Your Music, Our Heritage: Inside Cedom’s Music Archives
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The National Library has collected and preserved music documents since its inception. Established in 1989, the Centre d’études et de documentation musicales (Cedom) focuses on Luxembourg’s musical heritage, encompassing printed and manuscript scores, as well as archives of composers and associations linked to the country's musical life and history. Beyond its legal mandate, Cedom also serves as Luxembourg's central music archive, housing a diverse collection of sound recordings – CDs, DVDs, vinyl records, and audio tapes – alongside books, periodicals, e-books, digital newspapers, and databases.
Documents in the Cedom or the non-Luxembourgish Music Collection can be pre-ordered online at a-z.lu and accessed at the library. However, rare and valuable items (e.g., handwritten music, audio cassettes, composers’ archives) are reserved for on-site consultation in the Rare Books Reading Room on the 1st floor and must be requested via a-z.lu or in writing.
Since 2020, the focus has shifted to organizing Cedom’s musical archives into four categories:
Works: Original creations by composers or musicians, such as sketches, compositions, texts, or paintings.
Correspondence: Letters, emails, or cards either to/from the creator or others in connection with the musician's work.
Biographical Documents: Records relating to private, academic, or professional life, including ID cards, diplomas, contracts, financial documents, photos, and personal items like a conductor’s baton.
Collections: Materials collected by the creator or family, such as concert posters, flyers, programs, press clippings, critiques, or annotated scores.
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The Cedom wants to engage with contemporary musicians across all genres, including the pop, rock, and rap music scenes. Notable acquisitions in 2024 include materials from The Outsiders, Luxembourg's first rock group, with unique scores from their fourth vinyl release (Such Sweet Sorrow / Music). Additionally, grammy-award-winning Gast Waltzing entrusted his written and digital scores to the National Library for public access.
The Cedom’s mission is to preserve every document created by or about musicians. All archives and materials, from any genre or creator, are welcome to ensure the continuation of Luxembourg’s rich musical legacy.
For more information on the Cedom’s missions and work, please consult following links:
https://bnl.public.lu/en/fonds/musicaux.html
Written by Marlène Duhr (Chargée de collection Fonds musical/Cedom)