Posted by & filed under K-Pop, Student Publications.

Hae-jeen Ryou

Generation One

Through the decades, K-pop has expanded in terms of choreography, genres and merchandise. This three-part series discusses the different generations of K-pop. In the previous blog, we talked about the history of Korean music before the rise of K-pop idols. Today, we will discuss the first two generations of K-pop and the rise of the Hallyu Wave.

The first generation of K-pop started with the debut of the trio boyband, Seo Taiji and Boys. They debuted in 1992 on MBC’s Talent Show, a national televised show in Seoul. Seo Taiji and Boys’ popularity was overwhelming from the start. Seo Taiji and Boys’ debut song “I KNOW” introduced a new sound and style of music into Korean mainstream culture. The song incorporated more Western style of pop instead of the more traditional Korean music and funk. With this change, Seo Taiji and Boys grew popular with the younger generation. This provided more challenges, but more room for exploration within Korean pop music. After their incredible success, Seo Taiji and Boys disbanded and each member went on their own paths. Seo Taiji continued to do music as a soloist, while Yang Hyun Sik set up an entertainment company, Y.G. Entertainment, that dominated K-pop in the early 2000s. The last member, Lee Juno, was involved in a scandal and is no longer covered in media. After their disbandment, a new group of artists came into the spotlight.

Three K-pop bandmembers

Figure 1. Seo Taiji and Boys

H.O.T. became the first group to be named “idols” in the industry. Idols can be defined as students who undergo intense training for the purpose of debuting as dancers and singers. H.O.T. debuted under the management of S.M Entertainment and quickly gained a huge fan base. After H.O.T., more groups such as S.E.S., G.O.D., and Shinhwa debuted and expanded K-pop nationally, solidifying the sound of Generation One K-pop. Soloists such as BOA and RAIN were also very popular during this time. Their strong visuals, based on the Korean beauty standards such as pale skin, thin bodies, and symmetrical facial features, and their “scandalous” performances and music videos were perceived as risqué.

Most K-pop groups of this time promoted their music by going on music shows. Korea took influence from the Western TV channel MTV and produced their own version of music charts and awards. These music shows were a way for artists to show off their performances and gain popularity. As technological advancements progressed and broadcast companies started televising variety shows, more opportunities for idols arose. These variety shows allowed idols to introduce themselves to people not in their immediate audience group and gain popularity in a larger age range.

Generation Two

Generation Two of K-pop starts around 2001 and ends around 2011. Many more idol groups debuted, such as Big Bang, Girls Generation (SNSD), Shinee, 2NE1, Wonder Girls, and Super Junior. The choreography of each generation became more intricate over time. However, one of the main differences between Generation One and Generation Two were the different types of merchandise that were sold with the groups’ albums.

The classic album consisted of the CD and a photobook with the album description. However, starting in Generation Two, the first photocard was printed by SM entertainment. A photocard is a collectible picture of a member or group, about the size of a debit card. The first appearance of these photocards were in Girls Generation’s album “Oh!” in 2010. As more companies started to print their own photocards, many also added goods like multiple photocards, postcards and posters to their albums. Fans were excited for these additions and used these tradeable collectibles as a way to communicate with others within the fanbase.

Eight band members  with pink background

Figure 2. Girls Generation 2022 “Forever 1” Press Conference

During this time, the first lightstick was made for and by the K-pop group, Bigbang. The members wanted to see their fans in the crowd while they performed and proceeded to have lightsticks made for fans to purchase. With the release of “the Bangbong,” the official name of Bigbang’s lightstick, many idol groups were influenced and produced their own. This allowed each fandom to be more uniform, feel independent from other fandoms during performances, and created a sense of fandom loyalty.

variety of K-pop lightsticks

Figure 3. K-pop Lightsticks

The emergence of collectibles and fandom loyalty, on top of the idols’ performances and music, made K-pop a big hit across the nation and outside of South Korea. Between 2001 and 2011, the first expansive wave of Hallyu media expanded across Central and South Asia. “Hallyu” is a Korean term defined as Korean media, such as Korean dramas, movies, music, food, etc. This spread of Korean media is known as the “Hallyu Wave”. Prior to K-pop, Korean dramas and movies were already being consumed outside of Korea. However, as more K-pop groups emerged and fanbases expanded, the Hallyu Wave extended to Western hemisphere. As we explore later generations in our final blog, we will see more global accomplishments and recognition for K-Pop artists and the effects of COVID-19 Pandemic on the genre as a whole.

Check out our playlist featuring music from K-pop Generations one and two below!

Posted by & filed under K-Pop, Student Publications.

HAE-JEEN RYOU

Korean pop, better known as K-pop, has been on the rise all around the world. With more Kpop artists going on world tours and more Korean music being involved in Western music award shows, many believe K-pop is new and young. However, much like any music around the world, there is a rich history and buildup that allowed the K-pop we know today to flourish and receive so much attention. In this series of blog posts, we will look into the history of Korean music and explain the different generations of K-pop we know today. 

Before Korean Pop

Before the influence of pop took over Korean media in the 90’s there was a different meaning to Korean music. From Korea being annexed by the Japanese Empire, the occupation of Korea by the United States during World War II, the Korean War, to C.H Park’s dictatorial control, the music played and listened to by the public portrayed the state of the country in different points of time.  

Korea was under Japanese rule from 1910-1945, and under Japan’s rule, Korea’s economy flourished from technological advancements, increased commerce, and expanded urbanization. After a couple years of remodeling, the country was soon the second most industrialized nation in Asia, right below Japan. Korea’s advancement in technology allowed different media and Western influences to be introduced to the country; and with the help of broadcasts and recordings, a wider range of music became accessible for the common people. By the 1920’s, you could hear a mix of “European instruments, Korean words, Japanese melodies, and the stylings of early American Jazz” (Scalar) on the streets. It was this fusion of music that first identified the music genre of “Trot” in Korea. Trot uses pentatonic scales and mostly has a lively rhythm that helps classify this genre from others. Many agree Trot branched from Japanese Enka, an early Japanese style of music that resembles American pop ballads from the 1940’s, and through time the genre established its own unique sound with the influence of Western media. 

However, these advancements did not continue to flourish. Societally, tension between the Japanese government and the Korean people were always apparent from the start. Revolts and massacres were common, which led to protests and small underground organizations to form in pursuit of independence. As we know today, the Korean Peninsula was able to gain independence, however this surreal time did not last long. World War II started in 1939, during Korea’s fight for independence, and ended the same year that Japanese control ceased* in Korea in 1945. During this time, the Korean Peninsula was split in half: north of the peninsula was supported by the Soviets, while south of the peninsula was supported by the United States. And with no agreement on unifying, this division prompted two different governments to form, forming the two countries we know today. The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the Republic of Korea, in other words North and South Korea. 

Korean trot singer in a pink dress singing on stage

Lee Mi Ja

After a brief pause and small hope that the war between the two countries were over, the tension between the two North Korea to start an attack on the South. This resulted in the beginning of the next revolution the peninsula had to endure, the Korean War (1950-1953). With more loss and economic downfall, most of the influences regarding media was the music and games brought in by U.S soldiers. Trot was still popular during this time but went through a lot of refinements. After the end of Japanese rule, the government and organizations strived “to eliminate Japanese influences and create a unique Korean identity” (Creatrip). Refinements such as using local dialects, scales and melodies into the lyrics and harmonies allowed Trot to break away from Japanese Enka. Musicians such as Lee Haeyeon, helped solidify Korean Trot with her song “Heartbreaking Miari Hill” after the Korean War. Not only was this song popular among the citizens after the war, it also portrayed the state of the country dealing with separation and loss of loved ones. Soon after, more trot artists such as Choi Sook-Ja and Lee Mi-Ja sang songs reflecting the emotions and desires of Koreans for a better future. 

After Korean Trot was made independent from Japanese influences, American musical influences were on a rise. Soldiers stationed at the U.S military bases across the country were the only consumers of music performed by Korean citizens. Performers catered to American tastes by learning the then-popular genres such as swing, classic pop and rock. These performances were also a source of revenue for the country, dominating the total export earnings of South Korea in the late 1950’s, allowing a slight nudge towards modernization. 

President Park Chung Hee played a role into South Korea’s modernization. He was president from 1963 to 1979 and had an effective growth plan that increased the economy, infrastructure, and the recording and broadcasting industry. However, to President Park’s displeasure, these advancements allowed Trot to be more mainstreamed and accessible for the people with electricity. Although Trot was adapted to fit the Korean identity, President Park thought the genre still paid an homage to the Japanese government. For the newer generation, they found Trot to be old-fashioned and did not show the hopeful energy the younger generation felt as more educational opportunities appeared and the economy continued to grow. Trot slowly declined in popularity and in return new types of popular music emerged.  

Influences from the Beatles and other American artists were introduced and were received with mixed feelings. On top of American pop, genres such as rock, American folk and later in the 70’s, hip hop appeared in Korean media. However, many Koreans did not have access to electricity and when introduced to these genres, some found the music to be loud and outlandish. With having a language most don’t understand, to different chord progressions used, the genres were alien to the old and younger generation. Even so, the younger generation were more optimistic about this new media. Many musicians nitpicked the genres and started to use them in their own music to build the foundation of Korean Pop.  

Park Chung Hee’s government became more repressive and authoritarian as his regime continued. In addition to banning and restricting the rights of Korea’s citizens, he banned American rock and folk revival songs in concern over political content and morality and claimed, “that all his measures were necessary to fight communism” (Britannica). These acts led to the disapproval of Park’s government and in return many university students revolted against his control. He was assassinated, ending his regime, and soon the military took control over the government in 1980. Many bans were lifted, however, students and workers demonstrated against martial law to finally get rid of authoritarian control in South Korea. Students used popular music, rock to protest against the strict government and used music videos to express a different Republic of Korea that the younger generation craved.  

Korean Rock continued to grow and was consistent in popularity, however Michael Jackson’s global popularity influenced popular music in Korea. His iconic dances and singing set the premise of how Korean pop could and will be in the future. Cho Yong-Pil and Kim Wan Son, nicknamed the “Korean Madonna,” dominated Korean media from the mid 1980’s and 1990’s. Both took influences from Western genres such as dance and electronic and expanded Korean media even further. Cho Yong Pil is known for his pop/rock and good feeling music, while Kim Wan Son was known for her synth-pop and funk genres. Kim Wan Son even had choreography to fit the different vibes of her songs, giving her the charisma and name “Korean Madonna.” Both artists dominated half of Korea’s media and attention from the younger generation, while ballads dominated the other half. Artists such as Lee Sun Hee and Lee Moon-sae were set as icons in this realm. Ballad artists sang about love and loss and allowed people to express their more mellow personalities more comfortably. 

The stark difference between the genres of Funk and Ballads set up a wide range of what Korean popular music could be like. From 1910 to 1980’s, the build up of the foundation of K-pop took a lot of stress and resilience to form the entertainment we know today. And through this growth, we can now discuss each generation of K-pop in future posts on the Music Library blog. 

Korean rock musician with sunglasses holding a vibrant red acoustic guitar

Choi Yong Pil

Resources Consulted:

Korean Singers Who Were Famous In The 80s. (2021, October 9). In The 1980s. https://inthe1980s.com/80s-korean-singers/ 

Music in Global America: SOUTH KOREAN POPULAR MUSIC. (n.d.). Music in Global America. https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/south-korean-popular-music 

Romano, A. (2018, February 26). How K-pop became a global phenomenon. Vox. https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/2/16/16915672/what-is-kpop-history-explained

Creatrip: Trot Is Hot Again: How The Music Genre Made A Comeback In Korea. (n.d.). Creatrip. https://www.creatrip.com/en/blog/8731

South Korea | History, Map, Flag, Capital, Population, President, & Facts. (2022, November 10). Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/place/South-Korea/History

Posted by & filed under Student Publications.

Joseph Sioui (Wendat First Nations) 

 

With social media and the music industry now giving more autonomy to artists than before, Native American musicians have flourished with incorporating their identity into their music in recent years! Below are just eleven of the plethora of amazing Native American musical artists’ albums that I have enjoyed listening to thanks to the Native community and my tribe. I have recommended tracks and included brief summaries for each album. Enjoy the playlist at the end of this post!

 

drawing of mouth

Tongues (2022) by Tanya Tagaq 

Track recommendation: “Tongues” 

Canadian Inuk artist Tanya Tagaq pairs her throat singing, vocal ability, and lyricism with experimental electronic and beat music to create art music that unapologetically shares her experience. She is a two-time JUNO Award winner, Polaris Prize winner, and member of the Order of Canada. 


cover art featuring headphones and headdress

A Tribe Called Red (2013) by The Halluci Nation 

Track recommendation: “Electric Pow Wow Drum” 

DJ group The Halluci Nation electrifies the sounds of powwow music in their albums. “Electric Pow Wow Drum” is their biggest hit. They are two-time JUNO Award winners. 


cover art with warrior and representation of multicolor sound waves

Medicine Bundle (2021) by Supaman 

Track recommendation: “I Hope You Know” with Ashley Hall 

American Crow Hip-hop rapper, DJ, and producer Supaman’s Medicine Bundle consists of lyric heavy rapping and catchy hooks, most notably “I Hope You Know” with Ashley Hall. 


cover art with black background and woman's face gazing off to the side

My All To You (2018) by Beatrice Deer 

Track recommendation: “Isumavunga” 

Canadian Inuk singer-songwriter Beatrice Deer incorporates her identity into indie and modern folk music. She is a Canadian Aboriginal Music Award Winner. 


Styles cover art with drawing of people interlocking arms

Dancerz Groove (2012) by Northern Cree 

Track recommendation: “Facebook Drama” 

Powwow group Northern Cree brings modern expression to powwow music. They are nine-time Grammy nominees and two-time Juno Award nominees. 


Cover art of drawn person on cover with orange and yellow background

Sinematic (2019) by Robbie Robertson 

Track recommendation: “I Hear You Paint Houses” with Vann Morrison 

Guitarist and vocalist Robbie Robertson was a major member of The Band and worked with Bob Dylan. Sinematic is a modern blues/rock album that references the numerous collaborations Robertson has had scoring and sourcing music for Martin Scorsese’s films. “I Hear You Paint Houses” was part of Scorsese’s The Irishman (2019). He is a five-time Grammy nominee. 


cover art in purple and pink colors with a picture of Chef Xian Adjauj - Christian Scott wearing a stylized headdress and garments

Axiom (2020) by Chief Xian Adjauh (Christian Scott) 

Track recommendation: “Disapora” 

Part of the Afro-Native American or “Mardi Gras Indian” population in New Orleans, Adjuah comes from a long line of musical performers. His musical style fuses elements of different cultural styles, such as hip-hop, blues, and West African music. Adjuah mainly plays trumpet. He is a six-time Grammy nominee and two-time Edison Award winner (Netherlands Grammy equivalent). 


A person wearing a mask

HUMANS (2021) by Anyma 

Track recommendation: “If God Had a Boat” 

Wendat Nation singer/songwriter Anyma utilizes electronic and indie pop styles to express her art. 


Image of woman on cover gazing off to the size

Kikāwiynaw (2015) by Fawn Wood 

Track recommendation: “Remember Me” with Randy Wood and R. Carlos Nakai 

Cree and Salish vocalist and songwriter Fawn Wood often sets her music for voice and hand drum. “Remember Me” is her most popular song, featuring Navajo and Ute musician R. Carlos Nakai, an eleven-time Grammy nominee. Wood is a JUNO award winner. 


Wolastoqiyik lintuwakonawa (2018) by Jeremy Dutcher 

Track recommendation: “Mehcinut” 

Classically trained vocalist and musicologist Jeremy Dutcher incorporates his Wolastqiyik identity into this album by teaming up with elder and song carrier Maggie Paul to breathe new life into old field recordings of their ancestors’ songs through well-produced, accessible classical sounds and sampling Maggie and the field recordings. This album won a Polaris Prize and JUNO award. 


The Ballad of the Runaway Girl (2018) by Elisapie 

Track recommendation: “Don’t Make Me Blue” 

Inuk Canadian singer-songwriter Elisapie incorporates her identity into indie and modern folk music. She is a Juno Award winner and Polaris Prize nominee. 

Wrap Up

The summaries were created based off general information found on the artists’ streaming pages, websites, award winning websites, and Wikipedia bios. Check out the playlist below to hear some selections.

Posted by & filed under Musicking in the Sandborn.

LOCAL ARCHIVES, GLOBAL HISTORY: POST 8 BY EMMA WIMBERG

While Dr. Helen Hewitt was on her Guggenheim Fellowship in Paris, Hewitt’s mother, worried about Hewitt and how her time was going, wrote to her from the states to ask if she had found a women’s group with which to engage. Hewitt replied: 

“I asked [a French colleague] about women’s societies; and he said they had a group of women who met to sew, etc., Tuesday afternoons at the church. Mother, do you really think I should take more afternoons off for this sort of thing, when I have so much to do? It does seem as though there are enough women who have nothing to do afternoons who can take care of such matters. I feel as though my time should be spent where it will do the most good – – in my own work.” 

Hewitt was firm in her conviction about what she wanted in life: to establish herself as an organist and as a musicologist, making materials more accessible for others to study while publishing her own contributions to the field. She did not let the ideas about what a woman should be doing impact what she was going to do. This conviction—and the respect she earned through her work and actions—extended past musicology and into performance. During her time as a professor, Hewitt taught musicology classes and organ lessons. She studied under many famous organ teachers and was an incredible player in her own right, being highly sought after as an organist. This post will explore Hewitt’s reputation among performers and her dedication to the organ, and specifically to the organ studio at NTSU, its students, and the instrument the auditorium houses. This last point would eventually place Hewitt in a difficult position, where speaking her mind in the interest of attaining the best possible instrument for the university caused the Möller organ building company to consider filing a lawsuit against her for defamation. 

In the mid-twentieth century, French organists commonly toured America to showcase their talent, which allowed Hewitt to forge a strong friendship with the famed organist and composer Jean Langlais. During one visit to Hewitt’s Denton residence, Langlais spent many hours playing with Hewitt’s cat, Lady Quintadina, named after an organ stop and her kittens. He became infatuated with them and not only remembered to call on the cat’s birthday, Valentine’s Day, but also wrote a piece inspired by the Lady and dedicated it to Hewitt. The movement in his American Suite was thus titled Scherzo: Cats and was first performed before its publication on the Möller organ in the North Texas State University auditorium that Hewitt herself had worked so hard to improve. 

newspaper clipping titled Premier Today of Music Inspired by Denton Cat

Figure 1: Newspaper clipping captioned “The Lady and the Cat.” University of North Texas Music Special Collections. Helen M. Hewitt Papers, 1887-1976, Series 1: Papers, Box 428, Folder 5. 

The story of Hewitt and the Möller organ began not long after her hiring at the university. There were few organs on campus and 50 organ students. Hewitt began trying to shift the studio to be smaller and more focused, and for these changes to take hold the students needed a quality instrument with which to work. In the mid-1940s Hewitt started asking for a budget to fix the Möller organ in the auditorium, the only performance instrument used during her tenure. However, the dean at the time was more focused on furthering the vocal department rather than the instrumental one, and had turned down the previously proposed repair contract even after it had been looked over by Möller. Once Hewitt left on her Guggenheim to Paris, the dean’s retirement and the department’s regime change brought instrumental music up the ladder of priorities. The new acting dean, Dr. Walter Hodgson, who later became the dean, immediately sought out Möller to finalize a contract for the construction of a new organ console. 

In March of 1948, the university signed a final contract with Möller Co. for $26,400 worth of work to be done on the new organ, including a new console, new stops, and general repairs. Hewitt remained very hands-on throughout the entirety of the re-build. She constantly gave her input on what stops she wanted included and how she wanted the instrument to sound upon completion. Correspondence from Hewitt lists specific requests she had for the instrument, requests that were not all filled. 

Just as construction on the organ came to a close in March of 1949, Hewitt fell ill and privately sought treatment for her ailment. During this time, there is a sizable gap in her usual letter-writing habits to the point where there are many letters from her close friends inquiring as to if she is angry with them because they had received no reply to subsequent letters over the course of a few months. This gap leaves much to be wondered concerning the final implementation of the organ and Hewitt’s relationship with the builder. 

If Hewitt was such a highly respected and loved figure among the university’s music department, then why did Dean Hodgson receive a disgruntled letter about her from a well-known organ company? There is documentation of Möller considering legal action against Hewitt, but why? Many of the letters between the two concerning her displeasure are not recorded in our archives, but there is mention of the feelings the two parties had for one another. Walter Hodgson, the dean who had overseen the project, wrote to Hewitt about a disgruntled letter he had received from the Möller company (see figure 2). It reads: 

Dear Hellen:

I am sorry too have to bother you with another letter right now, but I received quite a long letter from Möller, air-mail, special delivery, dated June 24, and I think that is quite important.

Ten days ago Mr. Schleigh came with an assistant and was here for four days. He is Fort Worth now so that we could get him again on certain occasions. He got the organ in fine shape for Stanley’s recital. (By the way, I turned in a card to change the “x” for Stanley’s recital to an “A” which I understood what you thought was right.) Now I have this letter from Ridgely in which he says that several churches which are prospects for large organs have been in touch with you and that you have given them negative reports regarding their work at the college. “There is one prospects in particular, the First Baptist Church at Lubbock, that is buying quite a large organ and the member of the committee, Mrs. Akinson, contacted Dr. Hewitt and received quite a negative report.”

Now I’ll ask Robert to write you regarding the voicing of the organ that Mr. Schleigh undertook. What I wonder is whether or not, in view of that, if we had better write saying that the organ has been improved. In other words, I think that we might do some harm by being too critical. You see, I wrote a very strong letter to W. R. Daniels, vice-president of Möller and received quite a long and conciliatory letter from his, and Mr. Schleigh arrived two days later.

In any case I wanted to let your know of Ridgely’s letter. He indicates that they are strongly on the defensive now and feel that they have done enough that we ought to be grateful. 

Let me know what you think. With affectionate regards from the whole family.

 

Very sincerely,

Walter H. Hodgson, Dean

School of Music

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Figure 2: Letter from Walter H. Hodgson to Helen M. Hewitt. University of North Texas Music Special Collections. Helen M. Hewitt Papers, 1887-1976, Series 1: Papers, Box 420, Folder 8. 

This letter conveys a friendly scolding tone, where the dean does not truly reprimand Hewitt for her freedom in giving a negative coloring of her interaction with Möller, but gently tries to warn her of the current situation whilst trying to help figure out how to get the situation resolved. He also makes it clear that he has sent a strong letter of his own and that they are in this together. 

The next important part of this letter is that Dr. Hewitt did not go around spreading a bad coloring of Möller and their work. Rather, she was asked her opinion, and she gave an honest response. Hewitt had worked hard to gain the respect she had in the musicology and organist communities, and part of this meant being trusted to give sound, honest insight to problems and questions that others had. It would have been incredibly out of character for her to take this opportunity to forge a stronger bond with Möller by recommending them to everyone against her better judgement. 

It is also possible that Hewitt’s displeasure with Möller’s services could be from the poor conditions they left the school with while the organ was away being reconstructed. The first practice organ they left in its place began giving the school trouble, and scheduling the time to put a new substitute instrument in the auditorium was a nightmare as well. All of this, while the studio filled capacity at around 50 students. While much remains to be explored on this matter, it is clear that Hewitt wanted to make sure her organ students had an instrument of high caliber on which they could perform, and intended to make this need heard. 

Posted by & filed under Displays.

close-up of display featuring musical Ukrainian coins

Display of photographs of coins from Ukraine from the Stephen Dunning Musical Coin Collection, UNT Music Library.

 

At the Music Library, a display was assembled featuring photographs and descriptions of coins from Ukraine, which were curated from the Stephen Dunning Musical Coin Collection.

Learn more about Stephen Dunning and his unique coin collection on the collection finding aid:

“The collection consists of 106 coins depicting or referring to musical culture, dating from circa 261 B.C.E. through 2019, and originating from locations including ancient Greece, former Soviet republics, African countries, Niue Island, the European Union, and the United States. Many coins feature instruments, musical works, composers, or musicians of national importance. The collection provides a multifaceted view of music and culture expressed in national coinage, along with some souvenir coins and tokens.”

Below are photographs of selected coins from the collection:

 

Front of coin depicts a chorus singing, back of coin has a common nightingale flying above sheet music and depicts coin denomination

Item 47: Ukraine, 2016

5 hryvnia coin, commemorating centenary of first performance of Mykola Leontovych’s “Shchedryk” Christmas song (known in U.S. as melody of “Carol of the Bells”) by the Kiev University choir.      

 

Front of coin depicts Ostap Veresai holding a bandura, back of coin depicts a bandura on top of a decorative pattern with coin denomination

Item 48: Ukraine, 2003

2 hryvnia coin, commemorating Ostap Veresai (1803-1890). 

 

Front of coin shows part of a lira with a decorative edge, back of coin showcasing decorative nature-like pattern with coin denomination

Item 50: Ukraine, 2004

5 hryvnia coin depicting Ukranian lira (instrument). 

 

Front of coin showing tsymbaly instrument on gold center overlapping the silver decorative border, back of coin depicting decorative pattern with coin denomination

Item 51: Ukraine, 2006

5 hryvnia coin depicting tsymbaly. 

 

Front of coin portraying buhay drum on gold background with a silver decorative border, back of coin showcasing arching decorative pattern and coin denomination

Item 52: Ukraine, 2007

5 hryvnia coin depicting buhay drum. 

 

Front of coin illustrating Ukrainian choir surrounded by sunflowers and blank sheet music, back of coin depicting 100 year celebration next to a tuning fork surrounded by sunflowers and the coin denomination

Item 75: Ukraine, 2019

5 hryvnia coin commemorating 100 years of the 100 Years of The National Choir of Ukraine ‘Dumka’.

 

Front of coin portraying Mykhailo Verbytsky with a lyre and music notation, back of coin depicting a crowd of people with their hands over their hearts in front of a flag surrounding the Ukrainian coat of arms symbol and coin denomination

Item 78: Ukraine, 2015

2 hryvnia coin commemorating bicentennial of Mykhailo Verbytsky (1815-1870).

 

Front of coin illustrating the National Music Academy building, back of coin illustrating a lyre on top of musical notation with the coin denomination located in middle of lyre

Item 86: Ukraine, 2019

2 hryvnia coin commemorating 175 years of the National Music Academy M.V. Lysenko. 

 

Front of coin depicting Volodymyr Ivasyuk surrounded by leaves, back of coin illustrating decorative pattern with a sunflower on the left and an electric guitar on top of piano keys on the right and coin denomination at the bottom

Item 89: Ukraine, 2009

2 hryvnia coin honoring Volodymyr Ivasyuk (1949-1979).

Thank you for visiting the digital adaptation of this display. If you are interested in accessing more coins from Stephen Dunning’s coin collection in person, please peruse the Stephen Dunning Collection finding aid and select “Request Reading Room Access” to make an appointment with our Music Special Collections Librarian, Maristella Feustle.

Posted by & filed under Student Publications.

Mattie Tempio

 

Introduction

The sounds of rain and water are more than simple sounds: since the beginning of humanity, rain has been the center of our lives, making everything from food to electricity possible. As such an important part of world culture and human history, it has been explored by countless composers, conveyed in countless media formats. It has been portrayed through simple recordings and in programmatic music. However, with the rise of interactive computer music, there is yet more within the realm of water to explore. My thesis, Rainpiece, aims to create a modular, interactive soundscape as a basis for a flute, viola and harp trio, using pre-recorded fixed media and live diffusion to create a single, synthesized experience. The work for this piece began more than a year ago, though in the last semester I have made great strides towards accomplishing my goal. These steps included creating unique notations to convey my ideas, studying concepts behind soundscape and memory, and experimenting with granulation frameworks in the max/MSP software.

Technical Aspects

As this thesis focuses on the interaction between water sounds and instrumental sounds, the notation is a key part of a performer’s understanding of the work. The score structure is divided into solo parts, for solo performances, and trio parts, used for optional trio performances. This piece uses proportional notation, though also includes fast-paced, rhythmic passages that rely on accelerando and decelerando. To keep the unmetered, improvisatory feel to the piece, I chose to use beamed, headless stems that would vary between 1 and 10 centimeters apart.

hand drawing of rhythmic passage from mvt. 1 from Rainpiece

Fig.1. Sample rhythmic passage, from mvt. 1, Rainpiece.

The actual note(s) the performer could choose would appear either on the first stem, or in parenthesis just before the start of the passage. This leads to the concept of notating the air to pitch spectrum (available only in the flute part, for obvious reasons). This notation has appeared in my previous works, including 2022’s Interrupted meditation, 2021’s Strange times in the void Space, 2018’s Remnants of the Veil Nebula, and Juno and the Voyager. It works on multiple instruments, and most performers understand it and can replicate the requested sounds quickly.

hand drawn example of air to pitch notation

Figure 2. Air to pitch notation.

Finally, this score explores multipath modular notation, inspired by Terry Riley’s In C, Earle Brown’s Available forms and Dr. Andrew May’s Wandering through the same dream. This means that rather than employing a fully-linear score, the performer(s) have individual modules that they may choose from. In the trio parts, this means that vertically-displaced boxes show the performer a variety of options they may choose from, when artistically called for. This aids not only in creating an open, adaptable work that invites performers to shape the work, it also frees the performers from a rigid, structured work that might hinder in understanding and working with the electronics.

The electronics for this work have been assembled in the Reaper DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) and max/MSP (Now commonly referred to simply as Max). I used Reaper to assemble the fixed-media portions of the work, while my work in Max has taken far more time and research, focusing on granulation. First, I have explored a few formats and models for granulation: the first is a digital instrument I assembled over the last year, using Dr. May’s granular composition tools as a base. With Dr. May’s aid and guidance, I learned how to adapt the granulation tool, meant primarily for pre-recorded sound, into a tool that can granulate live sound. While this granulation tool has served me well, I wished to understand my other options, and see if there exists a granulation tool that would fit my needs better, and provide a more streamlined interface. For that, I tried Chris Poovey’s Grainflow max package. While Chris’s work is well done and worthy of further exploration and analysis in its own right, I have found it far more than what I need for the scope of the project. Most likely, the granulation aspects of this thesis will end up as some mixture of the two levels of complexity, as the granulation is only one aspect of the work. Of course, there are many more aspects of the work to discuss, such as scripting, modularity, and a user-friendly UI (User interface) design, but granulation feeds most directly into the aural world of Rainpiece.

composition work in progress in maxpat program

Figure 3. Work in progress maxpat view.

Aesthetic Decisions

Beyond the practical elements of score and patcher, there is the ultimate question of why. Why explore these subjects in particular? What do I hope to achieve in my thesis? As stated previously, Rainpiece serves as an exploration of the sound world created by various types of water; the specific types include rain, rivers, and springs, with the hope to achieve synthesis between the pre-recorded sound recordings and live instruments. As such, a few concepts have been invaluable to my research. One such notable concept is the ‘Soundscape’ as described by R/ Murray Schafer in his work Our sonic environment and the Soundscape: The tuning of the world. From the Interlude chapter, Murray Schafer notes that “throughout the history of soundmaking, music and the environment have bequeathed numerous effects to one another, and the modern era provides striking examples” (Schafer, 1994, pp. 112). It is clear that synthesizing acoustic instruments and interactive sound is not inherently new, nor are successful results. However, creating a unique soundscape that the audience can both recognize, and see the subjects in a new light, is the goal that I wish to achieve. Thus, using the concept of cross-timbral sounds is key to achieving this goal.

As for the second aspect, where the connections between the original sound and the resulting piece are concerned and the source bonding might be severed, Schafer notes that context is what builds our soundscape, “But when [sounds] are removed from their contexts… they may quickly lose their identities” (Schafer, 1994, pp. 150). While at first this may seem antithetical to the goal of my work, I would instead approach it as another opportunity: with the connections to a sound’s origin weaker, there is room for suggestion. Thus, an audience might be more willing to suspend their disbelief and allow for a heightened experience as the instrumental sounds mingle, contrast, or heighten the original water source sounds.

Narrative is a third aspect of the work I must consider. Throughout my studies with Dr. May, I have learned and discussed with him the implications of a linear structure, and the ways in which I may free the performers of my piece to create their own narrative decisions. Many of these narrative choices will likely come from archetypal narratives of storms and river flows. This will guide the listener’s ear and help them understand what to pay attention to. Ultimately, the sounds created by manipulations of my original water recordings and the sounds created by the live instruments should meld together and create their own world: one that is recognizable, yet invites exploration. It will allow myself, the composer, and the performers the opportunity to create a compelling narrative, and bring the audience a unique experience.

Conclusion

This semester, and indeed the duration of my thesis work thus far, I have explored and studied the acoustic, psychoacoustic, and narrative implication of water and the interactions my field recordings may have with the selected trio of live instruments. To serve these artistic goals, I will continue exploring the timbral relationships between the natural world and the ensemble, as well as learn about granulation, additional forms of sound manipulation, and the ensemble’s interaction with the computer.

References

Brown, E. (1965). Available forms. Assoc. Music Publ.

May, A. (2005). Wandering through the same dream.

Riley, T. (1964). In C. Associated Music Publishers Inc.

Schafer, R. M. (1994). Our sonic environment and the soundscape: The tuning of our world. Inner Traditions International, Limited.

Posted by & filed under Composers, Displays.

Music Reference Librarian Donna Arnold prepared information about Ukrainian performers for a display in the Featured Music Items section at the UNT Music Library. Below is the remote adaptation of this display.

 

Vladimir Horowitz was born in Kyiv in 1903. He began to study at the Kyiv Conservatory in 1912, and gave his first solo recital in Kharkiv in 1920. After the revolution, he emigrated to the West in 1925, where he embarked on his career as a concert pianist and became an international superstar. He remained in the West for the rest of his life, giving hundreds of concerts and making many recordings. As relations improved between Russia and the United States, he returned to Russia and gave a series of legendary concerts in 1986. He died in New York in 1989. 

 

Pianist Vladimir Horowitz

Vladimir Horowitz, Pianist

 



Sviatoslav Richter, 1915-1997 
Born in Zhytomyr, Ukraine to a musical family, he and his family moved to Odessa, Ukraine in 1921, where he received significant early training. In 1937, he moved to Moscow to study piano at the Moscow Conservatory. He spent his entire career in the Soviet Union, and gained an international reputation by the 1950s. Allowed to tour outside of Russia, he made many recordings with famous orchestras in various countries.  

 

Pianist Sviatoslav Richter

Sviatoslav Richter, Pianitst

 



Emil Gilels, 1916-1985, was born in Odessa, Ukraine. In 1929, he was accepted at the Odessa Conservatory and gave his first public concert. In 1936, he began studies at the Moscow Conservatory and won an important musical competition, which brought him wide fame. He stayed in Russia for the rest of his life and had a lengthy, brilliant career as a concert artist, recording artist, and teacher. In 1958 he chaired the jury for the inaugural International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow which awarded first prize to Van Cliburn.  

 

Pianist Emil Gilels

Emil Gilels, Pianist

 

 



Ivan Kozlovsky, 1900-1993 
This famous tenor was born in Marianivka, Ukraine. He studied in Kyiv and sang operatic roles at Poltava and Kharkiv in the early 1920s. He went on to be a leading lyric tenor at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. He gave many concerts throughout the Soviet Union but was never allowed to tour outside of Russia. Fortunately, many of his recordings are now available. Throughout his career he actively promoted Ukrainian music and made many recordings of it. In 1970, he funded a music school in Marianivka.  

 

Lyric Tenor Ivan Kozlovsky

Ivan Kozlovsky, Lyric Tenor

 



David Oistrakh, 1908-1974 
This famous violinist was born in Odessa, Ukraine and studied at the Odessa Conservatory. In 1927 he made his concert debut in Kyiv. He moved to Moscow that year, where he became a professor at the Moscow Conservatory. He was associated with famous composers such as Shostakovich, Khachaturian, and Prokofiev, and premiered several of their works. Allowed to tour in the West, he achieved widespread international fame.  

 

Violinist David Oistrakh

David Oistrakh, Violinist

Music Reference Librarian Donna Arnold prepared information about Ukrainian composers for a display in the Featured Music Items section at the UNT Music Library. Below is the remote adaptation of this display.

 

Dmitri Bortniansky, b. Hlukhiv, Ukraine, 1751, d. St. Petersburg, Russia, 1825, is the earliest Ukrainian/Russian composer of international renown. Due to his exceptional talent, he was sent to Russia to sing and study when very young, and he eventually became master of the Russian Imperial Court Chapel. This was remarkable, because the court favored Italian musicians at the time. He is most famous for his liturgical works and choral concertos for Orthodox worship. 
 
His Cherubim Hymn no. 7 is a particularly beloved staple of the Orthodox repertoire today. 
M 2072 .B696 K54 no.7 1926  
 
He also composed in many other genres. For example, his opera Alcide (1778) is in Italian style, reflecting his study with Italian masters who served the Russian court. The libretto is by Pietro Metastasio. 
M 1500 .B748 A52 1985

 

Composer Dmitri Bortniansky

Dmitri Bortniansky, Composer

 


 
Mykola Lysenko, b. Hrynky, Ukraine, 1842, d. Kyiv, 1912, was the seminal Ukrainian nationalist composer of the 19th century. He spent his life and career in Ukraine and ardently championed Ukrainian music. He composed in many genres. During his life he was little known outside Ukraine, but this is now changing, and many of his works are being performed in the West. 

These include two major operas: 

Natalka Poltavka (1889), a love story with a happy ending  
M 1503 .L98 N27 1969 

Taras Bulba (1891), set in Kyiv in the 17th century, telling a tragic story of Cossack warfare 
LPZ 64081- 64083   
 
Lysenko composed sacred choral music for Eastern Orthodox worship. This score contains nine of his choral works, set to texts in Ukrainian.  
M 2082 .L97 V5 1993 

Do 50 rokovyn smerti T. Shevchenka: kantata    a secular cantata with texts by Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko, 1814-1861 
M 1530 .l97 D6 1994 

Ukrainian suite, op. 2, for piano 
M 24 .L97 op. 2 2006 

 

Composer Mykola Lysenko

Mykola Lysenko, Composer

 



 
Atem Vedel, b. Kyiv 1767, d. there, 1808 
 
This pioneer of Ukrainian/Russian Orthodox choral music studied and was musically active in Kyiv and Moscow. Later he conducted a choir in Kharkiv and wrote most of his choral works there. A change in policy forbidding choral concertos in worship ruined his career and he died tragically. He is now considered one of the greatest masters of Ukrainian Orthodox choral music, and several of his works are staples in Orthodox worship today.  
 
A collection of his works for the Divine Liturgy and his sacred choral concertos was published in Kyiv in 2000. Words are translated to Ukrainian from Church Slavonic.  

M 2100 .V42 C56 2000 
 
[There are no known images of Vedel.] 

 


Composer Mykola Leontovych

Mykola Leontovych, Composer

 

Mykola Leontovych, 1877-1921 
 
Born in the Podolia province of Ukraine, he was strongly influenced by the Ukrainian musical nationalism of Mykola Lysenko and by Ukrainian folk melodies. His choral arrangement of the folk song “Shchedryk” was introduced in the West in 1919 by a touring Ukrainian chorus. In English translation, it became the Christmas standard, “Carol of the Bells.” Tragically, Leontovych was assassinated by a Soviet agent in 1921. 
M 2085 .L46 C37 1936 
 

 



Valentin Sylvestrov, 1937- 
 
Currently Ukraine’s most famous classical composer, he was born in Soviet-controlled Kyiv and was educated at the Kyiv Conservatory. His modernist compositions met with disfavor from Soviet authorities, so he later explored a more conservative style. After the fall of the Soviet Union, he began to compose religious music. 
 
He made the news recently when it was reported that he and his family were attempting to escape from their home in Kiev. They are now safe in Berlin. He later made the news when police in Moscow tried to break up a concert because one of his pieces was on the program.  
 
Understandably, his Prayer for Ukraine (2014), for chorus and orchestra, is now attracting considerable attention. 
M2092.S527 G4 2017 

Composer Valentin Sylvestrov

Valentin Sylvestrov. Composer


Please feel free to share with everyone in the comments below more information about Ukrainian performers who were not discussed in this list.

Posted by & filed under Composers, Displays.

Photos of Ukrainian composers next to a Ukrainian flag in Featured Music Items display

 

Music Reference Librarian Donna Arnold prepared information about Ukrainian composers for a display in the Featured Music Items section at the UNT Music Library. Below is the online adaptation of this display.

Dmitri Bortniansky, b. Hlukhiv, Ukraine, 1751, d. St. Petersburg, Russia, 1825, is the earliest Ukrainian/Russian composer of international renown. Due to his exceptional talent, he was sent to Russia to sing and study when very young, and he eventually became master of the Russian Imperial Court Chapel. This was remarkable, because the court favored Italian musicians at the time. He is most famous for his liturgical works and choral concertos for Orthodox worship. 
 
His Cherubim Hymn no. 7 is a particularly beloved staple of the Orthodox repertoire today. 
M 2072 .B696 K54 no.7 1926  
 
He also composed in many other genres. For example, his opera Alcide (1778) is in Italian style, reflecting his study with Italian masters who served the Russian court. The libretto is by Pietro Metastasio. 
M 1500 .B748 A52 1985

 

Composer Dmitri Bortniansky

Dmitri Bortniansky, Composer

 


 
Mykola Lysenko, b. Hrynky, Ukraine, 1842, d. Kyiv, 1912, was the seminal Ukrainian nationalist composer of the 19th century. He spent his life and career in Ukraine and ardently championed Ukrainian music. He composed in many genres. During his life he was little known outside Ukraine, but this is now changing, and many of his works are being performed in the West. 

These include two major operas: 

Natalka Poltavka (1889), a love story with a happy ending  
M 1503 .L98 N27 1969 

Taras Bulba (1891), set in Kyiv in the 17th century, telling a tragic story of Cossack warfare 
LPZ 64081- 64083   
 
Lysenko composed sacred choral music for Eastern Orthodox worship. This score contains nine of his choral works, set to texts in Ukrainian.  
M 2082 .L97 V5 1993 

Do 50 rokovyn smerti T. Shevchenka: kantata    a secular cantata with texts by Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko, 1814-1861 
M 1530 .l97 D6 1994 

Ukrainian suite, op. 2, for piano 
M 24 .L97 op. 2 2006 

 

Composer Mykola Lysenko

Mykola Lysenko, Composer

 



 
Atem Vedel, b. Kyiv 1767, d. there, 1808 
 
This pioneer of Ukrainian/Russian Orthodox choral music studied and was musically active in Kyiv and Moscow. Later he conducted a choir in Kharkiv and wrote most of his choral works there. A change in policy forbidding choral concertos in worship ruined his career and he died tragically. He is now considered one of the greatest masters of Ukrainian Orthodox choral music, and several of his works are staples in Orthodox worship today.  
 
A collection of his works for the Divine Liturgy and his sacred choral concertos was published in Kyiv in 2000. Words are translated to Ukrainian from Church Slavonic.  

M 2100 .V42 C56 2000 
 
[There are no known images of Vedel.] 

 


Composer Mykola Leontovych

Mykola Leontovych, Composer

 

Mykola Leontovych, 1877-1921 
 
Born in the Podolia province of Ukraine, he was strongly influenced by the Ukrainian musical nationalism of Mykola Lysenko and by Ukrainian folk melodies. His choral arrangement of the folk song “Shchedryk” was introduced in the West in 1919 by a touring Ukrainian chorus. In English translation, it became the Christmas standard, “Carol of the Bells.” Tragically, Leontovych was assassinated by a Soviet agent in 1921. 
M 2085 .L46 C37 1936 
 

 



Valentin Sylvestrov, 1937- 
 
Currently Ukraine’s most famous classical composer, he was born in Soviet-controlled Kyiv and was educated at the Kyiv Conservatory. His modernist compositions met with disfavor from Soviet authorities, so he later explored a more conservative style. After the fall of the Soviet Union, he began to compose religious music. 
 
He made the news recently when it was reported that he and his family were attempting to escape from their home in Kiev. They are now safe in Berlin. He later made the news when police in Moscow tried to break up a concert because one of his pieces was on the program.  
 
Understandably, his Prayer for Ukraine (2014), for chorus and orchestra, is now attracting considerable attention. 
M2092.S527 G4 2017 

Composer Valentin Sylvestrov

Valentin Sylvestrov. Composer


Please feel free to share with everyone in the comments below more information about Ukrainian composers or arrangers who were not discussed in this list.

Posted by & filed under Musicking in the Sandborn.

Local Archives, Global History: Post 6 By Matt Darnold

This two-part series will first demonstrate Dr. Helen Hewitt’s commanding place as a woman in musicology, taking a special interest in her time in Paris, which was an integral part of the shaping of the UNT Music Library as it is known today. The second post will chronicle Hewitt’s relationships as a performing organist, and her dedication to UNT’s auditorium organ that almost caused her some legal trouble. Throughout both, one will readily see the lasting impression Hewitt has had on the university and on the field of musicology as a whole. She maintained a number of personal and professional connections across several academic fields and as a result, wielded a degree of influence and reverence that women have not been reflected as having in most histories of academia or musicology as a discipline. Hewitt made a name for herself during American musicology’s early years, and her letters demonstrate that success and her role as a helpful and kind scholar who was a resource to her university and her discipline. 

Dr. Helen Hewitt

Portrait of Dr. Helen Hewitt.

“Dr. Helen Hewitt… is one of the outstanding scholars of the faculty and has made her influence felt far beyond the confines of the School of Music or even of the college. Two years ago she was President of this chapter of AAUP (American Association of University Professors). She has held many offices in our local chapter of AAUW (American Association of University Women). She is the perennial Chairman of the Graduate Music Committee… She has been nominated for presidency of the AMS for this next year.”

This quote from Dean Walter Hodgson to the Vassar College Vocational Bureau comes from the various correspondences found in the University of North Texas Helen Hewitt Paper Collection. It characterizes Hewitt as an influential and involved scholar who even during early years at UNT was making a name for herself both in her department as well as the field of musicology. Hewitt’s robust correspondence reveals that her knowledge and expertise was sought in the field. There are several letters asking her opinion on anything, from doctoral students, whom she had never met, manuscript transcriptions, to personal friends asking for her thoughts on other scholars who were being considered for university positions across the country. 

One correspondence that is particularly telling of Hewitt’s influence took place between herself and Hodgson from Fall 1947 to Summer 1948, which coincided with her Guggenheim Fellowship in Paris. Hewitt, at this time, was just being made a full professor in the School of Music at the North Texas State Teacher’s College, later to be known as the University of North Texas, where she had taught since 1942 while finishing her dissertation. These letters contain a mixture of personal and professional details ranging from concerns about the organ studio and the next year’s course schedule, to her living arrangements in Denton and membership in the French Musicological Society as a “foreign member.” Hodgson and Hewitt seemed to have a warm working relationship. Hodgson turned to her with a number of concerns and ideas. Hewitt wrote in a May 1948 letter that she “never wanted nor sought an administrative position… because [she] dislike[d] making judgments of even the most trifling consequences.” She had no problem, however, voicing her opinion on any and all matters in her letters to Hodgson. In the same letter she voices her concerns about the organ studio’s size, hoping to reduce it from 50 to 10 students. This correspondence is also one of the few in which we have Hewitt’s letters along with those she received, allowing us to recapture some essence of Hewitt’s own voice rather than just those who wrote to her. 

The highlight of Hewitt’s Paris letters is perhaps when Hodgson tasks her with scouring second-hand book stores in Paris for material to fill the school’s expanding Music Library, especially its organ collection. This quickly became a more general search for music, from opera scores to reference material, such as the well-known works of nineteenth-century Belgian musicologist and critic François Fétis. Hewitt seemed to embrace this task hardily, based on the enthusiasm displayed in some of her early letters, or she at least took it on eagerly as a young professor who was still establishing herself in her position at NTSC. A notable amount of money was granted to the Music Library at this time with around $700 eventually being sent to Hewitt in various installments to cover purchasing costs. There are also lists of the materials she acquired and shipped back to north Texas that likely remain in the library to the present. 

Hewitt became weary of this undertaking as time passed. In a March 1948 letter She sent an “S.O.S” in which she strongly tells Hodgson to get his “library committee together,” so she knew what books and scores to secure as she felt “uncertain” in making these decisions herself. She also forwarded a great deal of information on several possible purchases that would in her opinion benefit the library, such as three volumes of Couperin’s Pieces de Clavecin, all the volumes issued by the French Musicological Society, or “the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book.” Around April 1948, Hodgson recommended that Dr. Doty of the University of Texas write to Hewitt for “a list of musicological items that NTSC was not going to purchase.” Hewitt showed her frustration to Hodgson in her response to him written on April 13, 1948 in which she chides him for not just crossing off the items of her previous list and sending it to Dr. Doty and says that “he can write them directly if he wants.” Here we find Hewitt in a relatable situation as a person overwhelmed by professional responsibilities while attempting to complete her own research, showing us that although she was a renowned and accomplished researcher and educator and this work helped to advance the school’s music library, academia had a number of challenges and obstacles that we still find today in the way of young scholars. 

Despite these early obstacles, Helen Hewitt was determined to fight for the best possible education for both her musicology and organ students. As an organ professor, she oversaw the maintenance and specifications of the school’s organ even during her research in Paris. In 1947, Hewitt received a phone call from Denton, which at the time was quite an undertaking, concerning the organ in the main auditorium. Hewitt had long indicated the need for a new organ console, and while in Paris, she corresponded with Dean Hodgson to guide the school’s negotiation and approval of a repair contract with the Möller organ company. This project awaited upon her return to Denton and presented many of its own unanticipated challenges for Hewitt as she established herself at NTSU. 

 

Editor’s note: Stay tuned for more research on Hellen Hewitt in the next post by Emma Wimberg. 

 

Citation:

[Dr. Helen Hewitt]photograph19XX; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc977101/accessed April 12, 2022), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.

Posted by & filed under Musicking in the Sandborn.

Local Archives, Global History: Post 5 by Anna Wodny

Today the University of North Texas Music Library is nationally recognized for its scholarly resources and special collections, but just over eighty years ago the entirety of UNT’s music collection fit inside a single storage closet. The music library’s rapid development may be largely attributed to Anna Harriet Heyer, who became the Southwest’s first full-time music librarian in 1940. Heyer served as the founder and head of the music library until 1965 and actively participated in UNT’s musical activities through the early 1990s. She is often depicted as the “isolated pioneer” of music librarianship because she entered the field in its early stages and worked thousands of miles away from other major music libraries, which were concentrated in the Midwest and along the East Coast (Bradley 2007). In a 1991 oral history interview, Heyer even used this term to describe herself, noting how her location made professional collaboration difficult (Heyer 1991). While Heyer was certainly isolated geographically, framing her life’s work in this way sidelines the rich and varied connections that she fostered locally and nationally throughout her career.
 
I must admit that my own research process began with an isolated mindset, and during my first few visits to the Edna Mae Sandborn Reading Room, where I worked through materials belonging to the Anna Harriet Heyer special collection, I approached her work from the perspective of a solitary individual working more or less alone. My initial objective was to reconstruct Heyer’s process of conceiving, compiling, and publishing her landmark bibliographical work titled Historical Sets, Collected Editions, and Monuments of Music. The more time I spent with the collection, however, the clearer it became that Historical Sets was not the product of an isolated woman on the fringes of her field, but instead a highly collaborative endeavor that included librarians across the globe in sometimes surprisingly personal ways. Following this realization, I became increasingly interested in Heyer’s apparent knack for creating or contributing to communities: at UNT, across her profession, and in her personal life.
 
A large portion of Heyer’s archival collection consists of her prolific correspondence, and while most of her letters are professional, frequent personal touches and informal slips suggest relationships deeper than strictly business acquaintances. For instance, Heyer’s closest liaisons with the American Library Association, Marion Dittman and Pauline Cianciolo, often commented on the weather, asked after projects unrelated to her book, and celebrated Heyer’s success more enthusiastically than one might expect from professional contacts (Image 1).
 
 
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Image 1. Letter from Pauline Cianciolo dated 13 December 1972 (Box 26)

 
In a letter dated April 22nd, 1969, for example, Dittman invokes whooping Valkyries to congratulate Heyer on the upcoming publication of Historical Sets’ second edition (Image 2). Another business contact, Catherine Miller of Columbia University, also developed a personal relationship with Heyer. At one point the two women discussed collaborating on a manual that would help “isolated” librarians acclimate themselves to the profession; ironically, the physical distance separating them prevented this project from coming to fruition. Nevertheless, Heyer and Miller maintained a regular correspondence, discussing personal and professional matters, and occasionally sharing inside opinions about their field (Image 3).
 
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Image 2. Letter from Marion Dittman dated 22 April 1969 (Box 12)

 
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Image 3. Letter from Catherine Miller dated 28 December 1951 (Box 12)

 
Beyond her inner circle, Heyer’s book generated widespread enthusiasm within music libraries across the United States. Historical Sets sought to provide complete bibliographic information for significant publications of single-composer music collections available in North America, Europe, and parts of Asia. Her project quickly developed a sort of fan club, and in addition to the correspondence that Heyer maintained to gather information about libraries’ holdings, she regularly received friendly letters inquiring after the work’s progress. Following publication, many exuberant librarians sent letters of thanks, including a handwritten postcard from Harriet Nicewonger at Berkeley (Image 4). Another librarian, Margaret Lospinuso, wrote that at UNC Chapel Hill they affectionately referred to Historical Sets as simply “Heyer.” Initially, the book was supposed to become a completed project after two editions, but once the second went out of print, Heyer and the American Library Association received such an outpouring of interest for additional copies that Heyer’s publishing contract was renewed for a third and final update.
 
front of the postcard with an image of a flower and its stem, the back of the postcard with writing from Harriet Nicewonger

Image 4. Postcard from Harriet Nicewonger dated 29 June 1969 (Box 11)

 
Heyer’s community connections to UNT also ran deep, and her library colleagues clearly valued her for more than her professional competencies. For many years, Heyer was the face of the music library, and her skillful guidance in its formative years paved the way for its present-day success. It is therefore no coincidence that events celebrating the music library’s twenty-five year anniversary overlapped with events honoring Heyer’s retirement. Within the Heyer collection, it is sometimes difficult to tell which items are tied to general library events and which pertain specifically to Heyer’s career—the two were practically inseparable in the minds of the UNT music community. Unquestionably the most memorable item that I came across during my research, a custom, Mardi-gras-esque bracelet commemorates Heyer’s years of service and the music library’s active years (Image 5). The engraving on the back of the pendant reads: “Music Librarian, NTSU, 1940–1965.” Although the quality and age of the accompanying photographs make it difficult to tell for certain, I believe that this picture, taken in 1965 at Heyer’s retirement luncheon, captures the moment of the gift’s exchange (Image 6). Following her retirement from UNT, Heyer relocated to Fort Worth but continued her library work by assisting Texas Christian University, her Alma Mater, with its music collection development, much as she had done for UNT. 
 
 
a gold chain bracelet with a large golden pendant with the number 25 and accented with red gems

Image 5. Bracelet commemorating Heyer’s twenty-five years as NTSU’s music librarian, 1965 (Box 12)

 
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Image 6. Photograph of Heyer taken at her retirement luncheon, possibly accepting the bracelet, 1965 (Box 12)

 
Despite several decades of absence, in 1990 Heyer was again called to serve the UNT music library leading up to its fiftieth anniversary celebration. She wrote a history of the library that appeared in a special fiftieth anniversary booklet, and judging from the numerous outlines found among her papers, she was very involved in curating the exhibits that showcased the library’s holdings (Image 7). As with the twenty-five year anniversary celebrations , Heyer’s name was front and center, even appearing above the library’s on invitations (Image 8).
 
 
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Image 7. Several pages from Heyer’s fiftieth anniversary curation planning, undated (Box 22)

 
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Image 8. Cover and inside of UNT’s fiftieth anniversary reception invitations, 1991 (Box 22)

 
While many of Heyer’s friendships stemmed from professional connections, she also found time to maintain outside interests. She was an avid hand weaver and an active member of the Contemporary Hand Weavers of Texas Association, even serving as their vice president for several years. Perhaps her most tangible contribution to this community was the Index that she complied in 1962. It served as a guide to all articles printed in the Contemporary Hand Weavers’ newsletters between 1949 and 1961, its intent being to help new members quickly locate information relevant to their specific interests (Image 9). The guide’s formatting resembles the second edition of Historical Sets, which Heyer worked on concurrently. In this way, a touch of the professional crossed over to the personal (Image 10).
 
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Image 9. Cover and page 1 of Heyer’s Contemporary Hand Weavers of Texas Newsletter Index, 1962 (Box 10)

 
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Image 10. Page 7 of Historical Sets, Collected Editions, and Monuments of Music, Second Edition (Heyer, 1969)

 
“Isolated Pioneer” may be a fitting title for Anna Harriet Heyer in some contexts, but it does not adequately summarize the profound impact of her life and work. Despite the distance, Heyer connected many librarians across the country as she worked to increase knowledge and circulation of musical materials. Whether local or national, Heyer was an integral and beloved member of many communities, sometimes blurring the line between personal and professional commitments. Heyer’s thoughtful attention to individuals and dedication to realizing group goals are the threads that connect each of her relationships, demonstrating that her strength was truly one of numbers.

Reference List

Bradley, Carol June. 2007 “Anna Harriet Heyer, An Isolated Pioneer.” Notes 63, no. 4 (June): 798–809.
 
Heyer, Anna Harriet. 1969. Historical Sets, Collected Editions and Monuments of Music: A Guide to Their Contents. 2nd ed. Chicago, IL: American Library Association.
 
Heyer, Anna Harriet. 1991. Interview with Richard Dickey. November 30, 1991. Transcript. University of North Texas Oral History Collection. University of North Texas at Denton, Texas.
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