15 results
Antiphonary
This antiphonary (a book containing the choral parts of the Holy Office) was transferred to the Biblioteca comunale degli Intronati di Siena in 1811 from its place of origin, the Augustinian monastery of San Salvatore in Lecceto near Siena. By virtue of its specific liturgical function, the antiphonary, designed for the use of the monastic community, contains both the daytime and the nocturnal services. It was illuminated in 1442 as part of an extensive artistic program within the monastery promoted under priors Bartolomeo Tolomei and Girolamo Buonsignori. A bull by ...
Contributed by
Municipal Library Intronati
A Handbook on Theoretical and Practical Music
This 1825 manuscript, prepared for a print edition, is a handbook on theoretical and practical music, written in Katharevousa, a purist form of Modern Greek developed in the early 19th century and at that time widely used for literary and official purposes. The work is an introduction to the Byzantine notation for the liturgical chant used in the Greek Orthodox Church that most likely was intended for students of Byzantine ecclesiastical music. The text probably was written by a scribe named Basileios Nikolaḯdes Byzantios. On the first page, which is ...
Contributed by
National Library of Bulgaria
Traditional Bajan Music
This photograph shows drummers and flute players in a local band playing traditional folk music in a parade in Barbados, with a large crowd in the background. The parade is part of the five-week summer Crop Over festival, the most popular and colorful festival in Barbados. Its origins can be traced to the 1780s, when Barbados was a prolific sugar producer. At the end of each season, there was a huge celebration to mark the culmination of another successful sugar cane harvest, the “crop over” celebration. The photograph is from ...
Contributed by
Columbus Memorial Library, Organization of American States
Playing the Marimba
This photograph from Costa Rica shows a marimba player accompanied by two guitarists. The marimba, believed to have originated in southern Africa, was brought to South America in the early 16th century by Africans taken there as slaves. In the 1890s, the Guatemalan marimba builder Sebastian Hurtado made an instrument with a wooden resonator pipe instead of a gourd, an innovation that formed the basis of the modern marimba. The photograph is from the collection of the Columbus Memorial Library of the Organization of American States (OAS), which includes 45 ...
Contributed by
Columbus Memorial Library, Organization of American States
Conga Drums at Carnival Time
This photograph from Cuba shows a group of male revelers in traditional costumes and large sombreros, with various types of drums and other musical instruments, in a Conga line. The conga is a dance that originated in Cuba, and in which the participants form a winding line, take three steps forwards or backwards, and then kick. The photograph is from the collection of the Columbus Memorial Library of the Organization of American States (OAS), which includes 45,000 photographs illustrative of life and culture in the Americas. Many of the ...
Contributed by
Columbus Memorial Library, Organization of American States
Musicians Playing the Marimba
This photograph from Guatemala shows a group of indigenous musicians playing a marimba. The marimba, believed to have originated in southern Africa, was brought to South America in the early 16th century by Africans taken there as slaves. In the 1890s, the Guatemalan marimba builder Sebastian Hurtado made an instrument with a wooden resonator pipe instead of a gourd, an innovation that formed the basis of the modern marimba. The photograph is from the collection of the Columbus Memorial Library of the Organization of American States (OAS), which includes 45 ...
Contributed by
Columbus Memorial Library, Organization of American States
Playing the Marimba
This photograph from Guatemala shows an indigenous musician playing a marimba made from gourds of different sizes. Two young girls are holding the instrument. The marimba, believed to have originated in southern Africa, was brought to South America in the early 16th century by Africans taken there as slaves. In the 1890s, the Guatemalan marimba builder Sebastian Hurtado made an instrument with a wooden resonator pipe instead of a gourd, an innovation that formed the basis of the modern marimba. The photograph is from the collection of the Columbus Memorial ...
Contributed by
Columbus Memorial Library, Organization of American States
Native Orchestra, Marimba
This photograph from Guatemala shows indigenous musicians playing two different types of marimbas, drums, a violin, and a harmonica. The photograph is from the collection of the Columbus Memorial Library of the Organization of American States (OAS), which includes 45,000 photographs illustrative of life and culture in the Americas. Many of the photographs were taken by prominent photographers on OAS missions to member countries. The OAS was established in April 1948 when 21 countries of the western hemisphere adopted the OAS Charter, in which they reaffirmed their commitment to ...
Contributed by
Columbus Memorial Library, Organization of American States
Native Drummers
This photograph from Haiti shows two drummers playing on elaborately-decorated drums. The photograph is from the collection of the Columbus Memorial Library of the Organization of American States (OAS), which includes 45,000 photographs illustrative of life and culture in the Americas. Many of the photographs were taken by prominent photographers on OAS missions to member countries. The OAS was established in April 1948 when 21 countries of the western hemisphere adopted the OAS Charter, in which they reaffirmed their commitment to the pursuit of common goals and respect for ...
Contributed by
Columbus Memorial Library, Organization of American States
Marimba: One of the Favorites
This photograph from Honduras shows three marimba players playing one marimba, on which are painted the words "Mi Farolito," presumably the name of the instrument. The marimba, believed to have originated in southern Africa, was brought to South America in the early 16th century by Africans taken there as slaves. In the 1890s, the Guatemalan marimba builder Sebastian Hurtado made an instrument with a wooden resonator pipe instead of a gourd, an innovation that formed the basis of the modern marimba. The photograph is from the collection of the Columbus ...
Contributed by
Columbus Memorial Library, Organization of American States
Creation of the Fifth Sun Festival
The creation of the fifth sun is an important element in Aztec mythology about the origins of the world. This photograph from Mexico of a festival celebrating the creation of the fifth sun shows musicians in costume wearing distinctive headdresses. The photograph is from the collection of the Columbus Memorial Library of the Organization of American States (OAS), which includes 45,000 photographs illustrative of life and culture in the Americas. Many of the photographs were taken by prominent photographers on OAS missions to member countries. The OAS was established ...
Contributed by
Columbus Memorial Library, Organization of American States
Aucaner Signal on Apintie
This photograph from Suriname shows a Maroon in a seated position beating an apintie, a drum made out of wood and wild boar skins. Maroon refers to fugitive slaves from the West Indies and the northern part of South America, and their descendants. The Maroon community was especially numerous in Suriname, a former Dutch colony in which many slaves managed to escape to the jungle. The photograph is from the collection of the Columbus Memorial Library of the Organization of American States (OAS), which includes 45,000 photographs illustrative of ...
Contributed by
Columbus Memorial Library, Organization of American States
Steelband Playing on the Beach
This photograph from Trinidad and Tobago shows the Old Oak Starlift Steel Orchestra playing on a beach. The musicians are known as pannists. Steel pan music originated in Trinidad and Tobago. Steel pans are percussion instruments that are made of 55-gallon oil drums and tuned chromatically. The photograph is from the collection of the Columbus Memorial Library of the Organization of American States (OAS), which includes 45,000 photographs illustrative of life and culture in the Americas. Many of the photographs were taken by prominent photographers on OAS missions to ...
Contributed by
Columbus Memorial Library, Organization of American States
Polynesian Prayer
This photograph of a young Polynesian woman engaged in traditional prayer is from the state of Hawaii in the United States. The Polynesians came to Hawaii about 2,000 years ago and were the first people to inhabit the islands. The photograph is from the collection of the Columbus Memorial Library of the Organization of American States (OAS), which includes 45,000 photographs illustrative of life and culture in the Americas. Many of the photographs were taken by prominent photographers on OAS missions to member countries. The OAS was established ...
Contributed by
Columbus Memorial Library, Organization of American States
Large Group of People Gathered Around Some Men with Musical Instruments, Mombasa, Kenya
This photograph, taken in Kenya some time in the early 20th century, is from the Frank and Frances Carpenter Collection at the Library of Congress. Frank G. Carpenter (1855-1924) was an American writer of books on travel and world geography whose works helped to popularize cultural anthropology and geography in the United States in the early years of the 20th century. Consisting of photographs taken and gathered by Carpenter and his daughter Frances (1890-1972) to illustrate his writings, the collection includes an estimated 16,800 photographs and 7,000 glass ...
Contributed by
Library of Congress