MEIMassaging is a set of Python files using libmei which transform ("massage") the raw MEI files that have been created by sibmei to make them more suitable for a particular use—for example, to make them more compatible with MEItoVexFlow.

More specifically: Sibelius files that include variant readings or reconstructions have these annotations included as extra staves in the score, and make use of color to mark these variants. The purpose of the sibmei plugin is to translate those annotations exactly into their corresponding MEI equivalents. This helps ensure that MEI may be used for other projects as a generic plugin, and also avoids writing code for non-straightforward conversion in ManuScript, the language for Sibelius plugins.

MEIMassaging is expected to handle at least some of the following transformations which may be necessary after export via sibmei:

• Adding additional clef information, through the use of <choice>. If original clefs have been used in the Sibelius file, appropriate regularized clefs should be automatically supplied. If the MEI file uses regularized clefs, a form should be available to manually supply information about original clefs.

• In the Du Chemin repertory, the final note of each part should be changed to a longa.

• Emendations

• Variant readings

• Reconstructions

• Responsibility

• Encoding bracketed (and italicized?) lyrics using the <supplied> tag

• Changing <arranger> to <editor>

To massage a single MEI file, run the massage_mei.py script in the massage directory. This script must take the name of the input file as a parameter; an output filename can be specified by adding --out new_file_name.mei (where you can substitute the output file name for new_file_name.mei.)

To switch on or off any of the functions in the MEIMassaging modules, simply edit the relevant parameters passed to TransformData— or leave them out to use default settings.

To massage an entire directory, you can use the massage_dir.py script. This also can take the --out parameter; instead of files, however, input and output directories are indicated. --ignore, --filter and -R (for “recursive”) are additional, advanced optional parameters that are available.

A simpler script, massage_script.py, runs massaging of a single file multiple times on the shell. This is not as powerful as massage_dir.py, but is potentially useful since a single segfault will not cause massaging of the entire directory to fail.