American Sheet Music: ca. 1820-1860

1820-1829 | 1830-1839 | 1840-1849 | 1850-1860

1840

Consider the Lilies. w., "selected from the Holy Scriptures." m., R[obert] Topliff. Hewitt & Jacques [ca. 1840].

Cracovienne. (A fast-moving, syncopated Polish dance of peasant origin associated with the country around Cracow, the cracovienne, or according to its native name krakoviak, enjoyed for a time a great vogue in Europe and in America. The dance was introduced to the Parisian stage during 1834-39 by the celebrated Austrian dancer Fanny Elssler, who, after appearances in London, visited the United States in 1840-43. Chopin used the traditional melody in his "Krakoviak," op. 14, for piano and orchestra, and other composers wrote variations on the tune. It is reproduced in Grove's' Dictionary of Music and Musicians under the heading Krakoviak. Many American editions of the music were issued during Fanny Elssler's stay in the United States--by A. Fiot, Philadelphia; Hewitt & Jacques, New York; Millet's Music Saloon, New York; Geo. P. Reed, Boston, and others. The dancer also popularized the Spanish cachucha. She was the daughter of Haydn's music copyist at Esterhazy.)

The Ingle Side. [w., Hew Ainslie.] m., T. V. Wiesenthal. Philadelphia: Fiot, Meignen & Co. [ca. 1840.] (Hew Ainslie was a Scottish poet who had emigrated to the United States in 1825.)

Jim Along, Josey. (1840) w. (and m.?), Edward Harper. Firth & Hall, cop. 1840. (Sung by the author in his play The Free Nigger of New York, about 1838.)

Kathleen Mavourneen. w., Annie Crawford [née Barry]. m., Frederick William Nichols Crouch (in his: Echoes of the Lake). London [1840].

The Old Arm Chair .(1840)(guitar version) w., Eliza Cook. m. Henry Russell. Boston: Geo. P. Reed, cop. 1840.

Ole Tare River. w., m., anon. Boston: Henry Prentiss [ca. 1840]. (Popularized by the Negro minstrel* Joel W. Sweeny, the reputed inventor of the banjo about 1830.)

The Pesky Sarpent--also known as: (1) Springfield Mountain; and (2) On Springfield Mountain. (1840 (diff ed)) w., m., anon. Boston: Geo. P. Reed, cop. 1840.

Rocked in the Cradle of the Deep. w., Mrs. Willard. m., Joseph Phillip Knight. Boston: C. F. Chickering, cop. 1840; New York: C. E. Horn, cop. 1840.

Tippecanoe and Tyler Too. w., Alexander C. Ross. m., tune: "Little Pigs." (Song of the Whig Party during the presidential campaign of General William Henry Harrison. John Tyler was his running mate for the vice-presidency.)

The Two Grenadiers--original German title: Die beiden Grenadiere (No. 1 in: Romanzen und Balladen, op. 49). German words, Heinrich Heine. m., Robert Schumann. Leipzig: Gust. Heinze [1840].

Whar Did You Cum from? w., m., anon. Firth & Hall, cop. 1840. (Popularized by Joel W. Sweeny--see above: "Ole Tare River.")

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1841

Molly Bawn (Il Paddy Whack in Italia). w., m., Samuel Lover. (Il Paddy Whack in Italia was an English burlesque of Italian opera performed at the Lyceum Theatre, London, 1841.)

My Mother's Bible. w., George Pope Morris. m., Henry Russell. Firth & Hall, cop. 1841.

Niagara Falls. w., m., Mr. Winchell. Boston: Henry Prentiss, cop. 1841.

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1842

The Blind Boy. w., anon. m., William R[ichardson] Dempster. Boston: Oliver Ditson, cop. 1842.

Come, O Come with Me, the Moon Is Beaming. w., B. S. Barclay. m., "Italian air." Philadelphia: A. Fiot, cop. 1842.

Glenmary Waltzes . (1842) Piano solo. m., Richard Storrs Willis. Boston: Oliver Ditson, cop. 1842.

The Pope He Leads a Happy Life. (1853) w., m., anon. Philadelphia: Osbourn's Music Saloon [before 1842]. (Copy in Grosvenor Library, Buffalo. According to the title of this edition, the music was "composed by M. N. Esqr." The publisher was at the given address 30 S. 4th St., Philadelphia, until 1842 or 1843.)

Widow Machree. w., m., Samuel Lover. London: Duff and Hodgson [ca. 1842]. (Reprinted in the United States by A. Fiot, Philadelphia; William Hall & Son, New York, and others.)

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1843

De Boatman's Dance . (1844) (diff ed??) w., m., Old Dan D. Emmit [Daniel Decatur Emmett]. Boston: C. H. Keith, cop. 1843.

Cape Ann . (1843) w., m., anon. Firth & Hall, cop. 1843. (Sung by J. J. Hutchinson of the Hutchinson Family.)

Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean. (1844) w., m., Thomas à Becket. (Written in 1843 for a theatrical benefit at the request of David T. Shaw, to whom the words have often been incorrectly attributed.)

Excelsior. Part song for SATB with piano acc. w., Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. m., Hutchinson Family. Firth & Hall, cop. 1843. (Perhaps the earliest setting of Longfellow's poem, published in 1841.)

Go Call the Doctor, or, Anti-Calomel. w., m., Judson Hutchinson. William Hall & Son [ca. 1843]. (Sung by the Hutchinson Family.)

The Grave of Bonaparte. (1850) w., Henry W. Washburne. m., Lyman Heath. Boston: Oliver Ditson [ca. 1843].

The Heart Bow'd Down (The Bohemian Girl). (1844) (gtr. acc.) w., Alfred Bunn. m., Michael William Balfe. (Balfe's opera The Bohemian Girl was produced at the Drury Lane Theatre, London, Nov. 27, 1843, and given at the Park Theatre, New York, Nov. 25, 1844.)

I Dreamt I Dwelt in Marble Halls (The Bohemian Girl). (1844) (Viereck arr.) w., Alfred Bunn. m., Michael William Balfe. (See preceding entry.)

The Lament of the Irish Emigrant. w., Mrs. Price Blackwood. m., William Richardson Dempster. Boston: Geo. P. Reed, cop. 1843.

The Long Ago--better known as: Long, Long Ago. (1839) (gtr. arr.) w., m., Thomas Haynes Bayly. London [1843?].

My Old Aunt Sally. w., m., Old Dan D. Emmit [Daniel Decatur Emmett]. Boston: C. H. Keith, cop. 1843.

Old Dan Tucker. (1845) diff. ed.?) [w., m., Daniel Decatur Emmett?] Millet's Music Saloon, cop. 1843.

The Old Granite State. (1843) w., Jesse Hutchinson. [m., revivalist tune: "The Old Church Yard."] Firth & Hall, cop. 1843 by John Hutchinson. (Sung by the Hutchinson Family in 1843 in New York at a temperance meeting at the Broadway Temple.)

Stop Dat Knocking at My Door. w., m., A. F. Winnemore. Boston: Geo. P. Reed [cop. 1843?]

Then You'll Remember Me (The Bohemian Girl). (1844) (gtr. ed.?) w., Alfred Bunn. m., Michael William Balfe. (See above "The Heart Bow'd Down.")

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1844

The Blue Juniata. (1844) Words and melody by M[arion] D[ix] Sullivan. Arranged for the pianoforte by E. L. White. Boston: Oliver Ditson, cop. 1844. (The Juniata is a river in Pennsylvania.)

God Bless Our Native Land. Hymn. w., Rev. Charles Timothy Brooks. m., tune: "America." (The words were adapted about 1833, from the German of Siegfried August Mahlmann, written about 1815, and revised by John Sullivan Dwight.)

Miss Lucy Neale. (1844) w., m., James Sanford. Philadelphia: A. Fiot [ca. 1944]. (Described as a "favorite Ethiopian song" on the sheet music, the song enjoyed immediate popularity. The tune was used for a number of patriotic songs during the Mexican War, 1846-47.)

The Ole Grey Goose. w., m., anon. Philadelphia: A. Fiot, cop. 1844.

Open Thy Lattice, Love. (1844) w., m., Stephen Collins Foster. Philadelphia: George Willig, cop. 1844.

Polka. The polka, a Bohemian dance of peasant origin, came into existence around 1830 and, after invading Vienna about 1839 and Paris in 1841, swept through Europe and the American continents with a furor that created a veritable "polkamania"--which was actually the title of a theatrical skit performed in New York. The dance was introduced in the United States in May 1844, at the Chatham Theatre, New York, by Mary Ann Gannon, a 15-year-old dancer, and L. de G. Brookes, who later wrote a book on "Modern Dancing," New York, 1867. Everybody who could devise a tune, from the amateur to Johann Strauss, composed polkas. The traditional tune as danced in London, 1844, is reproduced in Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians.

Spring Song (No. 6 in: Sechs Lieder ohne Worte, Book 5, op. 62). Piano solo. m., Felix Mendelssohn. Bonn: N. Simrock [1844].

Vive la Compagnie. (1844) w., m., anon. Baltimore: F. D. Benteen, cop. 1844. (Copy in Grosvenor Library, Buffalo.)

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1845

Crambambuli, Bright Source of Pleasure. (1845) w., m., anon. Philadelphia: Klemm & Bro., cop. 1845. (Copy in Grosvenor Library, Buffalo.)

Dennis. Hymn tune. m., Hans Georg Nägeli [arr. by Lowell Mason]. Boston: Wilkins, Carter, and Co. [cop. 1845] (in: Lowell Mason and George James Webb, The Psaltry; a New Collection of Church Music, p. 168). (The hymn was set to the words "How Gently God Commands!" The music now generally sung to the words of John Fawcett, "Blest Be the Tie That Binds.")

Scenes That Are Brightest (Maritana). (1846?) w., Edward Fitzball. m. Vincent Wallace. (Maritana was a four-act English opera, produced at Drury Lane Theatre, London, Nov. 15, 1845; given at the Bowery Theatre, New York, May 4, 1848, and long popular on American professional and amateur stages.)

Yes! Let Me Like a Soldier Fall (Maritana). w., Edward Fitzball. m., Vincent Wallace. (See preceding entry.)

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1846

The Bridge of Sighs. (1846) w., Thomas Hood. m., arr. by E[dward] L. White. Boston: Oliver Ditson, cop. 1846.

The Low-Back'd Car .(1846) w., Samuel Lover. [m., adapted from the Irish tune: "The Jolly Ploughman."] William Hall & Son, cop. 1846. (The tune was printed in Edward Bunting, The Ancient Music of Ireland, Hodges and Smith, Dublin, 1840, p. 20.)

Miss Lucy Neale. See 1844.

The Rose of Alabama--also known as: The Rose ob Alabama. w., S. S. Steele. m., anon. Boston: Geo. P. Reed, cop. 1846.

Well-a-Day. Duet for soprano and alto with piano acc. w., anon. m., George Linley. London: Chappell [1846].

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1847

Be Kind to the Loved Ones at Home. (1850, diff ed) w., m., I[saac] B[aker] Woodbury. Boston: E. H. Wade, cop. 1847.

De Floating Scow-also known as: Carry Me Back to Ole Virginny. (1847) w., m., Charles T. White. Philadelphia: Lee & Walker, cop. 1847.

Footsteps of Angels. (1848) w., Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. m., William R[ichardson] Dempster. Boston: Oliver Ditson & Co., cop. 1847.

The Rainy Day.(1847, by Dempster) w., Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. m., I[saac] B[aker] Woodbury. Boston: Oliver Ditson & Co., cop. 1847.

Roll On, Silver Moon--also known as: The Silver Moon. w., m., anon. (The song was of English origin. Two American editions were published and copyrighted in 1847; (1) arr. by Joseph W. Turner, Oliver Ditson & Co., Boston; and (1847) (2) arr. by N. Barker, Firth, Pond & Co., New York (1841). The latter edition credited the melody to one Sloman [R. Sloman?]. The Turner arrangement is found in most song collections.)

Row Thy Boat Lightly. w., Miss H. F. Woodman. m., I[saac] B[aker] Woodbury. Boston: Oliver Ditson & Co., cop. 1847.

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1848

Ben Bolt, or, Oh! Don't You Remember. w., Thomas Dunn English. m., Nelson Kneass. Louisville, Ky.: W. C. Peters, cop. 1848.

The Cottage of My Mother (1848) w., Jesse Hutchinson. m. Judson Hutchinson. Boston: Oliver Ditson, cop. 1848.

The Folks Are All Waiting to See the Fast Steamer (A Glance at New York). w., Benjamin A. Baker. m., tune: "Jolly Young Waterman." (A Glance at New York was a popular play . . . The words and the tune are reproduced in Grenville Vernon, Yankee Doodle-Doo, New York, 1927, p. 132.)

Oh! Susanna. (1848) (diff. Peters ed.?) w., m., Stephen C[ollins] Foster. Louisville, Ky., W. C. Peters & Co., cop. 1848.

Old Uncle Ned. w., m., Stephen C[ollins] Foster. W. E. Millet, cop. 1848.

'Twas Off the Blue Canaries, or, My Last Cigar. w., m., James M. Hubbard. New Haven, Conn.: William Skinner, cop. 1848 by Jas. M. Hubbard.

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1849

Just as I Am Without One Plea. Hymn. [w., Charlotte Elliot.] m., William B[atchelder] Bradbury. Mark H. Newman & Co. [cop. 1849] (in: Thomas Hastings and William Batchelder Bradbury, The Mendelssohn Collection, or, Hastings' and Bradbury's Third Book of Psalmody). (The words were printed anonymously with another tune on p. 255. The tune "Woodworth," to which the hymn is now sung, was printed with other words on p. 60.)

Nelly Bly. (1850) w., m., Stephen C[ollins] Foster. Firth, Pond & Co., cop. 1849.

Nelly Was a Lady. (1849) w., m., Stephen C[ollins] Foster. Firth, Pond & Co., cop. 1849.

Santa Lucia. w. m., Teodoro Cottrau (1827-79). [Naples: T. Cottrau, 1849.] (Date from A. della Corte and G. M. Gatti, Dizionario di Musica, Torino, 1925. An early American edition of the song, with an English translation by Thomas Oliphant, was published by M. McCaffrey, Baltimore, n.d.)

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*  Library of Congress note: "Negro minstrel is Variety Music Cavalcade's term for white performers who performed in blackface.
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1820-1829 | 1830-1839 | 1840-1849 | 1850-1860

American Sheet Music: ca. 1820-1860