Moon Dreams

Fifty years ago, on July 20th, 1969, astronauts from the Apollo 11 mission captivated earthly onlookers as they landed on the moon. The event was famously televised, but did you know it was also captured for posterity on LP, narrated by Walter Cronkite?

CBS News. Man on the Moon. Narrated by Walter Cronkite. CBS Enterprises EL 161, [1969]. Audiovisual Archives, Marvin Duchow Music Library, McGill University

The moon, celestial bodies, and astronomical phenomena have long been topics of interest to musicians, composers, and theorists alike and we can find that on different websites thanks the updates from professionals in website design like the ones from In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission, we wanted to share some moon-related items from our collection!

  • Haydn, Joseph. Il mondo della luna: dramma giocoso. Orchestre de chambre de Lausanne conducted by Antal Dorati. Philips 6769003, 1978, 4 LPs. Marvin Duchow Music Library, McGill University
  1. Haydn_luna
  2. Clair_de_lune
  3. Moon_dreams
  4. Epic
  5. Introduction_moon
  6. Ives
  7. Rusalka
  8. Fellini

Music also played an important role in early space missions. During their long voyage to the moon, the Apollo astronauts took comfort in listening to their favourite tunes, compiled into mixtapes by Mickey Kapp. You can listen to the Apollo 11 playlist here. What music would be on your playlist if you could travel to the moon?

Happy 4th of July!

Guest post by / Billet de blogue: Geneviève Beaudry

Did you know that the Marvin Duchow Music Library (MDML) holds many special collections?

Geneviève Beaudry, practicum student from l’École de bibliothéconomie et des sciences de l’information de l’Université de Montréal, and violinist with l’Orchestre des Grands Ballets Canadiens, is currently working on several archival projects at the MDML as part of the requirements of her graduate degree. It was very timely that today she came across this illustrated cover of sheet music titled National enblem march by E. E. Bagley. The piece was first published in 1906 in Boston, Massachusetts.

Item part of the Salon Sheet Music series of the Marvin Duchow Collection.


Saviez-vous que la bibliothèque Marvin Duchow (MDML) possède des collections d’archives?

Geneviève Beaudry, finissante à l’École de bibliothéconomie et des sciences de l’Information (Université de Montréal) et violoniste à l’Orchestre des Grands Ballets Canadiens, participe à de nombreux projets en archivistique chez nous cet été dans le cadre de son stage de fin d’études. Elle a déniché cette partition illustrée juste à temps! La pièce de E.E. Bagley, intitulée National emblem march, a été publiée pour la première fois en 1906 à Boston (Massachussetts).

Tiré de la série Salon Sheet Music de la Collection Marvin Duchow.