Project Description:
The DIAMM website is a portal to information about medieval and early modern polyphonic music manuscripts worldwide (the resource does not include plainchant). The music and the manuscripts date from c. 800 to c. 1600, and the original documents are kept in libraries and archives around the globe. The website, driven by a complex back-end database, includes detailed information for all the known sources of European polyphonic music and very high resolution colour images of many of the manuscripts; the online image collection is constantly being expanded.
The database is constantly updated and expanded and is currently the most comprehensive and complete listing of Music MSS before 1550 that is currently available, both online and offline; new discoveries are listed here. The website is about to undergo a relaunch, and the new iteration will allow users to: view the list of countries, libraries and manuscript shelf marks through 'Browse Archive'; perform a search for a manuscript or musical work using a variety of criteria delivered with faceted browsing; consult entries from the published catalogues of medieval music; obtain library contact details; view complex data about MSS. Visitors may register as a user online instantly (without charge) and view the full-size images through a zoomable image-viewer. The annotation and text transcription tools allow users to create their own collection of images and/or manuscripts which are saved to the user's account for future access.
DIAMM has two very high-end digital cameras: the PhaseOne PowerPhase FX (144 Mpx) and PhaseOneP65+ (65 Mpx), and its trained operators are available to do imaging work for other projects on a consultancy basis. DIAMM also offers consultancy support in grant-writing, project management, database design and management, all aspects of publishing from author's typescript to published book, and many other aspects of digital humanities project activities.
Project Directors: Julia Craig-McFeely (Oxford, project manager), Dr Nicolas Bell (British Library), ProfThomas Schmidt (University of Wales), Prof. Elizabeth Eva Leach (Oxford), Dr Martin Kauffmann (Bodleian Library Oxford), Dr Owen Rees (Oxford), Dr Helen Deeming (Royal Holloway), Dr Magnus Williamson (Newcastle), Dr Theodor Dumitrescu (Utrecht), Dr Michael Scott Cuthbert (MIT)
