“Old Man Jazz” — Praise or Shade?

Posted on October 23, 2024 by Hnukusha Vue

“Old Man Jazz : An Eccentric Fox-Trot Song” written by Gene Quaw hasn’t seen many performances in recent years, and there’s good reason why the first recording that comes up is from 1920. Melodic and rhythmic lines in the opening of the tune veils the main character, Old Man Jazz, in mystery, and the associations and implications of the lyrics throughout the song create a tension between appreciation for Old Man Jazz and the negative aspects to his character.

The song by Quaw seems to be riddled with messaging that “Old Man Jazz” is strange, in an unknowable, enchanting way. Firstly, the subtitle “An Eccentric Fox Trot” tells us that this is a dance, however, it’s not a typical or conventional dance. The opening introduces our main character, Old Man Jazz, who seemingly “arrives in town” and brings about a performance that causes the townspeople, or presumably dancers, to dance. It’s stated that the people like to dance, as expressed by the lyrics :

“ Old Man Jazz,

The music’s great

Old Man Jazz,

Don’t hesitate,

Ev’ry body likes to do the RazzmaTazz”

Even going further as to mention that the townspeople are sad when he leaves :

“Old man Jazz has gone away from town

That’s why ev’rybody wears a frown”

It’s clear that this Old Man Jazz has a skill that few others have, an ability to perform jazz, blues, and rag that inspires the people to dance, “shiveree and shake the shimmie”, and “sway like ‘U’ boats”. However, as much as it seems the people enjoy the music that “Old Man Jazz” brings, it’s questionable as to how the music and lyrics paint his character and music. Paralleled to the praise and encouragement for Old Man Jazz, he has a “reputation” that is assumed and isn’t further explained apart from no one caring about his reputation, implying that Old Man Jazz and/or his band have a negative reputation. Moreover, Old Man Jazz is, later in the song, assumed to have left the town with “Mister Booze”, which likely isn’t another character, but an implication that Old Man Jazz left to drink alcohol. The lyrics additionally describe the music Old Man Jazz performs as “wicked” and as “funny blue notes”, pointedly othering the music despite people’s positive reception. These negative implications to Old Man Jazz alongside the praise for this character creates a dichotomy within the music and affects our perception of the music and the character. Should we dance and sing along? Should we feel uneasy? This tension is much like the tension we’ve discussed in class surrounding Black people and Black people’s music throughout history – enslaved people, in books, theater, song and other forms of entertainment, were painted as dangerous, impulsive, or unintelligent but simultaneously were cunning, clever, and skillful; Black spirituals were applauded when they were adopted to be commercialized and suit White audiences and concert performances, but needed to be rationalized as to how Black people and Black culture could have ever come up with this incomparable music that became renowned.

Whether or not Gene Quaw intended to create this dichotomy within his music is not made clear; regardless, whoever “Old Man Jazz” may be, the music outwardly associates jazz, blues, and rag, all significant parts of African American culture and music, with eccentricism and problematic attributes.

For more listening :

“Old Man Jazz” performed by The Elliotts provided by EMGColonel

An actually recent performance of “Old Man Jazz”

“Magnetic Rag”: a comparison

Posted on October 23, 2024 by Ella Yarris

In class, we compared different recordings Scott Joplin’s “Maple Leaf Rag,” both from piano rolls played by the composer himself and from other musician’s renditions of the song. I thought this was an interesting exercise, especially getting to hear the music performed by the composer. Scott Joplin performed other songs on piano rolls as well, one of which was “Magnetic Rag.”

As you listen, follow along with this copy of sheet music from 1922.

Click the image to view the sheet music.

Some things that I wanted to listen for were swung rhythms, articulation, and other stylistic touches that are not represented in the sheet music. The recording from the piano roll does not have swung rhythms per se, but the syncopation does give the music a distinctly swung feel. Something I noticed right away was the change in tempo in the few lines that can be heard on the piano roll but are not indicated in the sheet music. The first four measures are slower, and the section that begins at the first repeat is basically double the speed. Additionally, in the fourth measure, the rests shown in the sheet music cannot be heard in the piano roll.

When the first section after the intro is repeated, the piano roll deviates from the sheet music. Specifically, the right hand is an octave up. This technique is used again in subsequent sections. Throughout the piece, the repeated sections are shorter than in the sheet music. Generally, the performed version has more embellishments than the sheet music (which I suppose is somewhat common). However, I do notice that there is no arranger mentioned on the sheet music, which is often the case today when a new version of a song is published. Overall, there are not many instructions to the performer such as dynamics and articulations, however I’m not sure if that would have been typical of sheet music published at this time.

This sheet music is from 1922, while Scott Joplin made the piano rolls in 1916. The song “Magnetic Rag” was composed in 1914, so there is a significant amount of time between the creation of the piano roll and the publishing of the sheet music. Importantly, Joplin sadly died the year after the piano rolls were taken, and unless this is a reprint of other sheet music, he would not have seen this version. I think this is example is an interesting look at the variable aspect of this music, and it makes me wonder again about the issue of “authenticity” in music… it is useful to consider which version of the music is “more authentic.” I think it is very possible that Joplin has performed this piece differently at different times, and I would be interested to see the original version that Joplin wrote and how it compares to subsequent publishings.

Scott Joplin. “Magnetic Rag.” Jack Mills, inc., 1922. https://digital.library.yorku.ca/node/1095584.

Music and the Myth of the Frontier

Posted on October 23, 2024 by Jacques LeMay

The Frontier Myth is one of the most influential myths of American culture. The mythic frontier was established throughout the 17th century and into the 20th century. Frontier myth scholar Richard Slotkin defines the myth as “America as a wide-open land of unlimited opportunity for the strong, ambitious, self-reliant individual to thrust his way to the top.” These ideals were reflected across society via art, literature and music.

These ideals were reflected in James W. Casey’s song “My Golden West, I love You Best.” The cover art shows a cowboy and a cowgirl overlooking a cliff with a small settlement next to a river. While this music was published after the west was initially colonized the myth of the frontier is still being perpetuated in the cover art.

The lyrics to the song are focused on the natural beauty of the west and an angel who blesses the land. The beginning of the refrain starts with “out in the golden west… the mountains grew so high.. an angel then came down and made it her hometown…” The glorification of the natural environment of the west is a theme throughout the lyrics of the piece. Praising the beauty of the sunset and the beauty of the landscape. Casey is reinforcing the Romantic ideal of the west as having inherent natural beauty.

Old Black Joe by Stephen C. Foster

Posted on October 23, 2024 by Gabriel Katzenmeier

Old Black Joe is a vocal tune accompanied by piano, which was composed by Stephen C. Foster in 1860. It speaks of an individual by the name of an Old Black Joe and in this tune it touches upon racial topics. This includes mentioning cotton fields, being away from friends. Friends not coming with Joe to where he is now, and the grief of that notion. This became a tune that many of older generations know and when I looked up a recording on Youtube the responses were mixed. Some remembered it as a good old tune that brought them back to older times. Others discussed how it was racist and the channel that it was posted on would actually respond to some of these comments. The cover of the sheet music also depicts that of “Old Black Joe’’.

The music of the time was much different than today. With that in mind, hearing it now is very odd. Stephen C. Foster was a white man and when doing a simple google search he is labeled The Father Of American Music. The thing is that he was a parlor and minstrel music performer in the 1800s. Minstrel performance was done by both white individuals and black individuals as learned in class. Black performers performing minstrel works eventually led to them being able to be themselves in other works and lead to characters being played by black performers becoming a possibility. With all of this combined with Stephen C. Foster being a white minstrel performer. Should this be one of the famous tunes that lives on. When actual black musicians also were making music, those musical works were not performed. I think that this is also tied into the Rhapsody in blue issue of topics, ideas, and musical ideas being taken from these black artists and having white musicians using them. While also truly not embodying the authentic nature of these groups. How is it that this tune was kept alive while others were not. What must we do know to not have that continued trend to occur and create lasting change. That fixes the issues of our past.

Foster , S. c. (2020). Old black Joe : song with variations. Temple university Libraries . https://digital.library.temple.edu/digital/collection/p15037coll1/id/6252

https://youtu.be/WYjMlw7uTkc?si=Y_kU7h8FfyE_tptt

Sheet Music: A Commodity but not a Necessity

Posted on October 23, 2024 by Maggie Shepphird

Sheet music was one of the most dominant forms of culture in the nineteenth century. Thousands of songs, pieces and concertos were sold each year. Sheet music was one of the main ways for musicians to make money at the time. However, because of the musical education needed to be able to read and understand sheet music, it created some barriers for non-white people to make money off of their art.

There are many popular songs written and sung today that originate from black spirituals, which were written during the time of slavery. However, unfortunately all of the musicians who wrote these songs that became so popular were not given the credit or merit or royalties from this music and instead were pushed down by white people. Because of this dark history, many black musicians were not given the credit or merit that they deserve. Unfortunately, this still happens today.

Later, post-civil war, one of the most popular form of music created by black musicians was jazz. Jazz music is either fully improvised, or a mixture of sheet music and improvisation with musicians. A melody is either given in the form of sheet music, or passed down by ear, then musicians use this melody to improvise and be creative with their instrument. Jazz often uses lead sheets as well instead of typical sheet music. This form of music was very popular in the late nineteenth-twentieth centuries. Since this music sometimes but not always had sheet music, it was difficult for musicians to gain royalties off of sheet music for jazz. However, some musicians, such as Duke Ellington composed thousands of scores and was able to make money through sheet music. Many jazz musicians made money through either touring or local performances.

Additionally, many pop musicians today create music without any prior knowledge of reading sheet music or music theory.

Although sheet music was and still is an important commodity, it is not necessary for all musicians. It is helpful to know and understand the complexities of it, however there are still great musicians who do not read music and this does not take away from any of their accomplishments in their lifetimes.

https://www.proquest.com/docview/2344508709?pq-origsite=primo&parentSessionId=ZHMRXs%2BdlljsUzJ%2BDT1X9g59so9E4BQHl4xXqDRH8uI%3D&sourcetype=Scholarly%20Journals

https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvvnh25.13?searchText=&searchUri=&ab_segments=&searchKey=&refreqid=fastly-default%3Aa514c32489509c02c2a995379544e8e1&seq=1

Jackson, Maurice, and Blair A. Ruble, editors. DC Jazz : Stories of Jazz Music in Washington, DC. Georgetown University Press, 2018.

Anderson, Colin L. “Segregation, Popular Culture, and the Southern Pastoral: The Spatial and Racial Politics of American Sheet Music, 1870–1900.” The Journal of Southern History, vol. 85, no. 3, 2019, pp. 577–610, https://doi.org/10.1353/soh.2019.0163.

Puerto Rican influence during the Harlem Renaissance

Posted on October 23, 2024 by Christine Whear

Caravan, composed by Juan Tizol and Duke Ellington, is the most covered jazz standard in history, with more than 500 covers. But what does this song represent?

The Jones-Shafroth Act of 1917 granted US citizenship to Puerto Ricans, which led to a surge of Puerto Ricans immigrating to the US, especially to New York through Ellis Island. Many Puerto Rican musicians were recruited, due to their talent and ability to read music, to play in jazz clubs and theater pit bands in Washington D.C. and New York, primarily catering to black audiences. “Circa 1920, except for the leader, the entire pit orchestra of the legendary Howard Theater in Washington was composed of Puerto Rican musicians, and it included Tizol” (Serrano 90). In an interview with Patricia Willard in 1978, Juan describes his experience moving to the United States in 1920, working factory jobs in New York in order to save enough money to buy an instrument and make a living. He eventually encountered Duke Ellington when he went to Howard Theatre in Washington D.C. several years later. The experiences of Puerto Rican immigrants during this time is often characterized by poverty, hardship, and racial discrimination, and it is important that this is not overlooked, especially when considering the vital role that Puerto Rican jazz musicians contributed to the cultural production of an American genre. Juan Tizol was a composer and played trombone in Duke Ellington’s Big Band from 1929 to 1953. Tizol was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico in 1900, and came to the United States in 1920 with some musicians he was playing with in a Puerto rican municipal band at the time. Many Puerto Rican musicians would travel between New York and Puerto Rico, since there weren’t very many opportunities to perform jazz on the island at the time, and it was emerging more prominently in places like New Orleans and New York. Others were recruited to play in the Harlem Hellfighters during WWI. It is important for us to recognize the role that Puerto Rican musicians played in developing jazz, as they were intentionally intertwined in the jazz music scene during a time of intense cultural production.

Considering this, It was interesting to read that Tizo’s compositions fell under the genre of “exotica”, which is characterized by ideas of “distant, mythical and mystical lands” (Serrano 89). It was also mentioned that Tizo had originally included “Porto Rico”* in the title of several of his compositions, including “Porto Rican Girl” dedicated to his sister Remedio. Before publishing, the title was changed to “Moon Over Cuba” since she had moved to Cuba… While there is no definitive reason for this change, it is interesting to consider the narrative of distance and otherness that is preserved in the edited titles of his songs. ‘Porto Rico’ was included in several other of Tizo’s original titles, but were changed before they were published. What is demonstrated by the intentions to separate Puerto Rican identity from Tizol’s compositions? Does it give us insight on the marketing strategies during the time? Is it reflective of the attitudes towards Puerto Rican citizens living in the United States? When considering an American genre such as jazz, it is important to recognize all of the musicians that contributed to the narrative of the art, and the circumstances that they endured. What does this reflect about the narrative that has been created about American music, and who is included in it?

*In the Treaty of Paris in 1898 they changed the name of Puerto Rico to ‘Porto Rico’, in efforts to make it easier to pronounce for Americans. It wasn’t until 1932 that they changed it back to the original spelling and the spelling they always had used on the island.

Serrano, Basilio. “Juan Tizol: His Talents, His Collaborators, His Legacy.” Centro Journal 18, no. 2 (2006): 82–99.

Juan Tizol oral history interview. Retrieved from https://doi.org/doi:10.7282/t3-3r99-0749

On the World Premiere of Jubilee

Posted on October 23, 2024 by Lucia Iurino

I was very fortunate to have a friend who had opening night tickets to a world premiere of an opera. I didn’t ask him what the opera was, and didn’t remember the answer, so imagine my surprise when I looked at the program to discover it was about the Fisk Jubilee Singers, who I had been learning about recently in this class. The opera followed the group’s inception, their efforts to raise funds for Fisk College, and their international tour. It was an ensemble piece, with most of the music being spirituals, arranged for the chorus. There were occasional solos and monologues, and the piece resembled an Oratorio, though without much recitative. I left with “didn’t my Lord deliver Daniel” stuck in my head for the next several days, and a feeling that the opera wasn’t quite finished.

The Opera is an ensemble piece, and it thematizes the individual vs. the collective in music making right away, but before we have really gotten to know any character as an individual, which makes the thematization less effective. This didn’t quite work. We are introduced to most of the characters fairly late in the second act, where they give short monologues about who they are, their experiences and connections to the music, etc. This was effective when it happened, but the whole opera would benefit from beginning with some sense of the individual characters. There is a difficulty in adapting historical material: lives unfold in a way that isn’t necessarily dramatically satisfying. Jubilee is also attempting, I think, to let the music speak for itself, not to give us in depth biographical information on the singers, a performance history of the group, nor to adapt their lives into a tightly dramatic work. Jubilee instead aims to illuminate the nature of the spiritual genre anew for the opera stage.

The Problematic History of Ragtime

Posted on October 23, 2024 by Abby Carter

In the early 20th century, an average citizen may have looked at the ragtime song titled “That dixie rag” and would have thought something along the lines of “popular music” or “dance music.” They would have not been thinking about the long, difficult, racist history that is involved in not only the title of the song, but also the style in which the song is composed and the lyrics housed within.

“That dixie rag” is a piano and voice sheet music score, published in 1911.¹ In the first verse, the singer invites the audience to dance to a song that is played “way down South” that makes you “want to jag,” or dance in a jerky manner.⁵ The second verse tells the story of an African American man who traveled from Fort Worth to the northern states of America and taught an audience of northerners this ragtime song. The narrator refers to the African American man by using the derogatory word “coon” throughout.

There are many things to uncover with this song. First, the word “dixie” is used to describe the southern states of the USA throughout the song. The word in particular has very negative and controversial connotations tracing back to the Civil War. The origins of the word are debated, but the song “Dixie,” composed by Daniel Decatur Emmett, popularized it in 1859. The song was considered the Confederate anthem, and was originally premiered in a minstrel show.² In my last blog post about minstrelsy, I explained how the problematic minstrelsy tradition was “baked into the pie” of American culture.⁶ This is another great example of this, with a word referring to a problematic past being commonplace throughout.

Second, the musical genre of ragtime (or rag) is also intertwined with a difficult and racist past. Ragtime is defined as “a syncopated musical style, one forerunner of jazz, a predominant style of American popular music from about 1899-1917.”³ The songs were influenced by and developed within minstrelsy, especially the characteristic syncopation which was influenced by the conception that syncopation was a trait of African American music.³ Many types of popular songs during the ragtime era were referred to as “coon songs,” which are racially denigrating songs that were meant to make fun of the typical African American speech, typing black people as foolish, thieves, highly sexted, and violent.⁴ However, a surprising thing about these songs is that many African American composers partook in the writing of these songs, saying that they were reclaiming their racial identity.⁴ Despite its reputation, the coon song was responsible for advancing the careers of many black entertainers and songwriters and paved the way for later popular black music genres, particularly the blues. Between 1905 and 1910, ragtime songs gradually lost their exclusively racial character, and any American song with a strongly rhythmic nature was given the description “ragtime.”³ Ragtime has had its fair share of revivals in the 1950’s and 1960’s, and is even studied in many academic settings now. However, many have lost the origins of minstrelsy and racism it arose from.

Overall, many people are unaware of the complex, racially insensitive history behind the genre of ragtime, as well as how it evolved and was influenced through minstrelsy. “That dixie rag” is a great example of many problematic elements that were overlooked at the time, and how it can be uncovered today.

WORKS CITED

1. O’Keefe, Edward M., Melcher, Charles L. That dixie rag. Fred G. Heberlein & Co., 1911. https://webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/metsnav/inharmony/navigate.do?oid=https://fedora.dlib.indiana.edu/fedora/get/iudl:344388/METADATA&pn=2&size=screen

2. “Dixie,” Britannica Academic. https://academic-eb-com.ezproxy.stolaf.edu/levels/collegiate/article/Dixie/30701

3. “Ragtime” Oxford Music Online. https://www-oxfordmusiconline-com.ezproxy.stolaf.edu/grovemusic/display/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-1002252241#omo-9781561592630-e-1002252241

4. Neal, Brandi A. “Coon song.” Grove Music Online. 16 Oct. 2013; Accessed 22 Oct. 2024. https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-1002249084.

5. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jag

6. https://pages.stolaf.edu/americanmusic/2024/10/10/minstrelsy-in-the-usa/

Minstrels and Newspaper Advertisements

Posted on October 23, 2024 by Maria West

Today, we understand that the media plays an important role in cultivating a culture. Blackface minstrels were one of the first forms of widespread or “mainstream” American Media entertainment. This means that it played an influential role in the mainstream media that exists today. Newspapers were another way of spreading information and culture to a large audience. The following primary sources are taken from a Newspaper publishing company called the “Now Orleans Daily Creole” in the year 1856.

Advertisement in the October 20th, 1856 publication of the “New Orleans Daily Creole”. “Armory Hall.” New Orleans Daily Creole (New Orleans, Louisiana), October 20, 1856: 2. Readex: African American Newspapers.

The first excerpt regarding “Armory Hall” was published on October 20th.¹ The referenced group called “The Christy Minstrels” was first formed by Edwin Pearce Christy, in 1842. The group consisted entirely of white performers in blackface. While this group was one of the first to travel as a unit and make a living off of it, by 1856(the year of the advertisements below) there was much more competition.

Earlier on in the group’s career one audience member reviewed their performance as being “more amused by their caricatures than charmed by the power or sweetness of their music”(Nathan, 158)². This, in combination with the advertisement’s use of the word “eccentricities” proves that the audience understood and encouraged the lack of reality in Minstrel performances, practices, and caricatures. The music was not at the forefront of minstrelsy. It was there to mock one of the biggest aspects of a culture that was not their own.

Advertisement in the November 24th, 1856 publication of the “New Orleans Daily Creole”. “The Campbells.” New Orleans Daily Creole (New Orleans, Louisiana), November 24, 1856: 2. Readex: African American Newspapers.

The second excerpt was published only about a month after the first, on November 24th.³ It gives a little more credit to the performance as a whole by referencing the vocal, instrumental, and comedic aspects of the show to draw the audience in. This second advertisement references another white minstrel group who performed in blackface called “The Campbell Minstrels”. The excerpt also takes note of their director so one can assume that this group had a following just like “Christy Minstrels”. The popularity of Minstrel shows in general began in the 1820’s and clearly continued into the 1850s. Throughout these thirty years we can see its development because this source references the style of “burlesque”. We also know that Edwin Christy is credited with creating the 3-act show⁴
. Knowing that these traditions or styles were new to the time period proves that Minstrels played a large role in the development of American theater and mainstream media.

It is also interesting to note that these performances were taking place in New Orleans. Many minstrels were popularized in the North, so to have these two traveling groups in the same southern location perform within a month of each other shows that minstrels were more common in the Southern United States than previously thought. While much of minstrel performance is lost on the modern audience or historian, the way they were advertised provides insight into perspectives of the average attendee.

1 “Armory Hall.” New Orleans Daily Creole (New Orleans, Louisiana), October 20, 1856: 2. Readex: African American Newspapers. https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/readex/doc?p=EANAAA&sort=YMD_date%3AA&fld-base-0=alltext&val-base-0=Minstrel&val-database-0=&fld-database-0=database&fld-nav-0=YMD_date&val-nav-0=&docref=image/v2%3A11B849020C1891B3%40EANAAA-11B95E171CE0DA50%402399243-11B86D14E5AC2270%401-11FAA70A71B3B3C2%40Armory%2BHall&firsthit=yes

2 Nathan, Hans. Dan Emmett and the Rise of Early Negro Minstrelsy. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press. https://search.alexanderstreet.com/view/work/bibliographic_entity|bibliographic_details|500035.

3 “The Campbells.” New Orleans Daily Creole (New Orleans, Louisiana), November 24, 1856: 2. Readex: African American Newspapers. https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/readex/doc?p=EANAAA&sort=YMD_date%3AA&page=1&fld-base-0=alltext&val-base-0=Minstrel&val-database-0=&fld-database-0=database&fld-nav-0=YMD_date&val-nav-0=&docref=image/v2%3A11B849020C1891B3%40EANAAA-11B95E58D0501DF0%402399278-11B86D154E124B80%401-1211B2645EE918AF%40The%2BCampbells&firsthit=yes

4 Lott, Eric. “Chapter 1.” Essay. In Love and Theft: Blackface Minstrelsy and the American Working Class. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1993.

The Cakewalk: A Predeccesor

Posted on October 22, 2024 by Maria Panora

William A. Pratt’s Following Up The Band: An African Sonata for Piano, published in 1900, presents an example of how African American influences were making their way into notated music ¹.

Following Up The Band: Cake Walk Characteristic Two Step March

The piece, written as a piano sonata, mimics the sound of a marching band parading through the streets, taking on the style of a characteristic two-step march. The cover of the score, showing men in tailcoats and a woman in Victorian dress, shows imagery associated with the cakewalk, a dance that played a role in shaping early American music. This imagery, along with the music itself, suggests a blend of the social and cultural practices of the time.

The cakewalk, a dance that was originally created to mock the European minuet, was adopted by Minstrel shows in the late 19th century. As John Jeremiah Sullivan points out, it began as a satire but was adopted by white performers as part of a caricature in their shows, creating a layered and looped irony: African Americans making fun of the minuet, and white people, in turn, making fun of the cakewalk².

This irony, noted by writers like Amiri Baraka, reflects the complex relationship between African American culture and how mainstream society consumed it, particularly within minstrelsy³. Pratt’s African Sonata for Piano can be seen as part of this broader context. It combines the structure of a European sonata with a two-step rhythm that characterizes marching band music. I can not point to much syncopation or polyrhythms that would have been characteristic of a cakewalk, in the score, which makes me wonder about the performance practice for a sonata with the subtitle An African Sonata for Piano.

Following up the band : an African sonata for piano

As we learn about the evolution of jazz, ragtime, and blues, the connection of the cakewalk becomes more apparent. Its influence on later musical forms is evident in works like Pratt’s, which, though written for piano, paints a picture of a marching band and the energy of a parade. The imagery on the score’s cover reinforces the connection to the cakewalk, reflecting the cultural dynamics of the time, both celebratory and ironic. This sonata serves as an example of how African American culture, despite being appropriated and caricatured in many contexts, was central to shaping later forms of American music as we know it.

1 William A. Pratt, Following up the band : cake walk characteristic two step march (New York, NY: K. Dehnhoff, 1900), accessed October 22 2024, https://dc.lib.unc.edu/cdm/compoundobject/collection/sheetmusic/id/35013/rec/1

2 Sullivan, John Jeremiah. “‘Shuffle Along’ and the Lost History of Black Performance in America” New York Times. March 24, 2016. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/27/magazine/shuffle-along-and-the-painful-history-of-black-performance-in-america.html

3 Baraka, Amiri. Blues People: The Negro Experience in White America and the Music that Developed from it. New York, NY: William Morrow and Company. https://search.alexanderstreet.com/view/work/bibliographic_entity|bibliographic_details|452295.

The 1851 World’s Fair and Polka: A Love Affair

Posted on October 22, 2024 by Claire Hughes

When seeing anything from the World’s Fair, isn’t your first thought “Yeah, I bet there’s a polka about this”. I’m kidding, of course. No one thinks that. However, you may be surprised to learn of the phenomenon that is the World’s Fair Polka, as there are at least two of them. One that I could find was written by J.C. Beckel and the other by W. Vincent Wallace, and they both were written during the time of the 1851 World’s Fair.

the cover art of J.C. Beckel’s polka

Why polka? Well, it was actually a very popular form of music in the United States during that time and J.C. Beckel, being an American himself, would have been hearing a lot of that music during the time. W. Vincent Wallace was Irish, but polka had also gained a lot of popularity in Europe.

cover for W. Vincent Wallace’s take on this idea

There is not a whole ton of scholarship on the likely reasons why polka music might have been these two composer’s choice of genre to write about the world’s fair, but it is quite an interesting thing to think about. I would wonder if these two ever knew each other or knew of each other’s similar compositions. I would wonder about the kind of venues these would be performed at. Would they have been performed at the World’s Fair?

from the Crystal Palace exhibition at the 1851 World’s Fair

While there are always many questions to be asked and not as many answers to be found, I will leave you with this- isn’t it so interesting that musical genres and ideas can line up in incredibly interesting ways like this? It really makes a person think about all of the connections humans make all the time, sometimes without even knowing it.

Works Referenced:

Beckel, J. C. The World’s Fair polka. Philadelphia: T. C. Andrews, 1851. Notated Music. https://www.loc.gov/item/2023804129/.

“Beckel, James Cox 20.Dec.1811-2.Feb.1905 USA Pennsylvania, Philadelphia – Philadelphia Organist, Studied with Filippo Traetta and at the American Conservatory of Music Philadelphia, 1824-1832 Organist of St James Episcopal Church in Lancaster Pennsylvania ccm :: Beckel, James Cox Beckel. Accessed October 22, 2024. https://composers-classical-music.com/b/BeckelJamesCox.htm.

The rebellious, scandalous origins of polka – JSTOR daily. Accessed October 23, 2024. https://daily.jstor.org/the-rebellious-scandalous-origins-of-polka/.

Wallace, W. Vincent. The World’s Fair polka. New York: William Hall and Son, 1851. Notated Music. https://www.loc.gov/item/2023804034/.

“William Vincent Wallace.” Contemporary Music Centre, October 14, 2024. https://www.cmc.ie/composers/william-vincent-wallace.

The Romantic South Joins the War Effort!

Posted on October 22, 2024 by Quin Johnson

In the spring of 1917, America officially went to war. “The Great War”, “The War to End All Wars”, Americans at the time called it. For some, it brought back some not-so-happy memories from the American Civil War. Naturally, the Ziegfeld Follies decided to do a song about it.

The Cover of “The Dixie Volunteers” by Edgar Leslie and Harry Ruby

“The Dixie Volunteers” is a song composed by Edgar Leslie and Harry Ruby for the Ziegfeld Follies, a theatrical production consisting of many musical and sketch acts, and a pioneer of the popular theater forms of the day. The Follies would often attract sought-after stars, notably, Bert Williams, as touring was not necessary due to the Follies being produced on Broadway. “The Dixie Volunteers” was sung by Eddie Cantor, the year of his debut on the Follies. He would stick around for another ten years, performing in blackface with Bert Williams and in other acts.

The written chorus of “The Dixie Volunteers”,

The song itself is an ode to the southern men who volunteered to go serve in the first World War. It begins like many standard war songs of the day, describing the men all lined up, marching, getting ready to set sail, and how badly they are going to beat the enemy. Upon the chorus, however, the song arrives at a point that is a common feature of many popular songs of the day, which is romanticizing the “old south”, before reconstruction. The lyrics tell us about how they’re coming from “the land of Old Black Joe”, a minstrel song about a dying slave, and about how they’ve gone from “peaceful sons” to “fighting men like Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee”.

This song reflects the common trend of the day of romanticizing the old south, a famous example of which is Louis Armstrong’s “When It’s Sleepy Time Down South”. This song could be offering an appeal to a broader audience as opposed to just the people in New York City who happen to see Broadway Shows. Apparently it worked, as according to Karen Cox, author of Dreaming of Dixie: How the South was created in American popular culture it became incredibly popular. The idea she suggests in her book of music and film and theatrics contributing to the romantic Southern image corresponds strongly with the common ideas of how the Southern image was formed.

Cox, K. L. (2011). Dreaming of Dixie : how the South was created in American popular culture (1st ed.). University of North Carolina Press.

League, The Broadway. “IBDB.Com.” IBDB, www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/eddie-cantor-5198. Accessed 22 Oct. 2024.

Leslie, Edgar. Composer. “Ziegfeld follies (1917) Dixie volunteers.” Digital Gallery. BGSU University Libraries, 23 May 2022, digitalgallery.bgsu.edu/items/show/33991. Accessed 22 Oct. 2024.

“Looney Coons” – The Problem With Minstrelsy-Aged Piano Repertoire

Posted on October 21, 2024 by Emily Hagel

When we think of the term “looney”, many of us envision the literal definition – silly, strange, or funny. Others align the word with the beloved cartoon series, “Looney Tunes”, a film series of charming cartoon characters (Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, etc) that originally ran from 1930-1969 during the “Golden Age” of American animation. However, in the context of late 19th-early 20th-century minstrel shows and entertainment, “looney” was used frequently to describe the personalities of African-Americans, as portrayed by black-face minstrel performers. What made African Americans “looney” in black-face minstrelsy? This question invites a deeper discussion into how the term was used to reinforce harmful stereotypes through exaggerated performances, ultimately shaping societal perceptions and contributing to a legacy of racism in American culture.

After scouring the Sheet Music Consortium database, I came across a solo piano repertoire piece that raised my eyebrow entitled “Looney Coons”. The piece, published in 1900, is a short solo piano repertoire work composed by John T. Hall. Hall, born John T. Newcomer in 1875, Hall experienced success relatively early with his waltz “The Wedding Of The Winds”, which is still his most famous work today. Later in life, Hall was involved in a scam using the business name Knickerbocker Harmony Studios, where he falsely advertised prizes for song contests, while only offering the submitters help in publishing their songs — for a fee. For this, Hall was convicted and sentenced to two years in the federal penitentiary in Atlanta.

Cover page of “Looney Coons: Cake Walk & Two Step”, a solo piano work composed by John T. Hall in 1900.

Hall didn’t compose many works, but “Looney Coons” is one that did not age well after the black-face minstrel period was surpassed. While the composition itself seems tame, the title page cover showcases off-putting imagery of four black-face minstrel figures happily galivanting, dressed in affluent garb that was commonly worn by upper-middle-class white audiences. The title, “Looney Coons”, is sprawled across the cover in garish, yet eye-catching font, with the supplemental text reading “Cake Walk & Two Step”. The cakewalk was a dance form that became popularized before the United States Civil War originally performed by slaves on plantations. Lakshmi Ghandi states on NPR, “Plantation owners served as judges for these contests — and the slave owners might not have fully caught on that their slaves might just have been mocking them during these highly elaborate dances”. While “Looney Coons” may reflect a specific historical context, the imagery and title evoke deeply troubling emotions, revealing how entertainment can perpetuate harmful narratives, especially in minstrel shows.

Sheet music (pg. 1 of 6) in “Looney Coons: Cake Walk & Two-Step” (Hall, 1900).

Upon reviewing “Looney Coons”, my observations draw me back to the conversations we had in class about black-face minstrelsy. Through this performance practice, African Americans were painted in a harmful, stereotypical light that perceived them as lazy, unintelligent, and, namely, looney. Hall’s decision to publish black-face minstrel imagery for a piano work entitled “Looney Coons” not only perpetuates a legacy of racism in American culture but also reinforces the idealogy of African Americans being lesser. “Looney Coons” reflects the troubling legacy of minstrel shows, urging us to confront harmful racial stereotypes in music.

WORKS CITED

Duke University. “The African American Experience: The Cakewalk.” Duke University Libraries, Duke University, https://repository.duke.edu/dc/hasm/b0850.
Smith, Treye. “The Extraordinary Story of Why a Cakewalk Wasn’t Always Easy.” NPR, 23 Dec. 2013, https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2013/12/23/256566647/the-extraordinary-story-of-why-a-cakewalk-wasnt-always-easy.

Josephine Baker: Success Across the Pond

Posted on October 16, 2024 by Ella Yarris

Among the most famous Black performers of the vaudeville era is Josephine Baker. According to an article in the newspaper “Plaindealer” from Topeka, Kansas, she had a career as a chorus girl in America, but her career really took off when she brought her unique dancing to Europe. The focus of this article is the raging success of Black American performers with European audiences, even while they remained unknown in the US.

One thing I found notable about the description of Baker in this newspaper article was the focus on her appearance, which is brought up multiple times. Here is an excerpt from the beginning of the article:

“… it has been said that she was the greatest drawing card in the old world. Tall and slender, a teasing, tantalizing brown, she has swept the men completely off their feet.”

This quote, describing the color of her skin alone as “teasing,” illuminates to me how there is an element of exoticism in Baker’s success. The writers don’t describe her as just beautiful, but as if the way she looks is a mischievous invitation. This is quickly confirmed upon doing a quick search of the act that she became famous for in Paris, which involved her dancing in just a short skirt of bananas and a beaded necklace, and is very uncomfortable to watch due to its undeniably racist and objectifying nature. I am reminded of Lott’s “Love and Theft,” and the idea of fascination with Black bodies as motivation for minstrelsy. Not only is she admired for her skill, but also as a spectacle.

Despite the dehumanizing themes of Baker’s performances that disturb us looking back, the benefit to her is obvious. The newspaper article writes:

“From poverty and obscurity in the United States, Josephine ‘Black Bottomed’ her way to fame and wealth abroad […] She toured country after country until her name blazed forth on every newspaper”

In light of this success, Baker’s choice to become a French citizen in 1937 makes sense. Even after her success in France and across Europe, Baker was met with negative press upon her return to the US. The newspaper article from “Plaindealer” closes with a thought on why this might be. According to the author, America is bereft of opportunity for Black performers, even if their talent is recognized. In Europe however, opportunity and recognition converge to allow Black performers to reach their true potential in front of receptive audiences.

Jeffers, Beda. “Is Europe Haven for Sepia Theatrical Stars?” Plaindealer, vol. XLV, no. 43, 15 Nov. 1930, p 1-2. URL.

Josephine Baker. “Biography – The Official Licensing Website of Josephine Baker.” Accessed October 16, 2024. http://www.cmgww.com/stars/baker/about/biography/.

Knowledge Through Papers, Expression Through Poems

Posted on October 15, 2024 by Hnukusha Vue

The first African American or Afro American owned newspaper, The Freedom’s Journal, created a space for Black people to share information, opportunity, creativity, and expression. Despite its short life and changing motivations later in its existence, The Freedom’s Journal set a precedent for the Black voice through knowledge and poetry.

The Freedom’s Journal, founded and edited by John B. Russwurm, Reverend Samuel E. Cornish, and likely other free Black men who are not credited. With issues published weekly from March 16, 1827 to March 28, 1829, the newspaper was circulated in eleven states in the US as well as internationally in a few countries (PBS). Only publishing issues for a little over two years, The Freedom’s Journal inception inspired other Black owned papers over the decades, with “over 40 black-owned and operated papers…established throughout the United States” by the US Civil War (PBS).

Drawing of John B. Russwurm from “The Afro-American Press and its Editors”.

Drawing of Samuel E. Cornish from BlackPast.org

Initially advocating for the abolition of slavery, the newspaper kept its stance on Black Freedom, however, later evolving to be more geared towards promoting the colonization movement, a type of “response movement” to the increasing number of freed slaves and free Black people. Essentially a movement that wanted to remove free Black people from the US to begin colonies in Africa or in the far West, this change in motivations for the newspaper is likely a contribution to the end of The Freedom’s Journal. Readers likely stopped supporting this newfound messaging, in part because the US was home for these free Black people, as well as because of the both underlying and outwardly racist sentiments that motivated the movement.

To S.L.F — A poem likely written by the anonymous poet, Arion, about the feelings they experience parting ways with an unnamed friend.

Within each newspaper of The Freedom’s Journal contained information about schooling, jobs, Black achievement, foreign news, and social affairs, including weddings, deaths and funerals, and life anecdotes that correspondents sent in. A prominent article in most issues was a “poetry” section that included one or two poems, likely from correspondents who submitted stanzas or completed poems to the journal.

Catching my eye throughout my poetry reads was the name “Arion”, likely an alias fittingly inspired from the poet and musician, Arion, from Greek mythology. Arion seemed to be a regular correspondent to the journal, having thirteen of their poems included in thirteen separate issues between 1827 and 1828. Arion submitted poems centering love, loss, emotion and thoughts on the past and changing times, as well as submitting anecdotes from their life, sharing information such as how to cure a toothache with the newspapers’ readers. Unfortunately, I was unable to track down the real identity of Arion, however, it’s clear that The Freedom’s Journal served as an opportunity for writers to put out and practice their art. The newspaper created space for writers and poets to share and engage with their community during times of discrimination and dehumanization.

Other poems featured in the newspaper included topics of Black struggle becoming and existing under enslavement, some notable poems being “The African Chief” by Bryant in the March 16, 1827 issue and “The Tears of a Slave” by Africus in the March 14, 1828 issue. Both poems surround the capture and enslavement of anonymous black individuals from the continent of Africa, noting the hardship and sadness of being torn from family. Other issues included poems that empowered Black people, for example, “The Black Beauty” from Solomon’s Songs beginning with the lines:

‘Black, I am, oh! daughters fair,’
But my beauty is most rare;
Black indeed, appears my skin,
Beauteous, comely, all within

“The Black Beauty” is introduced with words by the New-Haven Chronicle, likely the entity that submitted the poem, describing that this poem is meant to uplift Black people and to show that, despite the oppression they face by White people, both races are humans and are no different from one another apart from their skin color.

These poems highlight the emotions and topics relevant to the free and literate Black person’s experience in the late 1820’s and provided an expressive outlet for writers and poets alike to share with their readers. Though it’s unlikely that enslaved people in the Southern US were able to access these newspapers, the newspapers created opportunities for free Black people in New York and within the Northern US to share information, build community, spread feelings of pain, happiness, loss, and learning.

Bibliography

“Arion Summary”. Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2024. Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/summary/Arion-Greek-poet-and-musician. Accessed 13 Oct. 2024.

“Freedom’s Journal”. PBS. https://www.pbs.org/blackpress/news_bios/newbios/nwsppr/freedom/freedom.html. Accessed 11 Oct. 2024.

“Freedom’s Journal Newspaper is Published”. African American Registry, 2024. https://aaregistry.org/story/the-first-black-newspaper-freedoms-journal/. Accessed 11 Oct. 2024.

Penn. I. Garland. “The Afro-American Press and its Editors”. Willey & Co, Massachusetts 1891. Wellesley College Digital Repository, https://repository.wellesley.edu/object/wellesley30303. Accessed 12 Oct. 2024.

“The African Chief.” Freedom’s Journal, 16 Mar. 1827, p. 4. Readex: African American Newspapers, https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/readex/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info%3Asid/infoweb.newsbank.com&svc_dat=EANAAA&req_dat=102FE1F6CA316FA2&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi/fmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&rft_dat=document_id%3Aimage%252Fv2%253A132FB88A16969E1C%2540EANAAA-132FC89EEDB64928%25402388432-132FC0E94E4D3970%25403-1389CB4A75C2513A%2540. Poetry. Accessed 12 Oct. 2024.

“The Colonization Movement.” Indiana Historical Bureau, 2024. https://www.in.gov/history/for-educators/all-resources-for-educators/resources/underground-railroad/gwen-crenshaw/the-colonization-movement/#:~:text=The%20colonization%20movement%20began%20in,remain%20in%20the%20slave%20states. Accessed 11 Oct. 2024.

“The Black Beauty.” Freedom’s Journal, 8 June 1827, p. 4. Readex: African American Newspapers, https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/readex/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info%3Asid/infoweb.newsbank.com&svc_dat=EANAAA&req_dat=102FE1F6CA316FA2&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi/fmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&rft_dat=document_id%3Aimage%252Fv2%253A132FB88A16969E1C%2540EANAAA-132FC8A94D2B6A08%25402388516-132FC0E9758971C0%25403-138A3AC27A98F47D%2540. Poetry. Accessed 13 Oct. 2024.

“The Tears of a Slave.” Freedom’s Journal, 14 Mar. 1828, p. 4. Readex: African American Newspapers, https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/readex/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info%3Asid/infoweb.newsbank.com&svc_dat=EANAAA&req_dat=102FE1F6CA316FA2&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi/fmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&rft_dat=document_id%3Aimage%252Fv2%253A132FB88A16969E1C%2540EANAAA-132FC8D665FECE80%25402388796-132FC0EA0714AEE0%25403-138B6FD7C12DA122%2540. Poetry. Accessed 12 Oct. 2024.

“To S.L.F”. Freedom’s Journal, 14 Mar. 1828, p. 4. Readex: African American Newspapers, https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/readex/doc?p=EANAAA&t=pubname%3A132FB88A16969E1C%21Freedom%2527s%2BJournal&sort=YMD_date%3AA&fld-base-0=alltext&val-base-0=arion&fld-nav-0=YMD_date&val-nav-0=&docref=image/v2%3A132FB88A16969E1C%40EANAAA-132FC8D665FECE80%402388796-132FC0EA0714AEE0%403-138B6FD7C12DA122%40Poetry&firsthit=yes#copy. Poetry. Accessed 12 Oct. 2024

A Stands for Adam

Posted on October 12, 2024 by Hannah Leiseth

Published under the name of “Iron Gray,” The Gospel of Slavery was a book ahead of its time. At first glance, the typical person today would grimace at the amount of detail this book goes into. After a bit more research though, the narrative changes.

Thomas, Abel C. (Abel Charles). The gospel of slavery: a primer of freedom. By Iron Gray.

Abel C. Thomas was an antislavery activist from Philidelphia. In 1864, two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed, he wrote this alphabet book to help the children of the African American populations who had been freed to learn to read. The reason why the pseudonym “Iron Gray” was used is unknown, though I can only assume that it was for protectionary purposes.

Thomas, Abel C. (Abel Charles). The gospel of slavery: a primer of freedom. By Iron Gray.

In order to make these books more accessible to these people, especially children, he used situations that these former slaves knew all too well to help teach the letters of the English alphabet.

Thomas, Abel C. (Abel Charles). The gospel of slavery: a primer of freedom. By Iron Gray.

While the details of some pages can make the average person today feel uncomfortable, this was the reality for so many freed slaves in the 1860s. I would greatly recommend giving this book a read-through and seeing for yourself the complete contents of this book.

Thomas, Abel C. (Abel Charles). The gospel of slavery: a primer of freedom. By Iron Gray.

Sources:

Thomas, Abel C. (Abel Charles). The gospel of slavery: a primer of freedom. By Iron Gray. Published by T.W. Strong, 1864. Readex: Afro-Americana Imprints from the Library Company of Philadelphia, https://infoweb-newsbank-com.ezproxy.stolaf.edu/apps/readex/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info%3Asid/infoweb.newsbank.com&svc_dat=AFAMER&req_dat=102FE1F6CA316FA2&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi/fmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&rft_dat=document_id%3Aimage%252Fv2%253A13D59FCC0F7F54B8%2540EAIX-147E02C279A1CCA8%2540-1499F1F8C785CBE8%254019. Accessed 11 Oct. 2024.
Onion, Rebecca. “‘F Is for Fugitive’: A Fantastic 1864 Children’s Book about the Evil of Slavery.” Slate Magazine, Slate, 24 Jan. 2013, slate.com/human-interest/2013/01/gospel-of-slavery-the-1864-pro-abolitionist-childrens-book.html.

Liturgical music in new light

Posted on October 11, 2024 by Gabriel Katzenmeier

Spiritual liturgical music in the church and services are often held in very high standing by people. They are viewed as holy and that they must be performed with that in mind. In the year 1827 that was especially true. Racism was a prominent factor in the lives of Afro Americans during that time. They were not allowed to do what their white counterparts could and had to worry about their safety. These things also affected those in the music community. These liturgicals were performed by who was deemed to be worthy of the music. This in most cases meant white individuals. These were also predominantly that of white men too. In the African American newspaper I found that it was written in 1827. It is talking about a unique performance of a liturgical being performed by black performers. How incredible it was to witness that unique situation unfold. The author speaks of those who will laugh at this performance. That they will find these holy works being performed by African Americans. The performers were not very experienced but the performance was viewed by the author as not ordinary. This was all witnessed by the author in person which makes it a reliable source to pull from. Another factor is that it was written by an African American, which means that bias that might be held by white writers was not brought into this entry. That means an honest opinion and accounting is held and this part of history is portrayed accurately and faithfully.

E, J. (1827b, October 12). Observer No VI. Readex A division of Newsbank. https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/readex/doc?p=EANAAA&sort=YMD_date%3AA&fld-base-0=alltext&val-base-0=Music%20performance%20&val-database-0=&fld-database-0=database&fld-nav-0=YMD_date&val-nav-0=&docref=image/v2%3A132FB88A16969E1C%40EANAAA-132FC8BFE44F41F0%402388642-132FC0E9B73F3428%402-138B6F9D7689E22D%40Observer.–No%2BVI&firsthit=yes

The Unwritten History of Peter M Slocum, American Luthier

Posted on October 11, 2024 by Claire Hughes

The history of making stringed instruments is a long and well documented one. However, if you look closer you will see that there seem to be a few gaps. This week as I was doing my research I came across a few summaries from the April 11, 1828 edition of Freedom’s Journal. One of which discusses a man named Peter M. Slocum and describes him as a man who had an ingenious method of crafting string instruments, even saying that his method made the instruments sound better than those from Cremona, Italy (this is in reference to the violins of Stradivari, Amati, Guarneri, etc).

As this is such a hefty claim, it immediately piqued my interest. Much to my dismay, there was almost nothing to be found. I began to wonder if this man ever existed. A quick visit to Google did show one result: that there is documentation of one of his violins. It’s quite interesting looking, with almost no edges and shaped more like a guitar than a traditional violin.

One of Slocum’s violins, on display at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston

Since I had half determined that this was an actual person, I decided to continue on. An extensive search in the Afro-Americana Imprints from the Library Company of Philadelphia database proved to be no help as almost all mentions of the violin were parts of stories such as Swallow Barn by JP Kennedy, where the author is either writing about someone playing violin, using it to describe a certain sound, or other various uses. I then traipsed over to Google Scholar in hope of finding something. I got one result, which was from a dissertation on American Violin making by Sarah Gilbert Pickett, a student at Florida State University. She mentions Slocum and even gives his dates and a footnote. As I excitedly check the footnote I am left in despair as I click the link and am sent to an error, as the page does not exist anymore. Furthermore, the footnote was from the website of the Boston Fine Arts museum and would have simply been about the guitar shaped violin of his they had on exhibit. Pickett describes him as a “particularly interesting” violin maker but offers no solid proof that she has any information about him other than his interesting looking violin.

Drawing depicting the act of violin making

I have now been left with more questions than answers. Could it be due to his race or some other aspect about himself that there is such little information? Since I was unable to find out anything in that regard, I do not know. How does someone who has left entire instruments behind have almost no actual documentation? Could this possibly be a pen name someone was operating under? What can we do to uncover these lost histories and is there any way that can even happen?

Works Referenced:

Guitar-shaped violin – works – Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Accessed October 11, 2024. https://collections.mfa.org/objects/51310.

Kennedy, John Pendleton. Swallow barn, or A sojourn in the Old Dominion. By J.P. Kennedy. New York City: George P. Putnam, 1851. Readex: Afro-Americana Imprints from the Library Company of Philadelphia. https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/readex/doc?p=AFAMER&docref=image/v2%3A13D59FCC0F7F54B8%40EAIX-147E02C84431E210%40-14BA4E5019A86BA0%4023.

Pickett, Sarah Gilbert. “Tradition and Innovation in American Violin Making.” Order No. 28320843, The Florida State University, 2021, https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/tradition-innovation-american-violin-making/docview/2547053260/se-2 (accessed October 11, 2024).

“Summary.” Freedom’s Journal (New York, New York), April 11, 1828: 5. Readex: African American Newspapers. https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/readex/doc?http://p=EANAAA&docref=image/v2%3A132FB88A16969E1C%40EANAAA-132FC8D8C1791728%402388824-132FC3AB84B04D58%404-1389CB5BB343DEC0%40Summary.

The African American Orchestra

Posted on October 11, 2024 by Nathan Moon

While most American “classically trained” musicians around the turn of the 20th century were white, a notable figure making strides to change that was found in Albert Mando, a black composer, conductor, and educator. Founder of the Mando Mozart Conservatory, a New York based music school for African Americans, Mando was considered “the most distinguished negro teacher and leader of music in the United States” at the time of his death in 1912.

For the decades that he ran the school, Mando and his students received plenty of attention from black run press. Being the only conductor of color of a “musical art and symphony society” of his time, he was seen as a dominant figure in paving the way for black classical musicians.

Anther notable black conductor of the time is Walter F. Craig, founder of Craig’s Orchestra. A large difference between Craig’s and Mando’s ensembles is that while Mando had entirely black students, Craig’s Orchestra was around half white for the first several decades of its existence. However, Craig’s impact may be just as great, introducing many black musicians to the stage as solo artists.

While Mando and Craig had a tremendous effect on black musicians being accepted in classical settings, it would still be several more decades before black conductors would direct major all-white groups. We recognize names such as William Grant Still, Everett Lee, and Henry Lewis because of their own incredible contributions to the music world, but much of the work to get African American classical musicians accepted at an equal level to white ones was started decades before by people most have forgotten.

Works Cited

“Albert Francis Mando (1846-1912) Composer, Conductor, and Instructor of Music.” Lansingburgh Historical Society, Lansingburgh Historical Society, 3 Feb. 2017, www.lansingburghhistoricalsociety.org/in-the-news/albert-francis-mando-1846-1912-composer-conductor-and-instructor-of-music.

“Craig’s Christmas Reception.” New York Age, 1891, p. 3. African American Newspapers, Accessed 11 Oct. 2024.

“In the Musical Realm. What Mr. Albert F. Mando Is Doing to Popularize; the Classics-a Rare Treat.” Colored American, 1899, p. [2]. African American Newspapers, Accessed 11 Oct. 2024.

“Mando’s Orchestra. A New York Musician Developing in the Negro Race a Taste for the Classic.” Colored American, 1902, p. 10. African American Newspapers, Accessed 11 Oct. 2024.

“A Noted Musician. The Greatest Conductor of the Negro Race.” Colored American, 1903, p. 2. African American Newspapers, Accessed 11 Oct. 2024.

“A New Race”: Theater and Societal Values

Posted on October 10, 2024 by Maria Panora

In a 1982 advertisement in The Chicago Metro News (Issue 13, Volume 16, June 12, 1982), I came across this intriguing summary of a play:

“The play tells about a sterility bomb that has been dropped on the whole wide world, sterilizing all but one male human being, and he is a Black man, and has to repopulate the entire world.¹”

The Chicago Metro News (Issue 13, Volume 16, June 12, 1982)

This play, titled A New Race, was written by Alice C. Browning and presented at the 12th annual International Black Writers’ Conference. I was curious to learn more about the play’s plot and reception, and to my surprise, I found little to no information about it beyond that newspaper mention. However, I did learn more about Alice C. Browning and her important contributions to African American literature and the arts.

In 1970, nearing retirement from teaching, Browning met with fellow leaders in the African American community, including Judge Sidney Jones and Leo Sparks, at the Washington Park Community Fieldhouse to plan the first annual International Black Writers Conference.

Alice C. Browning (1907–1985) was an educator, writer, and publisher. While studying at Columbia University, she developed an interest in writing short stories but faced rejection when submitting her work to magazines. This experience led her to create an outlet for African Americans to publish their stories, which resulted in the founding of Negro Story magazine, a publication that ran for nine issues. She continued exploring new ventures in publishing and eventually became one of the founding organizers of the International Black Writers’ Conference, established in 1970, around the time of her retirement.²

With so little information available about A New Race, I started thinking about how theater and performance spaces had changed by 1982. Theaters were no longer exclusively for white audiences, yet the fact that the play’s advertisement mentioned an interracial cast of actors and actresses feels significant. The fact that this detail needed to be highlighted suggests it was still uncommon. Additionally, the play itself, a science fiction comedy that critiqued nuclear warfare, seems bold for its time. The 1980s were marked by Cold War tensions, which makes me wonder how audiences received a play with themes like this at the time.

As we’ve discussed with minstrelsy, comedy on stage has often been used to mask deeper issues, sometimes as a way to caricature Black people for white audiences.³ This makes me wonder about Browning’s intent in casting a Black man as the last fertile male left to repopulate the world, in a satirical play. She was clearly passionate about getting African American voices out there, and I think there is something to say about the name of the theater that was going to be presenting this play, the Sankofa Inc. Theate. The play’s use of comedy to touch on Cold War anxieties, alongside an interracial cast and a Black lead, could easily have made some audiences uncomfortable. This discomfort may have contributed to the lack of information about the play today. Perhaps it was underattended or underreported, which is why information on it is limited.

It’s interesting to think about how all these elements, nuclear warfare satire, race, and comedy, came together on stage in A New Race. And while I wasn’t able to uncover more about the play itself, it leaves me wondering about its impact and how it might have been received at the time.

1 “A New Race of People.” Chicago Metro News (Chicago, Illinois) 16, no. 31, June 12, 1982: PAGE 16. Readex: African American Newspapers. https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/readex/doc?p=EANAAA&docref=image/v2%3A12912DF42BF1884F%40EANAAA-12B78B1955820310%402445133-12B78B1A38C0B790%4031-12B78B1CB1DD51E0%40A%2BNew%2BRace%2Bof%2BPeople.

2 Browning, Alice Papers, Chicago Public Library, Carter G. Woodson Regional Library, Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature

3 Sullivan, John Jeremiah. “‘Shuffle Along’ and the Lost History of Black Performance in America.” The New York Times Magazine, March 24, 2016. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/27/magazine/shuffle-along-and-the-painful-history-of-black-performance-in-america.html.

Bias in the Music Industry

Posted on October 10, 2024 by Maggie Shepphird

Black Americans have produced some of the most prolific and influential styles and genres as music, as well as some of the most influential songs. However, unfortunately for many years they were not able to receive any sort of credit or royalties from their music for many many years. The main reason they weren’t able to reach the level of fame that the white American musicians had at the time was mainly because of segregation present in the music industry, especially the recording industry. In the 1880s and beyond, musicians gained revenue from their works in two ways: through selling sheet music and through selling recordings. Black Americans were not able to access either of these things at the time.

In 1914, the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers founded in hopes of preventing copyright. Black Americans unfortunately were very poorly represented in this committee despite being the population that suffered the most from stolen and copyrighted works. Within 170 members of the committee, only 6 were black. However, another issue in printed music was people had to have experience in reading music, most of them from the time they were little, to be able to be musically literate. However, these learning experiences were often times not offered to Black Americans growing up because of the schools being segregated and the lack of music education offered. Therefore, there were many Black Americans who had an extraordinary amount of talent but were not given the privilege of music education, so despite their works being very good, weren’t able to receive profit from the printed music industry. However, there were some exceptions. A white music publisher named John Stillwell Stark created a publishing deal with Scott Joplin who was a Black American composer, known for his ragtime compositions. This publishing deal was very successful which highlights the competency of Black American musicians, as well as how sad it is that so many talented musicians were not given these opportunities.

In the recording industry, very few Black American musicians were given the chance to record their songs because of bias from producers and talent agents. Although there were some exceptions, such as George Washington Johnson and Arthur Seals, many talented musicians were overlooked and not given the opportunity to gain success from their music. Instead, many white musicians stole songs written by black musicians and recorded them to gain profit. The style of blues, although created by Black Americans, was recorded on records most of the time by white musicians imitating, or appropriating the style. There were so many talented Black Americans who did not get any recognition, while many white people did. One example of this is Elvis Presley. Although Elvis Presley is extremely talented and good at what he does, a lot of his success he attained while getting ideas from talented black musicians, who didn’t receive even a quarter of the success that he did. Therefore many Black Americans were overlooked while Elvis Presley became one of the most famous rock musicians of all time.

This highlights the lack of rights Black Americans had and is very sad. It also highlights the work that still must be done to give Black Americans equal rights and an equal chance at success. As Americans, we must do better to create a safer and more equal future for those here and those to come.

https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781315472096-14/industrializing-african-american-popular-music-reebee-garofalo?context=ubx&refId=1f34259a-ab47-4287-8930-894d87ce57cb

Maultsby, Portia K., and Mellonee V. (Mellonee Victoria) Burnim, editors. Issues in African American Music : Power, Gender, Race, Representation. Routledge, 2017.

Blackface: The New Big Trend in Entertainment Strikes Gold

Posted on October 10, 2024 by Quin Johnson

The Plaindealer, a newspaper of Topeka, Kansas, built to serve its African-American population, no longer exists. It died some thirty years after its owner, Nick Chiles, passed away. It was, as the Kansas Historical society states, “among the strongest Black newspapers in the nation, and the longest running.” It ran for over 50 years, from 1899 to 1958.

Newspapers in general are an excellent example of something that existed for an incredibly long time and almost immediately died with the rise of the digital age. The Plaindealer wrote about their predictions for the future of entertainment in their 1931 article about Blackface in entertainment.

The Cover of the January 31st, 1931 edition of the Topeka Plaindealer. The headline reads “Does Black Face Acting Expert a Magic Spell over American Audiences?”
by George Santa

In this edition of the Plaindealer, Santa writes about the popularity of Blackface acting in films of the time. He writes that “It seems peculiarly significant that blackface acting has had such tremendous acceptance in the United States. There appears to be some degree of actual “luck” attendant upon all those who have adopted it.” Throughout the article, he lists and highlights different actors who have achieved great success from making use of blackface, including Al Jolson, Correll and Gosden, the creators of incredibly popular Radio Sitcom “Amos n’ Andy”, Ethel Barrymore, and Eddie Cantor. Bert Williams was highlighted several times throughout, often as a “predecessor” and a model for other blackface actors.

At the very end of the article, Santa considers the success that blackface and minstrelsy has granted its actors. He calls to attention how frankly odd the practice is. He writes that “The whole condition is one which would lend itself undoubtedly to the analysis of psychological experts. It has no counterpart either here or abroad.” He never explains why blackface might be so popular among audiences, but he does make very clear that the audience demands what the actors are putting out, not the other way around. Actors were putting on blackface in reaction to what people demanded. He offers one possible reasoning at the very end. “The tragic condition of the American Negro in the popularity of the blackface artist paradoxically gives rise to a much more hilariously funny form of entertainment than any situation in the United States. Nor does the acceptability show any signs of abating,” Santa writes.

Santa’s article on the film industry provokes quite some thought. Why did audiences find blackface so entertaining? At what point did actors like Ethel Barrymore decide to cave and blacken their faces in order to find success? Did they realize what they were doing was morally dubious, to say the least? The article serves an interesting purpose, which is to let the reader wonder about these questions themselves, as it offers little explanation, and focuses primarily on exposing these popular actors for donning blackface. After all, the title asks “Does Blackface”, rather than “Why does Blackface”. I can only assume the answer that Santa offers is yes.

“Nick Chiles – Kansapedia – Kansas Historical Society.” www.kshs.org, www.kshs.org/kansapedia/nick-chiles/12009.

‌Plaindealer, vol. XLV, no. 52, 31 Jan. 1931, p. [1]. Readex: African American Newspapers, https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/readex/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info%3Asid/infoweb.newsbank.com&svc_dat=EANAAA&req_dat=102FE1F6CA316FA2&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi/fmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&rft_dat=document_id%3Aimage%252Fv2%253A12A7EF1A4AC47F2D%2540EANAAA-12CCEC444EB02D78%25402426373-12CCEC4453715F08%25400. Accessed 10 Oct. 2024.

Minstrelsy in the USA

Posted on October 10, 2024 by Abby Carter

The act of blackface minstrelsy was a form of entertainment in white American circles that started in the 1830’s and fell from popularity in the 1920’s.⁴ It serves to imitate the culture of African Americans, and consists of white performers who painted their faces black to resemble African Americans. The act itself was incredibly racist, serving to exaggerate and exemplify harmful stereotypes of African Americans. Some examples of this are exaggerated characters, deliberately painting a smile on their faces to perpetuate the lie that black people are happy to be enslaved, and highly exaggerating elements of African American culture, such as their dancing, singing, and vernacular. The use of music also helped with this, as music is a powerful way to shape opinion, and minstrel shows were not found without music accompanying. By the 1850’s, the peak of minstrelsy, the typical minstrel show had two parts: the first part with comic exchanges, ballads, and solo performances, and the second part which was vaudeville with specialty acts, clog dances, jigs, female impersonations, and burlesque of popular dramas.⁴ And the craziest part: these performances were normalized within the white community, being one of the most popular forms of entertainment of it’s time. There were ten theaters in New York alone dedicated to minstrelsy.⁴

An advertisement for a minstrel show. New Orleans Daily Creole; November 19, 1856

Minstrel troupes were most popular in the North, but were found throughout the United States. Some more well known troupes would tour often, as shown in the primary source above. The source is from the November 18, 1856 copy of the New Orleans Daily Creole, and advertises the third week of the celebrated Campbell Minstrels, their director Matt Peel, and their programs of “burlesque, negro farce, and black vigils” as well as a show entitled “plantation past times.”¹ The advertisement also proclaims that the shows are “Negro Minstrelsy, by the Model Troupe of the World!!”¹

The cover of the score for “Poor Nelly Ann,” composed by the Campbell Minstrels, depicting the troupe in (bottom photos) and out (top photos) of blackface.

This advertisement is a great example of the negative, exaggerated, and racist nature of these performances. For one, the whole troupe and the director are in fact white blackface performers, who have taken African American culture and created a negative stereotypical experience.

The program from a Campbell Minstrels’ show in Massachusetts in 1852.

In a program from the Campbell Minstrels from a performance in Massachusetts in 1852, there are examples of dances (quickstep) and music (banjo duet, drum and tambourine solos, bone castanet) that exemplify the African American culture.² There are three sections, and the third section is titled with a derogatory term towards African Americans preceded by the word “plantation,” signifying that they are emulating slaves.²

However, something interesting about both the advertisement and the program is that they both advertise burlesque, which led to vaudeville, and ultimately musical theater. These elements of stage performance are still present today, and many people are unaware of the influence that minstrelsy has had over culture today. The horrific, racist act of minstrelsy may be dead today, but we still must be aware of how it is baked into the pie of American culture. We must be aware and consider these results so that we can go forward with more awareness, sensitivity, and a more inclusive headspace so that such acts of degradation will not happen again.

SOURCES
1. “Campbell Minstrels.” In New Orleans Daily Creole. New Orleans, Louisiana, November, 19, 1856. https://infoweb.newsbank.com

2. “West & Peel’s old and original Campbell Minstrels!” in American Broadsides and Ephemera. Worcester, Massachusetts. 1852. https://infoweb.newsbank.com

3. “Poor Nelly Ann’ / composed and sung by the Campbell Minstrels.” 1848. https://digitalcollections-baylor.quartexcollections.com/Documents/Detail/poor-nelly-ann-composed-and-sung-by-the-campbell-minstrels./2023272

4. Salamone, Frank A. “Minstrelsy” from Encyclopedia of American Studies. 2021. https://search.credoreference.com/articles/Qm9va0FydGljbGU6NjcwNjc=

African Wit & Humor – A White Politicians Commentary on Negros

Posted on October 9, 2024 by Emily Hagel

Imagine reading the Sunday morning paper. Hot off the presses, and just delivered to your door in an affluent neighborhood in Huntsville, Alabama – the year is 1882. You skip over the daily news and weather reports to get to your favorite section – the editorials. You skim over the gossip and advertisements, but suddenly, a title catches your eye: “African Wit and Humor. Congressman Cox on the Fun in a Negro’s Character”.

Newspaper entitled “AFRICAN WIT AND HUMOR. Congressman Cox on the fun in a Negro’s Character. (Huntsville Gazette, 1882).

This newspaper article was published in the Huntsville Gazette on March 11th, 1882. The title is eye-catching because it makes a profound claim on the characteristics of black people during the height of the slave trade and the American Civil War in the late 19th century. Reading further into the article, it became apparent that the man giving commentary on the personalities of black people was a white congressman named Samuel S. Cox. Cox was a representative for both the states of Ohio and New York during his tenure in the U.S. House of Representatives. Cox traveled between jobs in the law and political spheres until he ultimately was elected to Congress from 1857-1865, and 1869-1889 (retiring 7 years after this article was published).

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Drawing of Samuel Sullivan Cox, date unknown.

The gist of the magazine article is that it recounts the night when Congressman Cox presented a lecture at the Lincoln Center in New York City on the personality trait of humor in African people. It goes on to give multiple examples, which were received with [Laughter] at the ends of each joke:

“The African is like the kaleidoscope changing. He has his extremes of joy and sorrow, sin and pertinence. The elements of his character have puzzled the best analytical tests. The varying and brightly scintillating–flashes of his lighter nature are well-balanced to do this. “Bill,” said my father one day to a negro, “here’s a dram of whiskey for you twenty-five years old.” Looking dubiously at the liquor in the glass Bill said, “Yes masseh, I see; but I declare dat’s de smallest chile fur’s age I’ve ever seed.” [Laughter]”

African Wit and Humor. Congressman Cox on the Fun in a Negro’s Character

This article prompts me to consider our discussions on minstrelsy and black entertainment. Who was Cox’s audience, and what did they take away from his remarks? In an era when minstrelsy thrived, such performances often perpetuated racial caricatures. Cox’s commentary, while seemingly benign, fits within this larger narrative, reinforcing existing stereotypes while providing a space for laughter that masks deeper societal issues. His approach allows the audience to laugh at perceived quirks of black life, subtly reinforcing their social dominance by portraying black individuals as mere figures of humor rather than as complex human beings. This raises important questions about the implications of humor in understanding culture.

The laughter that once echoed in the Lincoln Center is a reminder of how humor can be wielded as both a tool for connection and a weapon of marginalization. By examining these narratives critically, we can better understand the intricate relationship between race, humor, and representation—one that still resonates in contemporary discussions about race and culture in America.

WORKS CITED

“African Wit and Humor. Congressman Cox on the Fun in a Negro’s Character.” NewsBank, www.infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/readex/doc?p=EANAAA&sort=YMD_date%3AA&page=4&fld-base-0=alltext&val-base-0=music%2C%20african%20american&val-database-0=&fld-database-0=database&fld-nav-0=YMD_date&val-nav-0=&docref=image/v2%3A12B28392F31992D0%40EANAAA-12C175246F8D10B0%402408516-12C175248A6ACB38%401-12C17524EC0B6BD0%40.
“Cox, Congressman.” Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, https://bioguide.congress.gov/search/bio/C000839

Walt Whitman Just Wants to be Part of your Symphony

Posted on October 2, 2024 by Lucia Iurino

Iconic American poet Walt Whitman embraces the “varied carols” of human life with the rapture of a rhapsode. His poetry is often characterized as democratic, composed in free verse. It shows an expansive all-embracing consciousness that loves everything in its multitudes.

I am sure I have some explaining to do here: a recent meme that has sprung up is kitschy images of dolphins on technicolor backgrounds, featuring incongruous text, and the catchy 2017 pop song “Symphony,” which was dredged up out of obscurity into this unlikely rebirth. The chorus goes “I just want to be part of your symphony,” in an ascending line that is intoxicating to sing. A “barbaric yawp” that I have certainly been sounding “over the rooftops of the world” lately.

But what ON EARTH could this incomprehensible meme have to do with Walt Whitman?

Whitman, as I recently found out, was an avid fan of the opera. His favorites included Gounod’s “Faust,” Meyerbeer’s “L’etoile du Nord,” Donetzeti’s “Lucia di Lamermoor,” and Bellini’s “La Sonnambula,” a mix of familiar and obscure works, and all quite kitschy. We must remember that Opera in the 19th century was pop culture, not high culture.

Whitman ends his poem with an image of waking up and discovering a rhythmus for his own poetry. (Proud Music of the Storm 15.20) This calls back earlier to a description of the final aria from “La Sonnambula,” a truly bizarre romantic comedy following a beautiful sleepwalker, Amina, through her romantic entanglements.

Awaking from her woes at last, retriev’d Amina sings;

Copious as stars, and glad as morning light, the torrents of her joy.

(Proud Music of the Storm 8.21-21)

The aria Whitman sings through poetry might sound something like this aria. I was amused by a detail reported by scholar Louise Pound: that Whitman didn’t really take to Wagner.

Whitman’s friends sometimes tried to interest him in Wagner, he tells us, thinking that the new music should be fundamentally congenial to him. “But I was fed and bred under the Italian dispensation,” he comments. “I absorbed it and probably show it

(Pound 61).

Wagner, with his insistence on dominating the audience with his works, was likely perhaps not democratic enough for Whitman.

In a 1924 paper about Whitman, Pound argues that opera is the artform that most profoundly influenced Whitman’s poetry. She says:

His thought and his technique sprang from attitudes of mind quite different from the customary. He was more than ordinarily self-made. He deliberately sought to free himself from older models and from accepted media of expression… Neverthelessless, any source that may throw light upon his poetical development, or upon the shaping of his individual poetical style, deserves taking into account—especially since, in these days, many are convinced that he looms largest of all our native poets

(Pound 58).

One of the central tenants of the Whitman mythos is his seemingly shocking originality. His poetry is a cry of freedom from the European poetic tradition, and the old fashioned New England elitism. Whitman is a man of the people, and of nature. He is quintessentially American. So what can we make of the influence of Opera, a European import, on his writing?

The answer seems to lie in one of his most extensive poems about music: “Proud Music of the Storm.” Whitman describes in dizzying succession images of the music of nature and man, referencing musical traditions from all over the world (Proud Music of the Storm 10). His approach is characteristically cosmopolitan. In an apostrophe he says:

Mighty maestros!

And you, sweet singers of old lands—Soprani! Tenori!

To you a new bard, carolling free in the west,

Obeisant, sends his love.

Such led me thee, O Soul!

(Proud Music of the Storm 13.5)

We see, through the close pairing of free and obeisant, that Whitman does not see himself as a break from tradition: rather, he is a new melodic line in a piece of music that encompasses the whole world, and the songs of its people.

If it is true that Whitman “looms the largest of our native poets,” the America he envisions in his poetry is the America he loved: it is essentially cosmopolitan, and its lines are not drawn on a map, but instead from one soul to another, like the filaments of a spider web (A Noiseless Patient Spider). It encompasses but does not subsume the various multitudes of human beings that make it up.

Works Cited:

Pound, Louise “Walt Whitman and Italian Musical.” The American Mercury 1925-09: Vol 6 Iss 21. Sunway Media, 1925. Internet Archive, http://archive.org/details/sim_american-mercury_1925-09_6_21.

“Proud Music of the Storm” Whitman Archive. https://whitmanarchive.org/item/per.00014. Accessed 2 Oct. 2024.

“A Noiseless Patient Spider.” The Poetry Foundation, 17 May 2019, https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45473/a-noiseless-patient-spider.

Ruth Crawford Seeger and American Identity

Posted on October 2, 2024 by Jaclyn Duellman

Ruth Crawford Seeger (1901-1953) was an American Musicologist and a pioneer of Women Composers in America.¹ Her compositions shaped the track of American musical identity with atonal avant-garde American music.

Her music was written with a particular kind of dissonance that used open 5ths in parallel. Scholars say that this is influence taken from composers like Béla Bartok and Igor Stravinsky. ³ Her interest in ultramodernist music and serialism ² come across clearly in the clip above of String Quartet (1931), which is described as the masterpiece and peak of her career as a composer. ¹

In 1930, Ruth Crawford Seeger was the first woman to win a Guggenheim Fellowship in composition and travels to Europe to complete that work. ¹ When she arrives back in the U.S. in 1931 her life changes. When Ruth Seeger returned from Europe she faced hardship that came from the Great Depression and the stock market crash. Below are headlines were collected by Matilda Gaume and listed in the book, Ruth Crawford Seeger: memoirs, memories, music by Matilda Gaume⁴:

“Julliard benefit for Unemployed Musicians” (January 17, 1931),

“London Orchestra in Trouble” (April 2, 1932),

“Metropolitan Opera Prospects Uncertain for 1932-33” (April 2, 1932),

“Economy the Watchword in Vienna” (April 11, 1931),

“Bush Conceervatory in Bankruptcy” (August 27, 1932). ⁴

Due to the position that America is in when she comes back, she is unable to compose. She gets married to Charles Seeger, and becomes a mother.³ She writes about feeling fulfilled by her family life, but also feeling too guilty to make any time for composing.³ Her family falls into poverty in the great depression, until Charles Seeger takes a job with the U.S. government doing fieldwork in the Appalachian region of America collecting folk music. ⁵ She publishes this work, which is recognized as groundbreaking, and provides for her family and the larger educational continuum. However, while Ruth Crawford Seeger recognizes great importance for collecting this folk music, she still expresses a deep calling to compose.

She composes again in 1952, writing Wind Quintet, for a competition (which she wins). That is her last competition, she died the following year ⁵

1 Tick, Judith. “Ruth Crawford Seeger: A Composer’s Search for American Music.” OUP Academic, Oxford University Press, 25 Sept. 1997, academic.oup.com/book/49355?login=true.

2 Wesby, Alan. “Ruth Crawford Seeger: Musical Ultra-Modernist and Folklorist.” Ruth Crawford Seeger: Musical Ultra-Modernist and Folklorist, www.lapl.org/collections-resources/blogs/lapl/ruth-crawford-seeger-ultra-modernist-and-folklorist. Accessed 2 Oct. 2024.

3 https://nationalphilharmonic.org/media/video/composers-in-crisis-ruth-crawford-seeger-the-great-depression/

4Gaume, Matilda. Ruth Crawford Seeger: Memoirs, Memories, Music. Scarecrow Press, 1986.

5 The New York Times, The New York Times, 13 Oct. 2017, www.nytimes.com/2017/10/13/arts/music/ruth-crawford-seeger-jack-quartet.html.

“El Movimiento” and its Music

Posted on October 2, 2024 by Hannah Leiseth

“El Movimiento,” also known as the “Chicano Movement,” emerged out of political and economic discourse against Mexican Americans in the 1960s. The Chicano Movement was primarily inspired by the civil rights movement, the antiwar movement, and most importantly, the farmworkers movement.

Chicano movement poster with “Chicano Power” and “Viva La Raza” over a Mexican flag, ca. 1970s. [Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture © Platt Poster Company] latinoamerican2.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/2267122

The beginnings of the Chicano Movement and its music can be traced to the formation of the United Farm Workers (UFW) labor union in 1965 in rural central California. The UFW was a movement co-founded by César Chávez and Dolores Huerta to fight for better social and economic conditions for Mexicans in America. Chicano studies scholar, J. Francisco Hidalgo, states in a 1972 interview with the University of Southern California that, “There was a dormant desire to organize around the issues of education, economic exploitation, police brutality, over-proportionate number of Chicanos in Vietnam, suppression of the language, and culture, unemployment, the farm worker issue, Chicano Studies, the increasing number of Chicanos on campuses, political representation, health services, and so forth.”

Dolores Huerta (left) and César Chávez (right). Co-founders of the UFW. www.history.com/news/chicano-movement

The Chicano movement sparked many different genres drawn from Mexican folk and popular music. But most commonly from this movement, huelga songs were used and created to inspire others to rise up against these abusive farm bosses and were typically played on the picket lines and at meetings. These huelga songs were written in forms such as marches, corridos, and rancheras. On top of these forms, some huelga songs were adaptations of other tunes. For example, the civil rights song and text from “We Shall Overcome” was translated to become “Nosotros Venceremos.”

A comparison of the two songs, “We Shall Overcome” and “Nosotros Venceremos” and their lyrics.

Of all these songs that were inspired by this movement, the one song that was most well-known was a folk song called “De Colores,” which actually came from Spain, and the Cursillo movement in the Spanish Catholic Church in the 1940s. This song is still well known today.

Works Cited:

Azcona, Estevan C. “Chicano Movement Music.” The American Mosaic: The Latino American Experience, ABC-CLIO, 2024, latinoamerican2.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/1329550. Accessed 2 Oct. 2024.
“Chicano Movement Poster.” The American Mosaic: The Latino American Experience, ABC-CLIO, 2024, latinoamerican2.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/2267122. Accessed 2 Oct. 2024.
Carrillo, Karen Juanita. “How the Chicano Movement Championed Mexican‑American Identity and Fought for Change.” History.Com, A&E Television Networks, 25 July 2023, www.history.com/news/chicano-movement.
“Interview with Chicano Studies Scholar [:53].” The American Mosaic: The Latino American Experience, ABC-CLIO, 2024, latinoamerican2.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/2256112. Accessed 2 Oct. 2024.
Seeger, Pete. “We Shall Overcome.” Antiwar Songs (AWS) – We Shall Overcome, antiwarsongs.org/confronta.php?versions=1&ver=18323&id=1075&ver2=-1&lang=en. Accessed 2 Oct. 2024.
“De Colores.” Youtube, 17 Dec. 2012, https://youtu.be/9rn43pLNtlY?si=zH8-_msl9jjk4D3r. Accessed 2 Oct. 2024.

MUSIC, AS A PHYSICAL AND MORAL AGENT

Posted on October 2, 2024 by Gabriel Katzenmeier

Music is a shared aspect of people’s lives. We all have music in our lives but to each of us that word means something else. American music has many different genres. There is ragtime, and jazz, which are born out of African ancestry are very known to this day. Alongside that there was symphonic music and opera. These two groups attract different audiences. For symphonic music and opera it most often attracted the rich, wealthy, and overall white communities. Where ragtime and jazz were more of an African American audience. In a periodical which was written in 1886 it talks about music as a physical and moral agent. A smaller point that is made is that it is right to judge a current state of people, tribe, or nation on their music. This point is also followed up by stating to compare and contrast the elegant works of that time written by christians. To other music written by the Native Americans and the African Americans. Which are being described as being wild and barbaric. A very demeaning point of view. Interestingly later in the document it is mentioned how music is very simple. That only requires three principle things. Air, vibration, and rhythmic symmetry. Take any of those things away and it makes it so there is no music being formed. This point goes against the original thoughts of the author due to the fact that the Native Americans music, African American jazz, and ragtime both have these aspects in them. Which in that definition makes them music. To me in the end this makes it so that periodicals like these are not accurate and reliable sources due to the fact that implicit bias is held by the author. With this block an accurate opinion can not be upheld and it makes it so that the reader leaves leaning onto a more forced opinion than drawing their own.

periodicals, A. (1886, April). Music As A Physical And Moral Agent. American Periodicals. https://www.proquest.com/americanperiodicals/magazines/music-as-physical-moral-agent/docview/137924894/sem-2?accountid=351

We’re Asking the Important Questions : The Importance of Change in Programming

Posted on October 2, 2024 by Hnukusha Vue

A letter throws shade at the managers, even name dropping the director, of a music festival in the late 1880’s for programming outdated pieces of music. What does this say about striving for educational and musical growth when in positions of power and responsibility?

In this second letter of an editorial correspondence, titled “The Worcester (Mass.) Music Festival” from “The Independent”, the author criticizes the management of mostly unnamed managers of the Worcester Music Festival in Massachusetts (not to be confused with the Worcester Music Festival in Worcester, England). The Worcester Music Festival, according to the letter, is an important musical event that the local community of Worcester, Massachusetts, is proud of, having garnered national attention as well as drawing in money to and from the community. The reasoning behind the criticism is due to repeatedly programming older musical pieces and ignoring changing “tastes of our epoch”. The letter pointedly names “Mr. Zerrahn”, seemingly the conductor and director of the festival at the time, and that the management of the festival failed to take up the responsibility to improve the festival by evolving their musical programming. The letter goes on to claim that the management instead chooses to program pieces that have, in the past, brought in money, referencing pieces by composers of the late 1700’s and early 1800s such as Rossini, Beethoven, and Spohr.

The letter additionally argues that the festival managers undermine the knowledge and “taste” of the people of Worcester, but asserts that the audience and community members of the festival hold valuable opinions and tastes which have “considerably advanced.” Even if the audience were “imperceptive as to what is best for them,” the letter states that the festival would have failed to uphold the responsibility of continuously advancing and educating the community musically. Neither are they changing the set up and programming to be more responsive to the needs of the audience since they acknowledge their complacency in management.

It’s clear that this editorial correspondence places the people in charge of this festival under critical examination albeit discourteously. Without context of the programming or recorded management of the festival that the letter speaks about, I can neither agree nor disagree with the argument that Zerrahn should have stepped down as director sooner. It’s also questionable as to what the author means when they say that the audiences’ taste in music has “advanced”. However, I hold fast to the overarching message – music consumption and engagement is ever evolving, and our presentations of music should reflect this. Conversations and arguments of similar topics brought up in the letter have existed into the present– advocacy for change in music to better reflect and platform contemporary or underrepresented composers, creators, and audiences; challenging the use of classical works of art as a means of setting expectations in art, music or literature (take for example, the use of the Western Canon); pursuing financial stability as a musical program and what it takes or sacrifices.

As educators, learners, audience members, and consumers of music, we should question complacency and reasoning in our musical programs and conversations. Who in our audience are we reflecting when we continuously program and platform the same classicals? Even despite audience approval and acceptance of these programs, what does repetition say about what and whose music we value enough to listen to and perform? Almost a century and a half later, we should be asking the same questions and continue to be critical of the underlying messaging that is sent through what music we platform through performance and education.

Works Cited:

Music.: THE WORCESTER (MASS.) MUSIC FESTIVAL. EDITORIAL CORRESPONDENCE. II. (1888, Oct 11). The Independent …Devoted to the Consideration of Politics, Social and Economic Tendencies, History, Literature, and the Arts (1848-1921), 40, 7. Retrieved from https://www.proquest.com/magazines/music/docview/90382422/se-2

Cover 1 — no title. (1888, Oct 11). The Independent …Devoted to the Consideration of Politics, Social and Economic Tendencies, History, Literature, and the Arts (1848-1921), 40, 1. Retrieved from https://www.proquest.com/magazines/cover-1-no-title/docview/90430437/se-2

Musician Spotlight: Tania León

Posted on October 2, 2024 by Claire Hughes

Tania León is a name synonymous with innovation and cultural richness in contemporary classical music. She was born in Havana, Cuba, in 1943, and moved to the United States in the 1960s. She came over as a refugee on one of the “freedom flights”, which were flights that brought people from Cuba to the United States after much negotiation between the countries.

León is very well known for being a composer, conductor, and educator. She started composing after helping start the Dance Theater in Harlem and co-founder and choreographer Arthur Mitchell encouraged her to start writing music for the ballet. She is now the music director of the ballet. She found that she had a real knack for composing and won a Pulitzer prize for her orchestral work titled Stride, inspired by Susan B. Anthony.

In addition to composition and piano, she has done a lot of work in education and amplifying underrepresented voices. She helped found the group based in New York named “Composers Now,” whose purpose is to bring forward the voices of diverse composers.

In addition to all of these accomplishments, she is also a well-known conductor. Having studied with conductors such as Leonard Bernstein and Seiji Ozawa, she found a knack for this area of music as well. On being a female Cuban conductor she says “It’s not common for a woman of my skin color to conduct serious music, so I have to know the score inside out, or work twice as hard as male conductors.” This quote from her highlights the importance of recognizing the hard work that she has put in and all of the boundaries that she had to overcome to get to where she is today. Tania León has had and continues to have a major impact on the world of classical music.

Works Referenced:

Carnegiehall.org. Accessed October 1, 2024. https://www.carnegiehall.org/Explore/Articles/2024/04/01/An-interview-with-Debs-Composers-Chair-Tania-Leon.

Huizenga, Tom. “The Unplanned, Unstoppable Career of Composer Tania León.” NPR, December 2, 2022. https://www.npr.org/2022/12/02/1139948319/the-unplanned-unstoppable-career-of-composer-tania-leon.

“Tania León: Quote on Women Music Conductors.” In The American Mosaic: The Latino American Experience, ABC-CLIO, 2024. Accessed October 1, 2024. https://latinoamerican2.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/1327973.

A Perspective on Music Education During the Late 19th Century

Posted on October 2, 2024 by Jacques LeMay

In the November 1881 issue of The Youth’s Companion Carlisle Petersilea wrote and article titled “The Study of Music at Home and Abroad.” In this article Petersilea makes a staunch defense of music education in the United States during the late 19th century, making the claim that music education in America is “equal and in many respects superior in this country to those in europe.” This is certainly an ambitious claim to make; Petersilea supports his claim with sections titled “teachers of music in America,” “Musical taste and cultivation,” “Abuse of the piano,” and “Incompetent teachers.”

A short note about Petersilea. According to the New England Conservatory’s archival library Petersilea was an extremely accomplished pianist, having first studied with his father and giving his first public recital at age 12 and traveling to europe at age 18 (ironic isn’t it) to study at the conservatory in Leipzig. He taught at the NEC from 1868-1869 and again from 1887-1891. He even spent the spring of 1884 with Franz Liszt. The dude had some clout.

The article is very long and cannot be discussed in its entirety here so I will summarise a short section. Specifically, “Teachers of Music in America” can be summarised thus: The best performers are not necessarily the best teachers, students of these teachers suffer unless they have the same talent or genius as the teacher. Petersilea believes there is no royal road to music, only work. And American musicians understand this fact and only those without the talent and work ethic go to Europe to try to overcome their lack of talent and willingness to work hard.

Petersilea had strong opinions on the state of music education during the late 19th century. He rails repeatedly against the poor teaching standards he views across the United states . With that said he also believes so firmly in the western classical education being done by some in the United States. This is particularly interesting considering how the idea of an “American” national sound was developing in this time. There was much discussion on what an American sound would be. Petersilea was almost certainly aware of the works of composers such as George Chadwick, John Paine, and Amy Beach.

This article exists as a time capsule in the history of western art music and its development in the United States. Petersilea’s perspective is, in my opinion, antiquated and a little suspect for today. With that being said the article provides valuable insight to the thoughts of a generation of conservatory music educators.

Works Cited

NECMusic. “Carlyle Petersilea.” Accessed October 2, 2024. https://necmusic.edu/on-campus/library/archives-and-special-collections/archival-collections/carlyle-petersilea/.

For the Companion, Supplement Carlyle Petersilea. 1881. “THE STUDY OF MUSIC: AT HOME AND ABROAD TEACHERS OF MUSIC IN AMERICA WHAT IS REQUISITE IN A MUSIC TEACHER MUSICAL TASTE AND CULTIVATION THE ABUSE OF THE PIANO INCOMPETENT TEACHERS CULTIVATION AND TREATMENT OF THE VOICE BENEFITS OF CLASS TEACHING PRACTICAL HINTS.” The Youth’s Companion (1827-1929), Nov 10, 422. https://www.proquest.com/magazines/study-music/docview/127043103/se-2.

Public Reception of the Fisk Jubilee Singers

Posted on October 2, 2024 by Ella Yarris

The Fisk Jubilee singers are hailed as key pioneers of “concert spirituals”, arrangements of African-American spirituals meant for the stage. They were extremely successful in their earliest years, around the 1870s: they were invited to perform at the White House, Queen Victoria commissioned a floor-to-ceiling portrait of the original members as a gift, and they raised enough funds on tours in the US and Europe to build the first permanent building at Fisk University.

Jubilee Hall at Fisk University, funded by the Fisk Jubilee Singers tour

To investigate the public’s opinion of the Jubilee Singers, I looked to an article in The Aldine, a monthly arts magazine printed in New York during the 1800s. At first glance, the review (from March of 1873) is complimentary. However, upon closer reading, some misconceptions about the Fisk Jubilee Singers become apparent. This article is evidence of how, while the Fisk Jubilee Singers were extremely successful and popular, the public’s perspective during the 1870’s still upheld racist ideas that are often applied to musics outside of the European canon.

The first thing I would like to highlight to this point was that the author claimed the Singers’ skill was natural talent.

“They have art; but it is the product of a rich natural gift, polished by natural taste and discrimination […] A musical voice seems to be a characteristic endowment of their race,”

This idea that musical talent is passed down rather than taught can be historically seen associated with many non-European musical traditions, including African percussion and Appalachian banjo music (as we discussed in class). This tactic “others” the music, and fails to recognize the hard work of the musicians. In this case, although the author is complementing the Jubilee Singers, they also say that the group lacks “cultivation” and “scientific instruction,” a Eurocentric value judgement which reveals the problematic side of this claim.

A second comment of note in this article can be found when the author is discussing the songs that the Fisk Jubilee Singers perform.

“They are clearly not the product of civilization, and yet an instinct seems to have taught their makers to follow strict musical laws. Wild and irregular as many of them seem on first hearing […] the strangest phrases can be correctly expressed in musical notation.”

When the author refers to “musical laws” and upholds musical notation as the “scientific” way to do things, they imply that this is the right and true way to express music. This reminds me of how transcriptions of Native American music were thought to be sufficient by their creators, but when the transcriptions are compared to audio recordings, there are large discrepancies. In both cases, the European musical framework is assigned more value. In fact, the author says that the way spirituals follow “musical laws” despite their creators lack of formal musical education is proof that these laws are “what the ear requires,” a claim which is ill-conceived in multiple ways.

The Fisk Jubilee Singers are an inspiring success story, and they still perform today as one of the most acclaimed choirs in the country, often serving an ambassador role internationally. However, this review makes it clear that even in their success, the Jubilee Singers were not exempt from discrimination and bias in the public eye.

“MUSIC.: THE JUBILEE SINGERS.” The Aldine, A Typographic Art Journal (1871-1873), 03, 1873, 67, https://www.proquest.com/magazines/music/docview/124830318/se-2.

Fisk Jubilee Singers. “Our History.” Accessed October 2, 2024. https://fiskjubileesingers.org/about-the-singers-2/our-history/.

Formation of an American Identity during the Great Depression

Posted on October 1, 2024 by Christine Whear

Immigration has always been a point of contention in the United States, because it proposes the discussion of who is American and who is included in the American identity. White settlers in the 1920s were legally considered American, since they had lawful access to citizenship, but there were so many others who contributed to the production of American culture: producing economic commodities, music being one of them. Throughout the 1920s and the Great Depression, Mexican immigrants were recruited to work in the Southwest of the United States participating in the railroad, mining, and agricultural industries. Music is able to depict the commonality of experiences, but also differentiate these conditions for Mexican immigrants and white people during the 1920s and 30s. Tracing back to the medieval myth of Cockayne or Cucaña, which speaks of a utopia where hardship does not exist. Songs such as “The Big Rock Candy Mountains” and “La Ciudad de Juaja” that describe the idealizations of life during the Great Depression, allow us to understand what living conditions and their respective hardships were like for White workers and Mexican immigrants. For example, in “The Big Rock Candy Mountains” Harry McClintock describes “cigarette trees” in comparison to “La Ciudad de Juaja,” Pantaleón Ramos and Manuel Treviño describe “árboles de tortillas, ramos con jarros de atole” (trees of tortillas, [and] branches with cups of atole*) (*a warm drink of Mexican origin.) The common use of the word tree, to describe natural resources and abundance, and the idealizations of what there would be abundance of help us to understand the different priorities of what is necessary, or brings pleasure to each of these groups of people. In this case, tobacco versus culturally traditional food. In both of the songs as well, they mention punishment for work. In “La Ciudad de Juaja” the lyrics say “allí le dan de palos al que quiera trabajar (there they beat those who want to work)” and in “The Big Rock Candy Mountains” the lyrics mention “they hung the jerk that invented work.” I think the most important conclusion to draw from each of these songs is that there was (to an extent) a common experience of mine and railroad workers during the Great Depression. While it is important to recognize that Mexican migrants experienced different and additional challenges due to people “honragados dishonest* ” taking advantage of immigrant labor and language barriers, the similarities in each of these songs creates a sense of identity based on the hardships that were experienced in these working conditions during this time period of American history. Another thing that I thought about while writing the title for this post, was the relevant role that work culture plays in American identity today. Again, it is important to note that these conditions look different for different groups of people, and I don’t intend to neglect the complexity of America’s job industry or make a statement that encompasses all Americans, but there is some validity in that the United States has become a place for work, and has come to define many American experiences.

*honragado is no longer a word used in the Spanish dictionary but was used in the lyrics of this song in the 1930s to describe a deceiving person. A current translation of “dishonest” would be deshonrado.

Translation of “La Ciudad de Juaja” Part II

Corridos y Tragedias De La Frontera- CD 1: La Crisis1994., edited by Chris StrachwitzArhoolie Records. https://search.alexanderstreet.com/view/work/bibliographic_entity|recorded_track|390149.

“Corridos”: A Subgenre of American Folk Songs

Posted on October 1, 2024 by Maria West

Recording of “Venimos de Matamoros”:

https://latinoamerican2.abc-clio.com/Tools/DisplayVideo/2265362?view=content

Mexican influence is seen all over the United States both geographically and historically. This is especially so in the southeastern region as there were many native Mexicans in that area of the U.S. when that region of the country was annexed through the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848. Music plays a large and important aspect in Mexican influence on U.S. culture. The main focus of this post is this Primary Source recording done in 1939 by José Suarez¹.

The song is called “Venimos de Matamoros” which translates to “We Come from Matamoros” – a town off of the Rio Grande. It falls into the category of Mexican folk songs called “corridos” which translates to “racing”, possibly in reference to the fact that these songs are usually more upbeat in tempo. In addition to its traditional tempo, this “corrido” also maintains traditional instrumentation of a single guitar as well as a solo repetitive melody line.

“Corrido’s” originated in 16th century Spain with traveling musicians or “trovadores” in a décima² format consisting of ten lines³. In the Mexican tradition, “corridos” were added to by women in Mexico during the Mexican Revolution which took place from 1910-1917. The tradition was then carried into Texas in 1915 when it is believed the story of the song takes place. In a nearby town to “Matamoros” called “Brownsville” where Texas rangers killed the family(wife, son, and brother) of a man named Aniceto Pizaña. This event caused Pizaña to seek revenge and join the group of Mexican Americans against the White Americans taking land and causing conflict in Texas at the time. In comparison to the original 16th century “corridos”, the 19th century version served as a narrative to tell stories of heroism and strength as well as maintain a Mexican Identity in the midst of expansionism. In “corridos” regarding the United States and expansionism, the songs often tell stories of those who were killed(by usually white Americans) in honor of the sacrifice they made.

Much like other marginalized groups of America, Mexican Americans used music to find identity and peace in the forceful “othering” that was being cultivated at the time. The bigotry and discrimination that was faced became an aspect of Mexican American identity, separating this new identity from that of being “Mexican” and from being “American”. Both of these countries began through colonization, thus furthering the struggles portrayed in “corridos”. Today “corridos” are considered a subgenre of American folk songs, even though it went through many cultures and countries starting with Spain, going to Mexico, then to the independent Republic of Texas, and finally to the United States.

1 “Venimos De Matamoros’ [3:13].” The American Mosaic: The Latino American Experience audio. 2024. Accessed October 1, 2024. https://latinoamerican2.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/2265362.

2 Kanellos, Nicolás. “Décima.” In The American Mosaic: The Latino American Experience, ABC-CLIO, 2024. Accessed October 1, 2024. https://latinoamerican2.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/1448550.

3 Wood, Andrew G. “Borderlands Music.” In The American Mosaic: The Latino American Experience, ABC-CLIO, 2024. Accessed October 1, 2024. https://latinoamerican2.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/1367240.

Fiddles, Rhythm, and American Integration

Posted on October 1, 2024 by Maria Panora

“His ability to simplify the intricate rhythms of rumba, tango, and samba made him popular with American audiences.¹”

My initial curiosity about violinists and fiddlers during the era of slavery led me to explore more about the violin’s role in different cultural contexts, including its place in Latin music, as documented in The Latino American Experience database. I wanted to learn more about its presence over the past few centuries. Below is an image of violinist Xavier Cugat, to whom the quote above is referencing, also known as the “Rumba King.”

The musician Xavier Cugat was born in Spain but lived in America for most of his life. He played classical violin from a young age and later became known as the “Rumba King,” a name closely identified with all Latin American music. His ability to simplify the intricate rhythms of the rumba, tango, and samba made him popular with American audiences, and by the 1940s he and his band had achieved a national reputation because of their radio appearances.

Playing an instrument can open doors, as we see in Cugat’s case, where his ability to simplify Latin rhythms allowed his career to flourish. This also exposed people to music that they might not have otherwise experienced. In contrast, those who simply appreciated Latin music but couldn’t create it may have been more limited in their engagement. Going back a bit, Eileen Southern (1997) writes about instrumentalists, particularly fiddlers, as entertainers during slavery, noting, “A good violinist found that his fiddle gained him entry into places otherwise closed to slaves and exempted him of many a day of hard work in the fields².” While still enslaved, musicians like these gained temporary relief from field labor, performing in less physically demanding roles. Southern (1997) also notes that these musicians were expected to play minuets and cotillions, not just reels and jigs, reminding us that their performances were still dictated by the commands of the “masters.” Similarly, Cugat had to simplify Latin rhythms to meet the tastes of American audiences.

Below are two recordings of “Aquarela do Brasil” for comparison: one performed by a traditional big band with Cugat on violin, and another recorded in 1980 by Brazilian singer Gal Costa. The difference between these versions highlights what is meant by the “simplification” of Latin songs. Cugat’s arrangement has more “structured” rhythms, even subdivisions within a beat, that fit together in a way that is more familiar to American audiences.

Cugat, Xavier. “Rumba Rumba.” Future Noise Music Ltd, 2008.

Link to audio: http://ezproxy.stolaf.edu/login?url=https://search.alexanderstreet.com/view/work/bibliographic_entity%7Crecorded_cd%7C979826?account_id=351&usage_group_id=126539

Critics like Virgil Thomson often dismissed non-European influences in music. Thomson (1971) wrote, “And if their work bore traces of a non-European accent, these were no source of pride. Every effort was made indeed to perform German, French, or Italian music as it was performed in the country of its own origin ³.” Although his critique was aimed at what could be considered American music, it also suggests that many people might not have appreciated Latin American styles. As Cugat noted in a 1978 interview, this made it particularly challenging to bring the full complexity of Latin music to an unfamiliar audience⁴.

1 “Xavier Cugat.” In The American Mosaic: The Latino American Experience, ABC-CLIO, 2024. Image. Accessed October 1, 2024. https://latinoamerican2.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/2179761.</

2 Southern, Eileen. The Music of Black Americans: A History. Vol. 3. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company, 1997.

3 Thomson, Virgil. American music since 1910. New York, NY: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1971.

4 “Xavier Cugat – Composer Insights.” YouTube. Accessed October 1, 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DR5Mys21CA8.

The Grand Tour: The Fisk Jubilee Singers Hit New York

Posted on October 1, 2024 by Quin Johnson

In 1870, Fisk University was going through some big changes. They were growing at such a rate they had to make plans to move locations(admittedly, a good problem to have). However, Fisk didn’t have the money for this ambitious plan. So, Professor and Treasurer George L. White came up with a gamble. Fisk would start a choir that would tour and raise funds for the school. White hadn’t been a singer himself, but had directed choirs in the past, and had already gathered $400 with a choir at Fisk for the benefit of their education. So, the Jubilee singers began, with a young Ella Sheppard serving as accompanist and director.

Ella Sheppard, Director and Accompanist of the Fisk Jubilee Singers.

After their profound success in their famous 1871 tour, they set off again in the fall of 1872. They stopped by Steinway Hall in New York, the premier music hall in New York City at the time. This attracted much attention, and earned itself a review in “The Aldine, A Typographical Art Journal”. In its March edition, the author wrote in great detail of their experience hearing the Jubilee singers.

The 1871 Tour Fisk University Jubilee Singers From Left to Right: Minnie Tate, Greene Evans, Isaac Dickerson, Jennie Jackson, Maggie Porter, Ella Sheppard, Thomas Rutling, Benjamin Holmes, and Eliza Walker.

After giving a brief introduction to the Fisk Jubilee Singers, not unlike the one I’ve given you above, the critic started right into, to give them the benefit of the doubt, what surely they thought was a very earnest and not racist review of their performance. However, as I read through the publication, I was perplexed. The reviewer was giving the Jubilee singers these halfhearted, backhanded comments and compliments, saying things like “The personal history of these singers would be enough to make their concerts deeply interesting, even if their music was not very good. But, indeed, their music itself is admirable.” This is immediately followed by “They have, of course, no great cultivation”. There are various comments like this, a kind comment followed by a step back to recognize a flaw. This is, quite frankly, rude. Additionally, the critic refers to the singers as “impressionable minstrels”, their enthusiasm and expression as “grotesque, sometimes, but always genuine”, and the music itself as “clearly not the product of civilization” and lacking in “traces of the more scholarly music of the dominant race”.

The Fisk Jubilee singers redefined the spiritual for a wider audience, and used that audience to fund the education of hundreds of thousands of African Americans over the next 150+ years. The author of this article reflects how the Fisk jubilee singers were viewed by some at the time of their initial tours, not as artistic equals and scholars seeking to fund their program to further their educational endeavors, but as a lesser choir showing the songs of their people, trying to mimic the popular choral sound of the day. The review is by and for the people who were simply not ready for the Jubilee Singers.

Here is a 1909 Recording of the Fisk Jubilee Singers performing Swing Low Sweet Chariot.

Below is a 2020 recording of Fisk’s Jubilee Singers performing Walk Together, Children (Arr. Moses Hogan).

Black, James Wallace. Jubilee Singers, Fisk University, Nashville, Tenn. 1870-1880, Library of Congress, https://lccn.loc.gov/2010647805

“George Leonard White.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/singers-white/. Accessed 1 Oct. 2024.

“MUSIC.: THE JUBILEE SINGERS.” The Aldine, A Typographic Art Journal (1871-1873), vol. 6, no. 3, 03, 1873, pp. 67. ProQuest, https://www.proquest.com/magazines/music/docview/124830318/se-2.

Historical Slave Songs from the White Perspective

Posted on October 1, 2024 by Abby Carter

Reverend George H. Griffin was a pastor and accomplished musician who was raised in New York City and graduated from Yale University in 1860.² He worked at the Plymouth Church in Milford, Massachusetts, and wrote many works on the subject of music in worship throughout his life.² In this particular work of his, Griffin observes the music of the former southern slaves, and gives his analysis and opinions on the development of said music. This article was published in 1885, twenty years after the end of the American Civil War.

Breaking down his writing, Griffin opens with a description of African music, describing it as “real genius that was born into the soul of an entire race,” as contrasted to European music, which was “more of a science” and “the result of musical education.”¹ He also stated that the “emotional largely over-balances the intellectual element, [these] songs, with their fullness of sentiment, seem to realize the ideal.”¹ These observations were very typical of white observers of slave music, or spirituals, at the time. Many held the opinion that spirituals were lesser than and derived from the western European classical traditions, and used this opinion to enforce negative stereotypes about African American communities.⁴ His opinions were also much kinder than others’ at the time, who would describe spirituals as “weird and barbaric madrigals.”³ In this perspective, Griffin’s comparison was much kinder, saying that it was the genius of the soul.

However, Griffin still praised the creation of this music. He referred to the songs as “that kind of music which finds a responsive thrill in every human breast, because it speaks most clearly the language of man’s best impulses and tenderest feelings.”¹ This type of infatuation and connection with spirituals was also typical of the time that Griffin wrote this article. A resurgence of these songs by choirs, especially the Fisk Jubilee Singers, sparked this interest, and made white audiences want to further connect them to the overall human experience.

Griffin then goes on to describe the spirituals in terms of Western musical notation, stating that the harmony is rich and the melodies varied and original. He describes the resolutions of chords as abrupt and startling, which he accredits to the rough and rugged experiences they went through. He observes strange points of emphasis and unexpected cadences in rhythm, which he said “makes it unreducible to musical notation.”¹ The idea of trying to assign Western notation to these songs is a very interesting idea. Writing any form of music down will cause it to lose a lot of specificities, and especially in things as subtle as tone and emotion which are quite important in spirituals. Griffin’s observations are evident of this, with him stating that so many minute aspects were missing in the writing system he was using.

Lastly, Griffin speaks on the fact that these musical selections came from a place of agonies unknown, but have “the joy of a present salvation, and the hope of a glorious home of freedom beyond the grave.”¹ As a pastor, Griffin understood the idea of salvation of life beyond death, and was able to comprehend the reasoning behind these songs. He was able to connect the fact that it rose from a desire of salvation, and a hope for a free soul after death. This was opposed to other white observers of spirituals who would try to convince themselves that the slaves were singing because they were happy to be enslaved,⁴ which was an incorrect and completely racist assumption.

Overall, Griffin’s article is a great, positive reflection of white perspective of spirituals during the late nineteenth century.

Works Cited:

1 THE SLAVE MUSIC OF THE SOUTH. Griffin, George H. The Musical Visitor, a Magazine of Musical LIterature and Music (1883-1897). Vol. 14, Iss. 2, (Feb 1885): 35. https://www.proquest.com/americanperiodicals/docview/137490866/4A4769645E1A4F0DPQ/19?accountid=351&sourcetype=Magazines

2 REV. GEORGE H. GRIFFIN. Congregationalist (1891-1901); Boston Vol. 79, Iss. 37, (Sep 13, 1894): 355.https://www.proquest.com/americanperiodicals/docview/124232810/95A38D77EA848B3PQ/2?accountid=351&sourcetype=Magazines

3 THE MUSIC OF BLACK AMERICANS. Eileen Southern.

4 WHITE AND NEGRO SPIRITUALS. George Pullen Jackson.

A Strong Connection Between Movies and Music

Posted on October 1, 2024 by Maggie Shepphird

Latin-American movies became very popular in the 1930’s and 1960’s, and there were many popular Mexican movies, as well as some blockbusters. One film that gained enormous popularity worldwide is Como agua para chocolate (1992). This movie is a story about a girl named Tita who was raised on a ranch by her strict mother, Dona Elena. The film takes place during the Mexican revolution, a time when everything about the characters’ lives are changing rapidly. Tita’s sister, Rosaura, marries a man named Pedro. Rosaura is Tita’s older sister, and there’s a law that states younger sisters must not marry and stay with the family to take care of her mother. However, Pedro is actually in love with Tita, but is not allowed to marry her because of this rule. He only marries her sister to be able to be close to Tita. Pedro buys Tita flowers, however Tita’s mother Dona Elena orders her to throw the flowers away, because she knows that Pedro is in love with her and not in love with her sister. However, Tita instead of throwing the flowers away makes them into a sauce that she serves when she makes her family dinner. Years go by and Dona Elena passes away. Pedro is still married to Rosaura despite his feelings for Tita. Pedro and Tita become closer, and at one point Tita thinks she may be pregnant with Pedro’s child, but that ends up not being the case. Years later, Rosaura passes away, and Pedro and Tita are able to be together at last. They move in together, but Pedro soon dies in Tita’s arms. Tita kills herself so she can be with Pedro forever in life and death.

The director of the film is Alfonso Arau who was a very famous director, actor, producer and writer of many films during the Golden Age of Mexican films. Arau was also briefly married to Laura Esquivel, who is the author of the book that Como agua para chocolate is based on. The style of the movie is magical realism. Leo Brouwer composed the film score in Como agua para chocolate. Brouwer was raised in Havana, Cuba and was from a musical family. His great uncle, Ernesto Lecouna was a famous composer, and many of his other family members were established composers as well as musicians. Leo Brouwer learned the guitar at an early age and started composing music when he was a teenager. He furthered his education in the United States, then moved back to Cuba to start his career. He composed film music as well as guitar music.

In the movie, Como agua para chocolate, the musical theme comes back over and over again during every major plot point, especially involving the forbidden lovers Pedro and Tita. This theme comes back again and again to prove the strength of Tita and Pedro’s love, and how even in death their souls will stay bonded to each other because they are meant to be in love forever.

For the soundtrack, Brouwer uses many stringed instruments such as violins, violas, cellos, and string basses to produce a warmth produced by a string timbre. The melody comes back during specific plot points to emphasize the theme of the story. Often times in soundtracks the theme of the composition represents in many ways the theme of the story. During the love-death scene of the story, a different melody counterracts the regular melody representing the freedom Pedro felt when finally confessing his love to Tita.

This film is one of many Mexican films that have become famous throughout the world and reached blockbuster status during the Golden Age of films. Leo Brouwer composed an unforgettable soundtrack that will be remembered for years to come.

https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/j.ctv3znxn1.7?seq=1

Roberts, John Storm. The Latin Tinge : The Impact of Latin American Music on the United States. 2nd ed., Oxford University Press, 1999.

American Music At The Fair: A White Man’s Suggestions on Concerts, Opera, Art, and Education

Posted on October 1, 2024 by Emily Hagel

Poster advertising the World’s Columbian Exposition, hosted in Chicago, IL in 1893

As the pinnacle of culture and phenomena, the World’s Fair serves as a global platform for innovation and cultural exchange, showcasing the latest advancements and celebrating the diverse traditions of nations worldwide. At the turn of the 20th century, the World’s Fair was hosted in Chicago, Illinois in 1893 as the World’s Columbian Exposition, from May 1st to October 30th. While the World’s Fair is a place to display the world’s accomplishments, there are also instances where criticisms and suggestions hog the spotlight. Enter “American Music At The Fair: Mr. Stanton’s Suggestions As To Concerts And Operas–Education And Art”.

This primary source was found in a magazine article entitled “The Musical Visitor”, whose primary purpose was to report on music literature and news during the latter part of the 19th century. In this article, the author is not listed, however, the interviewee is the more appealing topic of discussion. Edmund C. Stanton was the Secretary and Managing Director of the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City, New York from 1884 to 1891. Throughout his career, Stanton was well-known in the music and operatic circles for bringing notable European artists (such as Lilly Lehman, Max Alvary, and Ivan Fischer) to sing for American audiences, as well as taking risks and introducing French, Italian, and German operas to New York “surpassed by none [other than Stanton] in the world”. Through his efforts, Stanton contributed significantly to the American opera scene through his administrative and musical influence.

Edmund C. Stanton, Managing Director & Secretary of The Metropolitan Opera House, New York, NY (from 1884-1891).

At the time the article was written, Stanton had been “appointed to represent the amusement interests on the World’s Fair committee”, where he spoke with a reporter and shared his opinions on what the exhibition ought to “accomplish”. Included in the article are multiple quotations from Stanton:

“I think that the fair ought to be made to show to Europeans what America has accomplished in education, in music, and in art… [But] I think that American composers and American musicians ought to have such a chance to show the world what they can do as they have never had before.”

“I would suggest a large concert hall on the grounds of the fair, where daily concerts should be given. Of course, they would not be confined to the works of Americans, but most of them are naturalized or are likely to be, and they could represent the music of the country. There might be orchestral concerts and vocal and choral concerts, and I would not leave out the military bands such as Gilmore’s, Cappa’s, and others. I think they do a great deal to popularize good music.”

AMERICAN MUSIC AT THE FAIR.: MR. STANTON’S SUGGESTIONS AS TO CONCERTS AND OPERAS–EDUCATION AND ART.

In the readings on Monday by Thompson and Shadle, European influence in American music has often overshadowed the development of a distinct identity of American music. Stanton’s suggestions further enforce the idea that “white music traditions” (concert halls, military bands, etc) should be recognized and celebrated on the world’s stage. Therefore, European influence in American music is a defining hallmark of the general public’s understanding of “American” music, omitting the rich diversity of sounds and traditions that come from non-white groups.

WORKS CITED

“AMERICAN MUSIC AT THE FAIR.: MR. STANTON’S SUGGESTIONS AS TO CONCERTS AND OPERAS–EDUCATION AND ART.” The Musical Visitor, a Magazine of Musical Literature and Music (1883-1897), vol. 18, no. 11, 11, 1889, pp. 287. ProQuest, https://www.proquest.com/magazines/american-music-at-fair/docview/137493784/se-2.

“EDMUND C. STANTON DEAD: One Time Managing Director of the Metropolitan Opera House Company Passes Away in England.” The New York Times, The New York Times, timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1901/01/22/101177358.html?pageNumber=9.

“Libguides: World’s Fair Collection: Chronological List by Decades.” Chronological List by Decades – World’s Fair Collection – LibGuides at California State University Fresno, Fresno State Library, guides.library.fresnostate.edu/c.php?g=289187&p=1928035.

“The Metropolitan Opera Archives .” Metropolitan Opera Archives, The Metropolitan Opera, archives.metopera.org/MetOperaSearch/search.jsp?q=%22Edmund+C.+Stanton%22&src=browser&sort=PDATE.