Music to Our Ears - Myers Music CD Release

The Jean Outland Chrysler Library is very proud to announce the release of Music of Quality and Taste: Selections from the Myers Music Collection. This is the first CD produced using music from the Myers Music Collection – housed in the Library's Archives. In the past we’ve told you about selections from this extensive collection of over 900 pieces of 18th and 19th Century sheet music (more information here) now, you can hear a selection of 18 pieces from the collection as the Myers enjoyed them. The music is exquisitely performed by the Virginia Chorale Trio – featuring talented musicians Amy Cofield-Williamson, Scott Williamson, and Charles Woodward.

The CD will soon be on sale in the Museum Gift Shop. A preview copy will be available in the Library Reading Room – stop by and enjoy a few minutes of Music of Quality and Taste.

Women at the Chrysler : Making Beautiful Music

During the exhibition Women of the Chrysler: A 400-Year Celebration of the Arts, we’re celebrating the contributions of women to the history of the Chrysler Museum. Women from all backgrounds have played an integral role in the creation, development, and operation of the Museum from its very beginning. Each week during the exhibition, we’re a story about a woman or group of women accompanied by an online album of images from the Library's collections. We also invite you to join us in the Library to learn more about these dedicated women.



From the days of Norfolk Museum of Arts and Sciences musicales to modern musical performances such as Art Riff and The Art of Jazz, music has always been a large part of life at the Chrysler. This week we've created a slide show of just a few of the many talented women who have filled the galleries and grounds of the Museum with beautiful music. Please help us continue to celebrate women in art and music by joining us for a performance by Bellisima!, the South Hampton Roads auditioned ensemble performing music written specifically for the voices of women. Bellisima! will make beautiful music on Sunday, May 9 at 2pm in Huber Court.

The Jean Outland Chrysler Library Collection: in Concert this Sunday

Music of Quality and Taste: Selections from the Myers Music Collection

If you are a regular blog reader, you may remember us mentioning the Myers Family Music collection. This impressive library of over 900 pieces of music from the 18th and 19th centuries is a treasure of beautiful music tucked away in our collection. Some of these pieces are little known and rarely heard today. This Sunday, March 14, 2010 the Friends of Historic Houses present Music of Quality and Taste: Selections from the Myers Music Collection. The Virginia Chorale will perform choral and instrumental selections from the collection on  instruments like those the Myers would have used.  Don’t miss this rare opportunity to enter the musical world of the early 1800s in the comfort of the Museum’s Kaufman Theatre. The concert starts at 3 p.m. It’s free for Friends of the Historic Houses, $5 for Museum Members, $10 for all others. For ticket information, please call (757) 333-1087.


We hope to see you there!

Alas! For Lack of Gold She Left Me...

Paul Simon said “Sometimes even music cannot substitute for tears.” Well, the goodly ladies and gentlemen who penned such 19th century ballads as “For Lack of Gold She Left Me,” “Terry Ye Moments,” “The Cavalier from Rokeby” and Farewell, Farewell” certainly attempted just that. The music collection of the Myers family, housed at the Jean Outland Chrysler Library, is simply overflowing with songs of love, loss and waning devotion from England, Ireland, Scotland, France and America. As I thumbed delicately through this music earlier in the week, I could not help but think of the endurance and universality of these themes. One lovely set of lyrics even details a young shepherd herding his flock past his lady-love’s home every day. One must assume that this was the 19th century equivalent of riding your bike past the home of your crush. Whether you love or hate Valentine’s Day, this collection has something for your heart, aching or happy. Happy Valentine’s Day, all! Until next week “Farewell, Farewell.”

Library Assistant Sara Mason