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Posted by: Cait Miller
Louis Armstrong and Lil Hardin Armstrong brought the sounds of New Orleans and Chicago-style jazz to the forefront of America’s early 20th century soundscape. Learn more about Armstrong materials at the Library of Congress in this resource guide.
Posted in: African American History, Blues, Composers, Jazz, Research Guides
Posted by: Cait Miller
Learn about the Library's holdings related to members of the Damrosch family, including Leopold Damrosch (1832–1885), Frank Damrosch, (1859–1937), Clara Damrosch Mannes (1869–1948) and her husband David Mannes (1866–1959), and the conductor/composer Walter Damrosch (1862–1950). Senior Music Reference Specialist Dr. Paul Allen Sommerfeld shares highlights from a newly published research guide on the Damrosch family at the Library of Congress.
Posted in: Composers, Conductors, Research Guides
Posted by: Cait Miller
Nearly 16,000 pages of material from the Library of Congress Leonard Bernstein Collection have been transcribed and reviewed via our "By the People" crowdsourced transcription campaign. Transcriptions will ultimately be made available in loc.gov, and the Leonard Bernstein Digital Collection will soon be keyword searchable.
Posted in: By the People transcription campaigns, Composers, Conductors, Curators, Digital Collections, Musical Theater, Outreach, Special Collections
Posted by: Cait Miller
This blog post highlights the work of American composer Ulysses Kay (1917-1995), particularly his “Forever Free: A Lincoln Chronicle” for wind band, commissioned by Broadcast Music Inc. for the Civil War Centennial Commission in 1962.
Posted in: African American History, Composers, Holidays
Posted by: Cait Miller
Home to the George and Ira Gershwin Collection, the Library of Congress celebrates the 100th birthday of George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" with a special concert and a look at how the Library's collections tell the story of the work's creation and reception.
Posted in: Composers, Concerts and Events, Guest bloggers, Jazz
Posted by: Cait Miller
This is a guest post from Head of Acquisitions & Processing Vin Novara, with Senior Music Specialists Mark Eden Horowitz, Kate Rivers, and Ray White. Nick Hornby’s book “High Fidelity” (1995) features an entertaining look at the quirks of people who intensely collect on music. Top five lists feature prominently throughout the work. As …
Posted in: Commissions, Composers, Conductors, Curators, Film Music, Guest bloggers, Musicians, New Acquisitions, New Music, Sheet Music, Special Collections
Posted by: Cait Miller
Transcribe writings by, to, and from Leonard Bernstein in the Library's new By the People crowdsourced transcription campaign.
Posted in: By the People transcription campaigns, Composers, Digital Collections
Posted by: Cait Miller
There are many instances of established composers writing music under unexpected pen names, and the Music Division's special collections hold manuscripts for several such works. Read more about relevant examples from the Charles Wuorinen Papers and the Fritz Kreisler Collection.
Posted in: Composers, Special Collections
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