Johannes Riedel Papers
Scope and Contents Note
The personal papers of Johannes Riedel consist of 5.5 linear feet of materials. Materials include clippings, manuscript and published sheet music, academic papers, and audio recordings of music and lectures. The collection represents Riedel's life in 1930s Ecuador, through to his work on Ecuadorian folk music while he was on the faculty at the University of Minnesota. The music itself is presented in published sheet music, Riedel's manuscript compositions and arrangements, and recordings. A pioneering computer-aided music study by Riedel and colleagues is represented by the published study as well as the programming worksheets and grant applications. Both academic lectures and popular presentations given by Riedel are included, as typed drafts, audio recordings, and in bound collections. As a whole, this collection focuses heavily on Riedel’s work on the pasillo and sanjuanito songs of Ecuador.
The collection has been arranged into five series: Clippings and Printed Materials, Sheet Music, Academic Papers, Audio Recordings, and Oversized Materials.
The Clippings and Printed Materials Series contains a map of Ecuador, an undated Ecuadorian music catalog, and copies of clippings about Riedel's activities in Ecuador from 1938-1969 (bulk 1938-1949), which are arranged chronologically. The original scrapbook of clippings is included with the Oversized Materials.
The Sheet Music Series contains manuscript and published sheet music, and has been organized into three subseries: 1) Arrangements by Riedel, arranged alphabetically by song title for loose manuscripts, with collected manuscripts and notebooks following (please note that musical notebook #9 was not included in the accession.) 2) Compositions by Riedel. 3) Published Ecuadorian sheet music, arranged alphabetically by composer.
The Academic Papers Series has been organized into three subseries: 1) Academic writings by Riedel, arranged by language. 3) Collected volumes of papers (containing work by Riedel.) 3) Computer Aided Study of Ecuadorian Urban Music.
The Audio Recordings Series has been organized into four subseries: 1) Music on reel-to-reel tapes, arranged sequentially. 2) Ecuadorian music on 78 rpm records, arranged sequentially. 3) Music on cassette tapes, arranged sequentially. 4) Lectures, broadcasts, and presentations (on assorted media), arranged by language.
The Oversized Materials Series includes Riedel's scrapbook of news clippings, and an LP record with its liner notes.
Dates
- Creation: 1939-1989
Language of Materials
English, Spanish, German
Access Restrictions
Unrestricted.
Use Restrictions
Standard copyright restrictions apply.
Biographical Sketch
Johannes Riedel was born in Neustadt, Poland in 1913. After graduating from the University of Berlin with a degree in musicology, he fled Nazi Germany to Ecuador with his fiancée and her parents, who were Jewish. While living in Guayaquil, Ecuador from 1938-1948, he worked as a musician, music teacher, arranger, and conductor, serving at the Colegio Normal Rita Lecumberri as well as at a fledgling record company, IFESA. Riedel studied and collected the mesomúsica of regions in Ecuador.
In 1948 Riedel moved to California, where he earned a B.A. and then Ph.D. from the University of Southern California. Riedel taught at the University of Minnesota from 1953-1983, where he served for twenty years as the music graduate program director. His research spanned from the mesomúsica of Ecuador, to music education and sociology of music, to the Black musicians pioneering jazz, ragtime, and the blues.
Full Extent
5.5 linear feet
Abstract
Papers of music professor and conductor Johannes Riedel include academic writings, sheet music, lyrics, clippings, and recorded folk and popular music from Ecuador, with a special focus on the pasillo and sanjuanito song forms.
Acquisition Information
Donation.
Accession numbers: 1984-04, 1996-48
Additions
No further materials are expected for this collection.
Processing Information
Collection processed by Kristen Van Winkle (Simmons College Intern), 2018.
- Title
- Johannes Riedel Papers
- Status
- Edited Full Draft
- Author
- Nettie Lee Benson Latin American Collection
- Date
- 2014
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
Revision Statements
- March 2018: Updated by Kristen Van Winkle (Simmons College Intern)
- 2021 March: Edited by Carla O. Alvarez to fix compliance check errors to prepare for the migration to new TARO website.
- 2021 November: Edited by Devon Murphy to update control access terms and formatting based on the TARO Control Access List.
- 2025 July: Revised by Ryan Sullivant to fix validation errors prior to ingestion into ArchivesSpace.
Repository Details
Part of the Benson Latin American Collection, The University of Texas at Austin Repository
2300 Red River Street
Austin Texas 78712 United States
(512) 495-4578
bensonspecialcollections@austin.utexas.edu