The Star- Spangled Banner

The Star- Spangled Banner

The Star- Spangled Banner, the national anthem of the United States of America, was written during the Battle of Baltimore in the War of 1812. The lyrics to the song are actually the four verses of the poem “Defense of Fort McHenry” by poet Francis Scott Key. This poem was set to the tune of a popular British drinking song that was written by John Stafford Smith for the Anacreontic Society which was a men’s social club of the time. This is song is one of the hardest songs to sing due to the fact that its range is one and a half octaves. Despite having four verses, only the first is commonly sung today. The forth may be added on during formal occasions. Although it was written in 1814, it was not made our national anthem until March 3, 1931 by a congressional resolution which was signed by President at the time, Herbert Hoover. An interesting fact is that much of the idea of the poem and even some of the wording is arguably derived from am earlier song also written by Francis Scott Key which was also set to the tune of the same exact song. This song was known as “ When the Warrior Returns”. Key’s brother-in-law was the one who actually suggested that “Defense of Fort McHenry” be set to the tune of “The Anacreontic Song.” The song gained much popularity during the nineteenth century and was often played at public events such as Forth of July celebrations. On July 27, 1889 the song was even made the official tune to be payed at the raising of the flag.

"The Star-Spangled Banner -." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Web. 13 Jan. 2010. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Star-Spangled_Banner>.

The Famous Concert Hall- Boston, MA (1752- 1869)

Concert Hall- Boston, Massachusetts

Located in Boston, Massachusetts from 1752 until 1869 was the Concert Hall. It was at the corner of Hanover Street and Queen Street. Besides musical gatherings, many other events happened here including meetings and dinners. The Hall was built by Stephen Deblois in the year 1752. The building was worth three thousand dollars at the time. The hall had a small organ that was played often by John Snetzler from 1763 to 1774. A journal written by John Rowe was found and in this journal are many entries written about different occasions he attended at the hall. One entry from March 16, 1769 states, "Spent the evening at the Fife Major's concert at Concert Hall; there was a large and genteel company and the best musick I have heard performed there." Josiah Flagg performed many concerts at the hall including one on May 17, 1771. A duet was said to be sung that night by a anonymous gentleman who sung in many concerts with Mr. Flagg all across the country. The program for this event was printed in The Massachusetts Spy the day before. Besides the duet, this notable program at the Concert Hall included four vocal pieces, three overtures, two concertos, three symphonies, and a violin solo. The bulk of the program was composed of works by such lesser composers as Stanley, Schwindl, Abel, and Ricci, but also included music by Stamitz, Handel, and J. C. Bach. One non- musical event known to have taken place at the Concert Hall was a show by Ventriloquist Jonathan Harrington on March 1831. Another in March 1834, the was by the "500-pound 8-year-old, Rose Rich. In September, 1835, "161-year-old" Joyce Heth appears in a show at the hall. She was said to be "George Washington's former nurse."

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"Concert Hall (Boston, Massachusetts) -." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Web. 07 Jan. 2010. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concert_Hall_(Boston,_Massachusetts)>.

List of Future Post Topics

Ideas For Future Posts

1. more composers

2. more musicians

3. slave songs

4. more civil war music

5. instruments

6. The Star Spangled Banner

7. connection from back then to now

8. how music helped strengthen communication

9. music halls

10. musical theater of the time

11. more types of songs

12. the journey of music from Europe to the United States

13. songs that united the country

14. how people listened to music

15. musical gatherings- concerts, etc

Music of the Civil War

Civil War Music

A lot of artifacts from the Civil War have been lost along the way from then to now. Although, one thing remains the same: we have hundreds of songs from the time period. There are several different types of Civil War songs. Some were sung by soldiers when the were sad and thinking about their families back home. Others were written to be marched to and were to lift the morale of the soldiers on either side. Slaves also wrote songs during the war. Loved ones left back home wrote songs in memory of their family members off or lost at war. No matter what kind of song it is, it gives us a good indication of what the author was feeling at the time and if helpful to historians, whose job it is to interpret artifacts left behind in history. In the war drumbeats served two purposes. The drums were used to tell soldiers what to do and issued commands to the soldiers. The other purpose of the drum was to help the soldiers march orderly together. These drum calls were often partnered with fife. This form of music was very popular during the Civil War with generals because the shrill tone of the fife was able to be heard well over all the other loud sounds of the war on the battlefield. One other musical instrument crucial to the war was the bugle. Along with the drums, they too were in charge of sounding commands to the soldiers. They sounded in the morning as a wake up call, at night to alert time for bed, and numerous other commands on the battlefield such as retreat or advance.

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"Civil War Music : History of Civil War Music." Civil War Music : Civil War Songs, Music, Fife & Drum Music, Photographs, and more. Web. 04 Jan. 2010. <http://www.civilwarmusic.net/history.php#>.

The Blues

The Blues

The blues is a genre of music that was created in the African- American communities deep in the heart of the south in the United States towards the end of the nineteenth century. Some songs that are considered blues are work songs, field hollers, spirituals, and simple rhyming ballads. To be considered blues, a song has to follow the blues form. It has to follow the twelve bar blues chord or the blues note chord. These songs are played or sung in this way for expression and are usually flat or gradually bent in relation to the pitch of the major scale. Lyrics, bass lines, and instruments are also specifics of the blues. The blues got its name from “the blue devils” which is meant to mean sadness or melancholy. Blues sung by African- Americans in the late 19th century usually repeated one single line four times. Most African- Americans sung these blues in call and response style. They were sung in complete melody with out accompaniment and they were not sung with any particular musical structure. The blues also rooted from spirituals. A spiritual is a religious song with its roots in the camp meeting of the Great Awakening. Both spirituals and the blues giving the feeling of sadness and misery to the listener. In contrast, the blues are more specific the performer, whereas spirituals are more broad and are about sadness in general. The two can not easily be separated despite these difference meaning most spirituals are considered to be blues as well.

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"Blues -." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Web. 03 Jan. 2010. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blues>.

"Origins of the blues -." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Web. 04 Jan. 2010. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origins_of_the_blues>.

The Ballad and Parlor Music

The Ballad and Parlor Music

The most popular form of music was the ballad for majority of the 19th century. A ballad is a song that tells a story which can be both fact or fiction as long as it has a central narrative. Some are about famous battles through out history, famous heroes or villains, or some can even be a tale of romance and adventure. These ballads were spread through out the United States by travelers and then were pasted down through families from generation to generation. At first they were only spread orally and then later in the century they began to be written down and published. Ballads were published as broadsides at the time; which are single sheets with print on only one side that can be easily distributed. When a New England publisher began printing and selling broadsides of three hundred different English and American songs in 1814, it quickly caught on in other cities and became very popular. Having these broadside ballads it made it easier for for American citizens to know and memorize the words to these both old and new songs.

As the middle class grew in the United States during the nineteenth century, so did the taste in music. As more and more people were able to afford a piano, then called a painoforte, less people were drawn to the common fiddle which were commonly used in ballads. They liked the piano better and the songs that came with it. Musical gatherings became small parties in the parlor of homes where families and guests would gather around and listen to young women sing parlor music accompanied by the piano. Parlor music is far more polished and romantic than a ballad. They were more formally composed and sold in sheet music rather than in broadsides. Parlor music became the most popular form of music by the late 19th century.

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"Popular Music in 19th-Century America: From Broadside Ballads to the Birth of the Blues." American History. Web. 03 Jan. 2010. <http://americanhistory.suite101.com/article.cfm/popular_music_in_19thcentury_america>

Forms of Music During the Nineteenth Century

Forms of Music During the Nineteenth Century

There were three major forms of music in the 19th century; Chamber and Piano music, Symphony, and Program music.

Chamber Music: Chamber music is a work that was written to be preformed by a small ensemble, usually one to five musicians, and is well suited to be preformed in mid-size rooms or chambers. Quintets became very popular in string and wind instruments during the time period. The piano also gained popularity, and became a common featured instrument in these ensembles. The piano quickly became a symbol of gentility.

Symphony: The structure of a symphony was well established by the aforementioned composers and remain largely unchanged. It originated in the Classical period of music. For a piece to be considered a symphony, it has to consist of four movement:

1. Sonata Form
2. Slow and lyrical
3. Minuet
4. Allergo

Beethoven is the well know master of the symphonic form and his nine symphonies have influenced all symphonies written since his time.

Program Music: Some composers including Hector Berlioz took and transformed the symphony into another direction. They wrote pieces that resembled a symphony but was driven by a story punctuated by an idée fixe. This idea of a narrative driven symphony was taken further by Bedrich Smetana and Franz Liszt with the Symphonic or Tone Poem. This form totally abandoned the four movement structure of the symphony merging all the sections into one. Smetana's Ma Vlast consists of different sections that are inspired by several areas of his home country, Czechoslovakia.

"19th Century Music History: Styles & Forms, Instrumental." Web. 03 Jan. 2010. .

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