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Collection Amazing Grace

About this Collection

This collection highlights the history of the hymn “Amazing Grace” from the earliest printing of the song to selected performances of it on published and field recordings. These items have been collected from several divisions in the Library of Congress, including the Music Division, the American Folklife Center, the Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division, and the Rare Books Division. Also available here is the Chasanoff/Elozua Amazing Grace Collection of data on published recorded performances of the hymn "Amazing Grace" by more than 3000 different musicians or ensembles. Since its creation in 1779 in England, "Amazing Grace" has grown in popularity to become one of the best-known hymns in America.

About the Chasanoff/Elozua "Amazing Grace" Collection

The Chasanoff/Elozua "Amazing Grace" Collection at the Library of Congress comprises more than 3000 published recorded performances of the hymn "Amazing Grace" by different individual musicians or musical ensembles. The collection, compiled by Allan Chasanoff and Raymon Elozua, is undoubtedly the largest such collection of a single musical work in the recorded sound collection of the Library of Congress.

The recordings in the Chasanoff/Elozua "Amazing Grace" Collection were made between the 1930s and 2000. The audio formats represented in the collection include: compact disc, mp3 files (all acquired legally), vinyl long-playing 33-1/3 rpm discs, 78 rpm discs, cassette tapes, and various video media.

Chasanoff/Elozua Catalog

The full breadth of the collection is revealed by the great range of performance styles: big band, blues, classical, country, 'easy listening,' electronic, folk, gospel, different styles of jazz, 'novelty,' operatic, pop, rap, rock, rhythm 'n' blues, soul, and various ethnic, or 'world music,' styles. The wide array of performers include children's groups, religious ensembles, concert bands, bagpipers, steel guitarists, and American Indians.

The Chasanoff/Elozua Amazing Grace Collection is available for public listening and research in the Recorded Sound Reference Center, Madison Building, Room LM 113. For more information, call 202-707-7833.