Bryski, Blaise

Caporizzo, Michael

Light, Loralyn

Parks, David

Walz, Ivy

Waterbury, Susan

Webster, Marc

English

Ithaca College

Ithaca CollegeDigital Commons @ ICAll Concert & Recital Programs Concert & Recital Programs3-20-2013Faculty Recital: Music for Dessert - 19th CenturyAmerican Parlor SongsBlaise BryskiMichael CaporizzoLoralyn LightDavid ParksIvy WalzSee next page for additional authorsFollow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.ithaca.edu/music_programsPart of the Music CommonsThis Program is brought to you for free and open access by the Concert & Recital Programs at Digital Commons @ IC. It has been accepted forinclusion in All Concert & Recital Programs by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ IC.Recommended CitationBryski, Blaise; Caporizzo, Michael; Light, Loralyn; Parks, David; Walz, Ivy; Waterbury, Susan; and Webster, Marc, "Faculty Recital:Music for Dessert - 19th Century American Parlor Songs" (2013). All Concert & Recital Programs. 1883.http://digitalcommons.ithaca.edu/music_programs/1883AuthorsBlaise Bryski, Michael Caporizzo, Loralyn Light, David Parks, Ivy Walz, Susan Waterbury, and Marc WebsterThis program is available at Digital Commons @ IC: http://digitalcommons.ithaca.edu/music_programs/1883Music for Dessert19th-Century American Parlor SongsBlaise Bryski, pianoMichael Caporizzo, guitarLoralyn Light, sopranoDavid Parks, tenorIvy Walz, mezzo-sopranoSusan Waterbury, violinMarc Webster, bassHockett Family Recital HallWednesday March 20th, 20137:00 pmNow in its second century, the Ithaca College School of Music affirms itsfundamental belief that music and the arts are essential components of thehuman experience. The School of Music prepares students to be world-classprofessionals and the music leaders of tomorrow - ready to transformindividuals and communities by advancing the art of music. ProgramPolitical CommentaryMy Love He Is a MormoniteAND He's got the Money TOO.Money TalksThe World Is Topsy TurvyHarry MillerC.T. LockwoodJ.F. ZimmermannSep. Winner   Social Concerns: PROHIBITIONDon't Marry a Man If He DrinksTurn the CrankPlease Sell No More Drink To My FatherThe Hallelujah BandMrs. E. A. ParkhurstEdward F. EdwardsC. A. WhiteChas. J. Miers   A Journey of LoveI Will Meet You In the Twilight H. P. DanksHalf a HeartKissable LipsDon't Be Angry With Me DarlingA Voice In My Heart, Love, Is Calling for YouIn Dreamland Far AwaySilver Threads Among the GoldYou Are Always Young To MePopular TunesListen To The Mocking BirdPatchworkThe Spelling BeeAlice HawthorneSep. WinnerSep. Winner  Program NotesReviving 19th - Century American Parlor Songs             During the summer of 2012, professors Dr. David Parksand Ivy Walz were awarded a summer research grant fromIthaca College that funded a project involving the research,musical preparation, rehearsal and recording of selections fromthe vast repertoire of nineteenth century American ParlorSongs. Very soon Professors Marc Webster, Blaise Bryski, PabloCohen and Susan Waterbury as well as soprano Loralyn Lightagreed to join them for this collaboration. We are truly thankfulto Professor Patrice Pastore who was the producer of therecording.             American Parlor Songs are from the genre of popular song,which author Charles Hamm defines as songs “written for, andmost often performed by a single voice or small group ofsingers, accompanied by either a single chord-playinginstrument or some sort of band, ensemble, or small orchestra;usually first performed and popularized in some form of secularstage entertainment, and afterward consumed (performed orlistened to) in the home.” During the 19th-century, parlor songsbecame very fashionable as importance was increasinglyplaced on musical proficiency as a hallmark of good taste andmoral reputability. Musical prowess, particularly keyboardplaying, was highly prized. It was a commonly-held value that aproper education was only complete if it included the study ofmusic.            Following the Civil War, parlor organs, also known as reedorgans and cabinet organs, became particularly popular inAmerican homes. Dr. David Parks went to great lengths to builda 19th-century parlor song setting in his 21st-century recordingstudio as well as on the stage this evening. He purchased an1886 Weaver organ as well as an 1871 Knabe square grandpiano, which is in original condition. The square piano is a smallhorizontal piano with a rectangular case that allows forhorizontal string arrangement. From the time of its invention inthe mid-18th century, and throughout most of the 19thcentury,the square piano was the most common domestic keyboardinstrument. Many 19th-century families owned smallerinstruments such as a violin or a guitar, and this evening youwill hear these instruments as well. This evening you will hear a sampling of Parlor Songs writtenduring the post Civil War years. These songs follow a clearmusical prescription. The texts typically depict a nostalgic,cautionary, pathetic or tragic situation. The form of the songsusually includes a piano introduction of 4-8 measures, oftenstating the main tune. This introduction is followed by a versefor a solo voice, 16 measures long, divided into 4 equalphrases. The solo verse is followed by a refrain that is veryoften arranged for a quartet of singers and often melodicallyand textually identical to the first verse. The song will usuallyconclude with a piano postlude of 4 or 8 measures, sometimesmelodically identical to the introduction. The refrain commonlyarranged for a quartet was ideal for music making in the home,as it was customary for the whole family to make musictogether. Part of the entertainment would be found in singing infour-part harmony.  This also enabled the stronger singer(s) totake the verses and for the rest of the family to join in on therefrain. As we combed through the vast collection of American ParlorSongs available, we were stuck by the similarity of politicalissues, even with the passing of time. This became particularlyapparent in that 2012 was an election year.          Many American popular songs of the 19th century werebased on social or moral messages. One of the biggest moralmessages of the time was temperance. Depicted in the largenumber of published temperance songs is usually a family whodeals with one (usually the husband) who drinks too much. Thisleads to financial hardship, hunger, and even physical abuse.These temperance songs spawned a trend of sequel or replysongs, in which the husband would repent, give up the drinkand become a model parent or husband. Temperance Songsalso invited the writing of anti-temperance songs in which thetext declared warnings for a world that took away a man’s rightto drink.             Mrs. E.A. Parkhurst  (1836-1918), author of “Don’t Marry a Manif He Drinks”, gained most recognition for her temperance andabolition songs.  Some of her very popular songs wereperformed with her daughter (‘Little Effie’) and herself atconcerts and temperance meetings in New York. Parkhurst’swork was publicized and promoted by the same publisher forthe songs of Stephen Foster. Her songs use a sophisticatedharmonic language and tend to be quite imaginative. H.P. Danks (1834 -1903) was a singer and a conductor as wellas a composer. He was the single most popular composer ofAmerican popular song in the 19thcentury. Two of his mostfamous songs include “Don’t be Angry with me, Darling”(1870), and the ballad “Silver Threads among the Gold” (1872),which sold more than three million copies and was perhaps themost widely sold song of its day. The romantic sentimentality ofthis group of songs illustrates America’s demand for an escapefrom the grim truths of the post Civil War period throughromantic love ballades. “Listen to the Mocking Bird” was written by composer SeptimusWinner, under his pseudonym, Alice Hawthorne (1855). It wasan enormous success selling around 20 million copies and wascontemporary with Stephen Foster’s minstrel songs. “Patchwork” is an interesting pastiche by Winner made up offamous tunes. Many of the tunes included in this medly-songare listed in author Charles Hamm’s list of “The Top-SellingForeign Songs in America in 1870”. These songs include “FiveO’Clock in the Morning”, “The Last Rose of Summer”, Oft in theStilly Night, and “Captain Jinks of the Horse Marines”. “TheSpelling Bee” is a song written to entertain those joining in tosing, with a tongue-twister chorus that most likely sent thewhole family into raucous laughter around the piano.                                                                                   Ivy Walz

Faculty Recital: Music for Dessert - 19th Century American Parlor Songs

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Faculty Recital: Music for Dessert - 19th Century American Parlor Songs

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