A guest blog post by retired cataloger Sharon McKinley. While researching Geraldine Farrar a few years ago, I noticed that she is buried at Kensico Cemetery, located in Valhalla, New York. Coincidentally, my grandparents are there as well. Beyond the fact that having a cemetery in a place called Valhalla is a grand idea, Kensico …
In the Muse is happy to cross post the following piece by Betty Lupinacci, Processing Section Head in the Law Library. Her blog post was originally published on the Law Library’s blog, In Custodia Legis: Law Librarians of Congress. As much as I love Christmas carols, I’m usually tired of them by mid-December as …
The following post is co-written with Musical Instruments Curator Carol Lynn Ward-Bamford. Early yesterday morning the world learned of the death of Thailand’s King Bhumibol Adulyadej, crowned in 1946 and known as the world’s longest-reigning monarch. Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts and educated in Switzerland and the United States, King Bhumibol was interested in musical performance …
The following is a guest post from Gershwin Archivist Janet McKinney. Dog: composer’s best friend? Sometimes it seems like a novel idea that these revered historical figures would be charmed, comforted, and loved by animals just as the rest of us are. These seemingly larger than life personalities become more relatable when there is …
The following is a guest post from Kaitlin (Kate) Doyle, one of the Music Division’s summer Fellows. Dance Curator Libby Smigel introduces her. Meet Kate Doyle, a doctoral candidate specializing in experimental composition and sound for performance art at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Kate spent her summer as a CWRU Fellow …
The following blog is a guest post by Marcia McCants, a summer intern in the Music Division’s Concert Office. McCants is a rising senior at James Madison University where she is majoring in music. New musical styles and genres, as well as instrument timbres, emerged in the 1920s and 1930s. The xylophone gained prominence during …
The following is a guest post by retired cataloger Sharon McKinley It’s that time again when the world focuses on the glories of the Summer Olympics. Many of us are enthralled by the extensive coverage. Basketball! Cycling! Gymnastics! Track and field! Badminton! No, don’t laugh. That’s the competitive sport I played as a teenager. Alas, …
The following is a guest post from retired cataloger Sharon McKinley. All around the mulberry bush, The monkey chased the weasel. The monkey thought it was all in fun, Pop! goes the weasel. I recently ran into an unexpected and amusing piece of music which proved to have a long and varied history. The piece? …
The following is a guest post by Julianne Mangin, a retired Network Specialist from the Library of Congress. The sounds of a summer night can be charming — a light breeze rustling the trees, the chirp of crickets, perhaps the occasional hoot of an owl or croak of a frog. But on one such night …