Before you start searching for your song or aria, it may be helpful for you to recall (or look up):
Then choose one of the following:
Searching in IUCAT
This will work only if the song is published separately.
If you know the name of the opera from which your aria is taken, search for that. (If you don't know the opera, look up the aria in the index at the back of The New Grove Dictionary of Opera ML102 .O6 N5 1992 -- shelved on the Index Table in the Reference section or available at Oxford Music Online.)
Includes access to Grove Music Online, the Oxford Dictionary of Music, and the Oxford Companion to Music. Comprehensive resource covering all musical topics.
This may work if the song or aria is part of an anthology or collection (and the titles of the songs or arias are listed in the Notes in the bibliographic record).
If you need help with an IUCAT search or with IUCAT searching techniques in general, contact the Reference Desk.
Single-Composer Collections
The songs of prolific song composers, such as Brahms, Faure, Schubert, Schumann, and Wolf, are frequently issued in multiple-volume complete sets, the individual songs in which are not listed in the Notes in the bibliographic records. Go to the shelf under the classification number M1620, where the collections are arranged roughly alphabetically by composer.
Complete Works
The songs and arias of major composers are generally included in their complete works. Again, individual songs are generally not listed in the Notes in the bibliographic records. To find which volume of a set of complete works contains the work you are looking for, check the list of works at the end of the article about the composer in The New Grove, or else look in Heyer, Historical Sets, Collected Editions, and Monuments of Music(Ref. Index Table ML113 .H62 1980) or a thematic index of the works of the composer (generally in Ref. ML134, alphabetical by composer).
Multiple-Composer Anthologies and Collections; Folk Songs, Popular Songs
Many songs found in multiple-composer anthologies and collections are indexed in printed song indexes found in the Reference collection. Song indexes list songs, usually by title (some also by first line), and the anthologies or collections in which they may be found (generally listed at the front of the book or section). Some of our copies of the song indexes listed below have the IU Music Library call numbers written in next to the anthologies and collections we own (these volumes are indicated with a * in the list below). Beware: all song indexes are incomplete and out of date.
(Ref.) ML128 .S3 D29 * De Charms & Breed, Songs in Collections: An Index. 1966. Lists classical art songs. Alphabetical by composer.
(Ref.) ML128 .S3 E8 Espina, Repertoire for the Solo Voice: A Fully Annotated Guide to Works for the Solo Voice Published in Modern Editions and Covering Material from the 13th Century to the Present, 2 vols. 1977. Lists classical art songs and some arias. Subdivided under nationality of composer, then alphabetical by composer. Includes some biographical information on the composers. Annotated.
(Ref.) ML128 .S3 F47 Ferguson, Song Finder: A Title Index to 32,000 Popular Songs in Collections, 1854-1992. 1995. Compiled from collections held by the State Library of Louisiana.
(Ref.) ML128 .S3 G64 Goleeke, Literature For Voice: An Index of Songs in Collections and Source Book for Teachers of Singing. 1984. Lists the contents of specific collections by title and indicates the pitch-compass of the songs.
(Ref.) ML128 .S3 H388 * Havlice, Popular Song Index. 1975. Main volume, plus three supplements. Lists only popular and some jazz songs, including many folk songs in arrangements, alphabetically by title.
(Ref.) ML128 .S3 S41 * Sears, Song Index: An Index to More than 12000 songs in 177 Song Collections Comprising 262 Volumes. Lists art songs by composer, title, and first line. Note: also look in the supplement at the end of the volume.
Using an Instrumental Arrangement to Your Advantage