Sweet songs for gentle Americans : the parlor song in America, 1790-1860 / Nicholas E. Tawa.
| Author/creator | Tawa, Nicholas E. |
| Format | Book |
| Publication Info | Bowling Green, Ohio : Bowling Green University Popular Press, ©1980. |
| Description | 273 pages : illustrations, facsimiles, music ; 24 cm |
| Subjects |
| Contents | Clarifications -- The parlor-song public -- The parlor song in music education -- Ballad singers and their performances -- Minstrel songs and parlor melodies -- The economics of the parlor song -- The subject matter of parlor songs -- Musical characteristics of parlor songs. |
| Abstract | Popular parlor songs were the main form of secular musical entertainment in the early years of the United States. They were heard regularly in the homes of our principal statesmen, authors, intellectuals, professionals, and businessmen. Laborers and slaves also sang them. They were the principal fare of concert and stage performances, and were freely interpolated into Italian operas, Shakespearean plays, lyceum lectures, and church services. In short, parlor songs played a dominant role in American cultural history. This was the music that Jefferson, Lincoln, Longfellow, Whitman, and Emily Dickinson enjoyed. Yet, whether owing to prejudice or misinformation, we still know little about the songs they listened to and sang: why and for whom written; when heard; or how performed. This book attempts to contribute that knowledge. Contemporary diaries, biographies, fiction, newspapers, periodicals, and books on music were studied and the music itself exhaustively analyzed in order to reach accurate conclusions about the popular culture that emerged between the American Revolution and the Civil War. The reader comes away with a sympathetic understanding of the human hopes, fears, and joys embodied in the songs, and with a curiosity about the countless melodic gems awaiting exploration. |
| Bibliography note | Includes bibliography (pages 202-207) and index. |
| LCCN | 78071394 |
| ISBN | 0879721308 |
| ISBN | 9780879721305 |
| ISBN | 087972157X (pbk.) |
Availability
| Library | Location | Call Number | Status | Item Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Music | Closed Stacks - Ask at Circulation Desk | ML3553 .T38 | ✔ Available | Place Hold |