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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
Posted by: Cait Miller
The Music Division has published three new digital collections, including the Martorell Collection, music manuscripts from the A.P. Schmidt Collection, and Sheet Music of the Musical Theater.
Posted in: Musical Theater, Sheet Music, Special Collections, Women in Music
Posted by: Paul Sommerfeld
An obscure composer from the late 18th and early 19th century, Nicola Sampieri self-published most of his music with programmatic titles, intricate engravings, and specific instructions for performance that included both sound effects and visual displays.
Posted in: Composers, Film Music, Sheet Music
Posted by: Paul Sommerfeld
This final post in a series of three on musical vacations heads to the beach for sun, surf, and shellfish.
Posted in: Composers, Guest bloggers, Holidays, Musical Theater, Newly Cataloged, Sheet Music, Special Collections
Posted by: Paul Sommerfeld
Part one of this three part travel series takes - through music - a road trip out west to Death Valley, Lassen Peak, Yellowstone, and Lake Louise.
Posted in: Composers, Copyright Deposits, Holidays, Newly Cataloged, Sheet Music, Sound recordings, Special Collections
Posted by: Paul Sommerfeld
When searching for someone to compose a pianoforte arrangement of their immensely popular comic opera The Mikado, the theatrical duo plucked a young former shoemaker from Lynn, Massachusetts.
Posted in: Composers, Guest bloggers, Sheet Music, Special Collections
Posted by: Paul Sommerfeld
The concluding part of this two-part survey of music and disease looks at examples that arose from pandemics in the 19th and 20th centuries, including: works by Stephen Foster and Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel written in the wake of a series of cholera outbreaks, and the sometimes curiously lighthearted musical response to the 1918 influenza pandemic.
Posted in: Composers, Copyright Deposits, Guest bloggers, Newly Cataloged, Sacred music, Sheet Music, World War I
Posted by: Melissa Wertheimer
An undeniable musical trend during social distancing right now is the wealth of online music making. In the spirit of music keeping us together while we’re apart, I propose a Spring-Themed Online Music Challenge! Use the sheet music I recommend in this blog post about spring and flowers from the Music Division’s digital collections, make videos, and tag us on social media.
Posted in: Sheet Music, Special Collections
Posted by: Cait Miller
The following is a guest post from Ben West, writer, director, producer, performer, and musical theatre historian. He is currently a curator for the forthcoming Museum of Broadway in Times Square, New York City. He is also currently writing and developing several stage projects including The Show Time! Trilogy, three new documentary musicals about the evolution …
Posted in: African American History, Composers, Guest bloggers, Musical Theater, Sheet Music, Special Collections