Music Collection, 1848-2003 (bulk 1930s-1980)
General International Standard for Archival Description
Sophia Smith Collection Smith CollegeNorthampton, MA
Finding aid encoded using Perl scripts and edited in XMetal 2.0. Encoded by Laura Cutter. 2003-06-12
Encoded Archival Description
Encoded Archival Description (EAD) Version 2002
collection
Music Collection
Creation of Music Collection
Time of Creation of Music Collection
Scope and Contents of the Collection This collection contains material that documents a wide variety of women's participation in the broad field of music. The material consists of articles, books, brochures, catalogs, concert programs, interviews (both written and recorded), leaflets, musical scores, newspaper clippings, pamphlets, photographs, publicity, recordings and songbooks. There are a few items in the collection that date from the nineteenth century including some rather unique items such as a "juvenile singing book" dating from 1853. More typically the nineteenth century material includes biographical articles and newspaper clippings about well-known women singers of the period such as Lillie Greenough and Henriette Sontag, and women composers such as Amy Beach. The most significant of this material relates to internationally known singer Jenny Lind, and especially to the years she spent in Northampton during the 1840s. Included in the Lind material are articles, copies of correspondence, newspaper clippings, pamphlets, concert programs and photographs. Most of the material in this collection documents the contributions of women musicians to the field after 1930. There is a significant amount of biographical material related to classical musicians such as Nadia Boulanger, Sarah Caldwell, Emmy Destinn, Frederique Petrides, Olga Samaroff Stowkowski, Beverly Sills, Geraldine Farrar, and Kirsten Flagstad. There is also a large amount of material in the collection that documents the achievements and influence of more recent women musicians including folk musicians Malvina Reynolds and Mary Travers; the women's liberation rock bands of the late 1960s and early 1970s; and the early pioneers of feminist "women's music" such as Holly Near, Meg Christian, Alix Dobkin and Margie Adam; as well as feminist recording companies, Redwood Records and Olivia Records.
Songbooks, English--United States
lcsh
Women composers--United States--Sources
Women musicians--United States--Sources
Women--Songs and music
Women's music--History--Sources
Singers--United States--History--20th century--Sources
Adam, Margie
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Beach, H. H. A., Mrs., 1867-1944
Boulanger, Nadia
Christian, Meg
Destinnova, Ema, 1878-1930
Dobkin, Alix
Farrar, Geraldine, 1882-1967
Flagstad, Kirsten, 1895-1962
Hegermann-Lindencrone, L. de (Lillie de), 1844-1928
Lind, Jenny, 1820-1887
Near, Holly
Petrides, Frederique, 1903-1983
Raitt, Bonnie
Reynolds, Malvina
Sills, Beverly
Travers, Mary, 1936-
Redwood Records
Olivia Records
Sophia Smith Collection
series
GENERAL
Women in music, general, 1853-1981, n.d.
Clippings, 1894-1980, n.d.
Pamphlets, 1902-82, n.d.
Feminist musicians
Transcripts of interviews with Holly Near, Meg Christian, Margie Adam, Susan Freundlich, and Rosemary Schonfeld: interviews and transcripts by Laura Koplewitz, 1976-80
Tapes of interviews, 1975-79, n.d.
"Radical Harmonies": DVD, 2002
Women's rock bands, 1969-80, n.d.
Women's songbooks, 1971-79
BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIAL
Amara, Lucine, 1979
Barbieri, Fedoro, 1975
Beach, Amy, and Mercy Cheney, 1913-74
Beach, Mrs. H.H.A.
Belmont, Eleanor Robson, 1960-69
Bergen, Charlotte, 1978
Bond, Carrie Jacobs
Boulanger, Nadia, 1958-62, n.d.
Brico, Antonia, 1935-77
Caldwell, Sarah, 1971-78
Coolidge, Elizabeth Sprague, n.d.
Coolidge, Margaret, 1981
Dale, Clamma, 1977
de los Angeles, Victoria, 1978
Dessoff, Margarete, 1906
Destinn, Emmy n.d.
Dobbs, Mattiwilda, 1956, n.d.
Dwyer, Doriot Anthony, 1952-79
Ewing, Maria, 1979
Farrar, Geraldine
[See Box 3]
Fischer, Annie, circa, 1982
Flagstad, Kirsten
[See Boxes 4-7]
Garrison, Lucy McKim, 1963
Gipps, Ruth (conductor/composer), 1962-67, n.d.
Gomme, Florence C. ("Let Me Rock Your Cradle, Mary"), n.d.
Homer, Louise, 1903-40, n.d.
Hopekirk, Helen, 1883
Horne, Lena, 1950
Horne, Marilyn, 1971-79
A Study of New England Women Composers in the 1880s and 1890s, by Victoria J. O'Reilly
Jessye, Eva, 1976
Lang, Margaret Ruthven (composer): obituary, 1972, n.d.
Le Fan, Nicola, 1974
Lind, Jenny
Clippings, 1850-1978, n.d.
Pamphlets, 1848-1923, n.d.
Letters, 1851-98, n.d.
Pictures, 1852-55, n.d.
Melba, Dame Nellie (Helen Porter Mitchell), 1924
Mendelssohn, Fanny, n.d.
Moulton, Mrs. Charles (Lillie Greenough), 1871
Patti, Adelina, 1919
Petrides, Frederique, 1935-40, n.d.
Piazza, Marguerite, 1971
Raitt, Bonnie, 1972
Reynolds, Malvina, 1974-75
Samaroff, Olga (Stokowski), 1939
Schenk, Janet, 1976
Sills, Beverly, 1969-79
Simone, Nina, n.d.
Sontag, Henriette, 1852, n.d.
Stevens, Doris, 1926
Thursby, Emma, 1927-79, n.d.
Travers, Mary, 1973
Tureck, Rosalyn, 1976
Underhill, Isabel
Verrett, Shirley, 1970-76
Waters, Ethel, 1977
Photographs, 1882-1967, n.d.
Clippings, 1956-67, n.d.
Such Sweet Compulsion (1938)
Brochure: pictures
Biographical information and published photographs, 1936-47, n.d.
Clippings, 1937-50, n.d.
Programs and concert schedule, 1937-49, n.d.
Repertoire of operas, 1940-41
Programs
Carnegie Hall, 1936-47, n.d.
Metropolitan Opera, 1935-40
Articles (originals and photocopies)
Articles by Oscar Thompson, 1932-45, n.d.
Photographs, 1935-47, n.d.
ADDITIONS TO COLLECTION
Newsletters, 1974-2000
Concert programs, 1993-2003
Publications, 1984-2001
Articles and clippings, 1984-2002, n.d.
Catalogs and pamphlets, 1988-97
Public relations materials re: various artists, and internet printouts, n.d.
OVERSIZE MATERIALS
Phonograph records
"Song of Ruth," Mary Howe, n.d.
"...And Ain't I a Woman?" New Harmony Sisterhood Band, 1977
"Ballad of the ERA," Kristan Leurs, 1977
Women's music albums (Chris Williamson and others), circa 1975-89
Newspapers
Bitch (5 issues) 1986
Gay Community News (1 issue) 1981
Jazz Times (1 issue) 1990
Kinesis (4 issues) 1984-87
Memorabilia: tshirt, n.d.
Beach, Mrs. H.H.A.: sheet music, 1900-30s, n.d.
Bond, Carrie Jacobs, "A Perfect Day" and Isabel Underhill, "The Little Brown Nest," n.d.
Flagstad, Kirsten: photographs, publicity, schedules, newspaper clippings, 1934-53
Edell, Therese: "Peace Piece for Toni Sr"; mounted, n.d.
BOOKS and CDs ON SHELF
Pablo Casals, by Lillian Littlehales, 1929
Women Composers: A Handbook, by Susan Stern, 1978
Patience and Sarah: A Pioneering Love Story, Libretto by Wende Persons, Piano/Vocal Score by Paula M. Kimper, 1998
Audio CDHerstory: Turning the World Right-Side Up!,2012