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Church's Musical Visitor, 1871-1897: Class, Nationalism, and Musical Taste

Stemmermann, Nell

Abstract Details

2014, PhD, University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music: Music (Musicology).
The John Church Company in Cincinnati published Church’s Musical Visitor from October 1871 to December 1897. From February 1883 it was known as The Musical Visitor. The monthly journal printed music by contemporary American and European composers as well as earlier works. The editors, Frank H. King, Charles A. Daniell, Frank N. Scott, and James R. Murray, commented on composers, music, and issues of the day in both Europe and the United States. The Visitor reprinted and commented on articles of interest from other journals and newspapers, such as the London Musical Times, Chicago Inter-Ocean, Appleton’s Journal, and Scribner’s. Correspondents included Louis C. Elson of Boston and Frederick J. Crowest from London, and unnamed writers from various U.S. cities. Noted composers and educators of the day, such as George F. Root and Frederic W. Root, contributed series of articles. The Church Company included advertisements from music teachers in the Cincinnati area and for its published works, in addition to works from other music publishers. The Visitor is an important source of information about musical life and attitudes in post-bellum America, but it has been underutilized as a source of information about musical life and culture during this time. It overlapped Dwight’s Journal of Music (1852–1881) by ten years and The Etude (1883–1957) by fourteen years. Unlike Dwight’s Journal, which promoted the music of such Europeans as Bach, Beethoven, Handel, Haydn, Mendelssohn, and Rossini, the Visitor promoted the music of both Americans and Europeans. Whereas The Etude focused on piano technique and music for the piano, the Visitor provided vocal and instrumental music for the family, and music for church services from January 1886 until September 1895. It has been underutilized as a source of information about musical life and culture during this time. This study provides an examination of attitudes toward class, nationalism, and musical taste in the Visitor during the last quarter of the nineteenth century. The Visitor was a sounding board for people from various parts of the country and abroad. Appendices include a chronological listing of music printed in the Visitor and an alphabetical list of composers with their dates and the number of their vocal or instrumental works appearing in the journal.
bruce mcclung, Ph.D. (Committee Chair)
Karin Pendle, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Edward Nowacki, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
421 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Stemmermann, N. (2014). Church's Musical Visitor, 1871-1897: Class, Nationalism, and Musical Taste [Doctoral dissertation, University of Cincinnati]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1407404428

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Stemmermann, Nell. Church's Musical Visitor, 1871-1897: Class, Nationalism, and Musical Taste. 2014. University of Cincinnati, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1407404428.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Stemmermann, Nell. "Church's Musical Visitor, 1871-1897: Class, Nationalism, and Musical Taste." Doctoral dissertation, University of Cincinnati, 2014. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1407404428

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)