Title: Johnson Versus Mason: Musical Politics, 1843 Style Author(s): Jacklin Bolton Stopp Source: Stopp, J. B. (1992, Fall). Johnson versus Mason: Musical politics, 1843 style. The Quarterly, 3(3), pp. 54-60. (Reprinted with permission in Visions of Research in Music Education, 16(3), Autumn, 2010). Retrieved from http://www-usr.rider.edu/~vrme/ It is with pleasure that we inaugurate the reprint of the entire seven volumes of The Quarterly Journal of Music Teaching and Learning. The journal began in 1990 as The Quarterly. In 1992, with volume 3, the name changed to The Quarterly Journal of Music Teaching and Learning and continued until 1997. The journal contained articles on issues that were timely when they appeared and are now important for their historical relevance. For many authors, it was their first major publication. Visions of Research in Music Education will publish facsimiles of each issue as it originally appeared. Each article will be a separate pdf file. Jason D. Vodicka has accepted my invitation to serve as guest editor for the reprint project and will compose a new editorial to introduce each volume. Chad Keilman is the production manager. I express deepest thanks to Richard Colwell for granting VRME permission to re-publish The Quarterly in online format. He has graciously prepared an introduction to the reprint series. Johnson Versus Mason: Musical Politics, 1843 Style By Jacklin Bolton Stopp Empire State Colleg6L--SUNY n the morning of August 24, leader. About five years later, 15-year-old 1843, the highly respected Bos- Artemas joined Mason's recently founded Ju- ton musician, Artemas Nixon venile Choir just in time to appear in its third <Johnson>(1817-1892),1 arrived at the city's concert' This was an exceptional experi- Odeon building to attend the opening of the ence because, before the advent of American annual meeting of the American Musical public school music, there were very few op- Convention," scheduled to be held through portunities for young people to sing in a September 1 (except Sunday, August 27). chorus of unchanged voices, much less one On its fifth day, Johnson, as a guest lecturer, that numbered about 200 singers. spoke about his recent European study and The debut of Mason's Juvenile Choir on travel to its nearly 350 registrants. Johnson's June 13, 1832, not only served as a catalyst presentation was introduced by the first Pro- for Johnson's later membership but also for fessor of the Boston Academy of Music, the formation of the Boston Academy of Mu- Lowell Mason (1792-1872), who had influ- sic. This altruistic organization had an indel- enced the direction of the convention since ible influence on Johnson's life as well as on its formal inception in 1838. In 1843, how- that of Lowell Mason. ever, Mason's customary domination would Established in January of 1833, the acad- abruptly cease. emy was an association of men (mostly busi- That year, press coverage of the convention nessmen) who had united to improve local would focus instead on Johnson, Mason's church music (primarily Protestant). Looking former pupil, protege, and co-worker. In ad- toward this goal, a major desire was to influ- dition to being a guest lecturer, Johnson was ence the Boston city government to intro- nominated and chosen the convention's First duce the teaching of music (vocal, in the Vice-President. He also served on at least six sense of choral) into its public school cur- committees and individually proposed two riculum. To realize this and other aspira- amendments to its constitution and by-laws, tions, Mason was hired to develop the requi- each of which was carried." site courses and to give the instruction. Early Johnson-Mason From the outset of the Boston Academy of Music's program, Johnson participated during Relationships his free time. When initially enrolled, he was Until 1843, the Middlebury, Vermont-born one of the competitively selected students at- Johnson had idolized Mason." Johnson's awe tending the city's all-boy English High Schoolf of this musician had begun when a youth, now considered the nation's first public high the result of his family's attendance at a ser- school. He graduated in the Class of 1833 and vice of Boston's Hanover Street Church became a clerk in a large wholesale hardware (Trinitarian Congregational). There, Lowell store in Boston.' Although he was employed Mason was the acclaimed organist and choir the customary six-day work week, Johnson used evenings and any other free time to take Jacklin Bolton Stopp is an Independent Scholar courses as they were offered by the Boston in American Music. She currently serves as a Academy of Music. tutor in music for Empire State College-State Two courses introduced by Mason during University of New York, Lockport. the summer of 1834, the Teachers' Class and 54 The Quarterly Journal of Music Teaching and Learning the Mixed Chorus, proved to be of major im- leader for Boston's Franklin St.reetChurch portance, and Johnson was a charter member (Trinitarian Congregational)." There he imple- of each. In August, he attended the initial mented its music program under Mason's dis- Teachers' Class," a course primarily designed creet supervision while Mason continued to for training church musicians. Johnson at- direct and execute the music program for tended this and subsequent classes as a Bowdoin Street Church (formerly Hanover nonregistrant." probably because he assisted Street Church), presumably with the assistance Mason, this class's only teacher. In 1834, of a few of his best organ pupils. Johnson could have demonstrated his chang- The Mason-Johnson collaboration was con- ing voice, because this was his vocal status venient in that the congregation of Franklin when he became a founding member of the Street Church sublet space in the Odeon, the Boston academy's oratorio organization, building rented by the Boston Academy of known as the Mixed Chorus.'? Music for its classes and concerts. Just be- By 1836, Johnson had fore Johnson became identi- probably taken all of the fied with this church, the courses offered by the Bos- Boston academy installed a ton Academy of Music. This "Mason had fine organ built by the emi- meant that he had studied not used question- nent Thomas Appleton. only under Mason but also The instrument, which cost under the Boston academy's able means in $5,500, consisted of three second professor, George an unsuccessful manuals, 27 stops, and two James Webb. (This English- octaves of pedals." During man, an extremely fine musi- effort to control the week, it was generally cian, had been hired in 1833 the 1843 [Ameri- played by Webb in his when burgeoning enrollment work for the Boston acad- made it evident that one per- can Musical] emy; on Sundays, Johnson son could no longer handle convention's commanded this highly ac- the academy's increasingly claimed instrument for the successful prograrn.) Under presidential services of Franklin Street their instruction, Johnson was election. " Church. probably trained in voice, There is no doubt that the piano, organ, vocal (choral) Mason-Johnson collaboration pedagogy, choral singing, and was very successful. Around thorough-bass, thus receiving exceptional 1840, this team added musical responsibility training at a time when the United States did not for Park Street Church (Trinitarian Congrega- yet have a permanent music conservatory. But tional)." This was a realistic extension of their these courses did not constitute Johnson's total cooperative efforts, because Johnson had musical background. taken on an assistant, George F. Root (1820- For several years, this full-time clerk had 1895).15 (Root later became a famous musi- held a second job in what is now Greater cian, especially known as a composer of Civil Boston. After a short stint as organist at the War songs; his "Bailie Cry of Freedom" re- Congregational Church in Jamaica Plain, he cently served as major background music for had served in the same capacity for three or the television series, Tbe Civil War.) By this more years at the prestigious Harvard Church time, the Mason-Johnson style of supervisor- (Unitarian) in Charlestown." Apparently implementor collaboration was being applied buoyed by success in these endeavors, to the infant music program for the Boston around the age of 20 Johnson became a full- Public Schools. time musician and thereupon took the pro- With the opening of the 1838-39 school fessional name of A. Johnson. year, the Boston Academy of Music saw the About this time, Johnson began a working realization of its goal to secure the introduc- relationship with Mason, apparently the result tion of music into the city's school curricu- of taking a position as both organist and choir lum, a first not only for Boston but also for Volume III, Number 3, 1992 55 1792 1872 LOWELL MASON This portrait engraving of Lowell Mason originally appeared on the musical program for an event honoring Mason and sponsored by the National Federation of Music Clubs onJune 9,1929. The artist is unknown, and the engraving is a variant of the engraving that appears on the cover. Credit: Music Library, University of Maryland at College Park (Lowell Mason Collection). the nation. For this pioneering venture, Ma- president and first conductor of the Musical son was hired as Master of Music (superin- Education Society (1837-1839) and, currently, tendent). In addition to himself, only one was Mason's accompanist for the Associate music teacher, Jonathan C. Woodman, was Choirs of Boston and the conductor of the employed." The following year, however, Juvenile Choir sponsored by the Boston Mason acquired his first music faculty Academy of Music (January of 1840 to early through a "package arrangement" with A.