Henry Cowell music manuscripts, 1909-1965

Collection Summary

Title	Henry Cowell music manuscripts, 1909-1965
Inclusive Dates	1909-1965
Creator	Cowell, Henry, 1897-1965
Extent	approximately 1,100 items
Extent	37 containers plus bound scores
Extent	18 linear feet
Extent	10 microfilm reels
Language	Collection material in English.
Location	Music Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Finding Aid Permalink	Cite or bookmark this finding aid as: https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.music/eadmus.mu020012
LCCN Permalink	LC Catalog record: https://lccn.loc.gov/2020570066
Summary	Henry Cowell was an American composer, theorist, writer, pianist, and teacher. A member of the 1920s "ultra-modernists," Cowell's experimental compositions explored a myriad of unusual instrumental techniques and non-Western musical sounds. Works such as The Aeolian Harp (1923), The Banshee (1925), and Mosaic Quartet (1935) are seminal examples of his exploration of 'tone clusters,' or secondal harmonies, for expanding the musical sound palette. Cowell was also a prolific writer and editor who founded The New Music Quarterly in 1927 as an outlet for the musical works of modern composers. This finding aid collates classed holograph manuscript scores, sketches, and parts by Cowell that were donated to the Music Division beginning in the 1950s.