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Concert programmes in the Bliss Archive
Over the last few months, I have been documenting the concert programmes in the Arthur Bliss Archive here at the University Library, and a diverting and engaging time I have had of it. It sounds such...
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The Bliss violin concerto: from composition to performance
“It was time that Sir Arthur Bliss wrote such a work, for bravura and cantilena are much in his line; and it is 16 years since he gave us a concerto” So wrote the music critic of The Times who …...
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Obsessed with Handel: Samuel Butler’s special collection
Many people have heard of the utopian satire Erewhon, but few are aware that its author, the Victorian polymath Samuel Butler (1835–1902), was driven to creativity by a lifelong obsession with George...
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To celebrate, to commemorate : Frederick Delius (29th January)
An earlier MusiCB3 blogpost about musical anniversaries prompted me to think about which anniversaries I would celebrate / commemorate this year. One immediately sprang to mind: the 150th anniversary...
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“My beloved spook”: Patrick Hadley and a celebrated anthem
Amongst the holdings of Gonville and Caius College library is a little known collection of archival material relating to three sometime Caian composers: Charles Wood (1866-1926), Geoffrey Shaw...
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I found this letter….
Recently I was going through some correspondence in the Arthur Bliss Archive, and came across an uncatalogued letter from Adolf Aber, a music director at Bliss’ publisher Novello. Aber had formerly...
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Roberto Gerhard’s Photos
The photographs in the Gerhard Archive have now been sorted and documented, and lists of them can be found on the Gerhard web pages. They arrived in the Library totally unsorted, and many of them...
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Bliss
The University Library holds a selection of composer and music related archives and actively seeks to extend these collections. One of our main criteria in the selection of music archives is...
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For the benefit of musical education…
In 1889 Sir Alexander Mackenzie, Principal of the Royal Academy of Music, proposed to Sir George Grove, Director of the Royal College of Music, that the two institutions should combine to create an...
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Robert Thurston Dart
If you have been reading our blog, you are undoubtedly already aware that the University Library holds many unique and fascinating music archives in various shapes and forms. The composer archives are...
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To celebrate, to commemorate: Benjamin Britten (1913 – 1976)
It cannot have escaped your notice that this year we celebrate the centenary of the birth of one of Britain’s greatest composers: Benjamin Britten. Best known for works such as Peter Grimes, the Young...
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Cambridge’s musical records
The title of this Friends event sums up quite nicely what I would like to put in the limelight this week: archival records with a “musical theme” that are held at the Music and the Manuscripts...
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A talent for light music
The UL recently acquired two slightly unusual items: a copy of the song “You were there” from Noel Coward‘s musical Tonight at 8.30, signed by Coward and his leading lady, Gertrude Lawrence; and music...
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The joy of mistakes
A few weeks ago I attended a music librarians’ conference. Among the many interesting talks was a panel discussion on issues around music digitisation. One of the items raised made me think about...
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Ballets and bagpipes and audible birth?
What do lost ballets, trans-medial machines, sonic aspects of childbirth and an Argyll piper have in common? Answer: They all feature in current PhD research topics at the Faculty of Music, University...
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Arthur Bliss 125
August 2nd 2016 is the 125th anniversary of the birth of Sir Arthur Bliss. At the University Library, we are celebrating this with a music corridor exhibition (opening first week of August 2016)...
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In a child’s mind
The BBC over the last few years has tried to get children to become more involved in classical music. November 2014 saw the introduction of Ten Pieces, an initiative aimed initially at children of...
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A gift from Lehigh. Part I.
Kate mentioned at the end of her tribute to Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, last week, that we had a copy of the album – a gift from Lehigh University Concert Band. The record (an American...
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A gift from Lehigh. Part II.
Last week I explained how Sir Arthur Bliss came to compose a fanfare for an American college football team, Lehigh University, who were desperate to defeat their old rivals, Lafayette. Jonathan Elkus,...
View ArticleTo celebrate, to commemorate: Stanley Sadie (1930 – 2005)
This year marks what would have been the 90th birthday of the much-missed musician, critic, author and editor Stanley Sadie so we here at MusiCB3 thought we would devote a little post to reflect on his...
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