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Posted by: Morgen Stevens-Garmon
The Moldenhauer Choirbook, a sixteenth-century liturgical manuscript, reveals its history as a work of many hands.
Posted in: Guest bloggers, Sacred music, Special Collections, Staff
Posted by: Cait Miller
Rodgers and Hammerstein's “My Favorite Things” has become a holiday classic in its own right. Watch videos that explain and animate Hammerstein's creative process as he wrote the lyrics for the song.
Posted in: Musical Theater, Special Collections
Posted by: Morgen Stevens-Garmon
Learn about the Christmas cards created and sent by animal welfare advocate Christine G. Stevens and her husband, theatrical producer and real estate executive Roger L. Stevens.
Posted in: Guest bloggers, Holidays, Special Collections, Staff, Theater
Posted by: Cait Miller
The melody for the famous lullaby "Rock-a-Bye Baby" was composed, by Effie I. Canning near the end of the 19th century. Anecdotes about the history of the song vary, however, when researching numerous newspaper articles that present conflicting information.
Posted in: Sound recordings, Women in Music
Posted by: Morgen Stevens-Garmon
Acclaimed for expanding the horizons of traditional musical sounds through his refined use of technologies, American composer Roger Reynolds reveals that the act of writing music is "my way of understanding the world."
Posted in: Composers, Digital Collections, Guest bloggers, Interviews, Staff
Posted by: Claudia Morales
The following is a guest post by virtual artist-in-residence, violinist Jennifer Koh. I am honored to be a virtual artist-in-residence at the Library of Congress. For the program that was streamed on November 19, 2020, I included works that engage with the question of who we are during this time of COVID. Beethoven Sonata No. …
Posted in: Commissions, Composers, Concerts and Events, Guest bloggers, Musicians, New Music, Women in Music
Posted by: Morgen Stevens-Garmon
Henry Cowell, one of the ultramodernists of the 1920s and 1930s, experimented with new pianistic sounds in his compositions. A new finding aid published by the Music Division showcases these compositions and many other works by Cowell.
Posted in: Composers, Guest bloggers, Special Collections, Staff
Posted by: Claudia Morales
The following is a guest post by composer Igor Santos. confined. speak. is a 15-minute work for violin and piano commissioned by the McKim Fund in the Library of Congress. It was written for Ensemble Dal Niente members MingHuan Xu and Winston Choi and was recorded in Chicago on October 27, 2020, for a virtual …
Posted in: Commissions, Composers, Concerts and Events, Musicians, New Music, Special Collections
Posted by: Melissa Wertheimer
On October 30, the Music Division musically celebrates the birthday of Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge as Founder’s Day. Musicians who befriended Mrs. Coolidge sent her birthday greetings as musical scores, including Darius Milhaud, Paul Hindemith, Leo Sowerby, Sir Eugene Goossens, and more!
Posted in: Birthdays, Composers, Special Collections