Briefs / Feuilletons

Columbia University Libraries’ Rare Book & Manuscript Library (RBML) has acquired the archive of “Radio Unnameable’s” host Bob Fass. The archive contains an extensive collection of radio broadcasts, original photographs, and personal correspondence that showcases the impact and ingenuity of Fass’s work in the 1960s and ‘70s.

First aired in 1963 on New York’s WBAI, “Radio Unnameable” was a groundbreaking departure in format and philosophy from traditional radio programs: Fass connected ordinary callers with each other as well as with studio guests—cultural icons of the era including Allen Ginsberg, Bob Dylan, Timothy Leary, the Grateful Dead, and Hunter S. Thompson—in an unscripted fashion that anticipated contemporary social media.

Fass earned a reputation as “the midwife at the birth of the counterculture” for his commentary on the culture and turbulent politics of the 1960s and for live coverage of such landmark events as the 1968 Democratic National Convention, the Columbia University student protests, and the Tompkins Square Riots. Highlights from the 600,000 minutes of broadcast footage include interviews with Abbie Hoffman, as well as performances by and in-studio visits with Bob Dylan, Jerry Jeff Walker, and Arlo Guthrie. The recordings are relics of an era of widespread change in America, offering unique, in-depth, and unfiltered insight into the ‘60s and ‘70s. Fass’s broadcasts speak to a wide range of scholarly interests, from the relationship between music, art, and activism, to how the counterculture of the ‘60s began to fragment in the face of the identity politics of the ‘70s and ‘80s.

Baldwin Wallace University (BW) is proud to announce the acquisition of the private collection of Broadway legend Jack Lee. A BW alumnus from the class of 1951, Jack Lee was among the most prominent conductors and music directors on Broadway. In his long career, Jack worked with such renowned creators as Kander & Ebb, Alan Lerner, and Stephen Sondheim. He led dozens of Broadway and touring productions, including Sweet Charity with Gwen Verdon and Chita Rivera, Peter Pan with Sandy Duncan, and My Fair Lady with Richard Chamberlain. Jack was also dedicated to teaching and was a long-time professor and music director at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. Over the years, Jack amassed a substantial collection of books, scores, scripts, and other materials, which he willed to his alma mater upon his passing in March 2016. Baldwin Wallace received the collection in April, and the library staff has been working to identify and categorise the materials. Of special interest are unique materials used for performances in Cleveland and on Broadway. These scores include many annotations in various hands regarding music, texts, and staging. The collection also includes what may be the largest compilation of sheet music (and sheet music covers) dedicated to or associated with Madame Lucia Vestris of London stage fame. Currently housed in the archives of Ritter Library, the collection will eventually be located in a dedicated space in the BW Conservatory of Music. Interested parties should contact University Archivist Keith Peppers (kpeppers@bw.edu) or music librarian Paul Cary (pcary@bw.edu).

A Protocol between the Istituto Centrale per il Catalogo Unico (ICCU), IAMLItalia and RISM has been signed. The partners agree to collaborate, through a working group, whose charge is as follows:

• • to recognise the importance of their institutional roles in light of the aims of international research about music resources in order to improve worldwide access to updated information about Italian libraries and the resources they preserve;

• • to exchange knowledge and data about music resources;

• • consequently, to improve the respective catalogues and their services to users with specific projects which may include:

  • ○ selecting and importing into the SBN catalogue records concerning resources preserved in Italian libraries that are currently available only in the RISM card and electronic catalogues;

  • ○ making bibliographic and authority records that are only in SBN searchable and indexed through the online catalogue of RISM;

  • ○ identifying and solving the issue of duplicate bibliographic records that are in the SBN and RISM databases;

  • ○ implementing searching and enabling rendering of music incipits in the OPAC SBN;

  • ○ aligning, updating and...