Music Library Exhibit: The Rite of Spring Centennial

The Music Library's exhibit case is set for the fall, and features a recently received manuscript facsimile of Igor Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring.

The Rite of Spring, a ballet depicting “scenes from pagan Russia,” and culminating in the sacrifice of an adolescent girl through dance, is known for its harsh dissonance and driving rhythm. It is also remembered for its notoriously riotous premiere on May 29, 1913, by Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes, with choreography by Vaclav Nijinsky. This exhibit case contains a recently published manuscript facsimile of The Rite of Spring:

Stravinsky, Igor. Le Sacre du printemps: Facsimile of the Autograph Full Score. Edited by Ulrich Mosch. London: Boosey & Hawkes, 2013.

Note that the titles at the top of the title page are given in Russian (Весна священная – this is Romanized and found in library catalogs as Vesna svi︠a︡shchennai︠a︡) and French (Le Sacre du Printemps).

The case also contains an early account of the first performances of the work from the June 8, 1913 issue of the New York Times.
You may wish to consult the following titles for further reading:

Benjamin, George. “How Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring has Shaped 100 Years of Music.” The Guardian, May 28, 2013.

Hill, Peter. Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000. Call no. MUX ML410.S932 H55 2000

You may access a video recording of Simon Rattle conducting The Rite of Spring with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra on Alexander Street Press’s Classical Music in Video. If you are off campus, you will need to log in with your NIU network ID and password.

Welcome Back, Students!

The Music Library welcomes all students back to NIU for the Fall semester! Today we resume our Fall semester schedule:

Monday-Thursday, 8 a.m. through 10 p.m.
Friday, 8 a.m. through 5 p.m.
Saturday, 1 p.m. through 5 p.m.
Sunday, 1 p.m. through 10 p.m.

Reference Service in the Music Library

Did you know that you can ask questions in the Music Library about a multitude of topics?
Our professional librarians can help you find information such as:

Identification and location of books, scores, sheet music, recordings, and other items in the NIU Libraries, or other libraries
Translations and pronunciation guides for vocal music
Identification and location of periodical articles, online and in print
Verification of literature citations
Identification and location of quotations
Identification and location of images of manuscripts and music-related art
Contact information for living musical personalities and organizations
Identification of tunes
Proper citation styles for academic papers
Answers to questions about musical works, composers, musicians, musical instruments, and other topics
Analyses of musical works
Many other topics!

Additionally, we can show you how to use library resources.

Library users may ask questions any time the Music Library is open. There will be a librarian at the reference desk Mondays and Wednesdays from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. and Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11 a.m. until 12:00 p.m. If there isn't a librarian at the reference desk, simply go to the service desk and ask for help from a full-time staff member. If you have a question after 4:30 p.m. or on weekends, student assistants will refer your question to the music librarian. If you would like to ask a question by telephone, the Music Library's main number is (815) 753-1426. You can also always use NIU's Ask-A-Librarian email and chat service, available from the NIU Libraries' home page.

To find out more about Music Library reference service, see our LibGuides reference site at http://libguides.niu.edu/musicreferenceservice.

Interim Schedule

The Music Library begins its summer-fall interim schedule today. For the next two weeks, the Music Library will be open Monday-Friday from 8-12 and from 1-4:30. The fall schedule will begin on August 26.

NAXOS Music Library

Thanks to generous support from the NIU School of Music, the University Libraries now offer unlimited simultaneous access to NAXOS Music Library. All members of the University community may listen to the NAXOS Music Library digital offerings (over 1,248,000 tracks -- over 85,000 CDs) at any time on campus or off campus by authenticating with a campus network ID (z-number or employee Novell ID) and password.

Additionally, library users can access NAXOS Music Library via iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, and Android apps. Follow these steps to gain access to the entire NAXOS Music Library Collection via the app:

1. download the app to your iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad or Android device.

2. Once you have downloaded and installed the app, you will need to create a student/member account (this is true for all NIU affiliated users, whether you are student, staff, or faculty) in NAXOS Music Library from a computer connected to NAXOS Music Library via the NIU Libraries subscription. To create your account, go to the NAXOS Music Library homepage, and click on "Playlists" (see below).

On the next screen, click on "Sign Up."

On the following screen, fill in the form.

Once you have created your student/member account, you will use the email address and password you entered during the sign up process to log in to the iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, or Android app. Additionally, once you have created this account, you can create personal playlists in NAXOS Music Library. Faculty who wish to create playlists for their classes will need to use the faculty account in NAXOS Music Library to create these; please contact Michael Duffy, music librarian, at mduffyiv_at_niu_dot_edu or 753-9839, for an orientation or assistance.