Editorial Policy

I have tried to consistently follow certain policies in my lute music editions:

• My goal in producing these editions is to create material that is easy to read. In most cases, I have tried, whenever possibe, to limit the length of an edition to a maximum of three pages, as that is the most one can comfortably fit on a music stand. If an edition has more than one part, I have tried to separate the parts with a page break. I do my best to try to make each part fit on three pages.
• All my editions are in French tab, regardless of the format in which they were originally written. I have also not tried to duplicate the font style of the original but have tried to produce the most easily readable copy.
• All editions are created using the fronimo software program created by Francesco Tribioli. Contributions to the site will be converted into this format. Part of the reason for this is that I can construct a database from mining fronimo files for their internal data, and partly because I have found this software easiest to work with.
• All editions have their source named in the edition, unless the source is unknown, in which case I so state (this happens rarely).
• In about 80% of the cases, I have included on my site a facsimile copy of the source, so a lutenist can check the accuracy of my editions. I have done what I can to make this comparison easy.
• I am always grateful to receive contributions and corrections from users and have tried to acknowlege these in my Corrections and Contributions Honor Roll. If anyone has not been so acknowledged, please let me know so I can make sure the acknowledgment happens.
• As my purpose is to create editions from which lutenists can actually play, I am commited to creating something that is playable. Sometimes I have to make certain changes for this purpose, including what I perceive as errors or omissions in the original. My rule of thumb is to correct things that sound bad.
• At every point where my edition differs from the original, I have so stated and shown the original version in a footnote or an appendix. That way, the lutenist can make up their own mind whether to follow my changes. However, in the interest of clarity, I have, without comment, inserted time signatures and regularized bar lines. These changes are so common and so frequent that notating them would clutter up the copy.
• I have acknowledged the encoder and editor of each piece in the footnote, as well as detailing, in the footnote of each edition, the source (in the case of a book, the name of a person — its composer, editor, publisher, or anthologist; in the case of a manuscript, the library siglum and library name of the library where it resides), the document (title of a book, or call number and name of a MS), volume #, if any, and page reference.
• There is no room, in the footnote, to include names of contributors and arrangers. These are, however, recorded in the fronimo file and will appear in the detailed description of each edition on the website.