I am editing Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande (Monte-Carlo/Armin Jordan). Someone had already entered the album, but had 15 tracks on one medium, but actually there are 3 CDs with 6+4+5 tracks. That edit should be through in about 4 days.
However, the original editor did not stick to the track titles used in the booklet that comes with the CD. The track titles appear to follow the naming of MB’s recordings, rather than the given titles. Should I leave these, change them (only those of the release, not the MB recordings) to match the titles given on the album, or try to incorporate the valuable information from both?
The album has titles like:
Act 1: Scene 2: In the Castle
Act 1: Scene 3: Outside the Castle
While the original editor used titles like:
Act 1: [no mention of scene or location] "a line of text that is sung"
Act 1: [no mention of scene or location] “another line of text that is sung”
Now, both have their merits. It is good to know that the scene has changed, but we’re still in the same act; it might also be helpful to know what is being sung at the start of each scene.
Strictly, I think the track titles should stick to the actual information on the album, without embellishing; but it would also be possible to combine both, without getting too long. How long is too long? Is there a limit to the number of characters allowed?