though known-item searches for song titles generally work well thanks to keywords applied to songs in the database. Searching for composer name also works, although I don’t necessarily recommend this method for more prolific composers. For example, I searched for Handel (Figure 3), yielding a large set of results spaced in two columns with a lot of white space, which was tedious to scroll through.

It’s also possible to search for larger containing works like operas and song cycles (for example, Schubert’s Winterreise), as well as individual songs and arias from these works (such as “Der Lindenbaum”). The search interface is not forgiving of spelling errors, as I discovered when I mistakenly typed Handel’s opera Giulio Cesare as “Guilio Cesare” and did not retrieve any results. This inflexibility could also pose problems if users search for composers whose names have common spelling variations. This includes Handel, whose first and middle names have been spelled several different ways, including George Frideric, George Frederick, and Georg Friedrich.

It is easy to think of facets that would improve the search functionality: composer, time period, language, country of origin, available vocal ranges. These would also be useful categories to browse; currently, users can only browse the database through the static lists on the homepage.

In its current form, the database is most useful for sourcing known repertoire, not discovering new pieces.

Clicking on a song in the search results leads to a page with links to download the song in available keys, as well as an option to request a new key. An incipit is displayed—an image of the score’s first few measures—along with staffs showing the available vocal ranges and metadata for composer, title, language, and librettist (for opera arias) or poet (for art songs). For some pieces, there are citations or facsimiles of the source manuscripts. This information is especially useful for works that might have multiple known revised versions, a practice especially common for opera arias that saw revival productions (Figure 4).

In its 2024 report on AST, the Library Accessibility Alliance (LAA) identified some significant concerns (Mason, 2024). One issue that it found—the lack of focus states for use in keyboard navigation—appears to have been addressed in the current iteration of the site, as using the tab key now highlights links and the search box at the top of the page. Similarly, headings to the lists of repertoire were originally in yellow text against a white background, which LAA found to provide insufficient contrast for visually impaired users. These headings are now a much more readable black against the site’s white background.

LAA also criticized the site’s disabling of zoom on mobile devices; this also appears to have been corrected.

It is heartening that AST has responded to user experience concerns and improved the interface. I would also suggest that AST add alt text using scientific pitch notation to the vocal ranges listed for songs, which would make them clearer to visually impaired users.

Contracting and Pricing Provisions

Art Songs Transpositions can be purchased by institutions as an annual subscription, with prorating available for partial years; pricing information is not publicly available, but most libraries will likely find the cost affordable. There are no user seat limits. A MARC record for the database is available.

Authentication Models

IP authentication is supported, which can be run through a proxy server. Open Athens is supported.

Competitive or Related Products

Many databases exist that provide access to scores. Some, such as nkoda, are especially friendly toward performers. But most are limited to already published editions delivered in predetermined keys. AST’s selection of keys and focus on flexible transpositions is unique among subscription databases. Additionally, while many subscription databases of music scores (including nkoda) apply inflexible digital rights management and rely on proprietary formats, AST provides unencrypted PDFs that performers can print or use electronically.

Performers who need transpositions can also manually create them using notation software (for which there are both commercial and open-source options) or using various commercial services not available to institutions, including Sheet Music Direct, Score Exchange, and many others. Some of these services offer subscriptions, while others only allow purchases of specific pieces. There are also resources such as MuseScore that offer free crowdsourced editions of public domain works, but their selection and engraving quality vary widely.

In general, alternative electronic options exist but may require substantial searching or come at a significant cost. They are generally not available for subscription or perpetual purchase for institutions, meaning performers must purchase them individually. Transposing via notation software, such as the commercial Sibelius or open-source MuseScore Studio, is possible but time consuming, requiring entry of notation into the software and, in many cases, manual adjustment to ensure readable scores.

Critical Evaluation

Art Song Transpositions fills a unique niche for libraries serving voice students and faculty. For my library, it is an extremely cost-competitive subscription, especially as digital score databases are scarce and frequently expensive. At the same time, its selection is limited to art songs and arias in the public domain. This approach helps keep costs down, but it also limits the diversity of the repertoire available, since most art songs and arias that have been preserved to enter the public domain come from white male European composers.

Discovery in the database is rudimentary; AST has limited usefulness as a tool for browsing and is generally unaccommodating of spelling errors. Since AST has been responsive in improving the user interface, this may well improve in future. As it is, however, vocalists are better served by browsing for repertoire elsewhere and later coming to AST to find specific transpositions.

The scores themselves are very readable and high quality, something AST credits to its using human editors rather than relying on automated transpositions, as many commercial services do. The open, accessible format of the downloads offers performers valuable flexibility.

It remains to be seen how sustainable this model will be as the service grows its subscriber base, but currently, the quality is impressive for the price.

Recommendation

Art Song Transpositions will be of primary interest to institutions serving music students and faculty, specifically in vocal performance. Because of its value as a practical rather than academic resource, it could see broad usage from undergraduate through faculty performers. It may be of particular use to undergraduates who lack the theoretical knowledge to do their own transpositions, but it could also appeal to those who have the ability but not the time. Though its available repertoire is limited, it is also cost competitive, making it appealing to many library budgets.

References

Mason, E. (2024). Art Song Transpositions. Library Accessibility Alliance. https://libraryaccessibility.org/evaluation/art-song-transpositions