Fostering a Public Appreciation of Film Music inthe U.S.A.

The First Decade of Film Music Notes(1941–1951)

Authors

  • Elsa Marshall

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/jfm.23826

Keywords:

Grace Widney Mabee, Film Music Notes, MPPDA, Music Teachers National Conference, National Federation of Music Clubs, Film music, history, criticism, education, Hollywood, New York, publication

Abstract

The American periodical Film Music Notes spurred a critical consideration of film music and of building public appreciation of the arts during its run from 1941 to 1958.  This history of its first decade starts with the connections and efforts of a group of Hollywood women on behalf of the National Federation of Music Clubs, to their founding of the National Film Music Council, to the final stage in editor turnover from the founding editors. It contributes to histories of professionalization of artistic and cultural study through its analysis of how the editors experimented with structuring content in a way to encourage the public to appreciate film music. This was influenced by changing relations between Film Music Notes and Hollywood studios, the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America, and educational organizations. This context explains how prominent composers and critics came to contribute to the periodical and the larger debates that were shaping their writings.

References

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———. 1942b. Film Music Notes 1, no. 5 (February).

———. 1942c. News items—comments. Film Music Notes 2, no. 1 (October).

———. 1942d. News items . . . looking forward. Film Music Notes 2, no. 2 (November).

———. 1943a. Film Music Notes 2, no. 4 (January).

———. 1943b. “Reviews of Current Pictures,” Film Music Notes 2 no. 7 (April).

———. 1943c. Film Music Notes 2 no. 7 (April).

———. 1943d. Film Music Notes 2. No. 8 (May).

———. 1943e. News items . . . comments. Film Music Notes 2, no. 9 (June).

———. 1943f. “Foreword,” Film Music Notes 3, no. 1 (October).

———. 1943g. Film Music Notes 3, no. 1 (October).

———. 1943h. News items . . . comments . . . commendations. Film Music Notes 3, no. 2 (November).

———. 1944a. Letter from Adolph Deutsch. Film Music Notes 3, no. 5 (February).

———. 1944b. Comments . . . news items. Film Music Notes 3, no. 7 (April).

———. 1944c. News items . . . comments. Film Music Notes 3, no. 8 (May).

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———. 1944f. Letters from our readers. Film Music Notes 4, no. 1 (October).

———. 1944g. Reviews of current motion pictures from the viewpoint of music interest. Film Music Notes 4, no. 2 (November).

———. 1945a. “Foreword,” Film Music Notes 4, no. 4 (January).

———. 1945b. Letters from our readers. Film Music Notes 4, no. 4 (January).

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———. 1945d. Film Music Notes 4, no. 8 (May).

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———. 1945i. Film Music Notes 5, no. 1 (October).

———. 1946a. “Foreword,” Film Music Notes 5, no. 5 (January).

———. 1946b. Film Music Notes 5, no. 5 (January).

———. 1946c. Nominations for Film Music Notes citation and award. Film Music Notes 5, no. 8 (April): 3-4.

———. 1946d. Film music portfolio advertisement. Film Music Notes 5, no. 8 (April).

———. 1946e. Letters from our readers. Film Music Notes 5, no. 9 (May): 5.

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———. 1946–1947. Holiday greetings from the National Film Music Council. Film Music Notes 6, no. 3 (December–January): 2-3.

———. 1947a. Scores of merit. Film Music Notes 6, no. 5 (April–May): 9-10.

———. 1947b. Letter from Alice Evans Field. Film Music Notes 6, no. 5 (April–May): 4.

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———. 1949. Film music news. Film Music Notes 9, no. 1 (September-October): 3.

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———. 1951. “Film Music News.” Film Music Notes 11, no. 1 (September–October): 3.

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———. 1952b. Index. Film Music Notes 11, no. 5 (May–June): 19-23.

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———. 1946. Movie audiences: Musically mature or adolescent? Film Music Notes 5, no. 6 (May): 12. Latrobe Bulletin. 1941. Music in films gets recognition. Latrobe Bulletin, January 31: 15. Newspapers.com.

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———. 1940b. Business girls alert, national leaders find. Los Angeles Times. February 6: 8. Part 2. Newspapers.com.

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———. 1941. Clubs take new interest in film music. Musical America 61, no. 2 (June): 12. https://archive.org/details/sim_musical-america_1941-06_61_11

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———. 1943b. An afternoon in the home of Erich Wolfgang Korngold. Film Music Notes 2, no. 9 (June).

———. 1945a. Cinematics. Film Music Notes 4, no. 9 (June).

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———. 1944. Rhapsody in Blue (Warner Bros.): A day on the Gershwin set. Film Music Notes 3, no. 4 (January).

———. 1945. Notes on May Music Forum. Film Music Notes 4, no. 9 (June).

———. 1946. Behind the musical scenes of The Shocking Miss Pilgrim. Film Music Notes 5, no. 5 (January).

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———. 1947b. Preliminary report on film music. Hollywood Quarterly 2, no. 3 (April): 299-302.

———. 1948a. Film music session at M.T.N.A. in Boston. Film Music Notes 7, no. 4 (March–April): 5-6.

———. 1948b. Louisiana Story: A review of Virgil Thomson’s score. Film Music Notes 8, no. 1 (September–October): 5-14.

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Published

2024-05-22

Issue

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Marshall, E. (2024). Fostering a Public Appreciation of Film Music inthe U.S.A.: The First Decade of Film Music Notes(1941–1951). Journal of Film Music. https://doi.org/10.1558/jfm.23826