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Posted by: Heather Darnell
August 2023 marks the fiftieth anniversary of Hip-Hop, said to have begun in 1973 at a little South-Bronx party hosted by DJ Kool Herc. But years before Herc introduced New York to the breakbeat, African-American music and spoken-word traditions had been brewing in the great social unrest of the 60s and 70s to create a …
Posted in: African American History, Composers, Copyright Deposits, Musicians, Sheet Music
Posted by: David Plylar
We are delighted that our Salute to Strayhorn, a festival of events dedicated to the life and work of Billy Strayhorn, will take place in multiple venues at the Library of Congress from June 8-10. These events have been delayed for years due to forces beyond our control, but at last we will be returning …
Posted in: African American History, Composers, Concerts and Events, Film Music, Jazz, LGBTQ+, Musicians
Posted by: Cait Miller
On Thursday, January 19th, 2023 at 7pm in the James Madison Building’s Montpelier Room, Dr. Karen Bryan, Dean of the Arts at Pima Community College, is presenting a lecture: “Self-Determination on the Operatic Stage: Mary Cardwell Dawson and African American performance in Washington, DC and New York City.” Music educator, choir director, opera director, and administrator Mary Cardwell Dawson (1894-1962) founded the National Negro Opera Company, the country's first African-American opera company, in 1941. The Library of Congress is home to the National Negro Opera Company Collection, which documents the Company's productions, operations, fundraising efforts, as well as as Dawson's career and impact.
Posted in: African American History, Special Collections, Women in Music
Posted by: Morgen Stevens-Garmon
Archivist Dr. Stephanie Akau looks at the 2009 "Honor!" festival curated by Jessye Norman.
Posted in: African American History, Musicians, Women in Music
Posted by: Cait Miller
As we recognize the 100th anniversary of the dedication of the Lincoln Memorial, the Music Division highlights Marian Anderson's iconic 1939 concert at the Lincoln Memorial by sharing a program and related telegram from the Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge Foundation Collection.
Posted in: African American History, Women in Music
Posted by: Library of Congress
On March 1, 2022, In the Muse published a blog post announcing a finding aid to the Music Division’s Florence B. Price Music Manuscripts. Although we are proud to enhance discoverability of the Library’s Florence Price manuscripts with the finding aid, the blog post contained some inaccurate information and lacked appropriate citations. After considering the concerns raised with the post, the …
Posted in: African American History, Composers, Women in Dance, Women in Music
Posted by: Cait Miller
James Weldon Johnson and J. Rosamond Johnson's "Lift Every Voice and Sing" is one of the most significant hymns in American history. Read more about the genesis of the song and download sheet music published in 1900 and 1921.
Posted in: African American History, Composers, Sheet Music
Posted by: Morgen Stevens-Garmon
The following is a guest post from Jessica Grimmer, Ph.D., an MLIS student at the University of Maryland completing her field study at the Library of Congress as a member of a team processing the Jessye Norman Papers. In her 2014 memoir, Stand Up Straight and Sing, American opera star Jessye Norman recounts a chance …
Posted in: African American History, Jazz, Sacred music, Women in Music
Posted by: Morgen Stevens-Garmon
Howard University intern Cienna Benn shares her experience work with the papers of distinguished African American opera and concert soprano Jessye Norman
Posted in: African American History, Guest bloggers, Musicians, Women in Music