Soundingthe Mystic Chords of Memory': Musical Memorials For
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Sounding “The Mystic Chords of Memory”: Musical Memorials for Abraham Lincoln, 1865–2009 A dissertation submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Cincinnati in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Division of Composition, Musicology, and Theory of the College-Conservatory of Music by Thomas J. Kernan BM, University of Missouri-Kansas City, 2005 MM, University of Cincinnati, 2010 Committee Chair: bruce d. mcclung, PhD ABSTRACT Composers have memorialized Abraham Lincoln in musical works for the home, concert hall, and theater stage from his death in 1865 to, most recently, the 2009 bicentennial of his birth. They have invoked the name, biography, or character of Lincoln in compositions that address social, cultural, and political movements of their own times and places. In this study I consider the music composed and performed during Lincoln’s national funeral, Reconstruction, periods of mass immigration, the Civil Rights Movement, and the bicentennial of the president’s birth. In this music composers have portrayed Lincoln as martyr and saint, political advocate, friend to the foreigner and common man, and champion of equality. This study touches on issues of modernism and postmodernism, with specific consideration of changes in funerary and mourning rituals as well as the consequences of industrialization, commercialization, and the internet age in shaping presidential legacies. Careful attention is paid to aspects of ritual, protest, and cultural change. I argue that composers, through their memorial songs, symphonies, and dramas, have shared in creating our historical memory of the first martyred president. Moreover, I posit that the American desire for a civic leader with recognizable moral security, to which subsequent generations have bound their causes, has led to a series of changes in the Lincoln topos itself. The ability of musical memorials to thrive in dynamic, public arts—funerals, rituals, protests, and commemorations—evinces that these compositions provide an effective means for tracing the trajectory of American historical memory over a span of 150 years. This analysis advances our understanding of the role musical culture can play in both shaping a presidential legacy, and promoting social and political causes. ii Copyright © 2014 by Thomas J. Kernan All rights reserved iii To members of the U.S. Armed Forces who have perished in war ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am grateful to the individuals who have provided assistance in locating sources for this study, especially Zachary Garrison, Barbara Harbach, Harold Holzer, Kim H. Kowalke, John Malveaux, Ellen Weinberg Mausner, Christian McWhirter, and Nell Stemmermann. I am similarly thankful for having had access to the following libraries and for the exceptional support offered by staff members thereof: the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library, especially James Cornelius; Boston Public Library, especially Metro Voloshin; Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, especially Kirby Dilworth; Harvard University’s Houghton Library and University Archives; Hebrew Union College’s Klau Library, especially Laurel Wolfson; Huntington Library, especially Diann Benti, David Mihaly, Krystle Satrum, Olga Tsapina, and Jennifer Watts; Indiana University’s Lilly Library, especially David Frasier; Jacob Rader Marcus Center for the American Jewish Archives, especially Kevin Proffitt and Gary Zola; Kurt Weill Foundation, especially Dave Stein; Library of Congress; New York Public Library’s Music Division Special Collections, especially Bob Kosovsky, and Dorot Jewish Research Division, especially Amanda Seigel; New Mexico State University Archives, especially Martha Shipman Andrews; G. Schirmer Inc., especially Eileen Mack; University of Missouri-Kansas City Music Library, especially Debbie Keeton; URJ Press and Transcontinental Music, especially Rachel Wetstein; and YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, especially Gunnar Berg and Fruma Mohrer. I could not have completed my research without the generous financial assistance of the Cincinnati Branch of the English-Speaking Union, Ohio Federation of Music Clubs, Theodore Presser Foundation, and University of Cincinnati’s University Research Council. I am grateful for the support of friends, faculty, and colleagues at the University of Cincinnati, especially Ellis Anderson, who welcomed me to the College-Conservatory of Music v (CCM) as a fellow graduate student, introduced me to the vintage cocktail recipes compiled by Robert Hess, and has remained a close friend ever since; Mary Sue Morrow, who always offered clear and concise answers to seemingly complex questions about class schedules, registration, and degree requirements; and Christopher Phillips, who graciously opened his classes and seminars, and welcomed a musicologist to spend time with his American history advisees. I thank Jonathan Kregor for serving on my dissertation committee and providing many insights into navigating the closing years of graduate school and early stages of a career. I am indebted to Jeongwon Joe, not only for her service on all of my graduate-school committees, but also for the level of respect that she has displayed for my scholarship and teaching. bruce d. mcclung’s service as my dissertation advisor has included the careful reading of countless drafts of chapters, grant proposals, and papers. Moreover, his attention to detail in every task he undertakes has deeply influenced my approach to research, teaching, and life in general. The CCM Joseph and Frances Jones Poetker Thinking about Music Lecture Series played a critical role in my discernment of a dissertation topic. In March 2008 music theorist Steven Cahn invited James Schmidt from Boston University’s Political Science Department to lecture on a topic that the two had been discussing, “musical monuments.” I was immediately struck by this concept and have been grateful for the encouragement that both scholars have provided me since then. Beyond the outstanding support that I have received from colleagues and faculty members, I am equally touched by the kindness that I have known from individuals whose names are too numerous for this space, but whose impact has been profound, especially my friends from the Ohio State University History Department and the clergy and laity of Saint Joseph Cathedral (Columbus, Ohio). The aphorism that the best gift a father can give his children is to love their vi mother (or similarly, that the best gift a mother can give her children is to love their father) has been thoroughly demonstrated by the love that my parents, James and Ruth Kernan, have for each other, which has left an indelible mark on my heart, and it is a profound privilege for which I am eternally grateful. More recently that blessing has also been a part of my life through the tremendous love and affection that my in-laws, Paul and Vicki Peters, show each other, their daughter, and me. My wife, Sarah, is at the center of all aspects of my life and this dissertation, too. She generously sacrificed some of her research time to help gather sources for me at the British Library and New York Public Library. Sarah has patiently listened to my ideas in their most unpolished and assuredly frustrating forms. She has also lovingly provided a volume and quality of encouragement that I can only ever hope to reciprocate. Sarah has my enduring love for approaching all of this with her characteristic grace, devotion, joy, and stubbornness. Finally, I wish to offer a word about the dedication of this dissertation. The terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 occurred in the early weeks of my sophomore year at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Thus, for nearly the entire time of my undergraduate and graduate degrees, the United States has been at war—multiple wars—and a country with soldiers deployed to the far reaches of the globe. In writing a dissertation in which I regularly contemplated death, mourning, and memory, it has rarely been far from my mind that any difficulties encountered in pursuing a doctoral degree pale in comparison to the extreme sacrifices that have been made by service members and their families; so it was during the Civil War and so it is today. With hopes and prayers for the miracle of peace, but knowledge of the losses suffered by many, I gratefully dedicate this dissertation to the members of the U.S. Armed Forces members who have perished in war. vii CONTENTS COPYRIGHT PERMISSIONS ........................................................................................................x LIST OF EXAMPLES ................................................................................................................... xi LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................................... xii LIST OF TABLES ....................................................................................................................... xiii INTRODUCTION ...........................................................................................................................1 Chapter 1. THE LINCOLN FUNERAL AND INITIAL DAYS OF MOURNING ...........................20 Initial Mourning .................................................................................................... 23 Performing the Funeral Procession .......................................................................25 Commemorations beyond the Train .......................................................................37