APPLICATION FOR THE SCHOOL HOUSE FOR A SINGING SCHOOL
Charlestown, [MA]: Jan. 7, 1827. Single sheet, folded to 30.5 x 19 cm. (4) pp., including a one page manuscript petition signed by 14 citizens, two blank pages, and addressed on last. An appeal to the school trustees to make available a suitable building for the instruction of 50 or 60 students, composed "of youth of both sexes from the different religious societies in Town," to learn sacred music under the guidance of Col. D. R. Newhall, of Boston, "a gentleman of acknowledged ability." The petition acknowledges that "[s]acred music being considered a very important part of public worship when well conducted, it would seem that every facility should be granted to those who undertake to obtain a knowledge of the science...." Item #65175
Donald Nitz' article "The Norfolk Musical Society 1814-1820: An Episode in the History of Choral Music in New England," [Journal of Research in Music Education, Vol. 16, No. 4 (Winter 1968), pp.319-28], discusses the transformation in American musical culture in the first few decades of the 19th century: "A group of reformers composed of clergymen, immigrant European musicians, and educated laymen made great efforts to bring about this change" to homophonic, orthodox English idiom and away from the more "crudely-wrought but highly original and expressive fuguing tunes of William Billings, Daniel Read, Jacob French, and many others...." This transformation of the "sacred musical culture" was brought about through the propagation of musical societies and singing schools in small towns throughout New England,
Price: $350.00