Recently in Noteworthy Category

Naxos Music Library / Naxos Music Library Jazz

Temple University Libraries is pleased to announce the
addition of Naxos Music Library and Naxos Music Library Jazz
to our online streaming audio offerings.

The basis of the collection consists of the entire output of
the Naxos Recording Company. The mission of the company is
and has been since its inception in 1987 to provide the
widest possible range of repertoire to the widest possible
audience, resulting in an extremely extensive online musical
library.

All of Naxos’ recordings are available in the online service
whether they are out of print or still available for
purchase, and every new recording is included in the online
database as soon as it is commercially released. The
collection includes classical, jazz, blues, and world music.
The classical repertoire is thoroughly represented,
including unusual and contemporary works that cannot be
heard elsewhere such as the works of Joachim Raff, William
Henry Fry, Krzysztof Penderecki, Bohuslav Martinu, and
others. The strength of the Naxos collection is in its breadth. The
world music collection is particularly strong in the music
of East Asia. The content of the database grows not only by
the production of new recordings, but also by Naxos
negotiating with other recording companies to include
additional repertoire. Their website states that an
average of 39 CD’s per month were added in 2006.

The interface is easy to use and quite intuitive. Plenty of
online help is available, including a FAQ, User Guide, and
User Instructions. One can use the Advanced Search Feature
to search by keyword, disc or composition title, composer,
artist, record label, arranger, lyricist, performing group,
genre or music category, instrument, period, country, year
composed, and by mood or scenarios. In addition, the
collection is browsable by genres such as Classical,
Jazz/Contemporary, World/Folk, New Age, Chinese, Pop and
Rock and also by categories such as Ballet, Chamber Music,
Sacred Choral, Secular Choral, Composers, Concertos,
Educational, Film Music, Instrumental, Musicals,
Opera/Operetta, TV Music, Vocal, and Collections.

Naxos provides podcasts such as Classical Music Spotlight,
Choral Music of Thomas Tallis, American Jewish Music from
the Milken Archive with Leonard Nimoy, and interviews with
performers and composers.

Faculty can create folders for shared playlists for use in
classes, and provide persistant links to sound recordings in
course management software such as Blackboard .

Sound recordings provide an additional and enjoyable layer
of depth to the understanding of culture and history. The
Naxos Collection is invaluable for teaching history, ethnic
studies, world cultures, and African-American studies as
well as for music, dance, and theater.

Enjoy!

Anne Harlow

Bertolt Brecht Manuscripts Discovered in Switzerland

Previously unknown manuscripts of Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956), influential 20th century poet and playwright, have been recently discovered in Switzerland and delivered to the Brecht Archive at the Academy of Arts in Berlin. The playwright with arguably the most influence in shaping modern theater in the twentieth century, Brecht is a controversial social critic while at the same time his works entertain. The year 2006 is “Brecht year”, with many venues commemorating 50 years since his death. An article about the discovery of the manuscripts is available from Deutsche Welle , as well as other articles on his life and works.

Some resources at Temple University Libraries on Bertolt Brecht include:

Works by Bertolt Brecht at Temple University Libraries

Works about Bertolt Brecht

Books at Temple University Paley Library
Both analyses and biographies.

*From “Contemporary Authors”
Nice works list, brief biography.

*From Grove Music Online
Brief biography emphasizing works put to music.

Criticism and Analysis

*International Index to the Performing Arts
A variety of sources including scholarly and popular press. Articles are full-text and full-image.

*JSTOR
Full-text articles from the Performing Arts, Language and Linguistics, and Music Collections.

*Literature Online (LION) – Bertolt Brecht, short biographies, links to articles with analysis, some full-text works.

*MLA International Bibliography – full-text articles on criticism and analysis. For more articles on Brecht, search the database MLA lists over 3,000 citations about Brecht.

*RILM - Criticism and Analysis about Brecht-Weill works in a database that is international in scope.

Internet Resources

International Brecht Society

Bertolt Brecht and the Epic Theater

“Bertolt Brecht: The Man Who Never Was” provides insight into the complexity of Brecht as a writer and a person.

* To access resources preceded by an asterisk off-campus, enter your AccessNet username and password.

-Anne Harlow