More than 250 years after his birth, a notable collection of musical scores by French composer and music publisher Ignaz Pleyel (1757-1831) can now be found online. The Rita Benton Music Library at the University of Iowa is pleased to announce this release of the Ignaz Pleyel Early Editions Digital Collection, which is located at http://digital.lib.uiowa.edu/pleyel.

This collection of nearly 250 early printed and manuscript scores represents in entirety the music library’s holdings of the work of this single composer. It consists primarily of keyboard and chamber music, including arrangements of large orchestral works. Also included in the collection are songs with keyboard accompaniment and method books providing instruction in certain instruments. Pleyel was a contemporary of more famous composers Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) and Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827); he also apprenticed with Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) early in his career.

Most of the scores were published between 1780 and 1810, and many were issued by Pleyel’s own publishing house. These materials provide insight into publishing practices common in late 18th- and early 19th-century Europe, when engraving began replacing both letterpress printing and manuscript copying. Also, increase in travel across borders caused musical styles to become more international and publishers began to print music outside of its country of origin.

The physical collection was assembled by the late Dr. Rita Benton, noted Pleyel scholar and former Head of the Music Library at the University of Iowa. The Music Library was named in her honor in 1980. “The Rita Benton Music Library has provided access to the Pleyel materials to scholars and performers around the world for a number of years,” says Ruthann McTyre, Head of the Music Library. “We are proud to offer digital access to the collection. Allowing individuals to have these materials virtually at their fingertips is a fitting way to honor Dr. Benton’s devotion to musical scholarship and preservation of this composer’s work.”

This collection is one of many in the Iowa Digital Library (http://digital.lib.uiowa.edu/), which contains more than 250,000 digital photographs, maps, sound recordings, and documents from libraries and archives at the University of Iowa and their partnering institutions.