New England Music Archive (NEMA)

New England Music Archive
[NEMA]

Roger Lee Hall, Director

The New England Music Archive is a collection of recordings and scores
intended to help preserve rare and historical music from New England's past, from the landing of the Pilgrims (1620) to the end of World War I (1920). The aim is to make available music and related information available for research, performance, and recording.

For any questions, write to:

New England Music Archive

Contents:

National Peace Jubilee

World's Peace Jubilee and International Music Festival

"Angel of Peace" eBook

New England's Top 40 From The Past

Early New England Music Recordings

Lectures and Workshops

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National Peace Jubilee
(1869)

The illustration is from Patrick S. Gilmore's History of the National Peace Jubilee and Great Musical Festival (Boston, 1871), and shows the promotional flyer for the National Peace Jubilee, held in Boston in 1869.

This five day music festival was organized by band leader, Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore, to commemorate the end of the Civil War, and U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant attended the opening ceremonies. Not known for being very musical, when asked which music he liked best, President Grant replied: "the cannons!"

The Peace Jubilee featured a band and orchestra of about 1,000 musicians plus soloists and members from 103 choral groups totaling over 10,000 singers, with several huge cannons used as sound effects for some of the music.

It was one of the first and best known "monster concerts" and a forerunner of today's massive outdoor concerts of classical or rock music.

There was a new piece written especially for the National Peace Jubilee, titled: "Hymn of Peace." It was written in commemoration of the end of the Civil War and premiered during the First Day on June 15, 1869 [see No. 1 at left]

The words were written by Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809-1894) and set to "American Hymn" by Matthias Keller. Copies of this "Hymn of Peace" are in the NEMA library.

This is the first of the three verses by Dr. Holmes:

Angel of Peace, thou hast wandered too long!
Spread thy white wings to the sunshine of love!
Come while our voices are blended in song—
Fly to our ark like the storm-beaten dove!
Fly to our ark on the wings of the dove,—
Speed o’er the far-sounding billows of song,
Crowned with thine olive-leaf garland of love;—
Angel of Peace, thou hast waited too long!

This hymn was edited by Roger Hall and sung in its first modern day concert performance, in celebration of the 350th anniversary of the City of Boston in 1980, by the Old Stoughton Musical Society Chorus.

World's Peace Jubilee
and
International Music Festival
(1872)

This second music festival took place in Boston and was to celebrate the end of the Franco-Prussian War in Europe. It was once again organized by Patrick S. Gilmore and took place in June of 1872. Known as the World's Peace Jubilee and International Musical Festival, it featured about 2,000 musicians in the orchestra and 20,000 in the chorus. Among the special invited guests were two European composers, Johann Strauss II and Franz Abt. Though it was considered a failure because of poor attendance and construction delays, this was probably the largest ensemble of musicians ever assembled in one location in the United States during the 19th century. For the occasion a new piece titled, "Festival Hymn" by Dudley Buck was composed and performed during the the second Peace Jubilee in 1872.

Music Historian, Louis C. Elson, wrote in The History of American Music:

"If the Peace Jubilee of 1872 did nothing else, it at least left a better repertoire to the country societies as a legacy."

New!

A Valuable Research Source!

"Angel of Peace"
The Boston Peace Jubilees
(PineTree Press, 2010)

An e-book collection on CD-ROM, compiled by NEMA Director Roger Lee Hall, containing information about the three Boston Peace Jubilees:

I - Great National Peace Jubilee (1869) - commemorating the end of the Civil War.

II - World's Peace Jubilee and International Music Festival (1872) - to celebrate the end of the Franco-Prussian War.

III - The 20th Anniversary Jubilee (1889) - a much smaller series of concerts to commemorate the anniversary of the National Peace Jubilee, the most successful of these "monster" music festivals.

In addition to the information about the promoter and bandleader, Patrick S. Gilmore, there are listings of the Jubilee concerts and an image gallery of views taken at the 1869 and 1872 Jubilees in Boston.

Other bonus features in this e-book are audio files with World Premiere recordings of three Jubilee works:

1. "Angel of Peace (A Hymn of Peace)" -- music: Matthias Keller/words: Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, written for the National Peace Jubilee of 1869.

2. "Peace and Music (Festival Hymn)" -- words and music by Dudley Buck,
composed for the World's Peace Jubilee of 1872.

3. "Jubilee Waltz" -- music by Johann Strauss Jr. from Vienna,
quoting "The Star Spangled Banner" in the finale, composed and dedicated to P.S. Gilmore, and first performed at the World's Peace Jubilee of 1872.

To receive this useful eBook, make a donation for $25
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Boston Peace Jubilees e-book

New England's "Top 40" From the Past

Compiled by Roger Lee Hall

The survey covers only vocal selections which span roughly three centuries, from 1620 to 1920.

The titles have been set up like a pop chart listing the Top 40. While there is no way to judge accurately the popularity of music from these years, these 40 selections are representative examples of the vast amount of vocal music performed, composed and published in New England during these centuries.

The music listed below includes psalms, ballads, hymns, anthems, music from cantatas and oratorios, folk spirituals, war and anti-war songs, sentimental songs, and patriotic songs.

They include music from such New England composers as: William Billings, Dudley Buck, George W. Chadwick, Jacob French, Oliver Holden, Jeremiah Ingalls, Charles Ives, Edwin A. Jones, Lowell Mason, and Daniel Read.

Here are a few sample audio files using Real Player:

No. 14 - "The Bird"
(William Billings, 1790)

No. 40 - "Land of
Our Hearts"
(George W. Chadwick, 1918)

New England's "Top 40"

What follows is a list of New England's vocal music from the past, containing both well known and unfamiliar pieces, mainly in live concert performances, and available on the two CDs listed at the end of the list. The selections are listed
in roughly chronological sequence:

I. Pilgrims

1. +Pilgrims: Psalm 8 - Ainsworth Psalter [CD 1]
2. +Pilgrims: Psalm 100 - Ainsworth Psalter [CD 1]

II. Purtians

3. +Puritans: Psalm 23 - Bay Psalm Book, 1698 [CD 1]
4. +Reformer: Psalm 100 Tune New - Rev. John Tufts, 1720s [CD 1]

III. Pirates and Native Americans

5. Pirate Ballad: Captain Kidd [CD 1]
6. +Narragansett Indian Hymn: My Soul Doth Magnify the Lord [CD 1]

IV. Birth of Liberty and The American Revolution

7. The Liberty Song - words: John Dickinson, 1768 [CD 1]
8. Free America (tune: British Grenadiers) - words: Dr. Joseph Warren [CD 1]
9. The Lexington March (tune: Yankee Doodle) [CD 1]
10. Father and I Went Down to Camp (tune: Yankee Doodle, ca. 1776) [CD 1]
11. +Chester - William Billings, 1778 & 1786 [CD 1]
12. +Yankee Song (tune: Yankee William Billings), 1788 (ed. by Roger Hall) [CD 1]

V. New England Singing Masters

13. +Majesty - William Billings, 1778 [CD 2]
14. +The Bird - William Billings, 1790 [CD 1]
15. +Confidence - Oliver Holden, 1793 [CD 2]
16. Coronation - Oliver Holden, 1793 [CD 2]
17. +Victory - Daniel Read, 1793 [CD 1]
18. Northfield - Jeremiah Ingalls [CD 2]
19. New Jerusalem - Jeremiah Ingalls , 1796 [CD 1]
20. +Dormant - Jacob French, 1802 [CD 1]

VI. Federalism to Old Folks Concerts

21. +Adams and Liberty - words: Thomas R.T. Paine, 1798 [CD 1]
22. + The Star Spangled Banner - words: Francis Scott Key, 1814 [CD 2]
23. My Country 'Tis of Thee - words: Samuel F. Smith, 1831 [CD 2]
24. +Jerusalem, My Glorious Home - Lowell Mason, 1840s [CD 2]
25. +Jehovah's Praise - Edward White, 1850s [CD 2]
26. +Song of the Old Folks (tune: Auld Lang Syne) - words: Albert Laighton, 1855 [CD 2 ]

VII. The Civil War and Peace

27. +John Brown (tune: Glory, Hallelujah, 1861) [CD 1]
28. +Battle Hymn of the Republic - words: Julia Ward Howe, 1861-62 [CD 1]
29. +Pacifisit Hymn: A Prayer for the Captive - Cecilia DeVere, 1862 [CD 1]
30. Afro-American Spiritual: Go Down, Moses [CD 1]
31. +Give Us This Day - Stephen Foster, 1863 [CD 1]
32. +Angel of Peace - Oliver Wendell Holmes/ music: Matthias Keller [CD 1]

VIII. The 1870s and 1880s

33. +Temperance Song: Sons and Daughters of the Pilgrims, 1870s [CD 2]
34. +Cantata: Centennial Meditation of Columbia - Dudley Buck, 1876 [CD 2]
35. +Cantata Aria: How beautiful upon the mountains - Edwin A. Jones, 1881

IX. 1890 - 1910

36. +Oratorio Chorus: The Lord is King - Edwin A. Jones, 1890 [CD 2]
37. +Chorus: Easter Carol - Charles Ives, 1892 [CD 2]
38. +Chorale: How Lovely Shines the Morning Star - George W. Chadwick, 1909 [CD 2]

X. World War I

39 +Patriotic Chorus: Song of the Marching Men - Henry Hadley, 1919 [CD 1]
40.+Patriotic Chorus: Land of Our Hearts - George W. Chadwick, 1918 [CD 1]

+ = First modern day recording = 30 out of 40

The 40 selections listed above are available on these two CDs:

CD 1: New England Song Treasury

CD 2: American Choral Sampler

Early New England Music Recordings

Best of William Billings

Four New England Composers: Buck, Jones, Ives, Chadwick

New England Choral Sampler

Shaker Music CDs

The Stoughton Harmony