Music in the making; Singing America

Music in the making. Produced by Millikan university under a grant from the Educational Television and Radio Center in cooperation with the National Association of educational broadcasters. The Milliken School of Music presented Professor Hubert Norval in a recorded program and titled singing America. And here to take over at this point his professor Norval during the surrender of the British army at Yorktown one hundred seventy four years ago the British band played a tune called of the world turned upside down in retaliation the Yankee band responded with Yankee Doodle even though it had been used by the British to make fun of the Yankees. We now terminate an American song. It's origin probably was an old English folk song. Many of us today feel like playing or singing such a type of tune in order to give vent to our emotions in a world that certainly seems topsyturvy.

None of our folk music with the possible exception of the Negro is American in the sense of being indigenous to this country. Many significant and fascinating aspects of American life have been recorded not only in history books in literature and in painting but in song. What a man feels he same. And as such the songs of our nation's songs of all times folk songs ballads popular songs and serious art songs reflect the taste manners morals and even absurdities of our nation as well as its inspiring historical events. Thus through the woods and music of our songs we have a real Americana a panoramic living picture reflecting periods and epochs in the development of our country. There is no more reasonable way of encouraging a love of one's country than by reminding ourselves of the unique heritage it is ours to preserve.

Certainly the human quality of this heritage is demonstrated by the document in song. We bred and raised a new kind of personality. The cowboy who rode the plains and trails but when day was done he often sat around the campfire singing songs. We all love to hear them now. My. My my my my.

When Walt Whitman in his poem I hear America singing says I hear America singing the varied Cabos I hear those of mechanics the carpenter the mason the boatman the deckhand the shoemaker the hatter the woodcutter the plowboy the delicious singing of the mother or of the young wife at work or of the girls sewing or washing each singing what belongs to her and her no one else. The day that belongs to that day at night the party of young fellows

robust friendly singing with open mouths their strong melodious songs sung he gives us some picture expressing the varied hum of American life also expressing practically the folk impulse as it appears in the life of any country. During the 17th century in the Plymouth colony the sum total of the musical experience would be singing church. Like the hundred today it is familiar to us as the Doxology. There were no composers then in this community as it was considered

frivolous to think of them. However the progressives one of the societies where established and New England produced the first American composer whose works are His name is Francis Hopkinson a signer of the Declaration of Independence. He wasn't perhaps a poet and inventor and his first song. Thus through him we have the arts and the Birth of it. You know as much as we are an amalgam of all races makes it impossible for our music as a unit to have a national flavor. Even our national anthems are old tunes adapted to new words. Some of our music was brought over by early settlers and has been retained to a great degree in its

original character. Mountain Music is quite unlike the Spanish songs of California as you shall see by the two following examples. The first will be an Appalachian Mountain Song while the second is a California Spanish song. They are both accompanied by the guitar. Oh.

The power was down the road. The the the week 200 was the the home of. The the the the hundred.

It was God. No not the way. William Billings a most colorful figure in American musical history was the first American composer to make music his profession. He wrote revolutionary war songs. His song Chester has been termed the over there of the revolution and was sung by the troops of the Continental Army everywhere. The. Music has a magic power of arousing emotions. So the song

created a moment of inspiration inspired thousands. During the Civil War we had such rouses in the south as in the north the battle cry of freedom one of the most popular types of amusement in the middle 19th century was a minstrel show. One of the most characteristic American types of amusements ever to be produced. One of our American composers Stephen Foster became famous to the general public by having his song sung by members of minstrel shows. Foster was a natural melodist who expressed himself simply. We will now hear one of his songs. On the.

We have a little national folk music but many individual folk song types characteristic of various localities and springing from non-American sources in isolated communities where hand labor has been perpetuated and where there is little printed literature. The folk expression has been most spontaneous and alive in this country. The Negro folk music has made a deeper impression on our national life than any other group. And it is more original and to our country than any other type

o o. Oh no no no. Oh yeah. Oh yeah and shopping for me. Oh no. Yes. Up up up.

In this past few minutes we have given only highlights of the musical life in our country singing America with musical illustrations of Native American music has been brought to you on recording by Professor Hubert know our. Music in the making was produced by Milligan university under a grant from the Educational Television and Radio Center. This program is distributed by the National Association of educational broadcasters. This is the end network.