Opus, opus |

lat., lit. — work, creation, essay; blind — or.

A term used to denote the order in which a composer creates compositions. As a rule, it is applied when they are published. In cases where the publication given composer began relatively late (F. Schubert), the O. sequence does not always correspond to the order in which works were created. Often, especially in the past, composers published under one O. several. op. one genre; while each Op. additionally received its own number “inside” O. (for example, L. Beethoven’s piano trio op. 1 No 1, op. 1 No 2 and op. 1 No 3, etc.). When publishing Op. from the legacy of the composer, the designation opus posthumum (upus pustumum, lat. – posthumous composition, abbr. – op. posth.) is used. In the above meaning, the term “O.” began to be used in con. 16th century Among the earliest editions, equipped with the designation “O.”, are “Solemn motets” (“Motecta festorum”, op. 10) of Viadana (Venice, 1597), “Venetian gondola” (“La Barca da Venezia”, op. 12 ) Banchieri (Venice, 1605). From con. 17 to con. 18th century marked “O.” published ch. arr. instr. essays. At the same time, O. were affixed by publishers, and often the same Op. different publishers came out under decomp. O. (produced by A. Corelli, A. Vivaldi, M. Clementi). Only since the time of Beethoven did composers themselves begin to put down the O. numbers of their compositions, but the stage. prod. and small plays were usually published without the designation O. In some countries, their nat. variants of the term “O.” – “oeuvre” in France, “composition” (abbr. “op.”) in Russia.