News archive
326 Years of Gottlieb Muffat (1690-1770)
Today we are celebrating the 326th anniversary of the day that Gottlieb Muffat (1690-1770) was baptized, the closest we have to a date of birth. “The Famously Little-Known Gottlieb Muffat” is the name of an essay by Alison J. Dunlop that nicely sums up the contradiction between the fame of...
25 April 2016 – Musical anniversaries
Shakespeare 400 in Music
Around the world, playwrights, thespians, and lovers of English literature are celebrating William Shakespeare (1564-1616), who died 400 years this Saturday. (His 452nd birthday is next Tuesday.) The Bard left us a legacy that is treasured worldwide and he works still inspire music to this day. With just one exception,...
21 April 2016 – Musical anniversaries
Shakespeare 400 und die Musik
Überall auf der Welt feiern Dramatiker, Schauspieler und Liebhaber der englischen Literatur William Shakespeare (1564-1616), dessen Todestag sich am Samstag zum 400. Mal jährt. (Und sein 452. Geburtstag wird am Dienstag gefeiert). Der Barde hat uns ein Vermächtnis hinterlassen das weltweit hoch ansehen ist und seine Arbeiten regen noch heute...
21 April 2016 – Events
The Manuscript Tradition of Orlando di Lasso's Works
Orlando di Lasso (ca. 1532 -1594) is one of the most important musicians of the sixteenth century. A prolific composer, his works were published a lot even during his lifetime. These editions, numbering over 470 between 1555 and 1687, have long been known to musicologists. But are there also any...
18 April 2016 – Electronic resources
George Frideric Handel at the British Library
Georg Friedrich Händel (1685 - 1759) died 257 years ago today. Though born in Germany, he settled in England and became a citizen. Handel may have lost an umlaut in the process, but England gained a treasure trove of manuscripts - and indeed, in the RISM database you will find...
14 April 2016 – Musical anniversaries
The English Broadside Ballad Archive
In its heyday, broadside ballads were everywhere in England. In the seventeenth century, these sheets, which were commonly printed with a woodcut illustration and printed in heavy black-letter type (what we call Gothic today), were highly visible - posted at the alehouse or hawked on the streets - and audible...
11 April 2016 – Electronic resources
Isabella Leonarda (1620-1704)
Last month we discussed Italian composer Giacomo Insanguine (1728-1795) in our series RISM A–Z, and today we stay in Italy but step 100 years back to look at composer and nun Isabella Leonarda (1620-1704). Much is still unknown about her life. At the young age of sixteen, she joined the...
7 April 2016 – RISM A-Z
Corpus Musicae Ottomanicae: Critical Editions of Ottoman Manuscripts
A new project has started that aims to prepare critical editions of important Ottoman music manuscripts from the nineteenth century. The project Corpus Musicae Ottomanicae (CMO) began in October 2015 and their website was launched this March. The project is based in Münster, Bonn, and Istanbul with partners at the...
4 April 2016 – Electronic resources
First Music Manuscript Discovered in Antarctica
The RISM online catalog documents musical sources from five continents – so far, only Africa and Antarctica were missing from our map. So it came as a surprise, even to us, that Antarctica - of all places - will offer RISM users musical sources in the near future. In a...
1 April 2016 – Rediscovered
Happy Birthday, Johann Erasmus Kindermann (1616 - 1655)
Today is Johann Erasmus Kindermann’s 400th birthday! The son of a comb maker, Kindermann worked as a teacher and organist at various churches in Nuremberg, a city in which he stayed his whole life. He wanted to leave, however, as evidenced by many compositions he wrote as part of applications...
29 March 2016 – Musical anniversaries
