In the mid-19th century, Sydney was awash with world-class sopranos. The Syrens of their day, Anna Bishop and Catherine Hayes, swept through the city followed by adoring fans who clamoured to re-create popular musical hits at home. With a collection of over 3,000 domestic sheet music scores, mainly for voice or piano, MHNSW holds the key to some of Sydney’s earliest settler domestic soundscapes. The owners of many of these pieces of music can be readily identified, and scores with performance markings hint at past inner lives and musical practice.

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Image Credit: Syrens of Sydney, Vaucluse House | 2024 | Meagan Evans for MHNSW