Collection: Jacob Coopersmith collection of Handeliana

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 Händel'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

Additional Description

Scope and Content of Collection

The Jacob Coopersmith collection of Handeliana 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.

Historical Note

Jacob Maurice Coopersmith (20 November 1903 - 12 May 1968) was a musicologist, Handel scholar, performer, conductor, teacher, and music librarian. He was educated at New York University, Columbia, and Harvard, where he completed his dissertation in 1932, a twelve volume thematic catalogue of Handel's works, "An Investigation of George Friedrich Händel's Orchestral Style."

Coopersmith published many articles on Handel and other musical topics and, in 1947, a critical edition of Handel's Messiah, which incorporated all known variants of text and music. He was a member of the American Musicological Society (AMS), for which he served as Treasurer (1950-1953), Vice-President (1954-1955), and at various times was a Member-at-Large and served on the Editorial Board of the Journal of the AMS. Coopersmith held the post of Senior Music Cataloguer at the Library of Congress from 1949 until his death.

Arrangement

This collection is organized into seven series.

Libretti
Subject Files
Catalogues
Scores
Books
Dissertation Research
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.

American Handel Society records, Special Collections in Performing Arts, University of Maryland Libraries. (finding aid)
John Merrill Knapp papers, Special Collections in Performing Arts, University of Maryland Libraries. (finding aid
Howard Serwer papers, Special Collections In Performing Arts, University of Maryland Libraries. (finding aid)
Paul Traver papers, Special Collections in Performing Arts, University of Maryland Libraries. (finding aid)
Handel manuscripts, primarily autographs, in the British Library. (21 reels) [M3.H118 17--; M3.1.H2 1979a; M3.1.H2 1979b]
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]
Manuscripts that are part of the Santini Sammlung, Bibliothek des Bischoeflichen Priesterseminars, Muenster. (1 reel) [M3.1.H2 1979]
Manuscripts that are "part of the Lititz Collection at the Moravian Archives, Bethlehem, PA." (6 reels) [M4.H3 1970z]
Autograph manuscripts that are in the New York Public Library. (1 reel) [M1613.3.H2 L3 1966]
Fragment of the composer's manuscript of cantata Diana Cacciatrice (Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde, Vienna). (1 reel) [M1613.3.H2 D52 1970z]
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]
The Newman Flower Collection. (1 reel) [ML96.4.H36 O7 1700]
The Gerald Coke Handel Collection. (53 reels) [ML138.C65 1987]
American Musicological Society records, Rare Book & Manuscript Library of the University of Pennsylvania. (Link)

Administrative Information

Title: Jacob Coopersmith collection of Handeliana
Status: Completed
Author: Richard Brundage and Neil Ratliff (1986); Chris Hartten (2006); David Travis (2011)
Date: 2011-01-01
Description rules: Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description: English
Script of description: Code for undetermined script
Language of description note: Finding aid written in English

Library Details

Part of the Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library

http://www.lib.umd.edu/mspal

Contact:
University of Maryland Libraries
8270 Alumni Drive
College Park MD 20742 United States
scpa@umd.edu

Jacob Coopersmith collection of Handeliana

Dates

Use and Access to Collection

Duplication and Copyright Information

Extent

Additional Description

Scope and Content of Collection

Historical Note

Arrangement

Custodial History and Acquisition Information

Related Material

Administrative Information

Library Details

Library Details

Navigate the Collection

Useful Links

Contact Us