Music for the Nation: American Sheet Music, ca. 1820-1860
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Historical Comprehension: Identifying Historical Perspectives
Stephen Foster was one of the nation's most celebrated composers. His songs became so popular across the country that they have been described as the foundation of a new national culture. While Foster's melodies were relatively simple, they were also both beautiful and singable. Since Foster was born in 1826 and died in 1864, most of his compositions were written in the period covered in Music for the Nation: American Sheet Music, ca. 1820-1860. The collection includes many of his works, including such notable numbers as "My Old Kentucky Home," , "Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair," and "Susanna," which became the favorite song of Forty-niners crossing the continent in their quest to strike it rich in the gold fields of California.
"Farewell! Old Cottage." When he was a
child, Foster's family lost their home to the
Bank of the United States. What Foster
songs reflect a longing for a former home
that may be related to this early experience?
Although Foster was born and lived in the North all of his life, many of his songs were about the South. He gave the Christy Minstrels exclusive rights to the first performance of many of his compositions, so numerous Foster songs were intended for the audiences who flocked to hear white performers in blackface sing about the South. Although some of Foster's songs were written in dialect, scholars have written that he did try to improve the quality of minstrel songs and, in some cases, impart dignity to the African American characters in his songs. For example, his song "Nelly Was a Lady" was unique for the time because it referred to an African-American woman as a lady. Even as he wrote less in dialect and developed images of African Americans that stressed their humanity, Foster continued to suggest in his lyrics that blacks enjoyed plantation life; his songs tended to romanticize plantation life.
Use the collection's Author Index to identify songs written by Stephen Foster. Read several of these songs and look for evidence of both the racism common to the period and attitudes that transcend racism. How would you describe the values reflected in Foster's work?
While Foster's work must be understood in its historical context, his songs continue to provoke controversy. In the late 1990s, for example, some members of a singing group at Yale University refused to perform "My Old Kentucky Home" because they found the lyrics offensive. As part of a program on Foster in its American Experience series, the Public Broadcasting System asked several musicians and historians the following question: Should we change Foster's songs to remove their racist aspects, or not perform them? How would you answer this question, considering both historical and present contexts? Look at the answers given on the PBS series.