KPFA-FM Music Dept. ➔ Songs of Stephen Foster
Analog Audio
Event Type
MusicOrigin
KPFAIdentifier
AM.1972.09.12Program Length
59 minDates
1972-09-12 | broadcast| 1972-09-12 | created
Description
Charles Amirkhanian introduces a selection of songs by one of America’s earliest and most renowned composers, Stephen Foster. Although Foster’s works were widely performed on pianos and pump organs in family parlors throughout America in the 19th century, they are now mostly forgotten in these days of radio and rock stars. These recordings, which include none of the minstrel songs for which Foster is perhaps best known, offer a window into the spiritual yearnings and fervent patriotism of the antebellum period. These recordings which were made using original 19th century instruments from the collection in the Smithsonian Museum, and feature Jan DeGaetani, mezzo-soprano and Leslie Guinn, baritone.Genres
Popular musicFolk music
Musical Selections
Jeanie With The Light Brown Hair (1854) (3:25) / Stephen Foster -- That's What's The Matter (1862) (2:10) / Stephen Foster -- Ah! May The Red Rose Live Alway! (1850) (5:40) / Stephen Foster -- A Toast: For George Washington (1778) (1:50) / Francis Hopkinson -- I'm Nothing But A Plain Old Soldier (1863) (3:30) / Stephen Foster -- Mr. & Mrs. Brown [text by George Cooper] (1864) (2:20) / Stephen Foster --If You've Only Got A Moustache [text by George Cooper] (1864) (1:20) / Stephen Foster -- Some Folks (1855) (1:40) / Stephen Foster -- Wilt Thou Be Gone, Love? [setting of “Romeo and Juliet” by William Shakespeare] (1851) (3:35) -- Gentle Annie (1856) (3:00) / Stephen Foster -- There's A Good Time Coming [text by Charles Mackay] (1846) (3:10) / Stephen Foster -- Was My Brother In The Battle? (1862) (3:55) / Stephen Foster -- Slumber My Darling (1862) (3:00) / Stephen Foster -- Sweetly She Sleeps, My Alice Fair [based on text by Charles G. Eastman] (1851) (2:55) / Stephen Foster -- Beautiful Dreamer (ca. 1862) (3:30) / Stephen Foster
Performers
Jan DeGaetani, mezzo-sopranoLeslie Guinn, baritone
Gilbert Kalish, piano and melodeon
Robert Sheldon, flute and bugle
Sonya Monsonoff, violin
Subjects
Popular musicSongs (Medium voice) with piano
Songs (Medium voice) with instrumental ensemble
Songs, English
Acknowledgment
Funding for the preservation of this program made possible through a grant by the GRAMMY Foundation.Related places
Berkeley (Calif.) (was recorded at)Berkeley (Calif.) (was broadcast at)
Related Entities
Amirkhanian, CharlesFoster, Stephen Collins, 1826-1864
Hopkinson, Francis, 1737-1791
Cooper, George, 1840-1927
Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616
Mackay, Charles, 1814-1889
Eastman, Charles G. (Charles Gamage), 1816-1860
DeGaetani, Jan
Guinn, Leslie
Kalish, Gilbert
Sheldon, Robert, 1938-
Monsonoff, Sonya