Tag Archives: Victorian songs

Dr. Livingstone, I presume?

Posted on 10 November 2023 by Kate

Today on MusiCB3, some slightly weird songs inspired by an event which happened on this day in 1871…

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Song spotlight: “Help” The Railway Dog

Posted on 23 September 2022 by Kate

As we have remarked before on MusiCB3, it is sometimes the case that a piece of music is interesting mainly for the snippet of history it illustrates. Particularly with the Victorian song collection, it is often not just about the … Continue reading →

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Anyone for tennis, croquet, football…

Posted on 30 July 2021 by mj263

It’s Olympic season, so it seemed like the perfect time to look through our Victorian songs collection, and see what the Sporting Victorian might be playing. Some are firmly established Olympic favourites, while others have had their moment, only to … Continue reading →

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The spitting image

Posted on 2 December 2016 by mj263

Why do people use music collections? The reasons may be a lot more varied than you might imagine. Most want to use them for the standard reasons – musical research or performance; but increasingly they’re also used across other subject … Continue reading →

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A very spooky Christmas

Posted on 18 December 2015 by mj263

As well as the usual delights of the festive season—feasting , games, music and dancing—telling stories has long been a feature, especially spooky stories, which became increasingly popular in Victorian times, reaching their height in the early twentieth century when M.R. … Continue reading →

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A bicycle made for….

Posted on 4 July 2014 by mj263

With the Tour de France about to sweep through Cambridge I’ve been musing about bicycles in the music collections here at the UL. One item that always appears whenever there’s a tour of the department is Charley the bicycle pet. … Continue reading →

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Adolf Jensen: Is Bigger Better?

Posted on 21 February 2014 by mj263

I was recently looking into some minutiae of British musical life around 1880, and I encountered several references to a composer whose name was quite new to me: Adolf Jensen (1837–1879). At first it seemed an odd stroke of chance … Continue reading →

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It’s not just about the music : The warlike Victorian – heroes and heroines

Posted on 5 July 2013 by mj263

In the last post on Victorian songs I wrote about the attractive cover artwork found on many of the songs. Sometimes the artwork can be the only way in which you can date a piece of music. Music is notorious for … Continue reading →

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It’s not just about the music : The (un)-healthy Victorian

Posted on 10 May 2013 by mj263

Who uses music resources? Conversations among music librarians reveal that increasing numbers of libraries are getting rid of their music stock citing, among other things, under-use. As early as 2003 a IAML report Access to music highlighted some of the problems … Continue reading →

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