The new CMC Bibliography Database should solve your problem. Conscious that writing on the subject of contemporary Irish music has not been particularly prolific and that what sources there were are hard to find, for the past two years the Contemporary Music Centre has been actively researching and cataloguing these sources. The Bibliography Database, which is now available to the public, contains some 500 entries listing published and unpublished writings on twentieth- and twenty-first century Irish music which have appeared in books, periodicals, theses and newspapers. All the material catalogued is available in the Centre, either as the original books or articles or in the form of authorised photocopies.
The Bibliography Database functions primarily as a research tool and is a very useful adjunct to the Centre's extensive collection of music scores and sound recordings. Developed by Jonathan Grimes, the Centre's Information Manager, with researcher Margaret Slyne, the database can be interrogated in many ways: in broad outline or in some considerable detail. This enables a researcher either to identify material related to a general topic or to pinpoint articles or books about a specific subject or composer, providing invaluable background to a study of the music itself.
With the additional space provided by CMC's new premises, visitors can now access the Bibliography Database on a terminal in the library, where access is also available to the other databases the Centre holds. Development has been underway with these as well. The Scores Database, the only comprehensive catalogued collection of contemporary Irish music in existence, has just passed the 3,000 mark, and the Sound Archive Database comprises almost 5,000 items. In addition to this core collection, new databases of programme notes and composer biographies have also been set up.
CMC currently holds programme notes for some one third of the scores in the library and these are frequently accessed by performers and concert promoters. The Composer Information Database holds biographies, photos, 'personal comments' and work lists and is extensively used both in-house by the CMC staff, and by musicians and researchers in Ireland and internationally.
At present, while queries relating to the material catalogued in these databases can be answered by telephone or email, access to the databases themselves is only available by visiting the Centre in Dublin. The next major phase of development, which is already underway, will see the information being made available on the Internet. By integrating all the databases and providing remote access, a wealth of material will be available worldwide. This will be of enormous benefit in promoting Irish composers and their music, which is, after all, the Contemporary Music Centre's mission.
Further information: Jonathan Grimes, Information Manager. Tel: 01-673 1922. Email: jgrimes@cmc.ie
