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Posted by: Cait Miller
The Library of Congress launches its newest “By the People” crowdsourced transcription campaign today: 1,600 items in Silent Film Music Cue Sheets.
Posted in: By the People transcription campaigns, Film Music
Posted by: Nicholas A. Brown-Cáceres
Explore the way Disney showcased the work of Mexican songwriters Manuel Esperón and Ernesto Cortár in several popular animated films in the 1940s as part of their effort to incorporate FDR's "Good Neighbor" policy. The effort resulted in sharing elements of mariachi music with American film audiences. This guest blog by Music Reference Specialist Stacey Jocoy draws on an insightful interview with ethnomusicologist and mariachi expert Dr. Lauryn Salazar (Associate Professor of Music, Tarleton State University).
Posted in: American history, Composers, Film Music, Latin American History, Sheet Music
Posted by: Libby Smigel
The Music Division staff spotlight the Top 5 acquisitions of 2024, including the papers of composers Burt Bacharach and Anthony Braxton, manuscripts from the iconic "Wizard of Oz," records of the Kronos Quartet, and two Lizst song manuscripts.
Posted in: Composers, Electronic Music, Film Music, Guest bloggers, New Acquisitions, Special Collections
Posted by: Claudia Morales
Library of Congress Announces Spring 2025 Concert Series. Concerts from the Library of Congress continues to celebrate a century of landmark concerts in spring 2025, offering a rich and diverse kaleidoscope of classical music, jazz, pop, folk and dance events, with a major focus on American contemporary voices across genres.
Posted in: Commissions, Composers, Concerts and Events, Dance, Early Music, Electronic Music, Film Music, Instrumentalists, Jazz, Music Division history, Musical Instruments, Uncategorized, Women in Dance, Women in Music
Posted by: Libby Smigel
Film music and musical theater buffs can now explore the scores and papers of composer-arranger Marvin Hamlisch in the Library of Congress Performing Arts Reading Room. Archivist Janet McKinney describes the range of materials, which include photographs, programs, scrapbooks, staging lists, and even Hamlisch's entertainment trophies.
Posted in: Composers, Conductors, Film Music, Guest bloggers, Musical Theater, New finding aid
Posted by: Nicholas A. Brown-Cáceres
Learn about six new collection finding aids that have been published by the Library's Music Division. These finding aids provide bibliographic access to the Irwin Bazelon Papers, Harry Chapin Collection, Ann Murphy Collection on the Rockettes and Radio City Music Hall, Alfred Newman Film Music Manuscripts, Park Avenue Synagogue Commissioning Project Correspondence and Hans Spialek Papers.
Posted in: Commissions, Composers, Conductors, Curators, Dance, Film Music, Guest bloggers, LGBTQ+, Musicians, New Acquisitions, New finding aid, New Music, Sacred music, Sheet Music, Special Collections, Women in Dance
Posted by: Heather Darnell
During last Sunday’s Oscars, many were quick to note the parallels between Ryan Gosling’s performance of “I’m Just Ken” and Marilyn Monroe’s “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend” from the 1953 film “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. ”The “Ken Dance” took many cues from pop culture and vintage Hollywood to play on gender stereotypes. However, there was …
Posted in: Dance, Film Music, Women in Dance
Posted by: Nicholas A. Brown-Cáceres
The Library of Congress is proud to offer free digital programming from its collections for the enjoyment of audiences that are not able to attend our live events in Washington, D.C. The Music Division works with colleagues throughout the Library to ensure that past events in the Concerts from the Library of Congress series, educational …
Posted in: African American History, Birthdays, Commissions, Composers, Concerts and Events, Digital Collections, Film Music, Instrumentalists, Interviews, Jazz, Jewish American History, LGBTQ+, Musical Instruments, Musical Theater, Musicians, New Music, Vocalists
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