Officially opened in 1992, the CMBV library has amassed a considerable collection of books, scores and audio & video archives on the subject of 17th and 18th century French music.
Initially designed to serve the research department and the activities of the CMBV choir school, the library moved into the old Salle du Clergé in the Hôtel des Menus-Plaisirs in 1996 and opened its doors to music professionals. Over the last 30 years the CMBV has expanded its field of research, and the library has increased its expertise to include theatre, dance, literature, history and performance arts in general. The library has become a working tool, a pool of resources for the exploration, study, performance and recreation of Baroque sounds – it is a unique source of information for researchers, university students, professional singers, instrumentalists and conductors, as well as amateur musicians.
Library Services
To access and explore the library collections, the following services are available:
SÉBASTIEN DE BROSSARD Reading Room
The Sébastien de Brossard reading room is open to the public and documents may be freely consulted on site. They may not, however, leave the premises without prior authorisation. Digital documents may be consulted on site via the Newzik web application. Library opening times are indicated on the website.
Sébastien de Brossard
Composer, collector and theorist, Sébastien de Brossard (1655-1730) was a great music bibliophile, author of the first French dictionary of music published by Ballard in 1703. During his career as chapel master at Strasbourg and then Meaux cathedral, he amassed a large collection of music books and scores which he sold to Louis XIV in return for a pension. He produced a catalogue for his precious collection which was later dispersed, but it became the mainstay of the music archives at the BnF (National Library of France). It was therefore a natural choice for the CMBV to name its reading room after this major 17th century scholar, predecessor of France’s music libraries.
ONLINE CATALOGUE
The library has an online catalogue listing the physical and digital documents contained in the CMBV collections. In order to ensure maximum relevance during research, instructions are given on the catalogue home page. The bar (marked exemplaire) at the bottom of each entry indicates the document(s) present in our collections, their classification mark, type of medium, location and availability. The symbol 
indicates that the source is available online via a link.
RESEARCH AIDS
Researchers may arrange for an appointment outside library opening hours. The librarian will instruct readers in the use of the library research tools and guide them through the CMBV’s resources. Specific ad hoc enquiries or access to repository collections must be requested in advance by email.
Reproductions
Photocopying or scanning of documents is permitted in the case of copyright-free or commercially unavailable publications of texts and scores, limited to 10% (books) and 30% (journals & magazines) per reproduction. The bibliographical references must feature alongside the copied extract.
Donations
Donations of books and audio and/or video documents are accepted provided they are suitable for the CMBV library’s purposes and can be added to its collections, quantity and theme wise.
LIBRARY COLLECTIONS
The CMBV’s library collections include scores, books, periodicals and audio or multimedia documents totalling some 20 000 physical items and almost 4 000 Go digital items, roughly covering the period 1550 to 1820.
The library is also responsible for preserving the history and music of the CMBV. Its concert recordings, programmes and audio and video documentaries may be consulted on site.
PUBLICATIONS & OFFPRINTS
The CMBV library houses some 6 000 volumes on the Baroque and classical era in France (1589-1789). The collection comprises a wide range of dictionaries, bibliographies, catalogues, monographs, articles and academic publications from around the world on music and performing arts in France and Europe. The subjects include biographies of composers, studies of French baroque, regional studies, institutions, styles & forms, analyses, notation, performance, treatises on composition, vocals and instruments, interpretation, history, literature, poetry, dance, opera, theatre, liturgy, sociology, iconography, etc.
PERIODICALS
The CMBV library houses 75 periodicals, scientific reviews and bulletins from learned societies on the subject of musicology, early music and 17th and 18th century historical accounts, as well as some 2 000 mainstream news magazines about music and stage productions, including several complete collections.
MUSICAL SCORES
The CMBV library houses some 12 000 volumes, including 1 500 monumental editions (French, English, Franco-Flemish, Italian and German). Originally created to serve the needs of the CMBV’s major academic or musical projects (research, publications, concerts & teaching), the collection has been enriched with manuscript facsimiles and printed music pooled from libraries worldwide. This single musical site represents one of the largest collections of French Baroque and classical music. It encompasses the work of foremost composers such as Lully, Couperin, Rameau, Charpentier, as well as provincial musicians (Desmarest, Grénon, Menault, etc.), the collections focusing on the vocal repertoire of airs de cour, Masses, motets, tragédies lyriques, ballets and operas, and, to a lesser extent, purely instrumental music.
AUDIOVISUAL DOCUMENTS
The CMBV library houses a collection of over 2 000 CD’s offering multiple renderings of a repertoire, with the focus on French Baroque and classical music. The sound and video recordings of events produced by the CMBV are stored in the library, but access to them requires prior authorisation.
CHORAL MATERIAL
Designed for use by the CMBV choir school, the choral material (for the purpose of teaching, auditions, concerts, stage productions, etc.) comprises 630 publications and over 20 400 multiple sets of choral scores, with or without orchestra.
ARCHIVES
The CMBV library is responsible for preserving the history and musical heritage of the CMBV. This includes recordings of concerts, gala programmes, CMBV activities and posters of events, as well as all the research material produced by the CMBV. Access requires prior authorisation.
DONATIONS
The CMBV library receives donations and legacies of collections of documents belonging to musicians, singers, conductors and musicologists who have worked with the CMBV. The following documents may currently be consulted on site: Marcelle Benoît’s library collections on 17th and 18th century France, and Jean Lionnet’s collections of 17th and 18th century Roman music.
