Collection Summary
Florence B. Price Music Manuscripts 1928-1953
1928-1953
Price, Florence, 1887-1953
26 items
3 containers
1 linear foot
English
Collection material in English
Music Division, Library of Congress
Washington, D.C.
Florence B. Price was a composer and
pianist who rose to prominence during the 1930s when she became the first African
American woman to have a symphony performed by a major American orchestra. She is
predominantly known for her songs and arrangements of spirituals, but also composed
symphonies, concertos, instrumental chamber music, vocal compositions, instructional
piano music, and music for radio. This finding aid collates classed holograph scores by
Price written under her own name and that of her pseudonym, VeeJay, which were submitted
as copyright deposits to the Library of Congress from 1928 to 1964.
Acquisition Information
Deposits, Florence B. Price and her estate, 1928-1964
Accruals
No further accruals are expected.
Processing History
Music Division staff classed the Florence B. Price Music Manuscripts in ML96.P8328,
ML96.5.P865, and ML96.5.T58 as they were received from 1928 to 1964. Mónica Hurd coded
the finding aid in 2021.
Other Repositories
The University of Arkansas Libraries in Fayetteville has the Florence Beatrice Smith
Price Collection which consists of correspondence, diary fragments, programs,
photographs, scores, and the research files of Mary Dengler Hudgins on Price.
Related Material
The [Artur Rodzinski
Collection], [Serge Koussevitzky
Archive], and the [A.P. Schmidt Company
Archives] all contain a small quantity of correspondence with Price.
The [Selma Epstein Collection]
contains three printed scores by Price.
Copyright Status
Materials from the Florence B. Price Music Manuscripts are governed by the Copyright Law
of the United States (Title 17, U.S.C.) and other applicable international copyright
laws.
Access and Restrictions
The Florence B. Price Music Manuscripts 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 on using or copying materials may apply.
Preferred Citation
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information:
[item, date, container number], Florence B. Price Music Manuscripts, Music Division,
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Biographical Note
Date
Event
1887 April 9
Born Florence Beatrice Smith in Little Rock, Arkansas, to dentist James H.
Smith (1835-1910) and Florence Gulliver
1897
Attended the Sisters of Mercy Convent School in Little Rock
1902
Graduated from Capitol Hill School in Little Rock as valedictorian
1903
1906
Attended the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Massachusetts,
where she studied composition and counterpoint with George Chadwick and
Frederick Converse
Graduated with an artist diploma in organ and a teaching
certificate
1906
Taught at the Cotton Plant Academy in Woodruff County, Arkansas
1907
1910
Taught at Shorter College in North Little Rock, Arkansas
1910
1912
Head of the music department at Clark University in Atlanta, Georgia
1912 September 25
Married Thomas Jewell Price (divorced 1931) and relocated to Little Rock where
she continued to teach piano and began composing many instructional pieces for
piano that she published
1915
Birth of son Thomas C. Price (died 1920s)
1917
Birth of daughter Florence Louise (Florence Robinson)
1921
Birth of daughter Edith Price
1920s
Denied membership to the Arkansas State Music Teachers Association
1926 May
Won second place in Opportunity’s Second Annual Contest for Negro Writers,
funded by Casper Holtstein through
Opportunity: Journal of Negro Life,
for her suite for piano,
In the Land O’Cotton
1927
Relocated with her family to Chicago, Illinois, where she became involved in
the Chicago Music Association
circa 1927
Attended the American Conservatory of Music and the Chicago Musical College
where she studied with Arthur Olaf Anderson, Carl Busch, Wesley LaViolette, and
Leo Sowerby
1928
Publication of her work for piano,
At the Cotton Gin
. New York, G. Schirmer, Inc.
circa 1931
Published radio jingles under the pseudonym VeeJay and worked as a silent film
organist in theaters throughout Chicago
1932 October
Won two first prizes in the Wanamaker National Composition Competition: for
her [
Sonata in E minor
] in the symphonic category and her
Sonata for Piano
in the piano composition category
1932 December
Katherine Dunham’s dance troop premiered a work based on Price’s composition
Fantasie Nègre no. 1 in E minor
, with Margaret Bonds as pianist
1933 June 15
Premiered
Symphony no. 1 in E minor
with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra directed by Frederick Stock
1934
Premiered
Piano Concerto
with the Chicago Women’s Symphony Orchestra and piano soloist Margaret
Bonds
1935
Invited to perform a piano recital of her own compositions in Little Rock at
the segregated Dunbar High School
1939 April 9
Marian Anderson performed Price’s spiritual arrangement of
"My Soul’s Been Anchored in de Lord"
on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., for more than
75,000 people
circa 1940
Premiered
Symphony no. 3
with the Michigan Symphony Orchestra and performed her
Piano Concerto
to a standing ovation
1943 November 6
Wrote to Serge Koussevitzky, conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra,
requesting he examine samples of her work
1950
Commissioned by Sir John Barberolie, an orchestra conductor in Manchester,
England, to compose an overture based on American spirituals
1953 February 18
Chicago Symphony Orchestra performed an arrangement of her song
"Two Little Negro Dances: Rabbit Foot and Ticklin’ Toes"
on WGN-TV
1953 June 3
Died of cardiac arrest in Chicago
1964
Price Elementary School in Chicago named in her honor
1978
Singer Leontyne Price performed songs by Florence Price at the White House for
President Jimmy Carter
2010
Re-orchestration of Price’s
Piano Concerto
based on her original piano sketches by Center for Black Music Research
composer Trevor Weston
2018
Posthumously inducted into the Arkansas Women’s Hall of Fame
Bibliography
Brown, Rae Linda.
"Price [née Smith], Florencea Bea(trice)
." Grove Music Online. New York: Oxford University
Press, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1093/omo/9781561592630.013.90000367402
"Modern Dancers Praised at Stevens
." The Chicago Defender, December 24, 1932,
ProQuest.
Brown, Rae Linda, and Guthrie Ramsey.
The Heart of a Woman: The Life and Music of Florence B. Price
. Champaign, Illinois: University of Illinois Press, 2020.
Scope and Content Note
The Florence B. Price Music Manuscripts chiefly contain holograph scores for voice and
piano created by Price between 1928 and 1953. The works largely represent her most
popular style of composition, the arrangement of Negro spirituals. In addition to these
spirituals, the collection also contains one of Price’s most remarkable pieces, the
holograph score for Fantasie Nègre no. 1 in E minor. This
piece, for solo piano, was first performed by pianist Margaret Bonds in 1932. A score
for "If I Told the Stars" with music by Lew Tobin and words by Price is also included.
Organization of the Florence B. Price Music Manuscripts
The collection is arranged in one series:
-
[Music, 1928-1953](FP01)
Selected Search Terms
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.
People
Price, Florence, 1887-1953--Manuscripts--Facsimiles.
Price, Florence, 1887-1953.
Price, Florence, 1887-1953. Works. Selections.
Tobin, Lew, 1904-2003.
Subjects
Choruses, Sacred, Unaccompanied.
Choruses, Sacred, with piano.
Music--Manuscripts--Facsimiles.
Piano music.
Piano with orchestra--Scores.
Sacred songs with piano.
Songs with piano.
Spirituals (Songs)
Form/Genre
Arrangements (Music)
Autographs (Manuscripts)
Fantasias (Music)
Musical settings.
Sacred music.
Scores.
Sonatas.
Songs.
Spirituals (Songs)
Vocal scores.
Container List
Music, 1928-1953
1928-1953
This series contains classed holograph scores of original compositions and
arrangements by Florence B. Price.
Arranged alphabetically by title.
[2002541599]
An Indian Summer on the Prairie, 1936
1936
Music by Florence B. Price; lyrics by Vachel
Lindsay
Photocopy of holograph vocal score for SSA
chorus
[2003555636]
City Called Heaven, undated
undated
Arranged by Florence B. Price
Photocopy of holograph score for voice and
piano
[2002541195]
Dawn’s Awakening, 1936?
1936?
Music by Florence B. Price; lyrics by Jas Joseph
Burke
Photocopy of holograph score for voice and
piano
[2003555635]
Death’s Gwineter Lay His Cold Icy Hand on Me,
undated
undated
Arranged by Florence B. Price
Photocopy of holograph score for voice and
piano
[2002541194]
Desire, 1947?
1947?
Music by Florence B. Price; lyrics by Orma Jean
Surbey
Photocopy of holograph score for voice and
piano
[91757007]
Fantasie Nègre no 1. in E minor, 1929
1929
Music by Florence B. Price
Holograph score for piano
[90752855]
God Gives Me You, 1946?
1946?
Music by Florence B. Price; lyrics by Nora
Connelly
Holograph score for voice and piano
[2002541598]
Hitch up Your Belts Boys!, 1942
1942
Music and lyrics by Florence B. Price and Charles
J. Johnson
Holograph score for voice and piano
[90752851]
If I Didn’t Love You, 1945?
1945?
Music by VeeJay (Florence B. Price); lyrics by Le
Roy De Gregory
Holograph score for voice and piano
[2003555510]
If I Told the Stars, 1953?
1953?
Music by Lew Tobin; lyrics by Florence B.
Price
Photocopy of print score for voice and
piano
[2003555731]
Just a Dream That Never Came True, 1928?
1928?
Music by Florence B. Price; lyrics by Frank
Blaha
Holograph score for piano, voice, and violin;
holograph part for violin
[90752846]
Just to Be Near You, 1948?
1948?
Music by VeeJay (Florence B. Price); lyrics by Le
Roy De Gregory
Holograph score for voice and piano
[90752849]
Let’s Give Love Another Try, 1945?
1945?
Music by VeeJay (Florence B. Price); lyrics by Le
Roy De Gregory
Holograph score for voice and piano
[2003555506]
Peter Go Ring Dem Bells: Negro Spiritual, undated
undated
Arranged by Florence B. Price
Photocopy of holograph score for voice and
piano
[2003555504]
Resignation, undated
undated
Music and lyrics by Florence B. Price
Photocopy of holograph vocal score for SATB
chorus
[2003555505]
Resignation, undated
undated
Music and lyrics by Florence B. Price
Photocopy of holograph score for voice and
piano
[2003555507]
The Retort, undated
undated
Music by Florence B. Price; lyrics by Paul
Lawrence Dunbar
Photocopy of holograph score for voice and
piano
[2003555503]
Rise Mourners: Negro Spiritual, undated
undated
Arranged by Florence B. Price
Photocopy of holograph score for voice and
piano
[2003555730]
Sentimental Moonlight, 1947
1947
Music and lyrics by Florence B. Price and Leo
Marzullo
Holograph score for voice and piano
[2019563781]
Sonata in E minor, 1932
1932
Music by Florence B. Price
Photocopy of holograph score for
piano
[90752854]
Sunset, 1938?
1938?
Music by Florence B. Price; lyrics by Odessa P.
Elder
Holograph score for voice and piano
[90752856]
Then I Found Heaven When I Found You, 1938?
1938?
Alternate title: Then I Found Heaven in You
Music by Florence B. Price; lyrics by Bonnie
McCallister
Holograph score for voice and piano
[2002541597]
To a Little Girl, undated
undated
Music by Florence B. Price
Photocopy of holograph score for piano
[2002541584]
Trouble Done Come My Way, 1939
1939
Music and lyrics by Florence B. Price
Photocopy of holograph score for voice and
piano
[2002541196]
Weary Traveler, 1951
1951
Arranged by Florence B. Price
Photocopy of holograph score for voice and
piano
[90752848]
You’re in My Heart to Stay, 1948?
1948?
Music by VeeJay (Florence B. Price); lyrics by Le
Roy De Gregory
Holograph score for voice and piano