Thematic catalogues in musicA thematic catalogue is an index of musical pieces that lists them according to their opening notes or main musical themes. Composers often assigned numeric codes referred to as opus numbers to their musical works, and thematic catalogues organize these works by their opus numbers and opening themes. Some key things to note about thematic catalogues:
- They help identify and classify musical works that may not have official opus numbers assigned by the composer - They arrange compositions chronologically or by genre based on their themes - They provide details about the sources and editions of musical works
For major composers like Bach and Mozart, thematic catalogues were developed posthumously to organize their vast bodies of work. For example:
- Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis (BWV) numbers were assigned by Wolfgang Schmieder to Bach's compositions - K??chel catalogue (K.) numbers organize Mozart's works
Thematic catalogues provide valuable context for studying and performing musical works. They reveal relationships between compositions based on shared themes and motifs, and allow scholars to trace the evolution of a composer's style over time.
A system of classifying music under headings which include the opening notes of the composition and/or the notes of the main theme of the composition.
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