Today is the blessing of the animals. St. Francis of Assisi died on October 3, 1226. He is still revered as a religious figure, having been canonized by Pope Gregory IX on July 16th, 1228 and recognized for his patronage of animals and the environment. There is now an established custom for pet owners to …
I’m not sure what attracts listeners to large choral works, but for myself, I go for the musical line first. Only later do I find out what the chorus or soloists are singing about. But I wonder: are composers drawn to texts and create melodies to match, or do they have a file of melodies …
The NLS Music Section mourns the loss of Aretha Franklin, a giant in popular and gospel music. Starting with her gospel singing in her father’s church, Ms. Franklin established an unforgettable presence with a powerful delivery and message about spirituality and the ups and downs of love. She was from Detroit, and while Motown was …
Hard Times Come Again No More! American Composers, Stephen Collins Foster (1826-1864) I am happy that we are focusing on American composers as a blog cycle; there are always new discoveries and new things to learn about our unique country’s history. And sometimes, if you want to understand an atmosphere of a specific era, look …
This is a very special year for Broadway and classical music fans and those of us at the Library of Congress; we’re marking the centennial of Leonard Bernstein’s birth. For a man who was born in 1918, his music still has fans snapping their fingers (x…x…x is a symbol in print music notation in West …
According to the song “Nashville Cats” by the Lovin’ Spoonful, there are “thirteen-hundred and fifty-two guitar pickers in Nashville.” I wouldn’t question that number, but in fact I suspect it has increased dramatically since that song debuted in 1966. As my colleague Lindsay Conway wrote about in her blog post Music City 101: NLS Heads …
Here is a listing of the most recent BARD additions. If you aren’t able to find something on this list for learning or entertainment, check back next month, or the next; something will come your way. In the meantime, a tune many of us heard from a television comedy of the 60s, “Ballad of Gilligan’s …
The NLS Music Section is part of a national network of cooperating libraries. With that in mind, we are in touch with the network when they have patrons who are interested in the materials provided by our section, and there is a nice spirit of cooperation between the network and our offices here in the …