Gift of
J. Thomas & Laurence Rimer

J. Thomas and Laurence Rimer Collection

The Rimer Collection contains some 6,000 long-playing discs and 200 78-rpm discs of classical music, with a special emphasis on vocal music. Selectively collected over forty years by Thomas Rimer, former Chief of the Asian Division at the Library of Congress, and his wife, Laurence, the recordings include many rarities. U.S. and foreign labels are represented and cover the time period from the 1950s to the 1980s.

The Rimers's eclectic collection of LPs spans the gamut of Western art music from "Early" to 20th century and includes several fine instrumental selections in addition to the excellent array of Lieder, choral, and operatic works from Palestrina, Rameau, Monteverdi, Schumann, Verdi, Wagner, Berg, Britten, and others, featuring the noted performers of this century.

Of particular note is a series of 100 French 78-rpm recordings of early and baroque music on the L'Anthologie Sonore label. Under the artistic direction of Curt Sachs, this series, self-proclaimed as "L'histoire de la musique par le disque," is perhaps the first recorded example of the rediscovery and renewed appreciation of music from the 16th to the 18th centuries, including works by Machaut, Leonin, J.C. Bach, Franz X. Richter, and G.F. Haendel.

This Gift to the Nation of a connoisseurs' collection greatly enriches the outstanding vocal recording collection of the Library of Congress.