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Kasura
COLLECTION: Walter J. Kasura collection of Russian folk music
LOCATION AS OF February, 2002: All materials with "EC" (ethnic collection) shelf
numbers, as well as Kasura's personal archives, are to be housed in Room 219
Smith Music Hall (materials still being processed consist mainly of photocopies
of individual Russian songs, temporarily located in storage cabinets on upper
level of Music Library, as are also Kasura's personal archives). Published songs
for voice and piano are located in Special Collections under the call number
M1627 S663. Published piano music is in Special Collections under the call
number M20 P42. Other published music, including scores, other instrumental
music, methods, and song anthologies have been cataloged individually, assigned
appropriate Library of Congress class numbers, and are typically shelved in
Special Collections. A few items with Slavic language title pages await full
cataloging (on the top shelf of one of the Special Collections cataloging
backlog cabinets). Some non-Slavic, non-music, and/or English-language items
have been held aside (Music Library office, Room 2146E) to be considered for
acquisition for Music Library circulating collections.
PROVENANCE: Personal collection of Walter J. Kasura (1918-1983); donated to the
University by his family after Kasura's death.
WHEN ACQUIRED: May 12, 1986
DESCRIPTION: Walter J. Kasura was director of the Balalaika and Domra Society of
New York (a Russian folk music orchestral ensemble) from 1971 until his death in
1983. A recognized authority on balalaika and domra orchestral music, he was
active for over 40 years as a performer, conductor, author,
and teacher.
His personal collection consists of over 13,000 manuscript and published items,
including Russian and gypsy folk songs, other vocal and choral works,
instrumental solos, scores and parts for orchestral and chamber performing
ensembles (including many arrangements by Kasura himself), and instrumental
methods, as well as research notes, miscellaneous personal papers, and reference
books or pamphlets on performing practice, repertory, or historical development
of balalaika, domra, and the Slavic folk orchestra. Manuscript and published
scores and part sets for instrumental folk ensemble, shelved under their "EC"
numbers in Room 219 Smith Music Hall, amount to over 1,500 titles.
Instrumentation is indicated on part check-list cards affixed to individual file
folders. The "EC" area also includes
about 150-200 manuscripts of Nicholas Grushko:
EC 1544- Miscellaneous scores, parts, incomplete and unidentified works [1/2
document box]
EC 1545- Manuscript vocal music (with or without piano accompaniment [6 boxes;
operatic arrangements in separate box] Photocopies of published scores have been
assigned the following
shelf numbers:
EC 1497- Folk and popular music of various nations [1 box]
EC 1498- Belorussian folk music [1 box]
EC 1499- Ukrainian folk music [4 boxes]
EC 1546- Photocopies of published transcriptions of Russian folk melodies and
arrangements for solo instruments and small ensembles [12 boxes]
EC 1547- Photocopies of published socres of Russian music for solo instruments
and small ensembles [15 boxes]
EC 1548- Photocopies of published scores for Russian folk orchestra [14 boxes]
Vocal music falls into the following categories:
-Almost 600 items of published sheet music for voice and piano, located in the
Music Library's Special Collections area under the call number M1627 S663
no.1-587.
-About 150 items of manuscript vocal music among Grushko materials (as described
above under EC 1545), located in Room 219 Smith Music Hall.
-Photocopies of about 4,500 individual songs (together with a card index),
temporarily located in storage cabinets on the upper level of the Music Library.
-Published song anthologies are cataloged individually with Library of Congress
classification, located in Special Collections. (Many items are classed in
MI756-1757).
-Sacred and secular choral music, in manuscript and photocopy, located in boxes
4 and 5 of Kasura's personal archives.
Holdings of Russian and East European music for folk ensembles have been
complemented by subsequent acquisitions of the Alexander Kutin Collection and by
smaller donations, notably from the estates of Mark A. Selivan and Emanuil
Sheynkman.
ARRANGEMENT: The "EC" accession numbers do not reflect any particular order or
relationship between individual musical numbers. However, within the separate
categories of photocopies of published scores (EC 1497-1499 and EC 1546-1548;
see list above), items are arranged alphabetically by title. The large
collection of photocopies of songs (temporarily housed in cabinets on the upper
level of the Music Library) is likewise arranged alphabetically by title, as are
also the song manuscripts by Nicholas Grushko in EC 1545. Books and
individually-cataloged published music editions with Library of Congress
call numbers are interfiled among other holdings in Special Collections. To
provide a brief summary, some music class numbers with particular relevance to
published Kasura holdings include:
M20 P42 no.1-76 --Piano music from Kasura [1 document box]
M282 -M283 --Piano with balalaika or domra
M1627 S663 no.1-587 --Published songs from Kasura [12 boxes]
M1756 -M1757 --Vocal anthologies
MT643.2 -MT643.8 --Balalaika and domra methods
Kasura's personal archives, in 16 document boxes, are arranged under eleven
general categories: Associations; Catalogs; Choral music; Correspondence;
Performers; Personal; Photocopies of published works; Russian instruments and
music; Russian folk ensembles; Russian Orthodox Church; Written works of Kasura.
ACCESS/FINDING AIDS/BIBLIOGRAPHY: All published items with specific Library of
Congress class numbers (including individual items of piano music in M20 P42 and
individual songs in M1627 S663) may be accessed via the online catalog. The
following guide (prepared from online catalog records for manuscript or
published score and parts sets for ensemble music) provides title, subject, and
name indexes as well as cross-references:
Preliminary checklist and index of ensemble music in the Walter J. Kasura
collection of Russian folk music (Urbana: July 1, 1994) [ML136.U7 P 73 --on
reference in Music Library; the master paper copy
of this guide is stored in a file drawer in Room 2146E]
The EC shelflist (consisting of 1,548 duplicate parts check-list cards filed in
numerical order in three file trays) may be consulted in the Music Library's
Special Collections office.
Photocopies of songs may be searched by title via their shelf arrangement or by
means of a card index prepared by Music Library volunteers; this index consists
of approximately 4,500 cards in six file trays and is currently located in the
Music Library's Special Collections office.
The Collections File folder ("Kasura, Walter") contains several additional
finding aids:
-"The Walter J. Kasura (1919-1983) collection finding guide," prepared by Tamara
Livingston (brief overview of Kasura holdings)
-"The Walter J. Kasura (1919-1983) collection: personal archives, prepared by
Tamara Livingston (detailed listing of contents within 11 general categories)
-"Kasura collection: abbreviated index of printed materials" (downloaded online
catalog records in two alphabetic sequences, by composer and title)
-"Preliminary checklist of vocal music in the Walter J. Kasura collection of
Russian folk music" (unauthorized list duplicating online catalog information,
with composer entries and song title
entries in a single alphabet)
Also in the Collections File are memos and correspondence concerning
acquisitions, funding of processing, and publicity, as well as programs from
dedication events, appraisal documents, and a diskette of down-loaded online
catalog records of the Kasura "EC" holdings.
INDEX TERMS: Balalaika music; Belorussian folk music; Domra music; Grushko,
Nicholas; Kasura, Walter; Russian folk instrument ensemble music; Russian folk
music; Ukrainian folk music
SEE ALSO: Program flyer, "Dedication of the Walter J. Kasura collection of
Russian folk music"' (includes biographical information, portrait, and brief
summary of Kasura's association with the University of Illinois)
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