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Category: Braille

Hokusai's “Laughing Demon,” depicts an evil looking, wrinkled woma laughing while crushing the head of a small person in her right, long-nailed hand, held up to her right ear. She points with her left long-nailed index finger to the little bleading head. The woman is boney, wrinkled, has long fingernails, brown hair, and small horns on her head.

Seeing Music: Gnomus and Baba Yaga from Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition”

Posted by: Juliette Appold

Who are Baba Yaga and Gnomus? This blog shows how Mussorgsky represents them in his piano suite "Pictures at an Exhibition," and what kinds of related NLS materials you may be interested in.

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New BARD Additions: December 2021

Posted by: Brian McCurdy

In this week's NLS Music Notes blog post, we bring you the latest offerings that have been added to BARD (Braille and Audio Reading Download). Please enjoy this musical feast, and Happy Holidays from the NLS Music Section!

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Folk Music and Music Education: Zoltán Kodály

Posted by: Katie Rodda

Today we celebrate the birthday of Hungarian composer, ethnomusicologist, and music pedagogue Zoltán Kodály. We take a look at his life and his works available in the NLS Music Collection.

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Progressive Rock, Classical Influences

Posted by: Brian McCurdy

Progressive Rock drew its inspiration from a number of influences. For this week's NLS Music Notes Blog post, learn more about the classical music that inspired Rush, Jethro Tull, Pink Floyd, and many others!

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New BARD Additions: October 2021

Posted by: Katie Rodda

Today's blog post rounds up all the new digital acquisitions and digitized items added to BARD in October 2021 by he NLS Music Section.

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American Music from A to Z in the NLS Music Collection: E—Eastman School of Music

Posted by: Brian McCurdy

In our alphabetical journey through the NLS Music Collection, we have arrived this month at the letter E. 2021 is the centennial of the founding of one of the world's leading music schools, the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. Composers, educators, performers, and other music pioneers from this prestigious institution are represented far and wide throughout our holdings.

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New BARD Additions: September 2021

Posted by: Juliette Appold

What a Wonderful World this would be, dancing Cheek to Cheek, imagining to be Just a Gigolo: Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald's songbooks, and the piano version of Leonello Casucci's memorable song, are now available as digital braille music scores for you to download from BARD. Check out this week's blog to find these and many more new titles in the NLS Music digital collection.

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Hidden Gems of the NLS Collection: Toccata, Villancico y Fuga, Op. 18 by Alberto Ginastera

Posted by: Brian McCurdy

September 15 through October 15 is National Hispanic-Latino Heritage Month. It is a time when we celebrate the generations of Hispanic and Latino Americans that have contributed to our society in positive and meaningful ways. On our journey through the treasures of the NLS Music collection, we recently came across a wonderful work written for organ by Argentine composer Alberto Ginastera (1916-1983), the Toccata, Villancico y Fuga, Op. 18. While this work is performed by organists on a regular basis, the rest of us would benefit from learning more about both the composer and the composition.