Annals of Music in America Part 3

1801. Handel's "Messiah" given in the hall of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.

1802. "Harmonic Society" founded in Philadelphia.

1803. Benjamin Creh.o.r.e of Milton, Ma.s.s., made the first pianoforte in New England.

1807. Ma.s.sachusetts Musical Society formed in Boston for improving the mode of performing sacred music. Ceased to exist in 1820.

1807. "Le Theatre St. Philippe" opened in New Orleans with a one-act opera by Mehul,--"Une Folie."

1808. The Pierian Sodality, half musical, half social club organized by the undergraduates of Harvard University.

1809. Haydn Society formed in Philadelphia.

1811. John Davis, from San Domingo, opened the "Theatre d'Orleans"

in New Orleans.

1811. Haydn's "Creation" and "The Seasons" performed in part at Bethlehem, Pa.

1813-1893. John S. Dwight, editor, critic, member of Brook Farm community, and founder in 1852 of "Dwight's Journal of Music,"

the first publication of its kind in America.

1814. Sept. 14. The words of "The Star-Spangled Banner" written by Francis Scott Key during the bombardment of Fort Henry. They were published next day as a "Broadside" and on the 20th appeared in the "Baltimore Patriot." The tune of "Anacreon in Heaven" was adapted by the author.

1815. April 20. Handel and Haydn Society, Boston, organized with Thomas S. Webb as President. At the first concert the chorus consisted of about one hundred, of whom ten were women.

Orchestra a dozen instruments, and organ.

1816. First complete performance of Haydn's "Creation" given at King's Chapel, Boston.

1817. Charles B. Incledon, noted English tenor singer, visited America.

1818. New Theatre d'Orleans, the finest in the United States, opened in New Orleans. The old theatre was burned in 1817. The new theatre was the home of opera for some years.

1818. Dec. 25. The Handel and Haydn Society of Boston gave what is called the first complete performance of Handel's "Messiah" in America. (Philip Goepp states that the "Messiah" was given in 1801, in the hall of the University of Pennsylvania.)

1819. "Haydn Society" formed in Cincinnati, O.

1819. Feb. 16. First complete performance of Haydn's "Creation"

given by the Handel and Haydn Society, Boston. (This was claimed also in 1816 for a performance at King's Chapel.)

1819. An English version of Rossini's "Barber of Seville" given in New York City, with Miss Leesugg as _Rosina_, at the Park Theatre.

1820. Philharmonic Society organized in Bethlehem, Pa. (Originally the Collegium Music.u.m of 1750.)

1820. Two musical societies formed in New York City, viz.,--the Philharmonic, and the Euterpean.

The Philharmonic used to engage prominent artists. It gradually dwindled but was reorganized in 1840.

The Euterpean gave concerts which were usually followed by a supper and a ball. It ceased to exist about 1845.

1820. Aug. 30. George F. Root, noted American song-writer. Died Aug. 6, 1895.

1820. The Philadelphia Musical Fund Society established. Gave its first concert April 24, 1821, when Beethoven's First Symphony was played for the first time in America. (Between the movements vocal and other solos were given by sundry artists.)

1821. New England musical matters on record of this year are: An oratorio given by the Psallion Society of Providence, R. I.;

A performance of music by the New Hamps.h.i.+re Musical Society at Hanover, N. H.;

The existence of a Beethoven Society in Portland, Me.

1823. Production in New York City of "Clari, the Maid of the Mill," ballad opera by Sir Henry Bishop and J. Howard Payne.

This opera contains the song, "Home, Sweet Home." Was presented in London on May 23.

1823. May 23. Mozart's opera, "The Marriage of Figaro" (Bishop's English version), presented in New York City at the Park Theatre.

1823. The pianoforte manufacturing house of Jonas Chickering established in Boston.

1823-1849. Sacred Music Society, New York City.

1824. St. Cecilia Society formed in Philadelphia.

CHAPTER IV

1825-1850

During these twenty-five years the list of items on record is far greater than during any preceding period of similar time. Possibly this may be accounted for by the greater facilities for travel both by sea and land. Railroads were gradually spreading out through the country, and helping to develop distant trading stations into towns and cities.

Steams.h.i.+ps were making the voyage from Europe a more feasible adventure.

We shall see this as we proceed.

In what we may call the domestic side of music we find the establishment of more singing societies in all the eastern cities. There was practically no "west" in 1825, but Chicago shows up in 1834 with "The Old Settlers' Harmonic Society." The story of Chicago's early musical days may be read in Mr. George P. Upton's book of reminiscences. The remarkable part of it seems to be that Chicago grew phenomenally, and today stands as a rival to New York in all matters musical, although in 1825 Chicago was merely a trading post and New York was already a city of some size.

The musical convention came into being. The first is said to have been held at Concord, N. H., in September 1829. There is also a claim that the first musical convention was held in Montpelier, Vt., in 1839 but this is not quite correct. It may have been the first convention in Vermont. Musical conventions became popular and frequent and are so even to the present day, though the methods and matter have changed with the times.

Another item which may come under the head of domestic music is the beginning of music teaching in the public schools. This was effected by Lowell Mason, as an experiment, in 1838. At the present day chorus singing in the public schools has become an important matter, and is almost universal.

In 1838 we find a Philharmonic Society in St. Louis, showing that St.

Louis was not far behind Chicago in getting into the musical world.

In Boston an Academy of Music was established by Lowell Mason in 1833.

It had a large number of pupils, and there was an orchestra in connection with it, which gave several concerts. But the Harvard Musical a.s.sociation, which was founded in 1837, seems to have been the chief propelling power to orchestral music in Boston, until the formation of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. In New York the Philharmonic Society was reorganized and was, as it has been ever since, the most prominent orchestral organization of that city.

In 1848 two complete orchestras came to America, Gungl's, which gave a number of concerts, chiefly of light music, and the Germania, which consisted of a number of refugees from the German government. These men gave concerts of a finer type than had yet been given in America. Their career as an organization was not long, and it ended in disaster, but many of the members became prominent in musical matters in various cities, and in this way the Germania orchestra had a beneficial and lasting effect upon music in this country.

In the forties began the stream of violin and piano virtuosi which has continued in ever-increasing volume to the present day. Ole Bull, violinist, in 1843, Vieuxtemps and Artot, violinists, and Leopold von Meyer, pianist, in 1844, were the first.