urtext
/ˈɜrˌtɛkst/
noun
- The original, earliest version of a text, document, or musical score, before any later changes or edits.
- For her research, she compared the published novel with the author's handwritten urtext.
- The museum displayed a rare urtext of the medieval poem, untouched by later scribes.
- Scholars study the urtext of the symphony to understand the composer's original intentions.