Audio Archives
Music Online: Classical Music Library
| Person Describing Archive | Celyn Harding Jones, Jared Wiercinski (2010); Chelsea Obodoechina (2020) |
|---|---|
| Is this primarily a poetry audio site? | N (Music) |
| Sponsoring Person or Institution | Alexander Street Press (an electronic publisher of online collections) |
| Site URL | |
| Site Last Updated | |
| Date Visited | 20202020/08/15 |
| General Description of Archive | world's largest multi-label database of Classical music recordings: 60,000+ tracks. The home page has several streaming Featured albums, and a Welcome message. The left side bar contains Browsing options and Genre options. The top header bar has a Browse, Advanced Search, Playlists, What's New and Help as well as a general keyword Search bar.You can also sign in to create a playlist. |
| Description of archive history or URL | |
| Contact information | "Alexander Street Press, LLC. 3212 Duke Street, Alexandria, VA 22314 |
| Searchable options | There is a keyword search bar at the top of the screen as well as an Advanced Search page where you can choose Keyword, Work Title, Work/Opus no., Album Title, People, Genre, Instrument, Time Period, Ensemble, Date of Recording (from_ to _), Label, Catalog Number. A number of these fields offer a toolbar where you can Select Terms. There is a Browse all recordings by these same terms. The Browse page offers a chart of all the recordings, organized alphabetically (you can choose A, B, C etc) and then it lists the Track Title, In Work, Composer, Performer, Album, Recording Date and Label so that when you are browsing you can see all of the info for each item. |
| Relation from the audio to the text | Includes links to liner notes (lyrics, libretto, artists bio, commentary) where possible |
| Date/Time/Length/Context info about the audio items | Full information for the recording lists as follows: Title, Catalog number, Composer, Duration, Engineer, Genre, Instruments, Label, Performer, Producer, Recording Date, Recording Location, Release Date, Soloist, Time Period, Translated Title, Year composed. |
| Author bios and context within literary history | Composer, artist, conductor etc. bios are included for most people (under Browse Person). Bios pulled from All Music Guide. |
| Audio file type: streaming, download, file format, audio file compression quality (WAV, MP3, bitrate) | The file streams. MP3 format. Files can be downloaded for a fee, in either MP3 or Windows Media Format. |
| Multimedia integration (pictures, video, etc.) | When available, there is an image of the album cover. Clicking on the album cover provides access to a PDF version of the album artwork and liner notes (as does "View Liner Notes"), when available. |
| Audio playback setup (opens in Flash player, on new blank screen, etc.) | Audio file opens in a new pop-up screen, which includes title, performer, album, composer, work, movement. You can also choose quality (standard =64 kbps; High = 320 kbps). The player is Adobe Flash Player. There is also a very small image of the album cover shown. |
| Mobile access (i.e. accessible on smart phones, tablets, etc.) | Listeners can send themselves a link (via QR Code, SMS text message, or email) to any track or album which can then be accessed on most mobile devices. |
| Browsing | Browsing is very easy in this archive, as there are many Browsing categories, as well as a long list of genre categories. |
| Discovery features (pre-made playlists; dynamic lists: lists of recent additions, featured items, related items, etc). | |
| Interactivity and Web 2.0 features | You can add songs to your own playlists through a user profile. Teachers can also open and use Course folders. You can also send selected songs to your mobile device. You add your phone number or email address, open a link in your phone's internet browser or, (this is very cool) scan the QR Code with your phone's camera. |
| Other notes | Each song on an album or recording are cut up individually, and include Title, Time, Composer. |