USC Music Library

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

New Blog!

We've switched over to a new url. You can now find out about the Music Library at: http://uofscmusiclibrary.blogspot.com/

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Hanukkah

Naxos music library has some great Hanukkah music (no matter which way you spell the holiday)!

Check out some of these:

SEASONS' CELEBRATION

FROM JEWISH LIFE

CHRISTMAS and HANUKAH: I'll Be Home for the Holidays

CHRISTMAS Eaken Piano Trio: Home for the Holidays

HOLIDAYS OF THE NEW ERA

A HANUKKA CELEBRATION

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Compact disc 7806 Discs 1-4
Noël
On a personal note, this CD set is my absolute favorite. When it is checked out around the holidays, I'll even settle for Compact Disc 1344, "On Yoolis night" which is an earlier release of one of the discs in the Noël set. I don't think I would've made it through finals week in my last Master's degree without this CD set. Please check it out when you get the chance!

Compact disc 8621
A holiday note from home
If you like your Christmas to have some swing, this CD is a must!

Compact Disc 3530
A rose in winter
If you like to stick to traditional sacred music for the holidays, this CD is perfect!

Compact Disc 2780
Winter pages ; Bright music
If chamber music, or to be more specific, 20th century quintet music is your genre of choice, check out Ned Rorem's Winter Pages on this CD. It's all composed around winter-themed poetry. The liner notes go into detail, and make for a very interesting read.

Compact disc 4165
A mind of winter
Another piece in a similar vein is George Benjamin's A Mind of Winter on this CD. It is a setting of Wallace Stevens's "The Snow Man," for soprano and chamber orchestra. If you like 20th century music, you'll find this a nice piece!

Compact disc 2445
In a cold winter's night
If you like more traditional (and by traditional, I mean Renaissance period/sounding music), then you'll like this CD. There are some 20th century pieces, and even some pieces of North and South American origin. This is a can't miss CD.

Compact Disc 9645
The winter trombone
Something old, something new, something trombone....something blue. This CD starts off with Vivaldi's "Winter" from The Four Seasons, Op. 8 No. 4, which fills the "old" category. Something new (and blue) would be Roland's Blue Winter. As you can guess, the entirety of the CD is trombone music, and for a non-brass player, I found it quite enjoyable!

Compact disc 9124
Merry : a holiday journey
If you like your Christmas music to be more intimate or slightly "folky," then you'll like this CD. I swear I've heard this playing in the background of a Starbucks before.

Compact disc 7752 Discs 1-2
Essential carols : the very best of King's College Choir, Cambridge.
If you like your Christmas carols sung by a large choir and preferably in a large hall, this two-CD set is for you! It contains well-known classics and some songs you might discover for the first time! Some of these songs have a chant-like quality that would make them perfect for relaxing around finals week.

Compact Disc 2942
Christmas Star
This CD is filled with the tried and true Christmas classic carols like "Silent Night," and some that may be new to you, such as "Lo, How a Rose e'er Blooming."

Happy Holidays from the Music Library!

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Jason's favorite

Our good friend Jason B. has worked at the Music Library for a year now. He's graduating at the end of this semester with his Master's degree in Library Science. Most of the students that work at the Music Library are music people--they're working towards their first music degree. Jason's undergrad degrees are in English and history, making him our resident music enthusiast! Regardless of degrees, everyone at the Music Library is thankful we've had Jason around this year and will be sad to see him go.

So for fun, I asked him to do a blog entry on his favorite CD in the Music Library. Here's what he had to say:

"Ok, I was asked to write a little something about my favorite CD here at the USC Music Library. That’s like asking a particle physicist which type of quark is his favorite! How can one decide? They’re all so awesome! Hmmm, well, charm type quarks are pretty cool… Anyway, for today I’ve decided that my favorite CD is Apostrophe (‘) by Frank Zappa.

The first side (keep in mind this CD was originally released as a record, you know, those flat, round, and black plastic things) follows our Inuit hero Nanook as he battles the evil Fur Trapper. Each track segways into the next, and Zappa really gets to put out some of his favorite tricks: timing and mood changes, sound effects, and unique instrumentation. And of course, we’re treated to some of Frank’s incredible guitar work and fantastic composition. See, you can still rock if you know how to read and write music!

The last half of the album is individual songs, but don’t fret, the rockin’ don’t stop! Zappa never does simple, straight-forward rock, but these compositions are a little more foot-tapping. “Cosmik Debris” and “Stink-Foot” are great, and the album’s title track, “Apostrophe (‘),” features Jack Bruce from Cream in a blistering bass solo. All-in-all, one of my favorite Zappa albums. Check it out! And if you really like it, try it’s companion album, Over-Nite Sensation."

Monday, November 17, 2008

Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is almost here! Whether you're cooking, eating, or just partaking in a lot of football, it's nice to relax and visit with family and friends.

In honor of Thanksgiving, I wanted to present you with some selections of music from the Music Library. To be honest, however, I found them all a little somber. So if you're in the mood for somber Thanksgiving music, try these selections:

Compact Disc 2479
Family Circle -- celebration! [sound recording] : music for holidays year-round.
(Tracks 16 & 17)

Compact Disc 5066
Music of the Americas, 1492-1992
(Disc 1, Track 5)

Compact Disc 3469
Akathist of thanksgiving

If you have an LP player and children, you might try this one:

Columbia Music Sound Recordings 17824
Thanksgiving songs that tickle your funny bone.

For those of you who want a more historic feel to your Thanksgiving tunes, check out the streaming audio clips of Native American music on our World Music pages.

No matter what music you listen to, everyone here at the Music Library hopes you have a safe and wonderful Thanksgiving!

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

We Want You... in the USC Music Library

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Music to keep you motivated

On most of the students that work here at the Music Library, the look of happiness and excitement for the fall semester has turned into a look of questioning, tiredness, and wishing that fall break would hurry up and get here. It's sort of that mid-way lull that happens in every semester. So, I thought I'd survey the student employees to see what music keeps them motivated or helps them to stay focused when studying. Check some of these out and see if they help you too!

Chanticleer "Out of this World"
CD 1390