Lyrebird Music’s philosophy 

With the rise of such websites as IMSLP and Gallica, the possibility for performers to see original source material has never been greater. Indeed, some prefer to play from facsimiles they download from the Internet rather than use edited versions of the music they wish to play.

Yet there remains a large number of players who have no wish to play from facsimiles, which are often prone to engraving errors that are sometimes so well-hidden that they go unnoticed. Manuscripts take such problems to a whole new level, especially those which are known to be second- and third-generation copies, into which have crept increasing numbers of wrong notes, misplaced clefs and indecipherable notes.

Many modern editions are available, often on free websites and it is always possible to find a ‘working’ edition, despite there being no critical reports or, for that matter, little critical thinking involved when the edition was first created.