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Early
Southern Music and Its Influence
“Early Southern Roots of Modern Popular Music, Part 4” Urban Music in Antebellum West Georgia Long before west Georgia was legally opened to white and black settlement, the native Indians had gotten an earful of non-native music. This was because the Chattahoochee River was already a highway by the early 1820s. In addition, the Old Federal Road crossed over the river into Alabama at a site near the last waterfall on the river. This "crossroads" would become Columbus, Georgia in 1828. But, before that---importantly---it was a place to make and hear music. For more than a decade, until their forced removal from west Georgia, it was here that Native Americans heard the music of black and white Americans At the Crossroads The first quarter of the 19th century saw a great increase of quantity and variety of musical production in the South. One catalyst was the cotton gin, which set off a population explosion in the slave states. Settlers poured into the new frontiers faster than religion could follow. As a remedy, hymn-writing and -singing (which was prohibited in the 18th century among most colonists) became encouraged in the early 19th. Hymns gave the settlers spiritual comfort in the absence of clergy and neighbors. But, secular music also abounded. In gathering places, such as the future site of Columbus, entertainment was as important as trade. By 1825, the air at the crossroads was saturated with many rich textures of music. Music of the crossroads would become the urban music, distinctly different from that of the plantation. We will explore the urban side of this distinction in this segment of our study of Southern music. We are fortunate for the work of Dr. Katherine Mahan, who published a book on the history of music in Columbus (Showboats to Softshoes, 1968). A Stage for Many Musicians At any moment at a landing, music could be had for a price---money or alcohol. Barge crews were adept at jug-blowing, fiddling, harmonica-playing, and singing. For organized events, on the other hand, Dr. Mahan suggests a likely stage for the earliest shows. A showboat might be a flat barge "one hundred feet long by fourteen feet wide...with a ridge roof over most of the deck." The stage would be at one end. In the middle would be the whites’ section, lighted by "a hogshead hoop filled with candles...dripping tallow on the patrons." Blacks were consigned to the rear section. The patrons sat on rough benches. Theater time was announced by a flag, which proclaimed, "Theatre," and by a blast of the whistle. The performers usually were families playing music and producing plays. One such performance in January, 1830 featured Martha Therese Mathews Smith, who had been the principal soprano for the Cincinnati Haydn Society. The evening began with a "petit comedy" called "The Lady and the Devil," followed with a dance by a Mrs. Petrie. Then, Mrs. Smith sang "Dashing White Sergeant." Next was a musical farce, "No Song, No Supper," and some more songs by Mrs. Smith. Ever More Variety As time wore on, theaters were built more and floated less. The city’s third theater was built in 1837 on present day 10th Avenue with a 400-seat capacity. Columbus was thus able to support a production of Donizetti’s new opera, The Elixir of Love, performed by an internationally acclaimed cast. Further, there was a production of some sort always available. The variety of music was impressive. Columbus had a marching band which made frequent public appearances. A magician, Monsieur Adrian, featured "East Indian jugglers in full costume, performing to oriental music." Swiss bell ringers, circus troupes, flutists, ballet, a male Glee Club, The Peedee Ethiopian Opera Troupe Minstrels, and even a horse opera with men, horses, and dogs all performed at one time or another in antebellum Columbus. Young people could receive instruction in any of the instruments of an orchestra and then some. They also received "ballroom decorum and dancing instruction." Resistance Musical variety came sometimes with a price. Though much was happening in the city’s entertainment, The Columbus Enquirer declined to lend assistance, at least for a while. The editor opined that "the theater deletes good morals [which is] bad for good order [and] happiness [and] bad for religion." Likewise, when the temperance movement was in full bloom in the 1850s, the temperance leaders in Columbus targeted theater, church organs, and drama as being as corruptive as alcohol . Producers had a ready solution, however. Whenever a quarrel arose concerning the fitness of one production, then a substitute would appear the next week. No one seemed to mind productions of either Biblical or Shakespearean texts. Conclusion The crossroads became the intersection of more than Road and River. It was also the intersection of class and culture. Whereas plantation music remained true to its British and African folk roots, the music of the crossroads (ie., urban music) gave the music of Europe an opportunity of expression in west Georgia. In the next newsletter, we will look at some of the contrasting rural expressions of music between 1820 and 1860, especially shape note singing and slave songs.
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Early Southern Music and Its Influences
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