Music For The People

Populist Secular Musicof the Nineteenth Century

Secular Music

• Immigration – importing musical culture• German, Italian, French, Irish, Swedish, Spanish• Different areas being settled by different immigrants • Also in sacred music, but especially apparent in secular

music

• Folk songs• Popular songs

• Commercialization

• Dance Music

Mintrelsy

• Minstrel Shows• British American• Comedy, popular music

• Blackface• White men

• Coal or burnt cork

• After Civil War not limited to white men

• Banjo, Concertina, Tambourine, Bones

• Dependent on other forms: circus, showboats, plays

• Independent form

Walkaround

• Typically at the end of the first act of a minstrel show; could be used at other times

• Began in 1840s for one dancer; by 1850s expanded to multiple dancers or entire troupe

• Minstrels also called some songs “walkarounds” – music to be used for a walkaround; semicircle

• Competitive; solos then group dancing• Scholars generally agree that it can be traced

back to communal dances by plantation slaves

Solo dancer(s), semicircle keeping time…

Illustration from 1859

…then semicircle disbands and dances together, signaling the start of

intermission. Illustration from 1859

Cakewalk in Minstrelsy

• A dance that appeared later in the 19th cen• After emancipation; former slaves

• Traced back to a recreational dance / social gathering for plantation slaves

• Competition for the most elaborate “walk” or dance; originally accompanied by banjos

• Winner(s) win a cake• http://youtu.be/AcFQjG3TiBw

Key Figures in Minstrelsy

• Thomas “Daddy” Rice (1808-1860)• Virginia Minstrels

• Daniel Decatur Emmett (1815 – 1904)

• E.P. Christy (1815 – 1862)• James A. Bland (1854 – 1911)

Thomas “Daddy” Rice (1808-1860)

• Father of American minstrelsy• Born in Manhattan; racially

integrated neighborhood• Some formal schooling;

woodcarving apprentice; living as traveling actor

• Composed “Jim Crow” – first minstrel song to have popular success in America

• Created the Jim Crow character; exaggerated racial stereotypes

• http://youtu.be/T5FpKAxQNKU • http://youtu.be/ALTam2L9NhE

Thomas Rice as Jim Crow, 1832

Thomas “Daddy” Rice and Jim Crow

Virginia Minstrels and Daniel Emmett

• 1843: First independent minstrel show

• First group to “black up” entire cast

• Daniel Decatur Emmett (1815-1904)• Ohio; Very little formal

education• Fife and Drum; circus;

minstrelsy • Ex “I Wish I Was in Dixie’s

Land” or just “Dixie”• "If I had known to what use

they [Southerners] were going to put my song, I will be damned if I'd have written it."

Daniel Decatur Emmett in blackface, 1860s

Edwin Pierce Christy (1815 – 1862)

• Commonly known as E.P. Christy

• Born in Philadelphia; • Formed Christy Minstrels:

four man troupe; later grew in size

• His group was the minstrel group people wanted to see

• http://youtu.be/_ns0jmBaecU

• Specialized in the music of Stephen Foster

Stephen Foster (1826 – 1864)

• “Father of American Music”• !?!?!?!

• Most recognized composer of popular songs prior to the Civil War

• Self-taught musician; was a bookkeeper in order to be “respectable”

• Began publishing professionally

• Songs were catchy, but not particularly innovative

Some Foster Tunes

• Oh! Susanna *• Camptown Races • Old Folks at Home• My Old Kentucky Home *• Jeanie With The Light Brown Hair • Old Black Joe• Beautiful Dreamer

Ethiopian Melody?

Oh! Susanna

• Arguably one of the most popular American songs ever written

• Widely performed by minstrel groups• Copyrighted and published 21 times under

different names between 1848 and 1851• During this time Foster only earned $100 for this

song• Approx $2,500 in today’s currency

• Fifth, Pond & Company offered him 2 cents per copy sold

• Foster became America’s first fully professional songwriter

Comparing Lyrics

• What differences do you see? • What is the purpose of the dialect in the original

version? • Is there anything in the alternate lyrics that

makes it more/less politically correct?

James A. Bland

James A. Bland (1854 – 1911)

• Aka Jimmy Bland• Father is one of the first African American college

graduates in 1845 (Oberlin College)• Difficult for African American men to have a career

in minstrelsy until after the abolition of slavery• As a teenager, page in US House of Rep

• Performed banjo

• College graduate at 19 (Howard College, 1873)• Wrote over 700 songs

• Carry Me Back to Ole Virginny (Ver. 1, Ver. 2, Banjo Version)• Oh, Dem Golden Slippers (Ver. 1, Ver. 2)

James A Bland (cont’d)

• Mummers• Parade held every New Year’s Day, Philadelphia• Believed to be the oldest “folk” festival • Mid 17th C roots: Swedish, Finnish, Irish, German, English, and

African influences• Blackface was a tradition; phased out in 1960s during civil

rights movement• Spent 20 years performing in England

• Callender-Haverly Minstrels • Queen Victoria and the Prince of Wales• $10,000 / year

• Careless with his money• Penniless, struggled to return to US

• Died in Philadelphia from TB, 1911

Minstrelsy In Our Modern World

• Documentary• Intro • Interviews (13:22)• Show (17:09)

• Cartoons• Tiger• Scrub Me Mama With a Boogie Beat

• Old Folks at Home • Tom and Jerry In Africa• Jungle Jitters

• Questions• What do you see of significance? • How do these things connect to minstrelsy and blackface?• What does the subject matter/actions of the cartoon characters

imply?

Minstrelsy Review

Musical Patriotism

• Music between the Revolution and Civil War• Establishing a national musical identity

• Included hymns, military music, band music, national songs, and music for the stage

• American Patriotic Music: inspired by war! • American Revolution• American Indian Wars• War of 1812 (1812-1815)• Mexican-American War• American Civil War

• Examples we’ve already talked about?

Patriotic Music Prior to the 19th Century

• 1768: Liberty Song (John Dickinson)• Possibly America’s first patriotic song• Set to the tune of William Boyce’s “Heart of Oak” • “…by uniting we stand, by dividing we fall…”

• 1789: Hail, Columbia (Joseph Hopkinson)• Music by Philip Phile for Washington’s inauguration

• Originally titled “President’s March”

• Francis Hopkinson’s son• One of several unofficial national anthems prior to 1931• Columbia refers to the poetic name for the US• Know in modern times as the Vice Presidential March

Yankee Doodle

• History of this song is debated• Comes from pre-Revolutionary times, likely from the Seven

Years’ War (aka French and Indian War)• Initially was embraced by British soldiers• Doodle: from a low German word dudel or dödel

• Means “fool” or “simpleton”

• Macaroni: fashionable fellow in mid 18th C. England • outlandish, over-the-top attire with tall wigs, often a hat that

could only be removed with the assistance of the tip of a sword; • “a man who exceeded the ordinary bounds of fashion” in terms

of clothes, eating, gambling, and speech• Purposefully androgynous

Yankee Doodle (cont’d)

• Dandy: a gentleman particularly obsessed with his appearance, refined speech, and leisurely hobbies

The Macaroni

More Macaroni

No but seriously…

Dandyism in France

• Use of corsets • Perfectly starched and

freshly laundered clothing

English Dandy: George Bryon “Beau” Brummell

• Famous for being famous…• Known for uh….not much

except lookin’ good

Ft. McHenry 1814Francis Scott Key, inspiration for Star Spangled

Banner

Francis Scott Key (1779-1843)

• Georgetown, MD• Lawyer, author, pro-

slavery activist, and amateur poet

• Legally defended slavery, yet spoke out against its cruelty

Oh, Say Can You…

• …write the lyrics to the first verse (wait, there’s more than one verse!?) of the Star Spangled Banner?

• You have 1 minute. Go.

Star Spangled Banner

• September 1814: Key observed bombardment of Ft. McHenry from British Ship *• *book says 1813, which is wrong

• Went with John Skinner (another lawyer) to plea for release of his friend, Dr. William Beanes, the elderly town doctor

• While on ship, Key and Skinner heard plans for battle and was held captive until morning

• Poem “Defence of Fort McHenry”

Star Spangled Banner (cont’d)

• Key gave the poem to his brother-in-law, Judge Joseph Nicholson

• Tune “To Anacreon In Heaven” by John Stafford Smith• Anacreontic Society of London: a gentlemen’s club for

amateur musicians in the mid-18th c.

• Nicholson took it to publisher, who then anonymously printed the tune

• Almost immediately became very popular• 17 newspapers from GA to NH

Original Manuscript of“The Defence of Ft. Henry”

Broadside of “Defence of Ft. McHenry”

First Edition of SSB, 1814

Important Dates

• 1814: lyrics written, set to preexisting tune• 1898: becomes official song for the US military

• During the Spanish American War

• 1931: becomes official National Anthem of the US• Herbert Hoover

The Star Spangled Banner Flag

• 15 stars, 15 stripes• Has gone through two

significant restorations: 1914 and 1998

• 1914: Amelia Fowler, $1,243

• 1998: Smithsonian Institute, $18.2 million

The SSB in Performance

• Whitney Houston• Jimi Hendrix• Beyonce• Kat DeLuna• Michael Bolton

Readings and Homework

• Read the articles and answer the following questions: • 1. Do you think that the Star Spangled Banner is an

appropriate song for our country’s national Anthem? • 2. If you could make the decision, would you change our

national anthem to another song? Why or why not? • 3. Where there any points or opinions that stood out to

you in the readings? Which ones?

Civil War Songs

• Dec. 1860 – June1861*: secession of southern states• In order: South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama,

Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina, Tennessee

• *book says “several states” in 1860, though only South Carolina seceded in 1860

• People turned to music during this divisive time as a vehicle for expressing their emotions and opinions

Music of the Confederacy

• Dixie: The unofficial anthem of the Confederacy • Origins? What do we know? • Examples

• Brass Band• With Lyrics • With Original Lyrics

• The Bonnie Blue Flag• Maryland, My Maryland

• Tune sound familiar?

• Marching Through Georgia• The Yellow Rose of Texas

• Embraced by the cavalry; another minstrel tune

Battle Hymn of the Republic

• Written by Julia Ward Howe in 1887; set to preexisting tune

• Used, along with the SSB, as the National Anthem for a newly reunited nation

• Battle Hymn of the Republic• US Army Chorus

• The Battle Cry of Freedom• Same tune, confederate

text

Miscellaneous Secular Musicof the 19th Century

Band Music

• Earliest bands were fife and drum corps (late 1700s)

• Brass instruments were fitted with valves in 1830s – big improvement!

• Bands and the military • Marches

• Concert Bands• c. 1860s

• Programmatic pieces

Valves

Natural Trumpet

Pre Valves

Comparison

John Philip Sousa“The March King”

• 1854-1932• Father was also a band

leader (Marine Band)• Running away and joining

the circus…? • Eventually John Philip

Sousa became leader of Marine Band (1880-1892)

• Liberty Bell March• Washington Post March• Stars and Stripes Forever

Glee Clubs of the 19th Century

• Glee – what is it? • Glee Clubs – what for?

“Together We March Forward Singing”

No.

Yes.

Glees

• English and American Part Songs• 3 or 4 parts, unaccompanied• Usually for same-gender ensembles

• Gentlemen’s Singing Clubs • Originated in Europe during the late baroque• Became popular in America during the 19th C• USA = Collegiate Groups

• Harvard Glee Club (1858)• Yale Glee Club (1861)• Cornell Glee Club (1895)

• Informal (19th) Formal (20th)

Glorious Apolloby Samuel Webb

Glorious Apollo from on high beheld us,Wand'ring to find a temple for his praise.Sent Polyhymnia hither to shield us,While we ourselves such a structure might raise.Thus then combining, hands and hearts joining,Sing we in harmony Apollo's praise.

Here ev'ry gen'rous sentiment awaking,Music inspiring unity and joy.Each social pleasure giving and partaking,Glee and good humour our hours employ.Thus then combining, hands and hearts joining,Long may continue our unity and joy