Digital Resources

This page describes resources available online for research on the 16th- and 17th-century anthologies of musical works in the Music Division's collections.

Close to 30% of the Music Division's early anthologies have been digitized for study and performance. Links to these online resources are included in the individual entries listed in the accompanying bibliography. The scope of the following digital presentations cited below extends well beyond the narrow subject area of pre-1700 anthologies to incorporate a much broader spectrum of musical offerings.

The Music Treasures Consortium
The Music Treasures Consortium is an alliance of many libraries with holdings of unique music resources, including music manuscripts, prints, and first and early editions. The Library of Congress hosts the consortium Web site which gives bibliographic information on each item. It is important to note that resources appearing in the Music Treasures Consortium will most likely be included in the Pre-1700 Musical Treasures and Books About Music Before 1800 presentations as well.
Pre-1700 Musical Treasures: Manuscript and Print Collection
The contents of this digital presentation are predominantly drawn from items cataloged under the M1490 classification. The approximately 240 featured imprints and manuscripts consist of a combination of both anthologies and volumes of music by a single composer. The wide variety of musical genres represented offer a significant cross-section of the sacred and secular musical repertory composed by both renowned and obscure composers of the Renaissance and early Baroque.
Books About Music Before 1800
This online presentation includes digital scans of well over 2000 pre-1801 publications about music that are reported in the RISM B VI series with the Library of Congress sigla (US-Wc).
Dayton C. Miller Collection
The collection contains nearly 1,700 flutes and other wind instruments, statuary, iconography, books, music, trade catalogs, tutors, patents, and other materials mostly related to the flute. It includes both Western and nonwestern examples of flutes from around the world, with at least 460 European and American instrument makers represented. Items in the collection date from the 16th to the 20th century.

Concerts from the Library of Congress Collection, the Library's concert series, has offered concerts, interviews, and lectures free to the public since 1925 when the Coolidge Auditorium was constructed and first opened its doors. These events have been made available on the Library's website as part of the Event Videos Collection. A sampling of these concerts, each including musical examples from anthologies in our collections, are linked below.

In 2015, Pomerium, an esteemed 15-voice a cappella ensemble, presented works from the “golden age of polyphony” by Josquin, Ockeghem, Lassus and Palestrina.

The Orlando Consort
In this recording, the Orlando Consort performs 15th-century music largely drawn from the "Laborde Chansonnier," one of the music division’s esteemed manuscripts. This concert, preceded by a lecture delivered by musicologist, Professor Jane Alden, was part of the 2017 Founder's Day celebration in honor of Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge.
Founder's Day Concert: Party Like It's 1587
This recording is of a performance by Blue Heron of selected choral masterpieces by Dufay, Ockeghem and Sweelinck. Also includes a performance also by the Renaissance band Piffaro.
Anne Sofie von Otter, Jonathan Cohen & Thomas Dunford in Concert
The artists on this recording perform music by Henry Purcell, John Dowland, Robert Johnson, Giovanni Girolamo Kapsberger, Joan Ambrosio Dalza, Francesco Provenzale, François Couperin, Michel Lambert, Robert de Visée, Michel Lambert, Marc-Antoine Charpentier, and Jean-Philippe Rameau.
Fretwork with Iestyn Davies
Fretwork with Iestyn Davies. This recording offers an eclectic program of music by Byrd, Purcell, Henry Lawes and Jenkins (as well as music from later periods) from the heyday of the viol.

In the Muse, the Music Division's blog, features occasional posts that highlight a variety of early music topics that are relevant to music materials in the collections. Also included are program notes from the some of the Music Division's concert series.

Monteverdi Turns the Big 450!
Blog post by senior reference specialist Cait Miller that mentions Claudio Monteverdi’s Scherzi Musicali – 1607 ed., an edition published by Monteverdi’s brother, who also contributed his own musical works to this collection.
Stile Antics at the Library: Not your “Liber Usualis”
Concert office producer David Plylar’s retelling of the intriguing tale from the 1530s about the battle of two music publishers competing for the best composers’s works to include in their rival anthologies. The Mottetti del Frutto – 1538 was the first anthology to be published by the Gardano firm.
Barbara Strozzi at 400
Senior reference specialist Susan Clermont’s celebratory essay for the 400th birthday of composer Barbara Strozzi. Strozzi’s composition Quis dabit mihi? is part of the 1656 anthology, Sacra Corona; this is one of the earliest published compositions by a woman composer held in the music division.
“Hark! The Herald Angels Sing”: An Illustrated History
Senior reference specialist Cait Miller’s comprehensive account of this popular Christmas tune and the role played by William Hayman Cummings in its creation. Also included is a brief summary of Mr. Cumming’s 1917 auction, the source of several of our English collections.
Pomerium – The Golden Age of Polyphony
Program notes compiled by Pomerium’s director, Alexander Blachly. Texts with translations are included.
Anne Sofie von otter Jonathan Cohen Thomas Dunford
Program notes by senior reference specialist James Wintle, who presents a contextual overview of the concert’s musical selections and the composers who created them.

Anthologies of Musical Works from the 15th-17th Centuries in the Library of Congress Music Division

Performing Arts: Ask a Librarian

Digital Resources