The following is a guest post from Senior Music Specialist Ray White. “The dawn’s early light” on September 14, 2014, marked the 200th anniversary of the day that Francis Scott Key saw that “the star-spangled banner” was still waving “o’er” Fort McHenry. The story of that morning has been told many times in this anniversary …
When the Library of Congress was founded in 1800, the institution could not yet boast an established Music Division; in fact, it would be nearly a century before the Library formally created a Music Division. That decision was not so much a philosophical reflection of music’s importance in our culture but rather a necessary course …
The following is a guest post from Dr. Nancy Newman, Associate Professor at the University of Albany. Dr. Newman’s lecture is a part of the LC/AMS Lecture Series. Please join us for Dr. Newman’s lecture on Tuesday, April 22 at 12:00 noon in Coolidge Auditorium. The Germania Musical Society was a group of about two …
The following is a guest post from Daniel Boomhower, Head of Reader Services in the Music Division. In the eighteenth century mention of the name Bach brought foremost to mind either Johann Christian Bach (1735-1782), the “London Bach,” or to Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714-1788), from 1768 the “Hamburg Bach” and from about 1740 to …
The following is a guest post from Music Archivist Janet McKinney. One year ago this month the rush to buy tickets during the members only presale to see the Broadway tour of The Book of Mormon musical here in Washington, DC crashed the Kennedy Center website. The incident reminded me of a topic in which …
Stephen Collins Foster, one of the most significant songwriters in American history, died 150 years ago today. With over 200 songs to his credit, Foster penned tunes and lyrics that have stood the test of time: “Oh! Susanna,” “Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair,” “Camptown Races,” and “My Old Kentucky Home” are just a handful …