Critical Edition or Academic Edition? An Experience with 19th-Century Liturgical Music Manuscripts from the Main Cathedral of Cuenca (Ecuador)

Abstract

The edition of 19th-century liturgical musical manuscripts from the Main Cathedral of Cuenca (Ecuador) is presented, based on the particular problems that this process represented and the solutions agreed upon in each case, within the context of the challenges inherent in transcribing and adapting historical scores for contemporary interpretive and research use. A multidisciplinary experience is shared that prioritizes fidelity to the sources while revealing the cultural specificities of local liturgical practice and connections with Hispanic American repertoires. Viewed as a reference case, the exercise sheds light on the handling of the categories of editorial praxis in the musical field and offers theoretical responses, based on practice, that differentiate a critical edition from an academic musical edition. The result contributes both to the study of Ecuadorian sound heritage and to the methodology of academic work in music.