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

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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.

“Painting & Music”: Fine Art in 1830s America

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The manager of the Baltimore Museum bought an advertisement in the Baltimore Patriot on November 4th, 1831, to publicize an upcoming event, shedding light on the role of music in antebellum American society. The manager wished to advertise an exhibition that would be occurring at the museum that Saturday night at which Francis Johnson and his military band would be performing, in order that “amatures [sic] and connoisseurs in fine painting” alike would be able to enjoy “the concord of sweet sounds” of the live music.1

This advertisement reveals several details about the role of music, and art in general, in American society in the early nineteenth century. At the time, bands like Johnson’s could not distribute their music by recording. Instead, their profits came from performing live. While many ensembles, especially Johnson’s band, put on their own concerts, this article demonstrates that they also performed at events that were not necessarily dedicated concerts but simply required some musical accompaniment. Music could be combined with the experience of viewing paintings for the greater enjoyment of “amatures and connoisseurs” alike, indicating that while this was a social function, it was more about the sensory experience than about asserting the upper class identity of those who had the luxury to consider themselves “connoisseurs”. This was the same tradition of live performance that minstrel shows and vaudeville would evolve from, and the combination of different forms of entertainment in one event for convenience and accessibility actually resembles these later traditions.2 The manager of the museum describes Johnson and his band as “famous” and “excellent” and advertises that they would “perform many of the most popular and justly celebrated pieces of instrumental music”, which was a feature of much of the American concert music of the early nineteenth century. Bands and even early American orchestras would mix high-brow music with more popular and fashionable music, drawing very diverse crowds as a result.3 However, money was still a factor for the artists, and just as Johnson’s band relied on public support, the success of this museum was “so much indebted to the liberal patronage” of the public.1

By playing popular music at public events like this art exhibition in addition to their own concerts, ensembles like Johnson’s band could draw audiences from a variety of backgrounds, garnering attention for their music as well as for the art displayed at the museum. Their reliance on public support helped both institutions–that of music and that of art museums–to reach a wider audience, ultimately creating more opportunities to engage with art and in turn contributing to more widespread artistic literacy among the American public.

References:

1 “Advertisement.” BALTIMORE PATRIOT & MERCANTILE ADVERTISER. (Baltimore, Maryland) XXXVIII, no. 98, November 4, 1831: [3]. Readex: America’s Historical Newspapers. https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/readex/doc?p=EANX&docref=image/v2%3A107D4AD8C258B928%40EANX-108270873A425650%402390126-10827087F7BAA9A0%402-1082708C24416710%40Advertisement.

2 Lewis, Robert M., ed. From Traveling Show to Vaudeville : Theatrical Spectacle in America, 1830-1910. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2003. Accessed November 25, 2022. ProQuest Ebook Central.

3 Locke, Ralph P. “Music Lovers, Patrons, and the ‘Sacralization’ of Culture in America.” 19th-Century Music 17, no. 2 (1993): 149–73. https://doi.org/10.2307/746331.

A Closer Look

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Upon approaching research for this week’s blog post, I stumbled across this image in the Library of Congress’ digital archive of images. In the name of the thirst for knowledge, I looked for further images; maybe one that was a more readily used piece of music, or maybe a log of a certain event that might point me towards the cultural events of a given time period. Though educational and truly interesting, I kept remembering the painting of the happy black fiddler and the happy white family and the happy children dancing happily. 

image link: https://www.loc.gov/item/98516820/

The picture’s description as it states in the Library of Congress’ web archive is as follows:

Print shows an African American man playing fiddle and family dancing. It resembles, but is an Americanized variation of, Auguste Dircks (1806-1881) “Dancing to the fiddle” now in the Josef Mensing Gallery, Hamm-Rhynern, Germany. 

The reading of Eileen Southern jumped to the front of my mind. Her reading explores the means of musical practices in the the South during the years of slavery, and the ways that black musicians were often times used as entertainment for white slave owners. With that knowledge, I began to consider the circumstances of this image’s creation, as I was very taken aback by the painting’s lighthearted nature. Certainly a painting depicting a slave and white family happily coexisting to the credit of some fire fiddle music should have been painted by a white person, someone with a stake to try and “paint” the history of black Americans playing music in servitude in a far more positive light. 

Not much is known about August Dircks other than the information that he was German-born and lived from 1806-1871. With the knowledge that this painting was not American born, my viewing of it was altered slightly. Though it is important to mention the African diaspora was not exclusive to the United States, knowing this painting came from a mind outside of the Antebellum South shifted my focus. My attention went toward the black fiddler in the center of the painting, the only character painted who does not have attention paid to his expression. Rather his face is obscured by the fiddle he is being forced to play, looking downward as a slave player like him would likely be privy to not making mistakes when performing for his oppressors. Obscured, ignored, relegated to the painting’s source of joy without the slightest mention of his experience or attitude, this man fades into ambiguity. 

I think that this painting is actually quite interesting, as the experience that I had dissecting its contents is likely the desired experience for Dircks. As a white person in America, the circumstances of my upbringing have predisposed me to ignore the experiences of minority individuals. My white eye went directly to the white family having a good bit of Southern fun, and not the enslaved black man, quite literally playing for his life. This realization is the painting’s purpose, a mirror image towards the viewer’s worldview. 

I don’t know if I did this assignment entirely correctly, but I just had an interesting experience researching this image and was reminded that music research can be flawed as well.

Duval & Hunter, and James Fuller Queen. Power of music / chromo. of Duval & Hunter, Philadelphia ; Jas. F. Queen after A. Dircks. New York: published by A. & C. Kaufmann. Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/98516820/>.

The two sides of Walt Whitman

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Xanthus Russell Smith's portrait of American writer Walt Whitman

Fig. 1: Xanthus Russell Smith’s portrait of American writer Walt Whitman

Xanthus Russell Smith painted the posthumous portrait of American writer Walt Whitman in 1897, several years after Whitman’s death.1 The oil study on canvas appears to be based off of a portrait photo which was taken by photographer George C. Cox in 1887. Whitman had loved this photo so much that he titled it “The Laughing Philosopher” and sold the other portraits from the session to supplement his income.2

Whitman lived from 1819 to 1892, spending the majority of his life on the east coast, dying in Camden, New Jersey, He was an American poet, essayist and journalist and as a humanist, his works are regarded as being transitory between transcendentalism and realism with elements of each idea present. He was concerned with politics and abolitionism (although this is not necessarily based on his belief in racial equality) and was wishy washy with his endorsement of abolitionism. There has also been debate over what Whitman’s sexuality was, although this began much later after his death and there is still disagreement among biographers as to whether or not Whitman had even had sexual experiences with men (although having or lacking experience should not be the validating factor as to whether a person truly identifies a certain way).

George C. Cox's photograph portrait of Walt Whitman

Fig. 3: George C. Cox’s photograph portrait of Walt Whitman

It is unknown as to whether or not Xanthus Russell Smith was acquainted with Whitman or was instead an admirer of his work. Smith was known for using small brushstrokes and sharp detail. The portrait can be interpreted by many different lenses, including artistic, historical and modern perspectives.

The portrait is composed fairly symmetrically, with Whitman’s shoulders facing at an angle away from the painter and his face squared to the front. The colors of the portrait are muted and neutral, lacking color except for around the eyes, which could be interpreted as a nod towards Whitman’s interpretation of the world, beliefs and persuasions (i.e. gray).

The focal point of the portrait is definitely the eyes. The viewer is drawn to them immediately, then down Whitman’s nose to his shock-white mustache and beard. The eyes are the most lifelike piece of the portrait and along with the rest of the face are almost completely centered in the portrait. However, this positioning is not so much a surprise as it is a given that the focal point of a portrait should be the subject’s face.

The painting is divided down the center of the frame, with one side of the background lighter than the other, and on Whitman’s face, the light patterns seem to be reversed, suggesting that there were two different light sources used in the photograph Smith used or in his interpretation of it. The use of light might be a nod to Whitman’s ideas and philosophy, which went between transcendentalism and realism or to the two sides of his sexuality and the way the public perceived him. The latter interpretation would however be carried into that of the modernist lens as few writers speculated on his sexuality in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Today, Whitman’s poetry has been set to music by many composers, including the music of John Adams, Leonard Bernstein, Benjamin Britten, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Kurt Weill, Roger Sessions and Ned Rorem.

You can view Xanthus Russell Smith’s portrait of Walt Whitman in the Flaten Art Museum reserve collection housed in St. Olaf College’s Dittman Center.

Bibliography

1. Smith, Xanthus Russell. Walt Whitman. 1897. Oil on canvas. 17.5 in x 13.5 in. Dittman Center : Second (2) Floor : Storage Vault : 19A : Flaten Art Museum.

2. Whitman, Walt. Lafayette in Brooklyn. New York: George D. Smith, 1905.

3. Cox, George C. Walt Whitman. 1887. Photograph.