Documental description of the Music Collections of National Library of Portugal [M.M. and C.N.]

The BNP’s Music Collection is the most important in Portugal and paramount for historical and musicological research. It holds more than 200,000 documents ranging from the 13th to the 21st centuries, most of which were produced in Portugal.

Part of the funds of the Recovery and Resilience Plan were applied for the preservation of imaterial patrimony. Under this Plan, due to its size and representativeness, the BNP chose two collections to be catalogued and digitalised: the M.M. (Musical Manuscripts), and C.N. (National Conservatory).

In February 2024, CESEM tendered for and won the contract for the “Documental description of the Music Collections of BNP [M.M. and C.N.] – procedure nº 2191/2024”, a total of 9,000 musical manuscripts, which had yet to be organised, inventoried and catalogued.

History was thus made for the following reasons: the size, diversity, and specialization of the team (more than 20 specialists); the short timeframe (less than 3 months) for cataloging 9,000 musical manuscripts; and the creation of an ‘assembly line’ involving the simultaneous execution of different tasks (organization, pagination, shelfmark assignment, and cataloging).

By rescuing forgotten works and composers, an invaluable heritage was unveiled, marking a significant milestone in the History of Music in Portugal.