Finding Aid for University of Illinois Musicological Archives for Renaissance Manuscript Studies (MARMS) Records, 1968-1998 | The Sousa Archives and Center for American Music

Title: University of Illinois Musicological Archives for Renaissance Manuscript Studies (MARMS) Records, 1968-1998

ID: 12/5/91

Primary Creator: Kellman, Herbert (1930-)

Extent: 2.0 cubic feet

Arrangement: Arranged in two series: Series 1, Administrative Records; and Series 2: Correspondence. Both series are arranged chronologically.

Date Acquired: 03/23/2026

Subjects: History, Manuscript Collections, Music, School of, National Endowment for the Humanities, Renaissance, Vocal music

Formats/Genres: Correspondence

Languages: English, Italian, German, French, Dutch;Flemish

Consists of records, logs, bills, computer files, and correspondence, documenting the activities of the University of Illinois Renaissance Archives from 1968 to 1998, including the NEH grant application process, the Census-Catalogue of Manuscript Sources of Polyphonic Music project, and researcher visits.

The University of Illinois Musicological Archives for Renaissance Manuscript Studies (MARMS) was established in 1968 by the board of trustees as a unit of the School of Music. Co-founded  by Charles Hamm and Herbert Kellman, Hamm was director until 1975, when Kellman took over as director. MARMS was developed to further interest into music of the Renaissance (1400-1600), making research on both original manuscript and printed sources of that music more accessible to scholars. MARMS holds an extension collection of microfilms of these sources, currently accessible through the University of Illinois Music Library.

One of the largest projects MARMS undertook was the Census-Catalogue of Manuscript Sources of Polyphonic Music, 1400-1550, 5 vols., ed. Herbert Kellman et al. (Rome: American Institute of Musicology; Neuhausen-Stuttgart: Haenssler-Verlag, 1979-1988). This work was supported by a 10-year grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Herbert Kellman (1930- ) is professor emeritus of musicology, specializing in Renaissance music. Kellman received a diploma in composition from New York College of Music, a BA from the City University of New York, and an MFA in musicology from Princeton University. Prior to coming to the University of Illinois Kellman taught at SUNY Buffalo.

In 1968 Kellman joined the University of Illinois, where he founded the Renaissance Archives alongside Charles Hamm. The archives consists of nearly 1,600 microfilm reels of manuscripts that were produced during the Renaissance, original manuscripts of polyphony from 1550 to 1600, printed anthologies from 1500-1550, and single-composer prints from the 16th-century. Materials from the archive were added to the Music and Performing Arts Library's reference collection. Kellman and Hamm published a five-volume catalogue of the archive called Census-Catalog of Manuscript Sources of Polyphonic Music, 1400-1550, which was released between 1979 and 1988. Kellman is also the editor of facsimilie editions of two manuscripts of polyphony, London, British Library, Royal 8 G VII and Vatican Library, Chigiana C VIII 234; The Treasury of Petrus Alamire: Music and Art in Flemish Court Manuscripts, 1500-1535; and Sources of the Music of Josquin des Prez.  

Kellman has received fellowships and grants from the American Council of Learned Societies, the National Edowment for the Humanitites, and the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. He is also a member of the International Editorial Board of the New Josquin Edition and the series editor of Renaissance Manuscript Studies with the American Institute of Musicology. Following his retirement in 2000, a festschrift entitled, Essays on Music and Culture in Honor of Herbert Kellman, was produced and edited by Barabra Haggh.

History
Manuscript Collections
Music, School of
National Endowment for the Humanities
Renaissance
Vocal music

Repository: The Sousa Archives and Center for American Music

Acquisition Source: School of Music

Acquisition Method: Transfer