Monthly Archives

November 2017

Libraries, Media/Music Collections, Music, News & Events, O'Shaughnessy-Frey Library

Christmas music at St. Thomas Music and Media Collections

By Sophia Wolf

Now that Thanksgiving has passed, I believe that no one can rightfully say that it is too early to listen to Christmas music. The St. Thomas Music & Media Collections are a great place to access CDs or streaming audio for all of your festive favorites. As a self-proclaimed expert, who has been listening to Christmas music since November 1^st, here is one of my top picks from the Collections:

American Folk Songs for Christmas
Call Number: M1629.S44 .A54 1989

This compilation of less-commonly known Christmas songs represent a variety of folksongs that find their origins in European and British Isles Ballads, several African-American spirituals that express a deeply spiritual celebration of Christmas, as well as several classic, better-known Christmas favorites. This lively recording is sung & played by sisters Peggy, Barbara, and Penny Seeger, assisted by a group of children from the South Boston Music School.

Selected songs from this CD can also be accessed through:

Music Online: Smithsonian Global Sound: American Folk Songs for Christmas (streaming audio)

November 29, 2017 by

Libraries, Media/Music Collections, O'Shaughnessy-Frey Library

Something to be Thankful For

By Sophia Wolf

The classic Thanksgiving tale is that of collaboration and friendship between the Pilgrim settlers and the Wampanoag tribe. However, there is much more to the history of this iconic American holiday than simply this, so take the opportunity to learn more and explore the multiple perspectives of those who took part in the first Thanksgiving. As students, faculty, and staff take a well-deserved break from courses, be sure to check out the resources available at the Music & Media Collections to find the perfect film to enjoy with your Thanksgiving leftovers!

The Pilgrims
Call Number: F 68 .P55 2015
Commemorated each year at Thanksgiving, no chapter in American history has been more clouded in myth, legend, and venerable cliché than the story of the Pilgrims. This film explores the story of a small group of English Separatists whose determination to worship God as they saw fit planted the seeds of the American dream.

We Still Live Here
Call Number: PM 2544 .A86 2010
The Wampanoag are celebrated at Thanksgiving as the Indians who saved the Pilgrims from starvation, but their linguistic heritage remained largely forgotten until Jessie Little Doe Baird discovered hundreds of documents written in their ancient language. Her efforts, which led to the reclamation of the Wampanoag language and culture, are explored in this documentary film.

We Shall Remain: America Through Native Eyes
Call Number: E 77 .W47 2009
When Europeans arrived in North America, they encountered the Native people. Throughout history, Native peoples resisted expulsion from their lands and fought the extinction of their culture. Follow Native American history from the Wampanoags of New England in the 1600s, to the bold new leaders of the 1970s who harnessed the momentum of the Civil Rights movement. Spanning almost four hundred years, this three-part documentary series tells the story of pivotal moments in U.S. history from the Native American perspective.

November 21, 2017 by

Media/Music Collections, Music, News & Events

Music Resources at the Library

As students, faculty, and staff visit the Music & Media Collections at OSF to browse, they often limit themselves to only the DVD collection. However, there are also many music resources available for your use. A wide range of genres are found both in the physical CD collection and the multiple music streaming services accessible through the library website. Music streaming services have both audio and visual recordings, music documentaries, dance performances, and more. Many of the streaming services also offer the option to create music playlists for personal or classroom use. Check out some of the great resources for music, as well as learn how to find them yourself!

Naxos Music Library
Naxos Music Library streaming audio database offers hundreds of thousands of tracks of classical, jazz, world, and folk music. Search for music by composer, artist, period, year of composition, instrument, label, duration, mood, or genre. Added features include composer biographies, musical terms glossaries, and work analyses.

Music Online: Smithsonian Global Sound
Smithsonian Global Sound streaming audio database has more than 40,000 individual tracks of music, spoken word, and natural and human-made sounds. Included are readings of literary and dramatic works, historic speeches, language instruction, natural sounds, environmental and mechanical sounds, sound effects, children’s music, and traditional music from virtually everywhere in the world.

Medici.TV
A streaming music video database covering over 1,500 films in high definition with the best of classical music from Baroque to Contemporary music, including: concerts, operas, ballets, archival documents, portraits of artists and composers, master classes, conductors in rehearsals. There are over 100 live broadcasts every year from leading concert halls and classical music festivals.

By Sofia Wolf

November 14, 2017 by

Libraries, Media/Music Collections, News & Events, O'Shaughnessy-Frey Library

Native American Heritage Month Videos

By Sofia Wolf

Did you know that November is Native American Heritage Month? This month provides an opportunity to celebrate Native American culture and traditions. We can also use it to raise awareness about the unique challenges facing Native American communities, both in the past and present. There are many resources offered by the Music & Media Collections to learn more and appreciate the rich Native American history in the state of Minnesota.

Ojibwe Music from Minnesota: A Century of Song for Voice and Drum
Call Number: M 1669 .O45 1997

Hear traditional Ojibwe music, sung in both English and Ojibwa, with early recordings as dating from 1899-1910, as well as more recent field recordings.

Manoomin: A Minnesota Way of Life
Call Number: E99.C6 M3 2005

This documentary is a part of the campaign to prohibit the introduction of genetically-engineered wild rice in the State of Minnesota. A group of Ojibwe people voice their opinions, providing contrast between scientific progress and the rights of indigenous people to protect their food source, biodiversity, and way of life.

The Woodlands: The Story of the Mille Lacs Ojibwe
Call Number: E99.C6 W6 2000

This film explores the 400-year history and culture of Minnesota’s Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Native Americans through narration, historical footage, music, and personal interviews with tribal elders.

November 7, 2017 by

Libraries, News & Events, O'Shaughnessy-Frey Library

“The Smoke of London” author reading and book signing

Author Will Cavert

Reading and Book Signing

William Cavert

Monday, November 13, 2017

7:00 pm O’Shaughnessy-Frey Library, Room 108

London in the early modern period was one of the world’s most polluted cities impacting everything from the health of its citizens to how the politics and culture developed during this time.

Dr. Will Cavert, assistant history professor at the University of St. Thomas, will speak about his recently published work: The Smoke of London: Energy and Environment in the Early Modern City which takes a closer look at how the people who lived and traveled to London adapted to London’s “smoky air.” London in the early modern period was one of the world’s most polluted cities impacting everything from the health of its citizens to how the politics and culture developed during this time.

Awards Received:

The John Ben Snow Prize from the American Conference on British Studies
The Whitfield Prize from the Royal Historical Society
The Turku Prize from the European Society for Environmental History and the Rachel Carson Center of the University of Munich.

About the Author:

Dr. Cavert is a historian of Britain during the early modern period, c. 1500-1800, with research interests in urban and environmental history. He is the author of The Smoke of London: Energy and Environment in the Early Modern City, published in 2016 by Cambridge University Press, as well as studies in The Journal of British Studies, Urban History, and The Global Environment.

He came to the University of St. Thomas in 2014 from The University of Cambridge where he was a post-doctoral fellow at Clare College, having taken a Ph.D. at Northwestern University in 2011 and an M.A. at Loyola University Chicago. Before that he completed his undergraduate studies at Carleton College, and is a native Minnesotan. He teaches classes on The Modern World Since 1550 (HIST 112), British social and political history, early modern European history, the history of science, and the history of climate, environmentalism, and natural disasters.

Reading is free and open to all – books will be available for purchase – refreshments provided!

November 6, 2017 by