American Music Before 1900 - the Native, the European, and the African

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February 24, 2021 - March 31, 2021 (5 weeks) - final session shifted from March 24 to March 31

Wednesdays, 5:30 PM - 6:30 PM EST

Indigenous North Americans were surprised to discover Spanish, French and British explorers on their shores in the 1500s– and from the outset some were taught, believe it or not, to sing the Catholic Mass in Latin. But the story of American music soon includes British influence, and along with the other cultures mentioned, it was music of the enslaved from Africa that would co-mingle and flavor the music evolving in North America. This course examines how Native, European and African cultural materials come to play in all sorts of music -- sacred and secular, commercial and freely played, urban and rural, amateur and professional. Materials presented in these classes span the two centuries after Jamestown’s establishment and include plenty of live and recorded musical performances as well as rich, lovely images and relevant videos. 

Throughout these sessions we will explore and discuss the functions of music: ritual and worship, dance, oral history and story-telling, warring and protest, theater, and sheer entertainment. This broad, rich history includes ballads, spiritual and other songs, marches, dances, psalm- and hymn-singing and both commercial and classical expressions. Each of our five sessions will allow for interaction and question-driven discussion, plus some optional homework

Links to resources related to this topic: 

www.colonialmusic.org - Our original website, now hosted by Mount Vernon.  Resources sections especially useful are the PACAN (newspaper) database, and the songster database

www.musicalpassage.org - Pages from early 18th-c book including African music transcribed in 1688 in Jamaica; links to audio recordings on proper instruments, lots of other good background

https://levysheetmusic.mse.jhu.edu/ More than 30,000 pieces of sheet music - amazing way to teach about technology, abolition, politics, gender issues, etc. over a LONG stretch of time.

https://www.americanantiquarian.org/thomasballads/ - Hundreds of high-res pix of ballads printed in 1813 in Boston but covering lots of history back a half-century also; includes detailed descriptions, essays, and many now with audio recordings

https://www.mym-media.org/portfolio.html - Scroll down to 4th screen, “A New Song - The Governor’s Rout” -the story of a recently discovered 235-year-old song from Annapolis, Maryland

https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/francis-hopkinson/ - Scroll down for harpsichord demo, afterwards search for "Bullfinch" article about Martha's music book