urtext
Earliest authoritative version
An urtext is the original or earliest version of a text, particularly a musical score or literary work, before later editors made changes.
In music, urtext editions aim to present what the composer actually wrote, stripped of interpretive additions by subsequent editors: The pianist preferred the urtext edition of the Beethoven sonatas.
The term comes from German, where it literally means "original text."
First or inventive
- prototypeFirst functional specimen
- archetypeOriginal model for copies
- progenitorAncestor or originator
- precursorSomething that comes first
antecedent · fountainhead · wellspring · autograph · holograph · master copy · primary source · source document
Original text before publication
- critical editionAnnotated authoritative text version
- philologyStudy of historical texts
- hermeneuticsStudy of interpretation methods
- exegesisCritical textual interpretation
paleography · collation · apparatus · emendation · redaction · recension · codex · facsimile
Accepted as standard
- definitiveSettling a question finally
- authenticVerified as original
- authoritativeHaving recognized expertise
- standardLevel of quality accepted
benchmark · criterion · touchstone · gospel · magisterial · normative · official · certified
Point of creation
- originStarting point or source
- cornerstoneFoundational building block
- bedrockSolid stone underground
- groundworkFoundational preparation for something
basis · foundation · roots · seminal · inaugural · blueprint · template · framework
German classical music giant
- BachGerman composer surname
- MozartEighteenth-century Austrian composer
- SchubertViennese song composer
- opera scoreNotated music for staged singing
original
First or inventive
- prototypeFirst functional specimen
- archetypeOriginal model for copies
- progenitorAncestor or originator
precursor · antecedent · fountainhead · wellspring · autograph · holograph · master copy · primary source · source document · exemplar
manuscript
Original text before publication
- critical editionAnnotated authoritative text version
- philologyStudy of historical texts
- hermeneuticsStudy of interpretation methods
exegesis · paleography · collation · apparatus · emendation · redaction · recension · codex · facsimile · transcription
canonical
Accepted as standard
- definitiveSettling a question finally
- authenticVerified as original
- authoritativeHaving recognized expertise
standard · benchmark · criterion · touchstone · gospel · magisterial · normative · official · certified · verified
genesis
Point of creation
- originStarting point or source
- cornerstoneFoundational building block
- bedrockSolid stone underground
groundwork · basis · foundation · roots · seminal · inaugural · blueprint · template · framework · formative
Beethoven
German classical music giant
- originalsoriginal, authentic, genuine, prototype, archetype
- musicologymusicology, music history, music theory, ethnomusicology, music criticism
- German music termsleitmotif, lied, lieder, stollen, glockenspiel
- textual criticismcritical apparatus, collation, emendation, recension, variant
- sheet musicsheet music, treble clef, score, notes, scores
- sheet music termsnotation, full score, dynamics, key signature, time signature
urtextrevision
Altering to improve
edited version · redaction · derivative · adaptation · forgery
urtextderivative
Function's rate of change
copy · recension · final version · vulgate · standard edition