Easter

Wondering what Easter-related materials we have here in the library? We have a lot! Click here to see what's in the catalog.

Valentine's Day

Just in time for Valentine's Day, we've put together a collection of some of our favorite sheet music covers from our Digital Sheet Music Project.

Sing for freedom!

Interested in listening to some music to help celebrate the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday? Check these items out from the Music Library:


Sing for freedom [sound recording] : the story of the civil rights movement through its songs.
Compact Disc 3259


The music of Joseph Schwantner.(Uses words from Martin Luther King, Jr.)
Compact Disc 4440


An American original (Texts of the 4th work by John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Robert F. Kennedy.)
Compact Disc 2879

If you want more, check out these videos on YouTube:
"A Dream" by Common: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBa55sDTIiA
A short MLK film: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qxZXCh5r1Y

Holiday break

Hey kids,

Just wanted to let you know the blog won't be updated as much while we're closed for holiday break. We'll be back on January 4th with regular posts.

Until then, have a safe & happy holiday, and we'll see you next year!

Holiday music

Just in time for wrapping presents or having your friends over for a holiday party, we've made a playlist for the holiday season, and it's available on Naxos Music Library. You must be a USC student, faculty, or staff to access. If you're off campus, click here for access.

Guest post

Here's a guest post from Music Library student employee Kyle M.:

While seemingly frivolous lawsuit(s), the inmates have a point…it probably isn’t the most wonderful time of the year for them.

Do you like lists? Here are 24 different lists regarding the best music of 2009.







I really, really love a capella music and it has been great fun to see a mainstream show featuring voices alone without instruments doing some really cool things. Check it out!

What we're working on Wednesday!

So we've missed a couple of WWW on Wednesdays...sorry about that. Lots of meetings for USC Librarians this time of year.

Anyway, this week we've been busy dubbing VHS tapes from the collection of Talmage Fauntleroy (web pages coming soon!), adding more sheet music to our Digital Sheet Music Collection (including figuring out why some pages mysteriously turned pink when uploaded), changing webpages, and answering emailed reference questions!

Did you know that the Music Librarians typically handle about three reference questions via email from patrons all over the world per day? Just this morning we had a patron looking for the sheet music to the Chiquita banana song. Fun!

Before we go, be sure to check out our Thanksgiving Holiday hours on our website.

Women's History Month

March is Women's History Month. To celebrate, here are a few items by women composers or performers available at the Music Library:


Ammer, Christine. Unsung: A History of Women in American Music.
ML82 .A45


Block, Adrienne, and Carol Neuls-Bates, comps and eds. Women in American Music: A Bibliography of Music and Literature.
ML128 .W7 B6


Borgerding, Todd, ed. Gender, Sexuality, and Early Music.
ML3838 .G373 2002


Bowers, Jane, and Judith Tick, eds. Women Making Music: The Western Art Tradition, 1150-1950.
ML82 .W67 1985


Cohen, Aaron. International Encyclopedia of Women Composers.
REF ML105 .C7 1987 v. 1 and v. 2


Frasier, Jane. Women Composers: A Discography.
REF ML156.4 .W6 F7 1983


Fuller, Sophie. The Pandora Guide to Women Composers: Britain and the United States 1629-Present.
REF ML390 .F94 1994


Heinrich, Adel, comp. Organ and Harpsichord Music by Women Composers: An Annotated Catalog.
REF ML128.O6 O73 1991


Hensel, Fanny Mendelssohn, and Susan Gritton. Lieder. CD. 2000.
Compact Disc 4221


Hensel, Fanny Mendelssohn. Klavierwerke. CD. 1987.
Compact Disc 1629


LaMay, Thomasin, ed. Musical Voices of Early Modern Women: Many-Headed Melodies.
ML82 .M798 2005


MacAuslan, Janna, and Kristan Aspen, comps. Guitar Music by Women Composers: An Annotated Catalog.
ML128 .G8 M33 1997


Meggett, Joan, comp. Keyboard Music by Women Composers: A Catalog and Bibliography.
ML128 .H35 M43



Oliveros, Pauline. Deep Listening. CD. 2007.
Compact Disc 4167


Pendle, Karin, ed. Women & Music: A History.
ML82 .W6 1991


Stern, Susan. Women Composers: A Handbook.
REF ML105 .S7


Tower, Joan. Silver Ladders; Island Prelude: For Solo Oboe and String Orchestra; Music for cello and Orchestra; Sequoia. CD. n.d.
Compact Disc 3220


Tower, Joan. Black Topaz. CD. 1995.
Compact Disc 1656


Walker-Hill, Helen. From Spirituals to Symphonies: African-American Women Composers and Their Music.
ML390 .W16 2002


Women of Note. CD. 1997
Compact Disc 2596

Special thanks to Amy Edmonds and Music Library student employee Abby!

African American History Month

The Music Library has tons of sources on African American musical history.
Click this link for a selection of items in our catalog, or visit the Jazz or Hip Hop LibGuides.


The Music Library's Digital Sheet Music Project Site also has many pieces of African American-related sheet music digitized, some from the mid-1800s.

As always, please let us know if we can assist you in any way!

Hanukkah

Naxos music library has some great Hanukkah music (no matter which way you spell the holiday)!

Check out some of these:

SEASONS' CELEBRATION

FROM JEWISH LIFE

CHRISTMAS and HANUKAH: I'll Be Home for the Holidays

CHRISTMAS Eaken Piano Trio: Home for the Holidays

HOLIDAYS OF THE NEW ERA

A HANUKKA CELEBRATION

Christmas

Compact disc 7806 Discs 1-4
Noël
On a personal note, this CD set is my absolute favorite. When it is checked out around the holidays, I'll even settle for Compact Disc 1344, "On Yoolis night" which is an earlier release of one of the discs in the Noël set. I don't think I would've made it through finals week in my last Master's degree without this CD set. Please check it out when you get the chance!

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Compact disc 8621
A holiday note from home
If you like your Christmas to have some swing, this CD is a must!

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Compact Disc 3530
A rose in winter
If you like to stick to traditional sacred music for the holidays, this CD is perfect!

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Compact Disc 2780
Winter pages ; Bright music
If chamber music, or to be more specific, 20th century quintet music is your genre of choice, check out Ned Rorem's Winter Pages on this CD. It's all composed around winter-themed poetry. The liner notes go into detail, and make for a very interesting read.

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Compact disc 4165
A mind of winter
Another piece in a similar vein is George Benjamin's A Mind of Winter on this CD. It is a setting of Wallace Stevens's "The Snow Man," for soprano and chamber orchestra. If you like 20th century music, you'll find this a nice piece!

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Compact disc 2445
In a cold winter's night
If you like more traditional (and by traditional, I mean Renaissance period/sounding music), then you'll like this CD. There are some 20th century pieces, and even some pieces of North and South American origin. This is a can't miss CD.

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Compact Disc 9645
The winter trombone
Something old, something new, something trombone....something blue. This CD starts off with Vivaldi's "Winter" from The Four Seasons, Op. 8 No. 4, which fills the "old" category. Something new (and blue) would be Roland's Blue Winter. As you can guess, the entirety of the CD is trombone music, and for a non-brass player, I found it quite enjoyable!

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Compact disc 9124
Merry : a holiday journey
If you like your Christmas music to be more intimate or slightly "folky," then you'll like this CD. I swear I've heard this playing in the background of a Starbucks before.

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Compact disc 7752 Discs 1-2
Essential carols : the very best of King's College Choir, Cambridge.
If you like your Christmas carols sung by a large choir and preferably in a large hall, this two-CD set is for you! It contains well-known classics and some songs you might discover for the first time! Some of these songs have a chant-like quality that would make them perfect for relaxing around finals week.

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Compact Disc 2942
Christmas Star
This CD is filled with the tried and true Christmas classic carols like "Silent Night," and some that may be new to you, such as "Lo, How a Rose e'er Blooming."

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Happy Holidays from the Music Library!

Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is almost here! Whether you're cooking, eating, or just partaking in a lot of football, it's nice to relax and visit with family and friends.

In honor of Thanksgiving, I wanted to present you with some selections of music from the Music Library. To be honest, however, I found them all a little somber. So if you're in the mood for somber Thanksgiving music, try these selections:



Compact Disc 2479
Family Circle -- celebration! [sound recording] : music for holidays year-round.
(Tracks 16 & 17)



Compact Disc 5066
Music of the Americas, 1492-1992
(Disc 1, Track 5)



Compact Disc 3469
Akathist of thanksgiving

If you have an LP player and children, you might try this one:


Columbia Music Sound Recordings 17824
Thanksgiving songs that tickle your funny bone.

For those of you who want a more historic feel to your Thanksgiving tunes, check out the streaming audio clips of Native American music on our World Music pages.

No matter what music you listen to, everyone here at the Music Library hopes you have a safe and wonderful Thanksgiving!