I’m delighted to report that Houghton has just received a grant to survey sheet music collections across the Harvard Library system. This welcome support comes to us through Harvard’s “Open Your Hidden Collections” program, funded by the Arcadia Foundation. Regular readers of our blog will sense the glee behind this announcement: as I’ve written here many times in different ways, sheet music can function as a kind of Twitter feed to history, providing researchers with a clear indication of trending issues, who (and what) is viewed as popular at a given time, and just how they are viewed. I’ve highlighted Vienna’s rebus craze, some pretty wild orchestras, artist Egon Wilden, and some just plain dazzling artistic technique, among many other blogs on the subject.
We’re indebted as well to George Boziwick, Chief of the Music Division of the NYPL, whose April 12 program at the American Repertory Theater’s Oberon stage on Emily Dickinson’s Songbook piqued the curiosity of many across the library system. So fellow fans, keep your eyes peeled! In the coming year we’re sure to share some astonishing imagery, from the ridiculous to the sublime. I’ll leave you to be the judge of this Baxter print, surrounded by vignettes from the story of Paul et Virginie.
[Thanks to Andrea Cawelti, Ward Music Cataloger, for contributing this post.]