Louis Moreau Gottschalk (1829-1869): the Role of Early Exposure to African-Derived Musics in Shaping an American Musical Pioneer from New Orleans

LOUIS MOREAU GOTTSCHALK (1829-1869): THE ROLE OF EARLY EXPOSURE TO AFRICAN-DERIVED MUSICS IN SHAPING AN AMERICAN MUSICAL PIONEER FROM NEW ORLEANS A dissertation submitted to the College of the Arts of Kent State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Amy Elizabeth Unruh December, 2009 © Amy Elizabeth Unruh, 2009 Dissertation written by Amy Elizabeth Unruh B.A., Bowling Green State University, 1998 B.F.A., Bowling Green State University, 1998 M.M., Bowling Green State University, 2000 Ph.D., Kent State University, 2009 Approved by ________________________ , Co-Chair, Doctoral Dissertation Committee Terry E. Miller ________________________ , Co-Chair, Doctoral Dissertation Committee John M. Lee ________________________ , Members, Doctoral Dissertation Committee Richard O. Devore ________________________ , Richard Feinberg Accepted by ________________________ , Interim Director, School of Music Denise A. Seachrist ________________________ , Interim Dean, College of the Arts John Crawford ii TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................... iii LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................... vi PREFACE ........................................................................................................................ viii CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................1 An Overview of Previous Research .............................................................3 Goals and Methodology .............................................................................12 II. A BRIEF BIOGRAPHY ..................................................................................16 III. CULTURES OF NEW ORLEANS DURING GOTTSCHALK’S CHILDHOOD ..................................................................................................38 A History of New Orleans from 1699 to the Mid-Nineteenth Century .....38 Creoles .......................................................................................................42 African Cultures in New Orleans ...............................................................44 The Musical Environment and Culture of New Orleans during Gottschalk’s Childhood .................................................................54 IV. MUSIC BROUGHT FROM AFRICA: TRAVELERS’ ACCOUNTS AND ORAL TRADITIONS ......................................................................................59 Music in West and Central Africa .............................................................64 Musical Instruments from Africa ...............................................................70 African Rhythms That Traveled to the New World ...................................75 Three Significant Waves of African Cultures That Affected Gottschalk ..77 V. THE AFRICAN MUSICAL ENVIRONMENT OF NEW ORLEANS DURING GOTTSCHALK’S CHILDHOOD ..................................................84 Congo Square .............................................................................................85 African Music in Other Parts of New Orleans ...........................................94 Transculturation .......................................................................................101 VI. AFRICAN MUSICS’ IMPACT ON GOTTSCHALK ..................................108 What Gottschalk Experienced..................................................................108 VII. EVIDENCE OF AFRICAN MUSICAL PARALLELS IN GOTTSCHALK’S WORKS .........................................................................................................118 The Louisiana Quartet..............................................................................120 Musical Processes and Practices .............................................................124 Rhythm and Repetition ...............................................................124 Specific African-derived Rhythms ..............................................134 Polyrhythm ..................................................................................139 iii Cross Rhythms and Interlocking Parts .........................................146 Timing ..........................................................................................155 Voicing .........................................................................................168 Later Works ............................................................................................169 Two Banjos ..................................................................................170 Contradanzas ................................................................................173 La Nuit de tropiques.....................................................................181 Songs for Voice and Piano ..........................................................184 The Core of Gottschalk and his Compositions ........................................185 VIII. SHARED PROCESSES: PARALLELS BETWEEN HOW GOTTSCHALK LEARNED MUSIC AND WEST- AND CENTRAL-AFRICAN ORAL TRADITIONS ...............................................................................................188 Learning Processes and Practices ............................................................188 Oral Tradition ..............................................................................190 Observation and Immersion .............................................193 Imitation and Participation ...............................................195 Repetition .........................................................................196 Creativity, Composition, and Improvisation ....................197 Learning Music as Language .......................................................208 The Science of Rhythm ............................................................................213 IX. PARALLELS AS EVIDENCE OF AFRICAN INFLUENCE IN GOTTSCHALK’S PERFORMANCE PRACTICES ....................................222 Performance Processes and Practices .....................................................223 Dance and the Physical Aspects of African Musics ................................224 Community .............................................................................................228 Audience Participation ............................................................................233 Improvisation and Quoting .....................................................................238 The Importance of the Sound ...................................................................242 Self-renewing Energy ..............................................................................243 X. SIMILARITIES AND REACTIONS ............................................................246 Parallels between Gottschalk’s Music and African-European Hybrid Musics in the Caribbean and Latin America................................246 Parallels between Gottschalk’s Music and African-American Musics in the United States ................................................................................252 Musical Exchange ....................................................................................262 Gottschalk’s Receptions in Europe ............................................262 Gottschalk’s Receptions in the Caribbean and Latin America ....271 XI. CONCLUSION: GOTTSCHALK’S PLACE IN THE MUSICAL HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES ..........................................................................276 Gottschalk’s Receptions in the United States ..........................................276 American Identity, Gottschalk’s Significance, and Africa’s Legacy in the Music of the United States ...........................................................288 iv Summary ..................................................................................................305 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................307 v LIST OF FIGURES* Figure Page 1. The Orleans Ballroom today. .................................................................................55 2. The n’goni. Photo courtesy of Priwan Nanongkham ............................................74 3. Cheick Hamala Diabaté playing the n’goni as Bob Carlin looks on. Photo courtesy of Priwan Nanongkham. ..........................................................................74 4. Habanera, tresillo, and cinquillo rhythms ..............................................................75 5. Louis Armstrong Park still under reconstruction three years after Hurricane Katrina..................................................................................................................107 6. The locked gates to Louis Armstrong Park, rusting and decorated with graffiti three years after Hurricane Katrina ......................................................................107 7. The Gottschalk’s home at the corner of Royale Street and Esplanade Avenue, October, 2008 .......................................................................................................113 8. The Gottschalk’s home at 518 Conti Street, where Louis Moreau lived from 1834 to 1841. The Historic New Orleans Collection ...................................................114 9. Bamboula, mm. 1-15............................................................................................130 10. Bamboula, mm. 134-146......................................................................................131

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