Hi - this might be of interest:
> Sender: Material Culture in America <[log in to unmask]>
> From: "danna c. bell-russel" <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Announcement of addition of Music for the Nation: American Sheet
> Music, 1820-1860, to American Memory
>
>
> The Library of Congress Announces a New Addition to American Memory, "Music
> for the Nation: American Sheet Music 1820-1860"
>
> The newest addition to American Memory, "Music for the Nation: American
> Sheet Music, 1820-1860" <http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/sm2html/>, consists of
> over 15,000 pieces of sheet music registered for copyright during the pre
> Civil War years. This collection, taken from materials in the Library's
> Music Division, complements an earlier American Memory project, "Music For
> the Nation: American Sheet Music 1870-1885", as well as the "Band Music
> from the Civil War Era" and "Sheet Music from the Civil War Era".
>
> This new installment of pre-Civil War music materials are available through
> a common "Music for the Nation" page
> <http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/mussmhtml/>. Through this one page, sheet
> music items are searchable via title, composer or subject for this new
> collection, as well as the "Music For the Nation: American Sheet Music 1870
> -1885" collection.
>
> The years 1820 to 1860 reflect a coming of age for American popular song,
> and many of the songs from this period are still well known
> today. Included online are many songs by Stephen Foster (1826 64) who
> composed such as favorites as "Susanna", "The Old Folks at Home" and
> "Jeanie With the Light Brown Hair". Other recognizable songs from this era
> include "There's Music in the Air", "Jingle Bells", "Long, Long, Ago",
> "Sweet Betsy from Pike", and "Pop Goes the Weasel".
>
> Evident throughout the collection is the burgeoning popularity of the
> polka, and songs that reflect the growing fame of performers such as the
> singing Hutchinson Family and the first American tour (arranged by P. T.
> Barnum) of soprano Jenny Lind, known as the "Swedish Nightingale". In
> addition to songs, the collection also includes operatic arias, piano
> music, sacred and secular vocal music, solo instrumental music, method
> books and instructional materials, and some music for band and orchestra.
>
> Complete page images for all the sheet music items are included in this
> online collection, which also features two special presentations; one, a
> listing of the "greatest hits" for the years 1820 - 1860, and a historical
> background essay on the development of American music in this period by the
> noted scholar, and longtime specialist in the Music Division, Wayne Shirley.
>
> Over the years, Music Division staff selected items deposited for copyright
> and added them to the Division's classified collections. These were the
> items by the best known composers of the day, or items that were otherwise
> thought to be interesting or important. Even so, much music material was
> left in the Copyright Office and was not transferred to the Music Division
> until some time in the 1950's. It is a portion of those items (published
> from 1820-60) that comprise this online collection. These 15,000 pieces of
> music, bound in three volumes, comprised nearly a quarter of items that
> were transferred to the Library of Congress from the Patent Office in 1870.
>
> Please direct any questions to <http://www.loc.gov/rr/askalib/ask-memory.html>.
>
--
Elizabeth Roderick email ([log in to unmask])
Director, Digital Library Program email ([log in to unmask])
The Library of Virginia phone (804) 692-3761
800 E. Broad Street fax (804) 692-3771
Richmond, VA 23219
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