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Jacob M. Coopersmith Collection

 Collection 0089-SCPA
Jacob M. Coopersmith (1903-1968) was an American musicologist, Handel scholar, performer, conductor, teacher, and music librarian. In 1932, Coopersmith completed his dissertation, "An Investigation of George Friedrich Hand#228;ndel's Orchestral Style," the first thematic catalogue of Handel's works, at Harvard. He published a critical edition of Handel's Messiah in 1947, incorporating all known variants of text and music. The Jacob M. Coopersmith Collection covers the period from 1709 to 1967, with the bulk of the materials dating from 1930 to 1967. The collection consists of books, scores, manuscripts and facsimiles, catalogues, libretti, and articles collected by Coopersmith during his career.

Dates

  • 1709-1967
  • Majority of material found within 1930-1967

Use and Access to Collection

There are no restricted files in this collection.

Duplication and Copyright Information

Materials from this collection must be used in the Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library's Irving and Margery Morgan Lowens Special Collections Room, 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday. Contact the curator for an appointment: http://www.lib.umd.edu/scpa/contact

Extent

7.50 linear_feet, 285 items

Additional Description

Scope and Content of Collection

The Jacob M. Coopersmith Collection covers the period from 1709 to 1967; the bulk of the materials date from 1930 to 1967. The collection consists of books, scores, manuscripts and facsimiles, catalogues, libretti, and articles collected by Coopersmith during his career as a musicologist and Handel scholar.

Arrangement

This collection is organized into seven series.
  1. Series 1: Libretti
  2. Series 2: Subject Files
  3. Series 3: Catalogues
  4. Series 4: Scores
  5. Series 5: Books
  6. Series 6: Dissertation Research
  7. Series 7: Correspondence

Custodial History and Acquisition Information

No provenance information could be determined in the files at the University of Maryland. It is quite likely that the collection was a gift of Coopersmith's widow sometime in the mid-1970s. The present collection incorporates a gift originally made to the University of Michigan and transferred to UMD in June 2011.

Related Material

Coopersmith's personal card catalogue of this collection is available for browsing, see curator for details.

Microfilm in the Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library Collection (these items are not part of the Coopersmith Collection, but may be of interest to researchers using it.):
  1. Handel manuscripts, primarily autographs, in the British Library. (21 reels) [M3.H118 17--; M3.1.H2 1979a; M3.1.H2 1979b]
  2. Manuscript leaves (MSS. 251-265) which formed part of the Founder's Bequest at the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, consisting of 15 volumes of Handel music autographs. (2 reels) [ML96.H36 1972]
  3. Manuscripts that are part of the Santini Sammlung, Bibliothek des Bischoeflichen Priesterseminars, Muenster. (1 reel) [M3.1.H2 1979]
  4. Manuscripts that are "part of the Lititz Collection at the Moravian Archives, Bethlehem, PA." (6 reels) [M4.H3 1970z]
  5. Autograph manuscripts that are in the New York Public Library. (1 reel) [M1613.3.H2 L3 1966]
  6. Fragment of the composer's manuscript of cantata Diana Cacciatrice (Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde, Vienna). (1 reel) [M1613.3.H2 D52 1970z]
  7. Fragment of a cantata, written in Rome, 1707 -- "Qual ti riveggio, oh Dio," from Ero e Leandro (Mary Flagler Cary Music Collection, Pierpont Morgan Library, New York). (1 reel) [M1613.3.H2 E7 1972]
  1. The Newman Flower Collection. (1 reel) [ML96.4.H36 O7 1700]
  2. The Gerald Coke Handel Collection. (53 reels) [ML138.C65 1987]

Administrative Information

Title
Jacob M. Coopersmith Collection
Status
Edited Full Draft
Author
Richard Brundage and Neil Ratliff (1986); Chris Hartten (2006); David Travis (2011)
Date
2011-01-01
Language of description
English
Script of description
Code for undetermined script
Language of description note
Finding aid written in English

Library Details

Library Details

Part of the Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library Library

http://www.lib.umd.edu/mspal
Contact:
University of Maryland Libraries
8270 Alumni Drive
College Park MD 20742 United States

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