MUSIC IN THE AIR

Despite the growing interest in Music throughout the University, the administrators have failed to provide an adequate supply of scores and manuscripts in Widener. Indeed, not since the days of Bryan and free silver when the larger part of the collection of music was acquired, has this department received the recognition which it deserves. In consequence of this, the nineteenth century composers from Beethoven to Brahms are exceedingly well represented, but there are entire periods of great music, such as the seventeenth century, where the scarcity of the music works real hardship upon the Department.

Under the tutorial system the Music Department is trying to give undergraduates a perspective of the history of music as a whole. Picture the plight of the poor student who goes to find some fifteenth century music. He finds that he must content himself with only two collections: early Bodleian music and the Drukmaeler series, good as these may be. Still undismayed, he decides to look over the century when chamber music and opera first flowered--from 1600 to 1700. It is a slight shock to find that the shelves are quite innocent of most of such music, in spite of the fact that much of what he is seeking has been published. Being a persevering fellow, he doggedly goes to the eighteenth century, where again he finds little beyond Bach, Handel, Rameau, Mozart, and Hayden. Having perhaps studied the nineteenth century, our student skips a hundred years, but faints away on the cold floor of the stacks when he finds no English composers except a little Vaughan Williams and Holst; none of the Italian, Malipiero; no scores of the Hungarians, Bela Bartok and Kodaly; no modern German or Austrian except Schoenberg; some Russians, but no Prokofleff. The final shock comes when he finds modern America represented solely by MacDowell and Foote. Upon regaining his senses, the poor student borrows what he can from the private collection of his tutor, the pages of whose music are already falling apart from being loaned too often.

Fine research work in bringing to light great music of past centuries, analyzing it, and publishing important pieces has already been done by Dr. Davison in choral work, and recently by Dr. Leichtentritt. Yet the fact remains that the music department in Widener is criminally lacking in materials thereby forcing men to work under an entirely unnecessary handicap.