Collections

Works that marketed music attributed to Black composers—or popularly associated with Black communities—primarily to non-Black consumers.

Works that include music intended for formal, professional, or semi-professional performance in a worship context, such as cantatas, anthems, and sacred dramas.

Works that include music for performance by college students or during campus chapel services.

Works issued with the formal approval of one or more denominational bodies as well as works authorized by individual congregations within non-centralized denominations.

Works intended for use within the private spiritual practice of a devotee, as opposed to public, social, or household worship involving multiple devotees.

Works that present sacred music as an object of cultural or historical interest rather than as repertoire to be performed within worship.

Works issued by or for the use of institutions of learning that served Black students.

Works that include music intended for group performance within the home as part of ongoing family-based religious practices.

Works created for use by an adult audience during non-routine self-improvement events such as chautauquas, lyceums, and religious retreats.

Works that describe the predetermined ritual text or actions that constitute an act of public worship. This collection includes both denominationally sanctioned ritual texts and those prepared by individual authors.

Works intended for use in the large-scale revival campaigns that were prominent in the 1870s–1920s. These events were usually preplanned and conducted by professional or semi-professional evangelists and their musical staff. See also the Revival thematic collection.

Works intended for performance in minstrel shows. Minstrel shows were comedic theatrical acts (professional or amateur) performed primarily by white people in black face that stereotyped Black culture, including that of the enslaved, for white audiences.

Works intended to encourage conversion to Christianity. Created for use by new converts, especially those from outside historically Christian ethnic or linguistic communities. This collection includes volumes associated with local, domestic, and foreign missions.

Works intended for use at institutions of learning that focused on teacher training. This collection includes works associated with generic teacher-training colleges and with the specialized "music normals" that certified singing school teachers.

Works created for one-time use during a special occasion, such as a conference, church dedication, or funeral.

Works intended for use by students of primary and secondary schools, often including both musical instruction and music for performance during class devotions, recreational periods, and concerts.

Works that include repertoire meant for concert performance outside the context of worship. This collection includes instances of traditionally sacred repertoire that has been recontextualized for concert use, such as art spirituals.

Works in traditionally sacred publication genres that include distinct or substantive selections of secular music.

Works intended for use at singing schools, short-term series of classes that taught music literacy and partsinging skills. Such works often include a textbook section along with vocal exercises and music for study and performance by the class.

Works intended for use by clublike amateur societies devoted to the performance of sacred music or at regularly scheduled (usually annual) conventions for the performance of sacred music.

Works intended for use in group worship events other than regular public worship on sabbath and holidays. This includes prayer meetings, monthly concerts, camp meetings, etc.

Works intended for use by Sunday schools, religious education sessions for children and youth appended to regular public worship.

Works published or distributed by tract societies, charities aimed at disseminating Christian literature at low or no cost.

Works issued by or for the use of Adventist Christians, whose theology emphasizes the imminent second coming of Christ and who came to prominence in the United States beginning in the 1840s. The denomination most represented in this collection is the Seventh-Day Adventist Church.

Works issued by or for the use of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, a historically Black denomination founded in 1816 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The African Methodist Episcopal Church uses an episcopalian church organization and an Arminian understanding of salvation. For these along with works from other Methodist denominations, see the general Methodist collection.

Works issued by or for the use of Anabaptist Christians, whose theology emphasizes peace and the self-chosen baptism of mature believers. The Anabaptists emerged in Central Europe in the 1520s. This collection focuses on Germanophone ethnic churches, especially Mennonites and Brethren, but also includes works associated with the denominationally unrelated but theologically and historically similar Moravian Church (Unitas Fratrum).

Works issued by or for the use of diverse Baptist Christians, whose theology emphasizes the self-chosen baptism of mature believers. See also the National Baptist Church and Southern Baptist Church collections (although all NBC and SBC works are also included here).

Works issued by the Catholic Church, whose theology emphasizes the Nicene Creed and which affirms the apostolic succession as represented by the Bishop of Rome (the Pope).

Works issued by the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, a denomination with presbyterian polity and an Arminian understanding of salvation founded in Dickson County, Tennessee in 1810. For these along with works from other Presbyterian denominations, see the general Presbyterian collection.

Works issued by the churches of the Anglican Communion. Churches of the Anglican Communion are Protestant churches that first emerged in England in the 1530s and that affirm the apostolic succession as represented by the Archbishop of Canterbury. Most works in this collection are from either the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America or the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Confederate States of America, which separated from …

Works issued by the German Evangelical Synod of North America (Evangelische Synode von Nord-Amerika), a Germanophone ethnic church with mixed Lutheran and Reformed roots, whose theology emphasized individual spirituality. Regional precursors are also included, beginning with the Deutsche Evangelische Kirchenverein des Westens founded in Mehlville, Missouri in 1840.

Works issued by or for the use of Holiness Christians, who came to prominence in the United States in the 1860s, and whose theology emphasizes the freedom of the believer from sin during earthly life. The Church of the Nazarene is the denomination most represented in this collection, which also includes many Methodist and unaffiliated works. See also the Pentecostal collection for Holiness-Pentecostal material.

Works issued by multiple denominations acting in cooperation or works specifically designed for use by the members of multiple denominations.

Works issued by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, often known as the Mormon church and founded in Fayette, New York in 1830. Mormon theology emphasizes continued revelation, especially that communicated by founding prophet Joseph Smith (1805-1844).

Works issued by or for the use of Lutheran Christians, a denomination that emerged in Germany in the 1510s and whose theology emphasizes the authority of scripture and the saving work of faith. This collection includes material from a wide variety of Germanophone ethnic churches including some headquartered in Missouri and Maryland.

Works issued by or for the use of Methodist Christians, who trace their origin to the work of John Wesley (1703–1791) and Charles Wesley (1707–1788) and whose theology emphasizes personal spiritual discipline and an Arminian understanding of salvation. See also African Methodist Episcopal and Methodist Episcopal Church, South collections (although all AME and MEC,S works are also included here).

Works issued by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, a Methodist denomination that separated from the Methodist Episcopal Church over slavery in Louisville, Kentucky in 1845. For these along with works from other Methodist denominations, see the general Methodist collection.

Works issued by the National Baptist Convention, a historically Black denomination emphasizing the self-chosen baptism of mature believers and interregional cooperation and founded in Montgomery, Alabama in 1895. Pre-1895 works issued by the National Baptist Publishing Board are also included. For these along with works associated with other Baptist denominations, see the general Baptist collection.

Works issued by or for the use of New Thought believers, whose theology emphasizes the omnipresence of divine spirit and the interrelatedness of physical and spiritual realms. In addition to works from the heyday of New Thought in the 1870s–1920s, this collection includes works from two movements that contributed to the development of New Thought: Swedenborgianism, based on the teachings of the Swedish theologian Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772), and Spiritualism, focused …

Works issued by or for the use of Pentecostal Christians, who came to prominence in the United States in the 1890s and whose theology emphasizes the pentecostal gifts (such as Christian perfection, faith-healing, prophecy, and speaking in tongues). See also the Holiness collection for Holiness-Pentecostal material.

Works issued by or for the use of Presbyterian Christians, whose theology emphasizes presbyterian polity and (usually) a Reformed understanding of salvation and who emerged in Scotland in the 1560s. The denominations most represented in this collection are the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America and the Presbyterian Church in the United States, which separated from the former over slavery in Atlanta, Georgia in 1861. See also the …

Works issued by the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), organized in London, England in 1668, whose theology emphsizes peace and the priesthood of all believers.

Works issued by or for the use of Restorationist Christians, whose theology rejects denominationalism and traditional interpretations of scripture, attempting to restore the practices of the primitive church. Most works in this collection were issued by groups deriving from the work of Barton W. Stone (1772–1844) of Kentucky or of Alexander Campbell (1788–1866) of West Virginia. It includes works associated with the modern Churches of Christ and Christian Church (Disciples …

Works issued by the Southern Baptist Convention, a Baptist denomination that separated from the General Missionary Convention of the Baptist Denomination in the United States of America over slavery in Augusta, Georgia in 1845. For these along with works from other Baptist denominations, see the general Baptist collection.

Works issued by Universalist Christians, who came to prominence in the United States in the 1790s. Universalist Christian theology emphasizes the ultimate reconciliation of all humankind to God. See also the Liberal Theology collection.

Collections of gospel music issued annually (or semiannually) by specialist publishers to provide a steady supply of new music for use by quartets, convention singers, and singing school teachers.

Works printed on a single sheet of paper. Most examples are ephemera, disposable materials created to serve a time-specific purpose.

Works created to be given as gifts, especially for Christmas or New Year's Day but also given at major life events (e.g., adulthood, widowhood). Such works are usually anthologies of popular material presented in particularly appealing typographic treatments and bindings.

Works that include manually created visual illustrations, including those aimed at both juvenile and adult audiences. See also the Photography collection.

Works that combine the historical functions of hymnal and tunebook, presenting complete hymns on the same page as or even interlined with appropriate tunes. This type of text came prominence in the late 1850s and dominated denominational pubilshing into the early 1900s.

Works that include photographic images. See also the Illustrated and Picture Books collection.

Works that contain complete or near-complete selections of the biblical Psalms as a primary worship resource. Both metrical and prose psalters are included.

Individual pieces of music printed on oversized sheets of paper, usually folded together without being bound. These often feature an ornate illustration on the front cover. Suitable to be placed on the desk of a keyboard instrument for performance, this format was mostly associated with secular music but also applied to concert spirituals and some sacred art music. Pieces of sheet music assembled into larger volumes, whether by the publisher …

Small-scale collections of hymns, most often including appropriate tunes, for performance by Sunday school students. Such collections are usually printed in oblong formats and may include a section on musical instruction, though this section is usually less extensive than that of a traditional tunebook. This type of songster was prominent from the 1840s–1870s.

Small-scale collections of hymn lyrics that do not include any form of musical notation (though some may suggest the names of appropriate tunes). This was the most common format for social worship music until the emergence of gospel in the 1870s.

Works created for the use of singing schools, church choirs, or choral societies, usually combining musical repertoire with instructional material that teaches sight-singing or basic music theory. This publication type flourished in the United States in the 1760s–1880s and was typically in oblong format with hard covers, featuring open scoring and two braces of music per page.

Works written, compiled, or published by women. Anthologies in which only individual selections are credited to women are not included in this collection.

Books created by or otherwise associated with fraternal-social organizations, such as the Freemasons or Young Men's Christian Association. All-male, all-female, and mixed-gender groups are all included in this collection; see also the Women's Organizations collection for groups with a specifically female constituency.

Works identified with musular Christianity, a movement of the 1860s–1920s that emphasized the roles of physical fitness, patriotism, and public virtue in forming an appropriate masculine character. Also includes works in which a substantive subset of repertoire expresses muscular Christianity.

Works created by or for the use of groups with a specifically female constituency, such as the Women's Christian Temperance Union or Young Women's Christian Association.