McCann Collection

Norman McCann studied singing at the Royal Academy of Music from 1948 to 1952. His personal collection was bequeathed in 1999. It comprises an extensive archive of photographic materials, ephemera, historic theatre playbills, recordings, memorabilia, scores and books.

This collection is particularly strong in autographed images of historic singers, instrumental performers, conductors and composers. It also contains an extensive and important archive of letters, musical quotations, contracts, miscellaneous documents, dedicatory poems, historic printed sheet music and some scores, and other items from or relating to composers and performers. Many items have been contributed directly from the personal collections of British and European musicians. Also included are more generic postcards with musical subjects, including images from antiquity, of humour, world music and other spheres, and a large collection of London theatre playbills.

The McCann concert programme archive is particularly extensive and comprises opera and ballet programmes c 1830-1996; many chamber music programmes from the 1830s-1997; a separate document comprising an assessment of British concert programmes to 1955; and foreign concert programmes.

Items from the McCann collection are also listed on concertprogrammes.org.uk, alongside that of the separate concert programme archive held in the Library’s Special Collections (contact library@ram.ac.uk for more information).