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March 24, 2005
Mary's Pick of the Week
This week is flying by quickly, but I had to give a "Pick of the Week" nod to the BBC3's Composer of the Week show this week featuring Edward Elgar (1857-1934). Programs are available for listening online for one week after the broadcast date.
Also notable is the Elgar Society's webpage, a great source of information about Elgar. There are the usual biographical topics, plus an online newsletter, diary of events, and sound clips from featured recordings.
Posted by huism002 at 1:05 PM | Comments (0)
March 21, 2005
New Music Subject Headings
Here are selected new or changed music subject headings of interest from the Music Cataloging Bulletin, January-March 2005. Now that we have regular access to MCB, I will be sharing the highlights on a monthly basis.
New headings of interest from the January MCB:
African American gospel singers
Chamber music festivals
God in opera
Music by Jewish composers
Mysticism in music
Singing in literature
Vocal music in literature
Several headings may now be subdivided geographically:
Acting in opera
or, not:
Bible in music
Women in opera
New headings of interest from the February MCB:
Expatriate music publishers
Music--American influences
Stars in music
New headings of interest from the March MCB:
Femininity in music
Humanism in music
Mechanical organ builders
Modernism (Music)
Music supervision
Rock music on television
Song improvisation
Headings for vocal canons, fugues, etc. have now been changed from "Canons, fugues, etc. (Vocal)" to "Canons, fugues, etc. (Chorus)" or "Canons, fugues, etc. (Voice)." The number of voice parts may be given in the form "(Voices (3))."
Note: These new headings will be applied as new materials are cataloged. They are not necessarily applied retrospectively.
Contact Mary with questions.
Posted by huism002 at 9:25 AM | Comments (0)
Happy Birthday, JSB!
Since Johann Sebastian Bach and I happen to share a birthday, I thought I'd offer a few favorite sites...
The first site is the "J.S. Bach Home Page" that features a wealth of information, from the biographical section complete with travel guide and timeline to record reviews.
The Johann-Sebastian-Bach-Institut Göttingen site is an authoritative source on all things Bach. Only the "Quellen-Katalog (Sources of J.S. Bach's Works)" section is in English, however. The American Bach Society website offers their "Bach Notes" newsletter along with information on the Society, grants and prizes, and an image gallery. Several other Bach organizations have websites as well.
The cleverly-titled "Bach Central Station," is a classified list of around 300 links to various Bach-related web pages. The Internet Movie Database gives a list of over 300 movies using Bach's music.
Finally, the BBC offers a nifty "Bach in one minute" profile along with recommended recordings, books, and a few sound clips.
Happy 320th, JSB!!
Posted by huism002 at 9:00 AM | Comments (0)
March 17, 2005
Happy St. Patrick's Day!
Whether your taste runs to traditional or contemporary Irish music, there are many web resources available. Here are just two to start your journey:
o The Contemporary Music Centre Ireland contains information about Irish composers, articles on Irish music, an event calendar, and a monthly featured composer and recording.
o The Traditional Music Archive is a Dublin-based multimedia resource that covers Irish traditional song, music, and dance.
There are several resources available in the Music Library as well. Here are just a few selections (the library call number is given in parentheses):
The Companion to Irish Traditional Music (ML101.I73 V35 1999)
Irish Classical Recordings: A Discography of Irish Art Music (Ref ML156.2.K54 2001)
Irish Musical Studies (ML3799.I75 1990)
Passing It On: The Transmission of Music in Irish Culture (ML287.M32x 1999)
Oh, and that tune you've been hearing all day...it's probably "Irish Tune from County Derry," more commonly known as "Danny Boy." The Music Library has several recordings of it, ranging from the traditional Percy Grainger arrangement (CD-6160) to a nifty percussion arrangement by the group Woof! (CD-10899).
Enjoy!
Posted by huism002 at 10:42 AM | Comments (0)
March 11, 2005
Mary's Pick of the Week
After a short hiatus, "Pick of the Week" is back!
Check out the cool exhibit at the Goldstein Museum: "Hip Art That's Square: A Survey of Album Covers from the Collection of Richard Shelton." The exhibit runs through 3 April, so you've got a few weeks left to see it! There is also an interactive computer kiosk where one can view one of sixty images, learn more about the album, and hear a song.
From the website: "This exhibition examines the relationships between popular music and the graphic art of its packaging. The show features almost 300 albums from the collector's total library of 18,000+ albums, which spans half of the twentieth century and most musical genres."
Posted by huism002 at 1:43 PM | Comments (0)
Minnesota Music in the News
Several articles related to music in Minnesota have recently appeared...
The first article is a review of Domenick Argento's Catalogue raisonne as memoir: a composer's life (University of Minnesota Press) that first appeared in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune (and is currently available at andante.com). This book is available at the Music Library (ML410.A687 A3 2004).
Another article, from the rival Pioneer Press, is also available from andante.com. In "The Orchestra as Cover Band" critic Matt Peiken gives his ideas about "how rock may hold the key to making classical music relevant again." Although we don't have the Beethoven discs discussed in the article, we have several other recordings by the Minnesota Orchestra in the Music Library.
Finally, in today's Star-Tribune, Chris Riemenschneider talks about the production of the soundtrack to "Minnesota: a history of the land." The television series was co-produced by Twin Cities Public Television and the University of Minnesota, and is available at several University Libraries locations.
Enjoy!
Posted by huism002 at 1:24 PM | Comments (0)
MLA Vancouver wrap-up
Some reports from the recent Music Library Association meeting in Vancouver have been posted to the Technical Services webpage. These reports are mainly concerned with music cataloging-related topics.
General information from the conference will be covered in the next issue of the Music Library Association Newsletter. Live updates from the conference appeared on the "Infoshare: the Weblog of the Information Sharing Subcommittee of the Reference and Public Services Committee of the Music Library Association". There is a possibility that some session presentations or handouts would be available either through the 2005 Conference website, or the MLA Clearinghouse.
Posted by huism002 at 12:54 PM | Comments (0)