The Henry Mancini Papers: A Centennial Celebration

The following is a guest post from Dr. Paul Sommerfeld, Senior Music Reference Specialist.

In celebration of Henry Mancini at 100 and the opening of the Henry Mancini Archive in the Music Division, we take particular pride in announcing a celebratory concert to be performed tonight, on September 28^th at 8pm, in the historic Coolidge Auditorium in the Library of Congress.  This program will feature Monica Mancini and husband Gregg Field, and the Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra of the Frost School of Music at the University Of Miami, conducted by Scott Flavin.

With over 900 archival boxes spanning 393 linear feet (for context, a football field spans 360 feet), the papers of Henry Mancini rank among the Music Division’s largest collections. Mancini’s original manuscripts, sketches, and printed scores account for nearly 85% of the collection. His manuscript materials for all the film and television works featured on tonight’s program—including “The Pink Panther,” “The Thornbirds,” “Charade,” “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” “Days of Wine and Roses,” “Two for the Road,” “Peter Gunn,” and the iconic “Baby Elephant Walk” from “Hatari!”—demonstrate the composer’s proliferation in American culture. Beyond the well-known films and television programs themselves, Mancini’s signature arrangements of their famous tunes for live performances, album projects, and other productions also exist within the collection. These arrangements provide us vital glimpses into the composer’s deftness at orchestration and arrangement to suite the needs of a moment, his ability to spin new life into familiar tunes, and our ability to explore and understand his career through its many developments.

Equally compelling within the collection are the production files, business papers, cue sheets, correspondence, photographs, and other materials that document how not only films and television series are made but also how music can and does maintain a pivotal role in shaping production. Mancini’s scoring innovations for “Peter Gunn” (1958–1961), which featured more original music than any previous television series, infused television music with the sounds of popular genres like jazz and rock and roll. In addition to the manuscript scores and sketches, the collection includes over forty scripts from the series as well as cue sheets that tracked what pieces of music appeared in each episode. These materials allow us to explore the business of television production and how music operates at the center of art and commerce within it.

Those individuals wishing to learn more about Mancini’s thoughts on music, orchestration, and his own life will find similar richness in the collection Included are the composer’s own drafts of his many writings, including his book on orchestration, Sounds and Scores, and annotated drafts of his autobiography. Thus, anyone wishing to study, understand, and enjoy Mancini’s music can do so from several vantage points: his musical scores and arrangements, production files, and his own writings. Together, these perspectives help us explore and understand Mancini and his signature, quintessential sound.