MP3 Organisation Tips/compulsions?
Wed, Feb 23 2011, 10:09PM
When I first started ripping my classical collection in iTunes I didn't pay much attention to the organisation, being happy just to conveniently access my albums and get them on my ipod. But now I find myself increasingly obsessed with getting the files logged properly - to the extent that I have the urge to create an individual album for each work within a CD. For example, this evening I divided Boulez's Complete Webern 4 CD set into over 35 individual albums. My reasoning behind this is:
A. I can't stand to have one work end and then plough straight into the next.
B. It makes it far quicker to access individual works if the album is titled Webern: Concerto for 9 instruments, op. 24.
I would be interested to know if anyone else feels this compulsion? And like me, do they do it in complete silence for hours on end!?
Fri, Feb 25 2011, 1:08PM
#2
RE: MP3 Organisation Tips/compulsions?
Matt
You are not alone. I have an obsessive tendency to arrange and re-arrange 160GB worth of classical music and opera. I started separating works but decided that often that destroyed the original intentions of the artists who put the discs together and (possibly more crucially) I hated seeing repeated art work for different works on the same album. I agree that it does create a problem if you are searching for say Ravel's Alborada del gracioso and have to remember whether it's on the Haitink Orchestral Works CD or the Weekend Classics CD.
I use the "genre" theme to arrange into those genres used in the gramophone magazine i.e. vocal, opera, instrumental etc
I fill out the "artist" as conductor unless it is a recital disc and then I use player or singer
I use a three letter abbreviation for the composer at the start of the title e.g. Moz Symph. No.39, Mlr Das Liede Von Der Erde - this helps flick through the albums when I wish to browse. So I start with Abz (Albeniz) and go through to Web (Weber). I have no Zelimsky!
I place a space after titles with the same name e.g. Str Vier Letze Lieder(space) and Str Vier Letze Lieder (space) (space) so that they appear as separate album titles - took me ages to work that one out!! This helps as I have 15 versions of the Four Last Songs on my I-Pod.
I don't use the "album artist" or "date" tag but I do use the "composer" tag by surname only and luckily I don't do Johann Strauss.
I have "album art" which also helps when browsing.
Any excuse to re-edit the entire collection would be gratefully received.
Fri, Feb 25 2011, 9:50PM
#3
RE: MP3 Organisation Tips/compulsions?
Thanks for the tips there Martin. The use of spaces after the titles to stop them all merging into one is genius - I can see myself using that at some point.
At the moment I am using the following method, which is proving quite quick (all done in iTunes). First I copy the track title of the first movement of a work... ie
Beethoven: Piano Sonata #23 In F Minor, Op. 57, "Appassionata" - 1. Allegro Assai
Then I select all the tracks comprising in the work, shortcut Ctrl I to open the Get Info box, and paste this in under album. Then all I have to do is delete the information about the individual movement to quickly get the works title...
Beethoven: Piano Sonata #23 In F Minor, Op. 57
9 times out of 10 the track info follows the same pattern - Composer: Work so it seems to be going ok. However, I am ending up with a heck of a lot of albums now.
I know what you mean about not breaking up certain albums - earlier on I was on the cusp of splitting Perahia's classic Schumann recital (Davidsbundlertanze, Op.6, Fantasiestucke, Op. 12, Papillons, Op. 2) into it's component parts, but thought better of it. But on the whole I am willing to sacrifice the integrity of the album if it means I know where one work ends and another begins. Having a 2 year old most of my classical listening is done in bed on headphones, usually between 11pm - 1am, so I dont want to have to keep looking at the ipod to check when one piece is coming to an end. For example I've been trying to listen to Kurtag's string quartet music recently (an uphill battle at the moment I must admit), but when you have a piece like the Microludien, which is 12 movments in 15 minutes it's very easy to lose your way if it's positioned in the middle of the album.
On the subject of artwork, I have decided to embed into the MP3 rather than use iTunes' artwork system - but I soon got bored of sourcing individual album artwork, so unless it's an absolute classic cover (for example the original Decca Peter Grimes cover) I am tending to find fairly small sized pics of the composer on Google does the job. But even now I'm having second thoughts about this...
It keeps us out of trouble anyhoots!
15 versions of Four Last Songs though... is that strictly nessesary sir? (And I hope you've got Felicity Lott included in there.)
Mon, Feb 28 2011, 11:55AM
#4
RE: MP3 Organisation Tips/compulsions?
15 versions of Four Last Songs though... is that strictly nessesary sir?
Absolutely!!
I have Arleen Auger, Eleanor Steber, Felicity Lott, Nina Stemme, Renee Fleming, Solia Isokowski, Leontyne Price, Sylvia Sass, Cheryl Studer, Anna Tomowa Sintow, Kiri Te Kanawa, Lucia Popp, Anja Harteros, Lisa Della Casa, Karita Mattila, Montserrat Caballe and Heather Harper. Actually that makes 17!! I also have Jurinac, Schwarzkopf and Norman on CD.
Perhaps it's a couple too many. I did sell the Riccarda Merbeth one as I couldn't stand the vibrato! But choosing which of the other 20 to part with would be too much. My absolute favourites are: Norman, Sass, Auger and Della Casa. I do also like the Felicity Lott.
Tue, Mar 1 2011, 11:52PM
#5
RE: MP3 Organisation Tips/compulsions?
15 versions of Four Last Songs though... is that strictly nessesary sir?
Absolutely!!
I have Arleen Auger, Eleanor Steber, Felicity Lott, Nina Stemme, Renee Fleming, Solia Isokowski, Leontyne Price, Sylvia Sass, Cheryl Studer, Anna Tomowa Sintow, Kiri Te Kanawa, Lucia Popp, Anja Harteros, Lisa Della Casa, Karita Mattila, Montserrat Caballe and Heather Harper. Actually that makes 17!! I also have Jurinac, Schwarzkopf and Norman on CD.
No Gundula Janowitz? :-)
(BPO, von Karajan, DG, 1973)
Thu, Mar 3 2011, 8:00PM
#6
RE: MP3 Organisation Tips/compulsions?
Of course I have Janowitz. Just forgot it. 18. Yes I know it's still sad.
Thu, Mar 3 2011, 11:13PM
#7
RE: MP3 Organisation Tips/compulsions?
No. Not sad at all IMHO. I can't think of any other pieces more deserving of acquiring multiple recordings of this most beautiful collection of lieder. I have nowhere near the number of recordings you have of this work. I have, for some time, wanted to add Christine Brewer's version to my collection having heard her at Liverpool. What really surprised me was her volume. I was always led to believe her voice was large yet it did not come across this way hearing her live. Maybe it was the acoustics of the Philharmonic Hall which dampened the sound.
I mostly organize and access my music files using metadata 'tags' (ie, embedded in the mp3 or flac files).
I sometimes tag things down to level of the individual 'work', but not always.
I do also have a sensible folder hierarchy on my fileserver, so I can find things that way. But - in theory - I could just put everything in one folder and still access everything by album, artist, composer, conductor, etc, based on the tag content.
But tagging is probably even more of a obsessive compulsion than having a highly organized folder hierarchy!
"Louder! Louder! I can still hear the singers!"
- Richard Strauss to the orchestra, at a rehearsal.