Overview

The Edition Esser-Skala publishes Open Content editions of (mainly) 18th century sacral music. All scores may be freely downloaded in PDF format. Moreover, selected titles are available in print from Kindle Direct Publishing (at cost price).

Scores by the Edition Esser-Skala will always remain free and open. Nevertheless, to be able to continue our publishing efforts, we appreciate your support, e.g. via PayPal.

Currently, our focus lies on the following composers:

Johann Michael Haydn: Our editions include litanies, vespers, and cantatas. Moreover, the Proprium Missæ project represents a comprehensive collection of short liturgical works (graduals, offertories, hymns, …).
Joseph Leopold Eybler: We are working on a complete edition of Eybler’s sacral music, including his masses and short liturgical works.
František Ignác Antonín Tůma: We are currently exploring the body of Tůma’s compositions and eventually plan to assemble a catalogue of works. Meanwhile, several of his works are available as modern editions.
Gregor Joseph Werner: We offer editions of Werner’s masses and short liturgical works. Concurrently, we are working on a catalogue of his works.

But don’t miss out our other editions, which include several highlights, such as

the Missa Providentiæ by Antonio Caldara, which includes a Credo by Jan Dismas Zelenka (ZWV 31)
a reissue of the Wohlgeübter Organist by Johann Anton Kobrich, a collection of preludes, fugues, and toccatas that was first printed in the 1760s
a bilingual (Danish/German) edition of Friedrich Ludwig Æmilius Kunzen’s Skabningens Halleluja (Das Halleluja der Schöpfung)
two passions (Der gute Hirte and Jesu, deine Passion) by Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel

Many of our editions base upon freely available manuscripts and prints, which are provided by an increasing number of archives and libraries.

To ensure high and consistent quality, we follow a set of editorial guidelines when preparing our editions. Moreover, we have implemented a largely automated engraving and publishing process. Briefly, this workflow encompasses

beautiful scores engraved by LilyPond,
prefatory material typeset with LaTeX, and
compilation of editions via GitHub Actions and a Docker container to ensure reproducibility.

Details on the workflow are available in the comprehensive technical documentation.