The Relationship Between Lowell Mason and the Boston Handel and Haydn Society, 1815-1827
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University of Kentucky UKnowledge Theses and Dissertations--Music Music 2017 The Relationship Between Lowell Mason and the Boston Handel and Haydn Society, 1815-1827 Todd R. Jones University of Kentucky, [email protected] Author ORCID Identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9464-8358 Digital Object Identifier: https://doi.org/10.13023/ETD.2017.133 Right click to open a feedback form in a new tab to let us know how this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Jones, Todd R., "The Relationship Between Lowell Mason and the Boston Handel and Haydn Society, 1815-1827" (2017). Theses and Dissertations--Music. 83. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/music_etds/83 This Doctoral Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Music at UKnowledge. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations--Music by an authorized administrator of UKnowledge. For more information, please contact [email protected]. STUDENT AGREEMENT: I represent that my thesis or dissertation and abstract are my original work. Proper attribution has been given to all outside sources. I understand that I am solely responsible for obtaining any needed copyright permissions. I have obtained needed written permission statement(s) from the owner(s) of each third-party copyrighted matter to be included in my work, allowing electronic distribution (if such use is not permitted by the fair use doctrine) which will be submitted to UKnowledge as Additional File. I hereby grant to The University of Kentucky and its agents the irrevocable, non-exclusive, and royalty-free license to archive and make accessible my work in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I agree that the document mentioned above may be made available immediately for worldwide access unless an embargo applies. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of my work. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of my work. I understand that I am free to register the copyright to my work. REVIEW, APPROVAL AND ACCEPTANCE The document mentioned above has been reviewed and accepted by the student’s advisor, on behalf of the advisory committee, and by the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS), on behalf of the program; we verify that this is the final, approved version of the student’s thesis including all changes required by the advisory committee. The undersigned agree to abide by the statements above. Todd R. Jones, Student Dr. Ron Pen, Major Professor Dr. Michael Baker, Director of Graduate Studies THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LOWELL MASON AND THE BOSTON HANDEL AND HAYDN SOCIETY, 1815–1827 Dissertation A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Musicology and Ethnomusicology in the College of Fine Arts at the University of Kentucky By Todd R. Jones Greenville, South Carolina Director: Dr. Ronald A. Pen, Professor of Music Lexington, Kentucky 2017 Copyright © Todd R. Jones 2017 ABSTRACT OF DISSERTATION The relationship between Lowell Mason (1792–1872) and the Boston Handel and Haydn Society (est. 1815) has long been recognized as a crucial development in the history of American music. In 1821, Mason and the HHS contracted to publish a collection of church music that Mason had edited. While living in Savannah, GA, Mason had imported several recent British collections that adapted for church tunes works by Franz Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Ignaz Pleyel. His study with German émigré Frederick L. Abel allowed him to harmonize older tunes in standard counterpoint. In the historiography of American music, the collection has ever since been named as one of the chief forces establishing standard counterpoint in the mainstream of American music. The collection’s profits also helped the HHS survive the next several years, and the prestige of eventually being known as the collection’s editor helped launch Mason’s influential career in church music, music education, and music publishing. In 1827, that career took a dramatic turn when Mason returned to Boston to assume the presidency of the HHS and the care of music in several churches. This project shows that the social ties between Mason and the HHS begin earlier and are far more indebted to Calvinist orthodox Christianity than previous studies have shown. With special attention to Mason’s personal papers housed at Yale University, to the HHS records held at the Boston Public Library, and to newly indexed Savannah newspapers, it shows that Mason’s relationship with the Society grew from relationships begun before he left his native Massachusetts in 1812. The depth of the relationship grew steadily until 1827, marked at first by indirect contact and in 1821 by Mason’s trip to Boston. Mason’s 1827 return to Boston, often surprising to scholars, appears here as a logical consequence of the support given by the Society’s previous president, Amasa Winchester, for Mason’s work in church music. Mason’s departure from the Society seems to be based on his zeal, closely related to his evangelical goals, for universal music education. KEYWORDS: Lowell Mason, Handel and Haydn, American Music, Church Music, Music Education, Evangelicalism MULTIMEDIA ELEMENTS: JPEG (.jpg) Images Todd R. Jones April 28, 2017 THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LOWELL MASON AND THE BOSTON HANDEL AND HAYDN SOCIETY, 1815–1827 By Todd R. Jones Dr. Ron Pen Director of Dissertation Dr. Michael Baker Director of Graduate Studies April 2017 To Lorna, who heard everything ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The faults of this dissertation are entirely mine. Errors in research, errors in logic, errors in style, and errors in grammar certainly remain. “Who can understand his [own] errors?”1 I take full responsibility both for those flaws that no one has yet noticed and for those that others have pointed out and which even my corrections have failed to fix. But the fact that this research has happened at all, much less that it has any quality, is directly due to the assistance of dozens of people and institutions. They have provided academic, spiritual, and even financial assistance, and I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to acknowledge them. For an academic exercise like a dissertation, the academic assistance might seem the most important. This assistance begins with my parents, and especially with my mother, who from my earliest years worked to instill in me the love of reading and learning without which this project would have been impossible. My father’s wise counsel, some during and some long after I had completed my studies under his direct academic leadership, has also helped direct my thoughts at several crucial times in my academic career. Academic assistance continued with the teachers and professors who pushed me to learn and succeed. At Bob Jones University, the teaching of Ed Panosian taught a philosophy of history; that of Brenda Schoolfield introduced me to archival studies and indirectly to the 1 Psalm 19:12a. iii digital humanities; that of John Matzko built something like a historian out of a very undisciplined reader and writer; and that of Karen Wilson gave multiple new layers of musicological understanding. I am humbled to be teaching the music history classes that Dr. Wilson taught so faithfully for so many years. In addition, the teaching of Fred Coleman inspired and built a musical-historical and musical-theological framework; and that of the BJU Seminary faculty (especially Jim Berg, Ken Casillas, David O. Beale, and Dan Olinger) solidified my musicological perspective as a conservative Christian. I am truly grateful not only for the seat time in classes but also for the personal time that each of these invested outside class. Always a friend, Ed Dunbar has also encouraged my musicological study from its beginning, and I am grateful for the opportunity I now have of serving with him. Many of the other members of the BJU music faculty (especially Mark Parker) have also continued to encourage me throughout the process, and the staff of BJU’s Mack Library have provided personal assistance all along. My father-in-law, David Fisher, has been very encouraging ever since I began considering this course of study. Many of my students at BJU have also taken a personal interest in my research, and that interest has encouraged me to continue. I sincerely hope that the completion of this project will allow me to serve them even better. Rachel Larson, not only a devoted teacher but also a loyal friend, read through this dissertation as carefully as anyone. I am a better historian of America and can offer a much better dissertation because of her tireless work. iv At the University of Kentucky, my advisor and committee chairman Ronald A. Pen has challenged me to think about this topic holistically, clearly, and personally. From his support for my application to his procedural assistance with forming a committee all the way through to his careful reading and thoughtful comments on my dissertation draft, he has been invaluable. Not only that, he has invested in me in many other ways, and I am humbly grateful for his friendship. Other members of the musicology and ethnomusicology faculty have provided a wide range of academic support as well. Many of them not only gave their time and invested their thinking but also opened their homes to my fellow students and me. Thanks to each of you! Diana Hallman (during a sabbatical, no less) and Jonathan Glixon deeply challenged my thinking and writing, and much of the quality of this dissertation is due to their carefulness both as committee members and as professors in my coursework. Lance Brunner was the one who taught me what I may never fully learn: that clear writing comes only from clear thinking.