Guide to the Collection

Introduction
Wisconsin Music Databases
Composers, Performers and Conductors
Folk and Ethnic Music and Musicians
Recordings
Other Noteworthy Materials
For Further Research

INTRODUCTION

This guide provides an overview of the holdings in the Wisconsin Music Archives. While much of the collection is accessible through MadCat, many materials are unprocessed and require assistance from a library staff member in order to be consulted.

The Archives has holdings in the following areas:

• Published and holograph music by Wisconsin composers
• Music published by state firms
• Music written about Wisconsin
• Books, periodicals, and pamphlets related to music in the state
• Recordings of music by Wisconsin composers, performers, or manufactured by state record companies
• Folk and ethnic recordings and print resources
• Concert programs
• Photographs
• Papers of Wisconsin musicians

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WISCONSIN MUSIC DATABASES

• Cuca Records Database

  This database provides discographical information for all known LPs released by Cuca Records and its affiliated labels.

• Paramount Records Database

  This resource lists the library’s holdings of recordings on the Paramount, Puritan, Broadway, and Famous labels.

• Wisconsin Folksong Database

  Information on the folksongs gathered in Wisconsin during the 1940s by Helene Stratman-Thomas.

• Wisconsin Sheet Music Database

  A database containing bibliographic information on over 2700 titles, including many 19th-century imprints.

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COMPOSERS, PERFORMERS AND CONDUCTORS

• Berigan, Bunny (1908–1942)

  The Archives has a comprehensive collection of Berigan recordings as released on 78 rpm records, the research materials of Robert Dupuis who authored the Berigan biography, the vast Norm Krusinski Berigan Collection, photos, articles, videos, published music, and other materials related to this jazz trumpeter of the 1930s and early ’40s.

• Bojanowski, Jerzy (1893–1983)

  Polish-born Milwaukee conductor. The library holds his papers (1930s–1940s).

• Burleigh, Cecil (1885–1980)

  A former University of Wisconsin-Madison faculty member. The library has a large collection of Burleigh’s published music. Recorded performances are available on PMU 307–308. Additional materials are at the Wisconsin Historical Society.
  WMA III, Box 1–2

• Endres, Marie (1904?–1995)

  Endres was the conductor of the Madison Sinfonia and also a violin teacher. The collection includes programs and recordings.

• Endres, Olive (1898–1995)

  Olive Endres, a Madison resident, composed sacred choral music, piano music, and music for strings. The Archives holds her manuscripts and published compositions.

• Fink, Emma (d. 1956)

  Milwaukee resident. The Archives has her manuscripts and printed music.

• Galpin, Alfred (b. 1901)

  Born in Appleton. A former University of Wisconsin-Madison faculty member. The Archives holds Galpin's manuscript compositions. His papers are at the Wisconsin Historical Society.

• Gigante, Joseph (1887–1975)

  Gigante, born in Palermo, Italy, longtime resident of Milwaukee, devoted his life to the band repertory as a performer, conductor, and award-winning composer. The library holds his manuscripts.

• Hagen, Oskar (1888–1957)

  A former University of Wisconsin-Madison faculty member. The Archives holds Hagen's manuscripts and published music. The 78 rpm recordings of his compositions have been transferred to compact disc (request PMU 309).
  WMA II-III, Box 1

• Hanson, Ethwell "Eddy" (1893–1986)

  A Waupaca native who became a radio organist in Chicago in the 1920s, Hanson was also a composer of popular songs. The library has his manuscripts, published music, papers, photos and commercial recordings.
  WMA I, Box 1

• Johansen, Gunnar (1906–1991)

  A former University of Wisconsin-Madison faculty member. The Johansen Collection contains over 100 reel-to-reel tape recordings of his improvised piano sonatas; recorded performances of complete keyboard music by J. S. Bach, Liszt and Busoni.

• Kolisch, Rudolf (1896–1978)

  A former University of Wisconsin-Madison faculty member and leader of the Pro Arte Quartet. The library holds a large collection of articles and programs, mostly in German, dating prior to his residence in the United States (photocopies). Some historic Kolisch and Pro Arte recordings are documented on School of Music recordings.

• Larrick, Geary (b. 1943)

  A Stevens Point resident. The library has a collection of this composer's published compositions, most featuring percussion instruments. Search MadCat for books he has authored.

• Luckhardt, Hilmar (1913–1984)

  A former University of Wisconsin-Madison faculty member. The library holds his complete known manuscripts, published compositions, and complete tapes of recorded performances (request compact disc numbers PMU 310–315).

• Mills, Charles (1873-1937)

  A former University of Wisconsin-Madison faculty member and chairman of the School of Music. The Archives holds his manuscripts, published music, and class materials. A paper inventory is available.
  WMA I, Box 2–4

• Partch, Harry (1901–1974)

  An experimental composer who spent several years in Madison in the 1940s. The library holds lacquer disc recordings of his Madison concerts, as well as some photographs and scores.

• Penewell, Jack (1897–1973)

  A Madison resident and guitar player. The Archives has Penewell's 78rpm commercial recordings and Paramount test pressings.

• Peterson, David C. (b. 1935)

  A former University of Wisconsin-Extension faculty member and composer of musical shows based on Wisconsin subjects. The Peterson Collection is comprised of his manuscripts, photos, audio and video recordings.

• Pietsch, Edna Frida (1894–1982)

  A Milwaukee composer of chamber and orchestral music. The library has her complete known manuscripts. See also the Edna Frida Pietsch Home Page maintained by her family.

• Pro Arte Quartet

  Formed in Belgium in 1913, the Quartet has been in residence at the University of Wisconsin-Madison since 1940. The collection includes recordings from the 1930s to the present and programs from the 1920s to the present. Clippings and articles are in the Information File. See also the Kolisch collection cited above. Additional materials available at UW Archives include newspaper clippings, programs, photos, and correspondence, primarily from the 1940s and 1950s. Some historic local recordings are documented on School of Music recordings. A paper inventory is available of Pro Arte recordings from the 1940s–1950s.

• Roemheld, Heinz (1901–1985)

  A Milwaukee native and prodigious composer of film music. The library holds copies of manuscripts for his concert music, a list of works, and a biographical study.

• Rosser, Annetta (b. 1913)

  A Madison resident, composer and violinist. The Rosser Collection contains her manuscripts, papers, programs, and taped performances of her compositions.

• University of Wisconsin School of Music Composers

  The site contains a list of scores available in the library written by faculty and student composers in residence at the School of Music.

• Vickers, Ramond (fl. 1930s)

  
  

  A Wisconsin Rapids resident? The library has a small collection of his manuscript art songs.

• Webster, Joseph P. (1819–1875)

  A resident of Elkhorn and the composer of nineteenth-century song hits “Lorena” and the “Sweet By-and-By.” The Archives holds manuscripts and published songs.
  WMA I, Box 5–6

• Wisconsin Alliance for Composers

  The Archives serves as the score repository for members of the Wisconsin Alliance for Composers. Many of the 500 compositions listed in the following catalog may be found in the Archives: Catalog of Compositions and Membership Directory. Cross Plains, 1989.
  Reference collection: ML125 W5 W58 1989

FOLK AND ETHNIC MUSIC AND MUSICIANS

• Andresen, Robert (1937–1995)

  The Robert Andresen Collection includes recordings, song folios, articles, and photographs that highlight ethnic music in the Upper Midwest . Andresen was an avid collector of traditional recordings, a recorder of old-time musicians, and the host of the Northland Hoedown radio show that aired over KUMD-FM, Duluth . Wisconsin musicians are well represented in the collection including Leonard Finseth, Otto Rindlisbacher, and Famous Lashua.

• Bogucki, Aleksander (d. ca. 1980)

  Stevens Point resident. Bogucki compiled a manuscript collection of melodic lines for several thousand Polish folksongs and dances and some include text.

• Check, John

  Oshkosh resident. The library holds many of Check's commerical recordings. These can be located in MadCat and his printed music is documented in the Wisconsin Sheet Music Database.

• Densmore, Frances (1867–1957)

  Transcriptions of Winnebago Indian songs and a typescript study of Winnebago Music (photocopies). Densmore's published books are available thorough MadCat.

• Down Home Dairyland

  The Archives has copies of broadcast tapes and research materials for this radio series (1980s–1990s) hosted by Richard March and James Leary. The published edition of "Down Home Diaryland" is available through MadCat.

• Ethnic Recordings Database

  The library has a collection of more than 10,000 historic 78 rpm ethnic recordings (1900-1950s). Currently, about 5400 of these recordings have been included in a local database and reflect an ongoing project to document the large donated collections of Robert Andresen, Victor Greene, Helen Johnson, Ford Porter, Greg Zurawski, and others. Wisconsin musicians are included in this database although its scope is much broader. It is anticipated that the database will be available online in the future. Ask a staff member for help gathering information from this resource.

• Finseth, Leonard (1911–1991)

  Finseth was a folk fiddler from Mondovi. The collection has tape recordings, biographical materials and photos.

• Folk Music Festivals

  This collection contains nearly 400 reel-to-reel tape recordings of Wisconsin and regional folk musicians performing at state music festivals. They were recorded for use on the Wisconsin Public Radio series, “Simply Folk.”

• Performance Libraries

  The Archives holds the performance libraries of the Hillsboro and Yuba (Wisconsin) bands as well as a collection from Charles Semelka who led an ethnic band in Ohio . These are primarily collections of published Czech/Bohemian music.

• Rickaby, Franz (1889–1925)

  Seven volumes of folksongs collected by Rickaby (photocopies).

• Stratman-Thomas, Helene (1896–1973)

  Stratman-Thomas was University of Wisconsin-Madison faculty member. The collection contains her papers, notes, and field recordings of Wisconsin folksongs she collected in the 1940s. Search the Wisconsin Folk Music Database for information about these recordings. Background on Stratman-Thomas is also available from the Archive of Folk Culture / University of Wisconsin Collection at the Library of Congress.

• Stuttgen, Joann

  The Archives holds materials gathered in the 1980s by Stuttgen when she visited descendants of the Jacobs family, singers originally studied in the 1930s by folklorist Ascher Treat.

• Treat, Ascher

  A resident of Antigo. The Treat collection contains copies of folksongs he collected in Wisconsin and elsewhere during the 1930s.
  M1629.7 W6 S6 WMA Oversize

• Wisconsin Folk Museum Collection

  Music-related materials from the Wisconsin Folk Museum of Mount Horeb, Wisconsin. The Museum operated from 1986–1996. Included in the collection are books, recordings, printed music, photographs, slides, videotapes, posters, programs and brochures. A paper inventory is available. Additional materials are housed in the Archives of the Wisconsin Historical Society.

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RECORDINGS

Information on many Wisconsin-related LPs and compact discs can be obtained by doing a keyword search in MadCat for “Wisconsin Music Archives recordings” [include the quotation marks]. Additionally, the Archives holds large unprocessed 78 rpm, 45 rpm and LP collections of performances by Wisconsin musicians. These include school, community, church, popular, folk and professional musicians. See also the information on the Ethnic Recordings Database above.

The Archives has strong collections of these Wisconsin-based record labels:

• Audiophile Records

  Audiophile began in 1947 and was based in Saukville, Wisconsin. It featured recordings of traditional jazz musicians, classical chamber music and organ. The Archives holds over forty of these recordings as well as three printed catalogs. Detailed background information and a complete discography of the company is available at the Original Audiophile Discography site.

• Cuca (Sauk City, 1960s–1970s)

  The Archives has a large collection of the LP and 45 rpm recordings produced on this label. Specific LP holdings can be located by searching the Cuca Records Database. The label embraced a wide variety of styles but is particularly strong in ethnic and polka music on LP and rock music on 45. For discographical information on the Cuca 45s, see Myers, Gary E. Do You Hear That Beat : Wisconsin Pop/Rock in the 50's and 60's. Downey, CA : Hummingbird, c1994. Wisconsin Music Archives ML3534 M98 1994, and Clee, Ken. The Directory of American 45 r.p.m. Records. Philadelphia : Stak-o-wax, c1997. Music Reference ML156.4 P6 C57 1997. For additional information, see the About Cuca Records and the Database. Cuca Records also maintains its own website.

• North Star Appli (Green Bay)

  This label features recordings of Wisconsin polka musicians. The library's collection includes LPs, 45 rpm records, cassettes, and compact discs.

• Paramount

  The New York Recording Laboratories of Port Washington, Wisconsin, released recordings on a variety of labels during the 1920s and early 1930s, including Paramount, Puritan, Broadway, and Famous. Paramount is the most widely heralded for its early blues recordings. In general, popular and ethnic music figured prominently among the musical styles issued on these labels. The library holds over 1700 of these discs. Additional information about the record labels and an extensive bibliography can be found at the Paramount Records Discography, where the complete database may also be searched.

• Pfau (Milwaukee, 1940s–1950s)

  The library holds many disc masters and test pressings from the Pfau.

• Polkaland

  Begun in post-World War II Sheboygan, the label is still active today under different ownership. The library's collection numbers close to 200 discs and includes 78s, 45s, LPs, cassettes and CDs as well as photographs, clippings, posters, contracts, and a history of Polkaland compiled by Greg Leider.

These and other Wisconsin 78rpm labels are represented in the Archives: Andoll (Baraboo), Chord (Milwaukee), Demo (Milwaukee), Disc Jockey (Sheboygan), Elginola (Milwaukee), Helvetia (Monroe), Ken-Tone (Milwaukee), Leaf (Janesville), Mermaid (Milwaukee), Mono (Milwaukee), Pageant (Juneau), Polonia (Milwaukee), Potter (Potter), Raynard (Milwaukee), Schusters (Milwaukee), Star (Milwaukee), Starline (Milwaukee), and Tell (Madison). Among the state LP labels, Mountain Railroad (Madison) and KL Recordings (Hubertus) are prominent. The 45 rpm record collection is largely undocumented.

The Archives holds about 700 sixteen inch recordings made by WHA Radio in the 1930s–1950s containing performances by the Pro Arte Quartet, School of Music faculty and ensembles, and the radio series “Journey's in Musicland” and “Rhythm and Games.”

A near-comprehensive collection of “On, Wisconsin” recordings released on 78 rpm records is held in the Archives. These recordings span the dates 1915 to 1950 and include over thirty different performances in a variety of musical styles — from the traditional march to swing versions to a rendition on guitar and harmonica.

OTHER NOTEWORTHY MATERIALS

• American Suzuki Institute at the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point: The Suzuki Method in Action

  32 video files / 1,632 minutes
  Japanese violinist and educator, Shinichi Suzuki was an educational innovator, believing that a musical environment has more effect on a child’s ability than his/her genetics and that that if children hear good music and learn to play with sensitivity and beautiful tone, they will become noble citizens who recognize beauty in the world and the people around them, and thereby mature into people of peace not war. In 1976 Suzuki spent two weeks at the American Suzuki Institute at The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. During this time he gave lectures and demonstrations to teachers and parents, and taught master classes and group classes to students. All of his presentations were recorded. This project was completed in collaboration with UW–Stevens Point.The collection is available online through the UW Digital Collections Center.

• Brodhead Band Books

  
  

  Twelve manuscript part books from a band which served in the Civil War. The manuscripts are housed in the Special Collections Department on the 9th floor. The collection is available online through the UW Digital Collections Center. A microfilm of the books is available in the Music Library.
  Music Library microfilm 428.

• An extensive Information File contains hundreds of newspaper clippings, magazine articles, catalogs, advertisements, flyers and other ephemeral material related to Wisconsin music and musicians. It is organized by subject and a card file of subject headings is available.

• Madison Boychoir

  Scrapbooks (1971–1987), clippings, photographs, posters and other materials from Carrel Pray, the group’s founder and director.

• Monteverdi Master Chorale

  The Archives holds recordings, programs and papers of this Stevens Point performing organization.

• Performance Libraries

  The Archives has several large unprocessed libraries from performing groups. The Leo Kissel Collection of theater orchestrations contains over 900 sets dating from the late nineteenth century to the early twentieth century. Kissel was from Milwaukee. The Joseph Clauder Collection contains music from the library of this Milwaukee bandmaster and dates from the late nineteenth century to the early twentieth century. The Sachs Orchestra Collection consists primarily of early twentieth century dance and theater music from a Madison performing group. The Archives holds other unnamed collections containing music to accompany silent films and dance music orchestrations.

• Periodicals

  The collection includes music periodicals published in the state from the nineteenth-century to the present, although some titles may only be represented by single issues. To locate cataloged items, search MadCat.

• Photographs

  The photograph collection numbers several hundred items and is comprised primarily of historic images, beginning with the Civil War era. While no database or inventory exists, the collection is broad-based and contains many of the images used in Michael Corenthal's The Illustrated History of Wisconsin Music, a scrapbook of dance band photos and postcards from the 1920s and 1930s, School of Music faculty in the 1960s, images of community bands, photos of ethnic musicians, and other subjects.

• Programs

  The concert and recital program collections date from the 1890s–present and includes the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra (ML42 M55), the Florentine Opera (ML1 F527), university performances and many other performing groups from the state. The uncataloged, archival program collection is arranged by city.

• Stahl Brass Band

  Part books of the band from Luxemburg, Wisconsin that flourished in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. An inventory is available. For additional information see: Wiecki, Ronald V. “The Stahl Band Partbooks: A New Source of Turn-of-the-Century American Band Music.” Journal of Band Research 23 (Spring 1988): 1-9.

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FOR FURTHER RESEARCH

For further research on Wisconsin music topics see: Sundell, Steven L. Wisconsin Music: An Annotated Bibliography. Madison, Wis.: Woodrow Press, c1994.
ML125 W5 S9 1994 Reference.

Use MadCat to locate additional Wisconsin music resources both in the Wisconsin Music Archives and elsewhere on campus. Music materials at the Wisconsin Historical Society can be located by using both MadCat and ArCat, the Society’s catalog for archival materials. Consult WisCat to identify additional Wisconsin music resources in libraries across the state. See the Music Library’s Local and Regional Links for a group of Wisconsin-related music web sites.