The Minnesota Heritage Songbook is a collection of traditional folk songs, documenting the history and culture of Minnesota. Most of the songs were brought by immigrants. Songs were passed down verbally through generations. The songbook collected songs about events relevant to Minnesota history, compiled and edited by Robert B. Waltz. The book was released in 2008 in celebration of the Minnesota Sesquicentennial. Although the exact launch date isn’t specified, the site has been updated over the years.

The website devoted to the collection provides a lot of sources and information. The Songbook allows readers to look for songs by alphabetical order, song topics, and according to the historic timeline. The songbook acts like a database, making it easy for visitors to find folk songs. The website has songs in different foreign languages, including French, Danish, German, Finnish, and Swedish. For instance, there is a French song “A la claire fontaine”. According to the website’s description, “it is a well-known song in Quebec, with a text widely printed; it is said to have been a voyageur favorite.” Lyrics, English translation, and a short instrumental melody recording are provided. There are recordings of most of the songs, which visitors can use to get a sense of how the songs might sound.  

For further exploration, the songbook provides links to other sites with useful materials about Minnesota folk songs. Further readings and listening could be done via those sources.

Source: The Minnesota Heritage Songbook