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Howard T. Glasser Scottish audio recordings

 Collection
Identifier: MC-081

Scope and Contents

The bulk of the collection consists of digital and analog audiocassette copies of Howard Glasser’s 1960 and 1963 field recordings in Scotland. Includes renditions of songs, stories, instrumental pieces, oral interviews and introductory dialogue. The recordings were originally made on reel-to-reel tapes, recorded on location during 2 separate 3 -month journeys through Scotland using HTG’s portable tape recorder. HTG recorded over 200 hours of material. UMass Professor Gary Martin received a grant in 1999 to transfer the reel-to-reel recordings to analog cassettes, and ultimately digital audio cassettes. The collection includes a log of transfers listing the contents of each tape, compiled by Martin. Tapes are numbered CAS 001A-CAS 060B and digital audio tapes are numbered DAT 001-DAT 063. The collection also consists of photographs taken in Scotland and notes by HTG about the recordings.

Dates

  • 1960 and 1963
  • 1963

Conditions Governing Access

Access for listening purposes limited to on-site in the Archives and Special Collections, by prior appointment.

Biographical / Historical

Howard T. Glasser, former professor of design at UMass Dartmouth (where he taught for 30 years), enjoys an international reputation as a graphic artist and calligrapher. Glasser’s avocation, traditional music, led him to six months of collecting and research in Scotland in summers of 1960 and 1963. His large collection of recordings has been a resource for scholars and performers for many years. In 1961, while teaching at Carnegie Mellon University, he established the University Ceilidh programs at a time when folk music enjoyed a revival in this country. They flourished for seven years, giving several artists important boosts at the start of their careers. In 1968 he introduced the Ceilidh gatherings, concert and radio broadcasts to the University of Rhode Island and in 1971 to SMU (now UMD). He is founding director of the Eisteddfod-Ceilidh programs at SMU, and publisher and designer of the Ceilidh Columns. The Eisteddfod was an annual institution at SMU/UMD for 20 years. Howard T. Glasser is now retired from teaching, but maintains his involvement in folk music circles. Since 2005 the Eisteddfod has taken place in Brooklyn, NY

Extent

60 Cassettes (60 audiocassette recordings)

63 Cassettes (63 digital audio cassette copies)

Language of Materials

English

Title
Howard T. Glasser Scottish audio recordings
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Claire T. Carney Library Archives and Special Collections, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Repository

Contact:
285 Old Westport Rd.
N. Dartmouth MA 02747 USA