Songs in the English language, 1675-approximately 1870, bulk 1700-1822.
Overview
Collection of over 2000 English-language songs published between 1675 and 1870.
Dates
- Creation: 1675-1870.
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research.
Extent
1 collection (4 linear feet (8 boxes))This collection preserves over 2000 English-language songs published between 1675 and 1870. Most were printed in London, though there are examples from Dublin, Glasgow, and Edinburgh as well. There are ballads, popular songs, romances, pastorals, patriotic songs, hunting songs, bawdy songs, sea songs, political songs, and music from England’s many theaters and pleasure gardens. Most of the pieces carry the name of their composer and many also identify the singer who first made the song famous as well as where it was sung. Generally, each sheet transmits a single song scored for voice with keyboard accompaniment; frequently, in a convention lost to time, sheets also include transpositions of the melody for performance with transverse flute (also known as German flute). The use of guitar accompaniment is nearly as common. The opportunities for inquiry and discovery are great. Some of the pieces here survive in many known exemplars while others are completely unique to this collection.
Biographical / Historical
Publications such as these were the primary means for distributing (usually solo) vocal music with simple accompaniment for domestic use. There is a rich variety of text sources and genres within this collection, which also contains a wealth of information about changing performance practices and musical style. Spanning the reigns of four kings and one queen, the music in these pages offers a rare, ready-made opportunity for detailed scholarly research into a number of topics such as: song (art and otherwise), literature, publishing, paper types, printing technology, marketing, collecting, circulation, domestic music-making, individual singers (male as well as female), venues, morals, opera, theater, genre, and notation. They bear witness to nearly a century and a half of song composition as well as musical consumer culture in the English-speaking world.
Arrangement
Arranged in approximately alphabetical order by composer's last name, title of dramatic work and first line; headings of individual songsheets do not form part of the alphabetical sequence.
Physical Location
Harvard Depository
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of John M. Ward, 2010.
Processing Information
Ellen Exner with assistance from Christina Linklater and Melanie Wisner.
- Title
- Songs in the English language, 1675-approximately 1870, bulk 1700-1822.
- Author
- Eda Kuhn Loeb Music Library, Harvard College Library
- Description rules
- dacs
- Language of description
- und
- EAD ID
- mus00032
Repository Details
Part of the Eda Kuhn Loeb Music Library Repository
The Eda Kuhn Loeb Music Library is the primary repository of musical materials at Harvard. The Music Library’s collecting mission is to serve music teaching and research programs in the Music Department and throughout the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. In addition, it supports the musical needs of the broader Harvard community as well as an international scholarly constituency. We collect books, musical scores, serial titles, sound recordings and video formats, microforms, and rare and archival materials that support research in a wide variety of musical disciplines including historical musicology, music theory, ethnomusicology, composition, and historically informed performance practice, as well as interdisciplinary areas related to music. The special collections include archival collections from the 19th, 20th and 21st century.
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