Week of January 15, 2021

As the nation prepares for the 46th Presidential Inauguration, this week's Pick of the Week brings you an edition centered on the national anthem, the Star-Spangled Banner, including the 2014 performance by baritone Thomas Hampson and two fascinating panel discussions. We hope this edition sparks your curiosity to learn more about the Star-Spangled Banner history through the holdings at the Library of Congress.

Learn more about "The Star-Spangled Banner"
An illustrated essay on our country's national anthem featured in the Patriotic Melodies" digital collection. Patriotic Melodies tells the stories behind many of the songs that have now become part of the American national heritage. A combination of hymns, national songs, music of the theater, radio and television, military themes, and poetry, all of this music demonstrates that while over history many things have changed, this expression of pride and hope remain a constant part of the American experience.

Pick of the Week - January 15, 2021

Poets & Patriotism: The 200th Birthday of the Star-Spangled Banner (event date; July 3, 2014)

Internationally-renowned baritone Thomas Hampson presents a special program commemorating the 200th anniversary of our national anthem. The program includes American music from colonial days to the present, rare historical documents from the Library's extensive collections. Hampson is joined by the University of Michigan Alumni Chorus, Mark Clague (University of Michigan) and pianist Matthew Thompson.

Poets and Patriotism: The 200th Birthday of the Star-Spangled Banner (panel discussion date: July 3, 2014)

Susan Key, executive director of the Star Spangled Music Foundation, and Mark Clague, associate professor of musicology at the University of Michigan, join James Wintle, reference specialist in the Library of Congress music division, in a discussion about the national anthem.

National Anthem Remix Panel Discussion (panel discussion: September 18, 2014)

The Library's stacks include a trove of arrangements of our national anthem, including Stravinsky's "The Star-Spangled Banner," and "Ode to the Star-Spangled Banner" by Ferde Grofé. This panel discusses the history and value of revamping one of our most provocative songs. Panelists include Matt Spivey, vice president of artistic operations, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Loras John Schissel, music division, Library of Congress, Neil Grauer, assistant director of editorial services, Johns Hopkins Medicine, and Nicholas Alexander Brown, music division, Library of Congress.

Digital Collections and Resources at the Library of Congress

Inauguration Music of Yesteryear (Blog Post)
Cait Miller presents a small sample of inauguration-related music provides a degree of insight into the significance music plays and the interest it holds in our country’s illustrious history, and there is so much more to discover. To learn more about the musical side of presidential campaigns, peruse our digitized Presidential Campaign Song holdings. (In the Muse Blog: January 18, 2017).
“Mr. President”: Words That Will Live On (Blog Post)
Cait Miller discusses Mr. President which premiered at the Library of Congress’s Coolidge Auditorium in October of 2004 in a special concert entitled “Mr. President: A Celebration of the Presidency”. In addition to the world premiere of Judith Clurman’s commission, the program also featured songs by Berlin, Gershwin, Bernstein, and more, some written about specific presidents and others relating to American patriotism (In the Muse Blog, February 21, 2011).