Scope and Content Note
The Elinor Remick Warren Papers span the years 1872-2004 with the bulk of the materials dating from 1918-1991. The papers are in English and French and are organized into the following series: Music, Business Papers, Writings, Correspondence, Photographs, Articles about Warren, Biographical Materials, Programs, Publicity Materials, Scrapbooks, Books, and Miscellany.
The Music Series chiefly contains manuscript and printed scores, parts, and sketches for works by Warren, as well as printed scores by other composers with annotations in Warren's hand. The manuscripts and printed editions of Warren's works represent a nearly complete archive of her compositions. Warren often arranged her works for several different voices and/or ensembles; an extensive number of these arrangements are included in the collection. There are also Warren's composition notebooks, including one written when she was studying with Nadia Boulanger in Paris. Printed editions of her works also may contain her annotations. She also frequently revised her works, sometimes over several decades. Her manuscripts and printed editions are full of annotations, corrections and notes that document these revisions.
The Business Papers Series contains catalogue listings of manuscript and published works, contracts, publisher and copyright correspondence, records pertaining to performances of Warren's works, and royalties statements. The first subseries consists of notebooks with data related to her original compositions, including information on public performances; the second, ASCAP correspondence and royalties statements; the third, correspondence regarding commercial recordings of Warren's works; the fourth, contracts, royalty agreements, and reinstatement documents; the fifth, copyright and renewal documents for each work; the sixth, correspondence related to Warren's gift of published orchestral works and other material to the Edwin A. Fleisher Collection, at the Free Library of Philadelphia; the seventh, music publisher correspondence, including copyright re-assignments and royalties statements; and the eighth, correspondence with poets and their estates, and literary publishers seeking permission for use of poems for her texts.
The Writings Series contains articles, essays and program notes by Warren, her personal and travel diaries, original poems and annotated poems of others, speeches, recording notes, repertoire lists, and her scripts for classical music appreciation radio programs hosted by or featuring Warren that aired from 1938-1939.
The Correspondence Series contains letters to or from friends, performers, conductors, or music publishers and professional music organizations. Regrettably, Warren weeded her correspondence files in 1955, discarding most of her earlier material, believing the letters to be of no future interest.
The Photographs Series contains images of Warren alone, 1901-1990; Warren with family, 1928-1982, and Warren's parents at the time of their wedding (1895); Warren with others (mostly well-known musical personalities); and inscribed photographs from well-known musical personalities, most of whom played a role in her career.
The Articles about Warren Series contains entries for biographical dictionaries and encyclopedias, and articles and clippings related to Warren's personal life, works, and performances.
The Biographical Materials Series contains awards, certificates and honors, several autobiographical essays, an interview transcript by Virginia Bortin, a list of premieres of Warren's works, address and telephone books, and other miscellaneous writings and items.
The Programs Series contains concert programs that feature Warren as a composer, as a soloist, or as an accompanist.
The Publicity Materials Series chiefly contains music publisher catalogs listing Warren's works, reviews, and other advertisements.
The Scrapbooks Series consists of Warren's personal scrapbooks, each containing press clippings, reviews, programs featuring Warren's works or Warren as pianist, assisting artist, or accompanist, articles about Warren's professional and private life, and other materials. Scrapbooks documenting Warren's early career were disposed of by Warren shortly after her mother's death in 1958, believing that there would be no historical interest in retaining them. Later, the earliest scrapbooks (pre-1936) were re-constructed from duplicate clippings, reviews, programs, etc. still found in Warren's possessions, which were photocopied and re-assembled into a scrapbook.
The majority of Warren's collection of music-related books and her extensive library of poetry books were gifted to the New York Public Library, circa 1994, prior to the family's final decision to donate the collection to the Library of Congress. These books in the Books Series are annotated by Warren or represent rare printings of works pertaining to her family's history. Several poetry books contain Warren's annotations, fragments of musical notation, and other markings on poems that became settings for her songs.
The Miscellany Series includes a small notebook, containing various composition aids and tips; a tour guidebook of Israel, dated 1975; a metal printer's plate of the title page to Warren's printed score of Abram in Egypt; a watercolor painting of Abram in Egypt; a poster of Warren's Requiem; and a small envelope containing unused Elinor Remick Warren bookplates.