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Archive: 2023 (35 Posts)

Engraving depicting a scene from Verdi's opera adaptation of Macbeth

Shakespeare Everywhere: From the Stacks to the Coolidge Stage

Posted by: Nicholas A. Brown-Cáceres

This autumn, many of Washington, D.C.’s arts and culture venues are collaborating to present the Shakespeare Everywhere Festival. The Library of Congress is pleased to participate in this gathering of theatrical productions, concerts, lectures, and educational events on offer through December 31, 2023. Bibliophiles and music lovers can experience two special events as part of …

Entrance doors to the Performing Arts Reading Room with exhibit artwork on wall and window showing a quartet performing in the Coolidge Auditorium and a vintage photo of Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge.

From Pioneer to the Performing Arts Reading Room: Vampira Treasures from the Lester Horton Collection

Posted by: Nicholas A. Brown-Cáceres

Learn more about the Music Division’s connection to the cult icon Vampira, as created by Maila Nurmi. The following is a guest post written by Morgan Davis, Music Reference Specialist, Music Division. About a year ago, documentarian R.H. Greene contacted the Music Division’s reference team in search of a photo from the Lester Horton Dance …

Cover of sheet music for "Batterin' Babe", blue and white text with image of Babe Ruth swinging and hitting a ball while in a Red Sox uniform.

Baseball Beats: Music for the Fall Classic

Posted by: Nicholas A. Brown-Cáceres

We have several serious baseball fans here in the Music Division. At least several members of our team root for the current hometown Washington Nationals (“N-A-T-S, Nats, Nats, Nats, woo!”), the neighboring Baltimore Orioles (“Let’s Go, O’s!”), and the handful of New England transplants are ardent Boston Red Sox fans. With all this baseball energy …

Image of four musicians onstage performing with a city backdrop

Founder’s Day 2023: Piece Offerings—Focused Encounters with Recent Works by Roger Reynolds and Kate Soper

Posted by: David Plylar

*** SPECIAL START TIME OF 7 p.m. FOR THIS YEAR’S FOUNDER’S DAY CONCERT!!!*** Each year on Founder’s Day (October 30th) we celebrate the legacy of Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge, the visionary patron whose gifts of the Coolidge Auditorium and an endowment to support a concert series in that space have helped make Concerts from the Library …

Engraving of two individuals playing stringed instruments.

Exploring the Music Division’s Collection of 15th-17th Century Anthologies with Susan Clermont

Posted by: Nicholas A. Brown-Cáceres

Nicholas A. Brown-Cáceres, Stacey Jocoy, and Susan Clermont of the Music Division contributed to this blog. Senior Music Reference Specialist Susan Clermont recently published an authoritative annotated bibliography and accompanying research guide focused on the Music Division’s 306 anthologies of music dating from 1463 – 1701. These anthologies comprise over 12,000 individual works by over …

Brazil de Mis Amores

Posted by: Claudia Morales

If there is a country that many South Americans love, it is Brazil. Its popular music and culture extend across its borders, offering a universal and common language for festiveness, as well as closeness and inner feelings.  Brazilian music has also inspired and influenced American music and culture, which is evident in the National Recording …

Sheet music cover for George M. Cohan's song "I wanted to come to Broadway" from the show "Hello Broadway." Cover art features two men dressed in tuxedos and top hats with arms extended and shaking hands. A sketch of New York City streets fills in the background.

By the People: Transcribing Sheet Music of the Musical Theater

Posted by: Cait Miller

The Library of Congress announces its newest "By the People" crowdsourced transcription campaign of Sheet Music of the Musical Theater. The campaign features approximately 16,000 titles, making it the Library's largest transcription campaign to date! Review our special sheet music instructions and start transcribing title pages, lyrics, and advertisements to ultimately make our sheet music keyword searchable!

Curator James Wintle points out a detail on Renaissance sheet music while bassist Duff McKagan and two of his guests look on.

Be Like Duff McKagan and Experience Treasures in the Music Division’s Collections

Posted by: Nicholas A. Brown-Cáceres

The Music Division’s wide-ranging collections in music, dance, and theater offer countless points of connection for visitors, researchers, and musicians alike. One of the great joys of working in the Music Division is curating treasures displays for groups of students, touring musicians, and special guests. While the displays are always tailored to the interests or …

Leonard Bernstein playing a shofar

High Holiday Music in the Music Division

Posted by: Melissa Wertheimer

Tonight at sunset (Friday, September 15, 2023) through Sunday after nightfall, Jewish Americans and Jews around the world celebrate Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, to welcome the year 5784 in the Jewish calendar! The Music Division does not disappoint with its holdings of both religious and secular music for this time. Here is a small sample of the gems in our holdings so that we may celebrate together.