Uniform titles are standardized titles created by catalogers. Their purpose is to bring together all the different versions of a work in the catalog.
This means you don't have to perform multiple searches or guess about language or wording to gather complete results.
You needn't focus on the details of constructing uniform titles, but familiarity with how they are structured can help you choose better search terms.
> Use the plural when searching for form/genre titles, even when searching for one piece only. (This works as long as the composer wrote more than one work in that genre.) For instance:
> Search for distinctive titles in their original languages. For instance:
> If you're searching for something that is part of a larger work, look for the work itself. For instance, search for the song cycle rather than a song within it:
If you want your searches for musical works to be as complete as possible, it's useful to understand the concept of uniform titles. Uniform titles are standardized titles assigned by catalogers so that all scores and recordings of a work can be retrieved in a single search. This is useful because musical works can be published with variants in the title wording, and titles can appear in any language.
For example, Beethoven's Fifth Symphony appears in the catalog with these titles:
Cinquième sinfonie en ut mineur = C moll : oeuvre 67
Fünfte Symphonie, c-Moll, Opus 67
Sinfonie Nr. 5, C-moll, Opus 67
Symphonie Nr. 5, c-moll
Symphony no. 5, C minor, op. 67
Fünfte Symphonie, nach der Handschrift im Besitz der Preussischen Staatsbibliothek
Fourth and Fifth Symphonies
You need not search on variant spellings if you construct your search with the uniform title in mind. The uniform title is listed in the 'More details' tab of the catalog record.
Search Tip: An effective search strategy is to begin with a keyword search on the terms you know -- if that doesn't retrieve adequate results, look for the uniform title within a relevant result and then revise your search according to the uniform title. Using the example above, one successful search for this work would be: beethoven symphonies 67.
There are three main types of uniform titles: form, distinctive, and collective. Form titles are used when the title of a work is a musical form or type, such as concerto, symphony, or quartet. These titles consist of:
A few examples -- the uniform title is in bold:
Beethoven, Ludwig van, 1770-1827
Sonatas, piano, no. 18, op. 31, no. 3, E♭ major
Piano Sonata in E-flat, op. 31, no. 3
Schubert, Franz, 1797-1828
Quintets, piano, violin, viola, violoncello, double bass, D. 667, A major
Trout Quintet
Mozart, Wolfgang, Amadeus, 1756-1791
Symphonies, K. 504, D major
Symphony No. 38, "Prague"
Schoenberg, Arnold, 1874-1951
Stücke, orchestra, op. 16
Five Pieces for Orchestra
Distinctive titles are used when the composer has assigned the work a non-form title. These appear in the original language. Here are a few examples -- the uniform title is in bold:
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus, 1756-1791
Zauberflöte
The Magic Flute
Messiaen, Olivier, 1908-1992
Quatuor pour le fin du temps
Quartet for the End of Tim
Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Felix, 1809-1847
Sommernachtstraum
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Stravinsky, Igor, 1882-1971
Zhar-ptitsa
Firebird
Bach, Johann Sebastian, 1685-1750
Wohltemperierte Klavier
The Well-Tempered Clavier
You may find that a catalog record has only the distinctive uniform title and not an English translation, so only searching on the English translation means you will miss some items.
Collective titles are used for collections that contain multiple pieces by the same composer. The collective title may refer to the form or the performance medium of the works, or it may indicate that the works are of mixed types.
A few examples -- the uniform title is in bold:
I. Single musical form/type:
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus, 1756-1791
Sonatas, violin, piano
Complete sonatas for violin & piano
II. Single performance medium:
Chopin, Frederic, 1810-1849
Piano music
Complete works for piano
III. Mixture of forms and media
Liszt, Franz, 1811-1886
Works
Complete works
Any kind of uniform title may have a qualifier at the end to distinguish one kind of edition from another.
Common examples of qualifiers:
Some examples -- the uniform title is in bold:
Rossini, Gioacchino, 1792-1868
Guillaume Tell. Vocal score. English & French
vocal score of William Tell, with text translated into English and French
Sibelius, Jean, 1865-1957
Concerto, violin, orchestra, op. 47, D minor; arr.
Violin Concerto, arranged for piano and violin
Schubert, Franz, 1797-1828
Songs. Selections
a collection of some of Schubert's songs
Bach, Johann Sebastian, 1685-1750
Wohltemperierte Klavier. 1. T.
the first book of the Well-Tempered Clavier
Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Felix, 1809-1847
Sommernachtstraum. Hochzeitsmarsch
the wedding march from A Midsummer Night's Dream
Sondheim, Stephen
Into the Woods. Libretto
the script of the musical Into the Woods