Sorabji Resource Site (SRS)

Version History of Opus sorabjianum

This page documents the version history of Opus sorabjianum: The Life and Works of Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji since its original release on 14 August 2013. Only major changes, such as substantial additions or revisions, are listed, as there is no need to document the many minor corrections that have been made.

2023

2023-06-27: Release of version 4.00. This full-point update follows a complete stylistic and grammatical revision of both the book and the Sorabji Resource Site that left hardly a paragraph untouched, especially in matters of word choice (especially prepositions) and order of elements. As usual, there are many minor changes, clarifications, and additions, the most important of which are listed below. Since the previous release (version 3.00, 21 May 2021), the book has grown by 3,231 words and 33 footnotes, while the number of text pages has increased from 647 to 659.

2022

No new version was published in 2022.

2021

2021-05-21: Release of version 3.00. This full-point update, the most significant in the book’s history, is the result of an extensive revision that has resulted in some 300 modifications and additional quotations (expressions, sentences, paragraphs) based on a fresh reading of Sorabji’s correspondence. The letters to Erik Chisholm account for half of the changes. This re-examination of the sources has yielded new evidence, revisions both minor and major, corrections of all kinds, and additional references documenting Sorabji’s attitude to the world around him. Several sections have been radically expanded, rewritten, rearranged, or revised. The update also corrects dozens of minor infelicities, most of which are visible only to the discerning eyes. Finally, the book has undergone a thorough stylistic revision, mainly to break up long sentences into shorter ones and to favour the active voice whenever possible. Since the previous release (version 2.0, 31 July 2020), the book has grown by 34,117 words and 359 footnotes, while the number of pages has increased from 597 to 647. For comparison, the average increase for the previous versions was 1,750 words. The most significant changes beyond those resulting from the new reading of the correspondence are listed below.

2020

2020-07-31: Release of version 2.00. The decision to move directly from 1.18 to 2.00 stems from the extent of the revisions and changes to both content and typography (though many are not necessarily visible). This revision owes much to the generous contribution of Jakub Eisenbruk (known as “Toccata” on the Sorabji Forum), who sent me a detailed list of typos, factual issues, questions, and suggestions. We have been in frequent contact over the past two months and have discussed several of the points at issue, resulting in many improvements and clarifications in the book as well as corrections to several minor points on the Sorabji Resource Site, including the creation of three new pages. Since the previous release (version 1.18, 21 October 2019), the book has grown by 4,016 words and 40 footnotes, while the number of pages is now 597 instead of 589. The most significant changes are listed below.

2019

2019-10-21: Release of version 1.18. Since the previous release (version 1.17, 7 December 2018), the book has grown by 2,667 words and 21 footnotes, while the number of pages has now increased from 583 to 589. This is one of the most extensive updates in the book’s history, due to the discovery of a previously unknown piano part for the Symphony [no. 1] for Piano, Large Orchestra, Chorus, and Organ (1921-22; 300 pp.) and of the Toccata terza (1955; 91 p.), long thought to be lost. As usual, the update contains many minor modifications and improvements in most chapters. More substantial changes are:

2018

2018-12-07: Release of version 1.17. Since the previous release (version 1.16, 22 December 2017), the book has grown by 797 words and 5 footnotes, while the number of pages has remained the same at 583. This makes it one of the smallest updates in the book’s history. Nevertheless, there are important improvements, clarifications, and changes in some twenty-five places, as well as the addition of new titles in the bibliography. Highlights iinclude:

2017

2017-12-22: Release of version 1.16. Since the previous release (version 1.15, 31 May 2017), the book has grown by 2,087 words and 16 footnotes, and the number of pages from 577 to 583. This represents an increase of over 24,000 words since the original publication on 14 August 2013. This is a very significant update, resulting from a reading of the entire book. The revision has led to some 300 substantive changes for clarifications or to add new evidence. It includes several minor rewrites and corrections of typographical or bibliographical errors, and adds many years of birth and death and years of composition as well as several “see chapter x” references. More substantial additions can be found in the following chapters:

2017-05-31: Release of version 1.15. Since the previous release (version 1.14, 4 August 2016), the book has grown by 565 words and 3 footnotes, which is much less than any previous update. There are about twenty relatively minor changes such as typos, minute precisions, addition of a missing year of death, etc. More substantial additions can be found in the following chapters:

2016

2016-08-04: Release of version 1.14. Since the previous release (version 1.13, 23 June 2015), the book has grown by 3,293 words and 19 footnotes. This version contains several changes or additions concerning years of birth and death, bibliographical citations, and details of new performances, recordings, and editions. Significant additions can be found in the following chapters:

2015

2015-06-23: Release of version 1.13. Since the previous release (version 1.12, 12 January 2015), the book has grown by 3,135 words and (again) 18 footnotes. This version contains about 50 changes and additions, of which the following are the most significant:

2015-01-12: Release of version 1.12. Since the previous release (version 1.11, 14 August 2014), the book has grown by 2,762 words and 18 footnotes. The current version contains about 40 changes and additions, of which the following are the most significant:

2014

2014-08-14: Release of version 1.11 to mark Sorabji’s 122nd birthday. Since its initial release on 14 August 2013, the book has grown by 7,563 words and 55 footnotes. The current version contains about 30 changes and additions, of which the following are the most significant:

2014-06-04: Release of version 1.10, which is a maintenance update to provide the correct music for example 9.10. The need to fix this problem made it possible to update the current values of all amounts in British pounds to reflect the latest data available (2013), and to quote (in chapter 10) from a newly discovered review of the score of Opus clavicembalisticum (1929-30; 253 pp.) in The Modern Scot.

2014-06-02: Release of version 1.09, which is a substantial update, with an increase of 867 words. Major changes and additions include:

2014-03-31: Release of version 1.08, which fixes various problems in the Catalogue of Works as well as various minor problems elsewhere. It is thus a maintenance release, reflecting version 1.07 should have been.

2014-03-26: Release of version 1.07, which is the most substantial update since the first publication on 14 August 2013. There are more than eighty changes, some of them quite important, resulting in an increase of 3,729 words and 27 footnotes. The most significant changes and additions include:

2013

2013-12-18: Release of version 1.06, which updates the Catalogue of Works with data on the first performances of no. 38 of the Études transcendantes (100) (1940-44; 456 pp.) and the Sixth Symphony for Piano (Symphonia claviensis) (1975-76; 270 pp.) as well as about the new edition of the Symphony [no. 1] for Organ (1924; 81 pp.). New data on the London Organ School (chapter 2) and W. E. Ottaway (chapter 17) have been added, and the section on Emily Edroff-Smith (chapter 8) has been extensively revised using documentation compiled by the Sophie Drinker Institut.

2013-10-15: Release of version 1.05, incorporating a few minor changes.

2013-10-04: Release of version 1.01 of the sound files.

2013-10-03: Release of version 1.04, incorporating corrections offered by Kenneth Derus and Douglas Taylor. The latter brought to my attention a previously unknown entry on “Hindoo Music” by Sorabji in Ralph Dunstan’s Cyclopædic Dictionary of Music (see chapter 11). The file now loads with the bookmark panel displayed on the left side, with top-level bookmarks expanded. Two new pages have been added to the “Opus sorabjianum” menu entry on the Sorabji Resource Site:

2013-09-10: Release of version 1.03, incorporating corrections kindly suggested by Marc-André Hamelin, Poom Pipatjarasgit, and Douglas Taylor.

2013-08-29: Release of version 1.02, incorporating corrections kindly suggested by Kenneth Derus, Donald Manildi, and André Papillon.

2013-08-14: Release of version 1.01 to remove a stray marker at the beginning of line 2 of p. 185.

2013-08-14: Publication of version 1.00 of Opus sorabjianum: The Life and Works of Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji on the occasion of Sorabji’s 121st birthday and announcement on the Sorabji Forum.

Last modified: 2024-01-01
© Marc-André Roberge 2024
Sorabji Resource Site (SRS)
Faculté de musique, Université Laval, Québec

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