Converted to EAD3 : Encoded Archival Description (EAD), Version 3 : Release: 1.1.1 : Release Date: 2019-12-16. Validating against latest version of schema.
Contact information: https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.music/perform.contact
Catalog Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/2006560740
Material chiefly in English and French.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the LC Catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically.
Bequest, Louise Talma, 1996. Additional materials were received from Louis Martin in 1997.
No further accruals are expected.
The Louise Talma Papers were processed by Lina Terjesen, Kelly Cornett, Emily Levine, and Christopher Hartten from 2011-2013. Christopher Hartten coded the finding aid for EAD format in 2013 and revised it in 2016 to incorporate thirteen boxes of materials previously stored offsite.
Sound recordings from the Louise Talma Papers have been transferred to the Library of Congress Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division where they are identified as part of the Louise Talma Collection (MAVIS collection no. 12561). An inventory of this material is available in the Music Division's collection file.
Talma's holograph score for
The Louise Talma Papers are governed by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S.C.) and other applicable international copyright laws.
The Louise Talma Papers are open to research. Researchers are advised to contact the Music Division prior to visiting in order to determine whether the desired materials will be available at that time.
Certain restrictions to use or copying of materials may apply.
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [item, date, container number], Louise Talma Papers, Music Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
The papers of Louise Talma span the years 1861-1998 with the bulk of the material dating from 1906 to 1994. The papers are in English and French and are organized into the following series: Music, Harmony and Teaching Materials, Correspondence, Files, Photographs, Biographical and Family History Materials, and Miscellany. The Music materials span the period 1875 to 1996, with the majority dating from 1928 to 1994 and consist chiefly of holograph manuscript scores, sketches, tone rows, and photo-reproduced manuscripts bearing annotations in the composer's hand. Many works are accompanied by errata, correspondence, programs, notes, and other items of interest. Talma's tendency to date sketches and manuscripts at different stages in her creative process is useful for tracing her compositional shift from neoclassicism to serialism and atonality. Her final work,
Talma also possessed a variety of music manuscripts from other composers, many of whom she met while at Fontainebleau, the MacDowell Colony, and Yaddo. Her close relationship with Lukas Foss is evident by the significant quantities of inscribed holograph scores that the composer gave to Talma throughout the 1940s and 1950s. These include his
The study and teaching of harmony and composition was a lifelong pursuit for Talma. The Harmony and Teaching Materials series contains notebooks, exercises, lecture notes, and other course materials dating from 1922 to 1977 and culminating with drafts of her co-authored monograph,
Correspondence in the collection is divided into two subseries: general and family. General correspondence includes letters, telegrams, postcards, greeting cards, notes, and other communications from a wide range of people: composers, performers, colleagues, publishers, organizational representatives, friends, and students. Among musical and literary personalities, substantial quantities of letters are present for Nadia Boulanger, Lukas Foss, Claudio Spies, and Thornton and Isabel Wilder. Other notable correspondents include Leonard Bernstein, Elliott Carter, Theodore Chanler, Arthur Cohn, Doda Conrad, Aaron Copland, Walter Damrosch, Norman Dello Joio, David Diamond, Irving Fine, Nikolai Lopatnikoff, Marian MacDowell, Isidor Philipp, Daniel Pinkham, Walter Piston, Guiomar Novaes Pinto, Ned Rorem, William Schumann, Charles Seeger, Leo Smit, Isaac Stern, Igor Stravinsky, Ernst Toch, Rosalyn Tureck, and Virgil Thomson. Lesser-known friends of Talma for whom copious amounts of letters exist include Clarence and Marie Brodeur, Annette Dieudonne (Boulanger's secretary), Lucy Hubbell, Gladys Huss, and Eleanor Venables.
Family correspondence consists chiefly of letters to and from the children of Henry Jacques Garrigues and Louise Reimer Garrigues (Talma's grandparents). These materials present a fascinating history of a family with an educated female line of musicians, including Talma's mother (Alma Bertha Cecile Garrigues i.e. Cecile Talma), great aunt (Eleanor Garrigues Ferguson), and first cousin once removed (Lydia Ferguson). Although some of these letters are addressed specifically to Louise Talma, a larger portion of them are between other family members. Talma communicated frequently with her mother and was devastated by her death in 1942, an event that generated some discussion as to her mental health and well-being. The Garrigues family history is challenging to navigate. Researchers are strongly advised to examine the family trees in the collection's Biographical and Family History Materials series and consult photographs of the family members as an aid in using these materials.
The Files series contains mostly assorted materials grouped together under subject headings. These may include business papers, institutional records, correspondence, financial documents, clippings, publicity materials, and other items of general interest. Folders for specific personalities consist mostly of clippings and programs related to that individual's performances or media headlines. Files for Fontainebleau, The MacDowell Colony, and Hunter College are significantly larger than others and contain papers detailing Talma's administrative activities with those institutions, as well as historical brochures and other ephemera. Photographs in the collection are divided into four subseries: Louise Talma and Nadia Boulanger; composers, performers, and other people; miscellaneous subjects; and family. The majority of Talma's personal photographs document her activities in Europe between the early 1920s and late 1940s. Featured are portraits of Talma, scenic images of Fontainebleau and Paris, Nadia Boulanger, group portraits of music classes, and various candid photographs of social gatherings, friends, and Talma's living quarters. Notable composers and performers are indentified in the container list wherever possible. The family photographs mainly document the history and activities of the Garrigues family. Most are undated and unlabeled. Included as well are several photographs of Thomas G. Masaryk, the first president of Czechoslovakia and a relative of Talma.
The Biographical and Family History Materials series contains personal effects, writings, programs, awards, and other items pertaining to the lives of Talma and her various family members. Talma constantly refined her resumé and work lists, the drafts of which form a comprehensive picture of her career output. These are augmented by Robert Fertitta's 1975 thematic catalog of Talma's works. Highlights among the family materials are Eleanor Garrigues Ferguson's music lesson ledgers, programs for joint performances by Louise and Cecile Talma, and some rare literary materials that chronicle the life of Thomas G. Masaryk. The final Miscellany series rounds up materials owned or possibly used by Talma, including artwork, inscribed items, and a box of periodicals and miscellaneous clippings of interest.
The Louise Talma Papers are organized in seven series:
Chiefly holograph manuscript scores, annotated reproductions, and sketches for works composed by Louise Talma between 1928 and 1994. Many titles are accompanied by tone rows, corrections, correspondence, programs, notes, and other items pertaining to the work and its creation. Also included are manuscripts from other composers, many of whom were Talma's colleagues at Fontainebleau, The MacDowell Colony, and Yaddo.
Organized chiefly by musical genre: dramatic, vocal, choral, and instrumental, along with miscellaneous sketches and music by other composers. The latter is arranged alphabetically by last name of composer, then within by title of work.
Chiefly sketches, fragments, or lyric sheets for unfinished works.
All works are in the composer's hand unless otherwise indicated.
Music notebooks and assorted loose materials for courses both attended by or taught by Talma. Includes course materials, exercises, and notes from studies with Nadia Boulanger, as well as drafts of
Chiefly arranged chronologically.
Letters, telegrams, postcards, greeting cards, and other correspondence to and from colleagues, teachers, friends, and family members of Talma.
Organized as two subseries: general and family. Arranged alphabetically by last name of correspondent.
Business papers, institutional records, correspondence, financial documents, clippings, publicity materials, and other items of general interest. Folders for specific personalities consist mostly of clippings and programs.
Arranged alphabetically by subject.
Images of Talma, Nadia Boulanger, composers and performers, family members, and other subjects. Includes negatives and some miscellaneous iconography.
Organized as four subseries. Arranged either chronologically or alphabetically by subject.
Personal items, programs, writings, journals, ledgers, and other documents pertaining to the life of Talma and her family members. Includes materials that document the history of her relative Thomas G. Masaryk, the first president of Czechoslovakia.
Organized as two subseries. Arranged alphabetically within by subject.
Materials of interest to or owned by Talma. Includes artwork, inscribed literary works, clippings and periodicals, and other miscellaneous items.
Arranged alphabetically by subject.