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Prague Concert Life 1850-1881: an annotated database has been tested on the most popular Web browsers including Internet Explorer 5 and 6, Mozilla Firefox 1.0.7.0 and Netscape 6 and later.
For further information about any aspect of the database, or to report any errors in its function please write to pragueconcertlife@cardiff.ac.uk
Language
- The default is English.
- Foreign language fascias are available for Czech, German and Welsh readers, although the database itself is populated in English.
- Reader keyword inputs in the language of the sources covered should produce equally successful search results as inputs in English. For example, events connected with the Prague 'Cecilia Society' will be found by inputs of 'Cecilia', 'Cecilská' or 'Cecilienverein'.
- In certain cases, owing to the need for the database to recognize occurrences of keywords within commentary texts, reader inputs in Czech or German may produce more focussed search results. For instance, using 'Konservatoř' or 'Konservator' instead of 'Conservatory' will retrieve a more concise list of events in which that institution participated.
- Different language variants of names recognized by the database, such as 'Černý' and 'Czerny', or 'Bedřich' and 'Friedrich' are listed on their dedicated page of Person Details. Venues, societies and institutions are similarly labelled on their own specific information pages.
How the database works
- The information contained in the database is built around music performance events.
- Events include concerts, music rehearsals, informal musical entertainments, church music services, and many other types of social occasions in which music was performed.
- Each event is made up of many details, such as the date of the performance, the venue, the programme, the participants, or any other information contained in the sources that directly or indirectly adds to our knowledge of the occasion.
- To begin to access this information you need to use one of the two search facilities, Basic Search or Advanced Search. These are accessible by clicking on them in the smaller of the two frames seen on the opening screen. When you first arrive at the resource Basic Search is automatically selected, but at any time you may change between the two types.
- When you ask the resource to search for something, your results are presented as a concise chronological list of relevant events with which your search term has a relationship. More specific details of each event, titled 'Event Details' may be obtained by clicking on the particular event title that you would like to investigate.
- Each database record, including the 'Event Details' pages, contains Hyperlinks. These are underlined sections of differectly coloured text that lead to more detailed information. When exploring this information you can go back to the previous page or return to your search results by clicking the respective 'Go back' and 'Back to search results' at the bottom of the screen. Using the back button on your browser is not recommended.
Using Basic Search
- This looks for occurrences of an input keyword within principal fields of the database. These fields are: Title of an event, surnames, institution and society names, and in basic title details of works such as 'Symphony', 'Concerto', 'Die Schöne Mullerin' etc.
- Basic search does not search for venues. To do this use Advanced Search.
- Basic search works best by entering a single keyword rather than a string of words. If you enter a string of words each word will be searched for individually. Thus, 'Cecilia Society' will also return results for 'Society of Musical Artists'. 'Žofínské divadlo' will return results for both 'Žofínská akademie' and 'Stavovské divadlo'.
- Basic search can be narrowed by date. The facility for doing this appears at the bottom of the Basic Search screen.
Using Advanced Search
- With this search you can focus your query on particular fields and categories, and on any combination of fields and categories.
- Section '1. Search Terms' allows selection from a drop down menu of specific fields to search. Up to four terms may be entered. These may be related to each other through the expressions AND, OR or NOT.
- Sections '2. Category of Event' to '4. Categories' of Advanced Search contain various topics for searching. Any number of these topics in section 4 may be selected for an Advanced Search. To select more than one topic from a single menu, click on the topic you require while holding down the 'Control' key. To cancel a selection repeat this action.
- Selected topics for searching in sections 2 to 4 relate to each other through the expression 'AND'. Thus a search combining 'Audience attendance' in section 4 'Prague music – background' with 'Weather' in the same section '4. Science, industry and the natural environment' will return events in which both of these categories were mentioned by the commentary texts of those events.
- Advanced Search can also be narrowed by date. The facility for doing this appears at the bottom of the Advanced Search screen.
Navigating the database
- A new Basic Search or Advanced Search may be started at any time by clicking on the respective term in the small window at the top left corner the screen. This also clears any previously entered search expressions.
- 'Go back' and 'Back to search results' links appear at the bottom of each page of information.
Key editorial points
- Editorial additions and comments are incorporated in square brackets.
- Where individuals cannot be identified beyond a simple name reported in a source or sources, the version of the name most frequently used by the source or sources is retained.
- Surnames of women who were of Czech origin, married a Czech or became naturalized in Bohemia carry a suffix of -ová, or their name assumes the feminine case ending -á, for instance of Čermáková or Němcová. Women of known foreign nationality are incorporated into the database without the Czech ending, for instance Clara Schumann or Jenny Lind.
- Dates in number format are presented in the order DD/MM/YYYY.