STEPHEN COLLINS FOSTER MEMORIAL OF THE PITTSBURGH ------- I ML410 I F78 1S83 19'41 I!- !'J , . " ,I I-;-i i .N I1..i il I : I 111 III III I k I THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE COLLEGE LIBRARY fi1 1E~-I -' 1 THE STEPHEN COLLINS FOSTER MI&'fORIAL* OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH DEDICATED JUNE 2, 1937 A TRIBUTE TO THE COMPOSER WHOSE MELODIES HAVE BECOME THE HEART SONGS OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE BY FLETCHER HODGES, JR. CURATOR, FOSTER HALL COLLECTION UNIVERSITY OF PITlSBURGH - PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA 1941 SIXTH PRI NTING i v] to z E- 0 l, U) cn 0 E- z 0 paE- uw -IoW STEPHEN COLLINS FOSTER MEMORIAL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH Pittsburgh's tribute to her gifted son, Stephen Collins Foster, has been completed. A structure of stone and steel has been erected, and dedicated to the memory of the modest, unassuming composer who wrote songs which have become the heritage, not only of his native America, but of the world. Who has not heard and loved Stephen's Old Folks at Home, My Old Kentucky Home, Massa's in de Cold Ground, and Old Black Joe? Who can not sing them? His plantation melodies were intended to portray one race of people, one section of our country, one period in our history, yet through his genius he succeeded in creating songs which have leaped the boundaries of space and time, and express universal thoughts and emotions. The best of his sentimental ballads are still sung today: his hauntingly beautiful Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair, his tender Come Where My Love Lies Dreaming and Beautiful Dreamer recall the charm of an age which is past. Oh!. Susanna and Camptown Races are evidence that Stephen possessed a sense of humor and occasionally sang in lighter vein. Altogether, he pro- duced more than two hundred original songs and compo- sitions. When he wrote his finest works, he so combined the qualities of poetry, melody, simplicity, and sincerity, that the resulting songs form a remarkable contribution to the music of our nation and of all mankind. In Stephen Foster, Pittsburgh has an eloquent proof that her contributions to civilization have been spiritual, as well as material. The thunders of her steel mills have not drowned out the voice of music. Musicians of national and international fame have thrived here. It is appropriate that the city of his birth, in which his best work was accomplished, should honor Stephen 3K I85 [ 3] STEPHEN COLLINS FOSTER Born near Pittsburgh, July 4, 1826. Died in New York City, January 13, 1864. Foster with one of the finest memorials to a composer which has yet been established. Ten years of conception, planning, financing, and construction are represented in the Stephen Collins Foster Memorial of the University of Pittsburgh. This Memorial is located on the University's Cathedral of Learning Quadrangle, on Forbes Street, facing Schenley Park. It is built in Gothic style, of Indiana limestone, and is designed to harmonize with the soaring idealism of the Cathedral of Learning, which rises above it. Charles Z. Klauder of Philadelphia was the architect. [ 4 ] The idea of a Memorial to Stephen Foster was born in the mind of Mrs. Will Earhart in I9z7, when she was the president of the Tuesday Musical Club of Pittsburgh. Realizing that Pittsburghers were singing his songs, and yet were forgetting the man himself, Mrs. Earhart pro- posed to the Board of Governors of the Club that their organization sponsor the founding of such a Memorial. Her plan was enthusiastically accepted by her associates. The energy and devotion of Mrs. Earhart and the Tuesday Musical Club have been important factors in the completion of the undertaking. The University of Pittsburgh soon entered into the project. Through the co-operation of Chancellor John G. Bowman, the University offered a site for the Memo- rial on its campus, and agreed to maintain and operate the building after its completion. The $500,000 necessary for construction were raised by the Stephen Collins Foster Memorial Committee under the presidency of Mr. E. T. Whiter, by the Uni- versity of Pittsburgh, and by the Tuesday Musical Club. TWO "BROADSIDES" IN THE FOSTER HALL COLLECTION [ 5 1 JOSIAH KIRBY LILLY The founder of the Foster Hall Collection Contributions Eo this fund were received from Pittsburgh citizens, children in the schools, and lovers of Foster's music throughout the state and the nation. Ground for the Stephen Foster Memorial was broken January I3, I935, the corner stone was laid June 3, I935, and the building was formally dedicated June z, I937. The principal speaker at the dedication was Josiah Kirby Lilly of Indianapolis. Mr. Lilly had for several years been the leading collector of material relating to the life and works of Stephen Foster, and he had given ample evidence of his interest in the Foster Memorial throughout its planning and construction. He had [ 6 ] already presented his valuable collection of Fosteriana to the University of Pittsburgh, to be housed perma- nently in a special section of the Memorial, for view and study by the American people. As the visitor enters the building through the Forbes Street doors, he finds himself in the spacious foyer. Facing him are the two entrances to the auditorium. Over the entrances are engraved the themes of Stephen Foster's best loved songs: Old Folks at Home on the left, My Old Kentucky Home on the right. The auditorium, seating 700 people, is used for the concerts, lectures, and dramatic productions presented by the University of Pittsburgh, the Tuesday Musical Club, and other groups. The woodwork and the furnishings in the Memorial were planned by Gustav Ketterer of Philadelphia. The metal fixtures were designed and made by Samuel Yellin of Philadelphia. Stairs lead from the foyer to the floors below. Here are found a large social room, permanent offices of the Tuesday Musical Club, dressing rooms for musicians, lecturers and actors, and a kitchen. FOSTER HALL, INDIANAPOLIS, THE FIRST HOME OF THE FOSTER HALL COLLECTION. [ 7 ] .The left wing of the building is devoted entirely to Stephen Collins Foster. In this wing are located a shrine dedicated to the memory of the composer, and the quarters of the Foster Hall Collection, the largest and most complete assemblage of material relating to his life and works. On the south wall of the passage leading to the shrine an inscription is engraved: _: R WI ,:,: ;,,.- _I, aw- SP°CF L TERT AN~~J~ ~9JY T~IF, LONG 0 ' IN ~AYMF.]~OP TIUS '4UN4'A~LS` DEBT" HE~ ZG~A,'TH~jREt TH AT FJ'$rSLFE AN EPHiW QN~ NT RYEFSERUL OLETO ANDTlE OVJ~ CLLECTON INTRUS TOTH [ 8 ] STEPHEN FOSTER'S MELODEO N This portable instrument was played by the composer when serenading with friends. The Foster Hall Collection was established by Mr. Lilly in Indianapolis, late in I930. His love for the music of Stephen Foster was aroused early in his youth. In the 1870's he was living with his grandparents in the college town of Greencastle, Indiana. Serenading on spring evenings was a custom enjoyed by the students of Asbury College (now DePauw University) Foster's sentimental ballads formed an important part of their singing. Mr. Lilly has often spoken with much pleasure of his memories of hearing the strains of Come Where My Love Lies Dreaming, Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair, and Beautiful Dreamer floating through the darkness of a warm spring evening, when the college boys were serenading in front of his grandparents' home. At his youthful age, these lovely melodies made a lasting im- pkession. From that time on, Stephen Foster was his favorite composer. Throughout his active life, Mr. Lilly enjoyed keenly hearing Foster's music sung or played. But it was not until I930 that he became interested in the collecting of material relating to Foster. Upon discovering that little was known about Foster's life, and that few definite attempts had been made to collect his works or compile a bibliography, Mr. Lilly set for himself the task of filling this vacancy in the history of American music. With the aid of relatives of the composer, librarians, musicians, dealers, fellow- enthusiasts, and his own staff of research workers, he built up a comprehensive collection of Fosteriana, care- fully studied and catalogued. The small granite building in the suburbs of Indianapolis housing the collection was named Foster Hall, and the collection itself soon became known as the Foster Hall Collection. *gJS'idr 6>Ir~l, JEANIE WITH l tt 1} rBeOWN' T H E L I C H T , .,Ad .. '. -. BROWN HAIR Title page of First Edition. [ 10 ] The Collection now comprises more than ioooo separate items: original manuscripts and letters; first editions, and early and modern editions of Foster's music; personal possessions of the composer; books; magazine and newspaper articles; pictures and portraits; phono- graph records; broadsides; and other material. The present quarters of the Collection consist of a reception room, an office for the staff, and a storage room on the floor below. Information about Stephen Foster and his music may be obtained from the curator of the Foster Hall Collection. The shrine dedicated to Stephen Foster is a room of twelve sides, containing a series of stone arches, deli- cately carved by Edward Ardilino of New York. The room is lighted by stained glass windows, depicting the themes of the best known Foster melodies. The windows are the work of Charles Connick of Boston. Around the walls of the shrine are displayed facsimiles of the music pages of the first or earliest obtainable OLD FOLKS AT HOME Original manuscript, showing .?.