Catalog Record:
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Library's online catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically therein.
Bequest, 1976.
No further additions to the papers are expected.
The papers were processed by Karen Fishman in 2005.
Restrictions may exist on copying, quoting, or publishing materials included in the papers. For additional information, contact a reference librarian in the Recorded Sound Reference Center, Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division, Library of Congress, Washington, DC, 20540-4690; (202) 707-7833.
The Papers from the H. Vose Greenough Jr. Collection are open for research.
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [Container number, eg., Box 3], Papers from the H. Vose Greenough Jr. Collection, Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division, Library of Congress.
H. Vose Greenough Jr. (1912-1976) was the founder and owner of Technichord Records, a small recording company in Brookline, Massachusetts. He grew up in Massachusetts, attended the Taft School in Watertown, Connecticut, and graduated in 1935 from Harvard University with a BS degree. During World War II, he was a lieutenant commander in the Navy and was stationed for a time at the David Taylor Model Basin in Maryland, specializing in mine warfare. In 1950 he moved to Vienna, Austria, working for the Haydn Society as chief recording engineer. After three years, he returned to the United States to teach acoustics at the Juilliard School of Music in New York City. He later returned to Cambridge, Massachusetts, to work as a consultant.
Greenough died in1976 at the age of 64, leaving his father, Henry V. Greenough, a sister, Mrs. Barbara Bradley, and a brother, Peter Greenough.
The Papers from the H. Vose Greenough Jr. Collection is a small part of a larger gift of more than 700 acetate records and tapes Greenough recorded and left to the Library of Congress upon his death. The Greenough Collection includes materials from Technichord Records, a recording company he founded located in Brookline, Massachusetts, as well as his personal papers.
Though modest in size, Technichord Records was known for recording performers and music that other companies might not recognize and for the quality of the performers and their music. For example, Technichord was the first to record E. Power Biggs, the noted American organist and broadcaster, who did much to popularize the concert organ and organ music to the American public. Other recordings include harpsichordist Claude Jean Chiasson, tenor Hughes Cuenod, soprano Isabel French, and the Harvard Glee Club and Radcliffe Choral Society performing with harpsichordist Putnam Aldrich.
Greenough recorded radio broadcasts and local concerts as well, and his record and tape collection holds some unique recordings. These include the 1937 NBC Symphony Orchestra premier broadcast; the 1940 NBC special broadcast of the draft lottery, marking the official opening of the national lottery for military service with remarks by President Franklin D. Roosevelt; the 1940 opening ceremonies of the Berkshire Music Center (Tanglewood); the very first recording of Peter Schickele's Concerto for Horn and Hardart performed at a Juilliard School concert; a recording of the 1939 Lili Boulanger Memorial Concert which includes Psalm 119, a piece thought to be lost; and two 1969 radio broadcasts from station WHRB (Harvard Radio Broadcasting) reporting on student demonstrations at Harvard University, including the student occupation of University Hall and subsequent police confrontations.
The Papers from the H. Vose Greenough Jr. Collection date from 1937 to 1972, with the bulk of the materials dating from 1948 to 1955. The collection contains correspondence, business and financial records, music programs, pamphlets, recording notes, and one photograph.
The papers are arranged in 4 series:
Series 1 consists of 1948 correspondence by Greenough with the law firm, Goodwin, Rosenbaum, Meacham and Bailen; personal correspondence in 1950 while he was living in Austria; and correspondence relating to job hunting efforts in 1953 and 1957.
Series 2 contains financial records, including the business records of Technichord. These include contracts, billing records, invoices, and other items. Musicians contracted with Technichord Records included harpsichordist Claude Jean Chiasson, tenor Hughes Cuenod, soprano Isabel French, organist Ernest White, violist George Humphrey, composer and cellist Jacobus C. Langendoen, and harpsichordist Putnam Aldrich. Also in this series are Greenough's personal financial records including tax returns, a property appraisal, and trust fund accounts.
Series 3 contains the recording activities of Technichord Records. This includes a notebook kept by Greenough of acetate discs recorded for Dr. Harold Spivacke of the Library of Congress. Dating from 1937, this notebook contains meticulous notations of speeds, styli, pre-amplifier settings, main amplifier settings, and degrees of equalization used by Greenough to make his recordings. This series also contains worksheets of performance recordings. The programs Greenough kept of the performances he recorded are one of the highlights in this series. Spanning the years from 1938 to 1969, these programs are from the Harvard Glee Club, including one with Nadia Boulanger as guest conductor, organ recitals of E. Power Biggs at Harvard University, a 1949 dinner honoring Serge Koussevitzky, Berkshire Music Center programs, and The Juilliard School of Music programs.
Series 4 contains miscellaneous items such as a 1958 catalogue from Cambridge Records, a menu from the Green Mountain Inn at Stowe, Vermont, invoices of purchases, and a copy of a technical talk written for