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Originally published in 1939
Some of this information may no longer be current and in that case is presented for historical interest only.
Edited by GET NJ, COPYRIGHT 2002
The impulse to popularize music gained new strength after the Civil
War. George James Webb (1803-1887), who lived in Orange from
1871 until his death, used Mason's technique with large choral groups,
particularly children, but concentrated on secular music. He introduced
many patriotic and folk songs into the societies' repertoire and deliberately
minimized the use of hymns and anthems. Nevertheless, Webb is remembered chiefly for his hymn, Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus.
Dudley Buck (1839-1909) of West Orange attempted to do for instrumental music what Mason and his successors had accomplished for
choral work. A celebrated organist and choral harmonist himself, he chose
the lecture-recital as his medium of expression and later devoted himself
to teaching. Buck was more than a popularizer, for his symphonic cantatas,
The Golden Legend and The Light of Aria, are viewed as landmarks in
the post-Civil War liberation of American music from the dominance of
European models and influence.
New Jersey's contribution to this musical declaration of independence
was enhanced by the work of Samuel A. Ward (1847-1903) of Newark
and William Wallace Gilchrist (1846-1916) of Jersey City. Ward, a
founder of the famous Orpheus Club of Newark, wrote the music for
America, the Beautiful, recognized as the most esthetically satisfactory of
American patriotic songs. Gilchrist, who was blessed with an almost unnatural gift for winning musical prizes, wrote symphonies that have been
described as "facile, yet touched with originality."
While the German singing societies were yet in their heyday (1880-90) and native groups were in the ascendance in New Brunswick, Trenton and Perth Amboy, the arrival of other nationalities from Europe enriched the musical life of the State. Verdi and Rossini began to be heard
in the gay Italian taverns of Newark and Paterson; more somber Slavic
tones issued from the native instruments brought to Perth Amboy and
Bayonne from Poland and Russia; and in many cities there mingled with
the precise Protestant hymnology the majestic simplicity of Catholic music
and the plaintive chants from Hebrew synagogues.
The twentieth century development of the phonograph and the radio
has thus far retarded the desire and lessened the necessity for personal
participation in music. The instruction of Mason, Buck, and Bradbury,
which laid the foundation for intelligent listening, survived mainly in the
schools of the State. The mechanization of music did, however, stimulate
popular interest in the great artists who began to appear in New Jersey
on concert tours. Newark led the way in 1912, under the leadership of
C. Mortimer Fiske and Louis Arthur Russell, with a music festival featuring Metropolitan Opera stars. While choral groups declined, long years
of piano, violin, and vocal instruction pressed upon reluctant children began to flower into small orchestras, string quartets, and amateur opera
companies.
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