University of Kentucky MLS candidate Jay Stringer-Vaught discusses a unique item in the Music Division’s collections written by President Abraham Lincoln in 1862 to Francis Maria Scala, then-leader of “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band. Also learn about several past appearances by "The President's Own" on the Concerts from the Library of Congress series, which celebrates 100 years in 2025.
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).
In this guest blog, Senior Music Specialist Ray White discusses the Music Division's recent acquisition of "Last Rites and Matins of the Dead" (ca. 1375-1425), which represents liturgical text, traditions and music of the "Triduum," a three-day period (that includes Halloween and Día de los Muertos) focused on honoring the departed in Western Christian faiths.
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.
The Concerts from the Library of Congress series embarks on a two-day immersion into the horn trio repertoire this coming weekend. Per usual, we’re pulling out all the stops, with the help of the distinguished Takt Trio (Austin Wulliman, violin, David Byrd-Marrow, horn, and Conor Hanick, piano). Two Library of Congress commissions will receive their …
The following is a guest post by Morgan Davis, Music Reference Specialist. As music lovers finally exhale after the highly anticipated release of Beyoncé’s “Cowboy Carter,” we are once again reminded of the music mogul’s ability to remind us of cultural histories long overlooked and buried. Like many American pastimes, country music found itself dominated …
While our nation continues to mourn the loss of First Lady Rosalynn Carter (1927-2023), here in the Music Division, we are reflecting on her lasting relationships with artists, performers, and creators, both during her time in The White House and the decades that followed. America’s civic leaders cross paths with many of the leading musicians, …
We have several serious baseball fans here in the Music Division. At least several members of our team root for the current hometown Washington Nationals (“N-A-T-S, Nats, Nats, Nats, woo!”), the neighboring Baltimore Orioles (“Let’s Go, O’s!”), and the handful of New England transplants are ardent Boston Red Sox fans. With all this baseball energy …
Nicholas A. Brown-Cáceres, Stacey Jocoy, and Susan Clermont of the Music Division contributed to this blog. Senior Music Reference Specialist Susan Clermont recently published an authoritative annotated bibliography and accompanying research guide focused on the Music Division’s 306 anthologies of music dating from 1463 – 1701. These anthologies comprise over 12,000 individual works by over …
