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National Sampler:
Selections from California Collections

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Mary and Hartop Goshtigian
Mary and Hartop Goshtigian performing Armenian and Armeno-Turkish music on the violin and oud, April 17, 1939, collected by Sidney Robertson Cowell in Fresno, California. Call number AFC 1940/001: P068
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California is one of the nation's most complex and multi-faceted states. Originally inhabited by scores of culturally and linguistically distinct Native American groups, it was colonized by the Spanish during the 18th Century. When Mexico gained its independence from Spain in 1821, it joined the new republic as Alta California. Following the Mexican-American war (1846-48), the United States took control of the region, and in 1851, it joined the Union as America's 31st State. Geographically, the nation's third-largest state is as varied as its population: its landscapes encompass both the Pacific coast and the Mojave Desert, and stretch from the majestic Sierra Nevada Mountains to the agriculturally rich Central Valley.

The following examples from the American Folklife Center's (AFC) extensive holdings include folklife interviews, songs, ballads, instrumental music, and oral histories from various collections documenting California's cultural heritage.

For more information about the American Folklife Center's California collections and services, go to Folklife in Your State: California. For a more complete list of collections, see the finding aid, California Collections in the Archive of Folk Culture.

View Selected Photographs From the Collections

Browse the California Audio and Video Samples and Notes (21 tracks)

Some of these recordings are in mp3 or wav format, while others require free media software available from RealPlayer External Link (as noted in the full descriptions).

 

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   January 30, 2012
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