  |
||
 In 1814 William B. Foster bought 123 acres of land 2 miles north of Pittsburgh, where he established the town of Lawrenceville, Pennsylvania. It was here on July 4th,1826 that Stephen Collins Foster was born midst the gala celebration of our nation's 50th birthday. Stephen was born the 10th of eleven children; however, his younger brother died in infancy, leaving Stephen the baby of the family. Stephen marched to the beat of a different drummer early in his life, and while encouraged in his musical abilities, his family did not believe that music was a viable profession so Stephen did not receive any formal music training. He was sent to private schools but lacked the stamina and stability to compete with other students. He never finished his formal education but received his training in the cultured atmosphere of his home. He joined a neighborhood singing group, the "Knights of the ST," (square table?) in 1845 and wrote several songs for the group ('Oh Suzanna' being one). His family, in trying to make him conform to their conventional mores, in 1846 sent him to Cincinnati to learn bookkeeping at the steamboat agency where one of his brothers was a partner in the company. Cincinnati - "The Queen City of the West" - stimulated Foster with its mingling of ethnic cultures and artistic diversity, but not in the area of bookkeeping. During his 3-1/2 years in Cincinnati he formed friendships with minstrels and theatre people and in his spare time from the steamboat company wrote songs for them to perform. One of the songs which became popular through the minstrels' singing was "Oh Suzanna." This led to to the pirating of Foster's songs by unscrupulous publishers. Between 1848 and 1851 there were no less than 20 different versions of "Oh Suzanna" published. Seeing his works being published with no recognition (or royalties) led Stephen to strike a deal with W.C. Peters publishing company. It is unknown whether Foster gave his materials to Peters or sold them, but Peters made a fortune on Foster's works. Foster received no royalties on these early works but did receive the recognition which established him as a songwriter. As a result of this success, he received offers from other publishers for which he received enough royalties to leave the bookkeeping trade and return to Pennsylvania triumphant in his profession of composer and songwriter. Confident of his prospects, he proposed marriage to Jane McDowell, who married him in July of 1850. Their only child, a daughter, Marion, was born in April of 1851. Around this time Foster contracted with E.P. Christy, the leader of the Christy Minstrels, a popular minstrel group of the time. Foster proposed that the Christys be the first to sing his songs and that they be published "as sung by the Christy Minstrels". Christy would pay Foster for the privilege of performing these songs before they were published and for having his band's name on the title page. This collaboration worked to both men's benefits in that the songs were brought to the public's attention by the minstrels. It increased sales of the music and also helped advertise the Christy Minstrels. Foster made one error in his dealings with Christy that he was to regret for many years. For the sum of $15 he sold Christy the rights to authorship of one of his "Ethiopian" songs - "Old Folks at Home". This song was published under Christy's name in 1851. When Foster realized that this was one of his greatest works he asked Christy to cancel this contract but was refused. Foster did receive the royalties for "Old Folks at Home," which amounted to well over $1,500, but it was not until 1879 - long after his death - that the copyright was changed and the song was published as "written and composed by Stephen C. Foster." The royalties from "Old Folks at Home" enabled the Fosters to travel to New Orleans on a steamboat trip in 1852. While Foster was famous for his songs of the South (his 'plantation' melodies), this was one of only two known trips that Foster made to the South. Foster had little firsthand knowledge of the region and culture he was famous for emulating. It is believed that on their return to Pennsylvania via Cincinnati that the Fosters visited relatives at the Rowan homestead (Federal Hill) in Bardstown, Kentucky. Inspired by his travels, Foster wrote "My Old Kentucky Home" in 1852 - another work of genius. This simple sentimental song was later adopted by the state of Kentucky as the state song. 1853 saw the beginning of Stephen Foster's descent. A separation from Jane lasted several months until their reunion in 1854, and in 1855 both of his beloved parents died. He was devastated by their deaths and when one of his brothers died in 1856 his morale plummeted. His writing decreased and his drinking increased. By 1857 he was in financial crisis. Although the royalties that he received were adequate for comfortable living, the Foster family habitually spent more than what he earned, and by late 1857 Foster was forced to sell off future rights to his published works. Had he been able to avoid this sale he might have weathered the storm and been saved from future disaster, as the lump sum he received for these rights was far below what they earned over the years. By 1858 all the money from the sale was gone and he set to writing more songs to make his living. Unfortunately, by that time the creativity and genius which had stood by him up to that time now failed him. In 1860 he had one brief spurt of inspiration in "Old Black Joe." He would spend restless days locked in his room working. Later in 1860 he moved his family to New York City, where he worked with a vengeance to restore his fortune and reputation. The beginning of the Civil War in 1861 saw the end of the market for the "politically incorrect" plantation songs and he took to writing songs of patriotism, which were mediocre at best. One hundred and five songs were published during his life in New York (and after his death) plus adaptations of earlier songs, but publishers were paying only a fraction of what he had been receiving in earlier years and so he had to work harder to stay afloat. In New York the Fosters were drawn into music circles which included concerts, balls, minstrels, etc., where the wine flowed like water. This contributed greatly to Foster's downfall and Jane soon realized that Foster could not support the three of them. She returned to Pennsylvania with Marion to make her own living. Though she and Stephen were parted they still maintained contact and did not stop loving each other. In 1862 Foster met George Cooper in a neighborhood saloon and struck up a friendship. They formed a partnership in which they collaborated on 23 songs between 1862 and 1864, several being published after Foster's death. Foster called Cooper the "left wing of the song factory", and most of their songs were sold outright to any takers with no royalties. While living in the Bowery he had one more brief burst of creativity in 1863 with "Beautiful Dreamer." On January 10, 1864, ill with fever, Foster fell in his apartment and cut himself badly. Cooper found him in this state and cared for him until he was taken to Bellevue Hospital, where he died on January 13th at age 37. In his purse was 38 cents and a small piece of paper bearing the words "dear friends and gentle hearts." His body was returned to Pittsburgh, where he was buried in the Allegheny Cemetery next to his mother and father. The charm of Stephen Collins Foster's songs lies in the true melodies and staying power of his music. His songs are infinitely singable and playable on the dulcimer as well as any other instrument and that is the reason that after more than 130 years Stephen Foster is still well known and his music is sung all over the world. In his lifetime Foster wrote more that 200 original songs - most were written between 1850-1855. An observation that I have made is that even though the music of the Victorian era was often depressing in nature - songs of death and lost love - Foster did not write any tunes in a minor mode. The simplicity of his works shows a clear universal thought, and his subjects are American in theme rather than imitations of European music of the time. Thus they are true American Folk Songs and are our Nation's cultural heritage. I have chosen "Hard Times" for this article because of it's familiarity and appropriateness to the times. It is written in my style of playing, in that I hold each chord while playing the melody line. I strum and flatpick back and forth and not in just one direction. This smoothes and speeds my playing. My left hand forms a "barre" position using my middle, ring and little finger over the lowest fret in the chord out of which I form the chords. I keep my fingers on the strings as much as possible because once you lift your fingers from the strings the sound is deadened and playing becomes choppy. As is my style, I have tried to keep this arrangement simple so that even beginners are not intimidated and hopefully more advanced players will build on it, making it their own. I hope you enjoy this one! Shelley
Listen to Shelley play Stephen Foster's "Hard Times Come Again No More." About the Author Shelley Stevens has been playing music for most of her life. She began piano lessons when she was 6 years old and progressed to classical finger style guitar when she was in college in the 60s. Shelley was introduced to the Appalachian lap dulcimer in 1984 and has been in love with the instrument ever since. She has arranged music of many styles to the instrument and has taught workshops at festivals in the Eastern and Central U.S. including Appalachian State University in Boone, NC, Morehead University in Morehead, KY, Shady Grove Dulcimer Camp at Urbana University in Urbana, OH, Heritage Dulcimer Camp in Kansas City, MO, NGFDA Fall Festival in Helen, GA, and Ozark Folk Center in Mountain View, AR. Shelley also teaches all levels privately. Shelley is a founding member of "Sweetwater," a trio of women who have played and sung their way across the United States, Canada, Ireland and the British Isles. They have recorded several albums on their Tweetwater Productions label. As well as doing lead and harmony vocals, Shelley plays several instruments with "Sweetwater," including the mountain dulcimer, stand-up bass and guitar. Shelley also performs as a solo artist and with other bands. Bibliography/Discography Stephen Foster for the Mountain Dulcimer, written by Shelley Stevens and published by Mel Bay Publications. Book/CD set $22.95. Shelley's first dulcimer tablature book, O'Carolan Harp Tunes for the Mountain Dulcimer, was published by Mel Bay Publications in 1993 and she has published other books through Tweetwater Productions. Among these are The Three String Orchestra Volumes I and II (dulcimer books of all classical music arrangements) and The Baker's Dozen, a series of 11 dulcimer tablature books, each a different style of music. In 1998 her book Stephen Foster for the Mountain Dulcimer was published by Mel Bay Publications. Shelley was also included in Mel Bay's 2000 Dulcimer compendium and Susan Trump's CD, "Masters of the Mountain Dulcimer, Volume 2." In 2004 Shelley completed her first solo album entitled "Songs of Life, Love and Laughter," which includes music from Classical to Country & Ragtime to Rock as well as music to tickle your funny-bone! This is an enhanced CD which contains photos and links to her web site and e-mail. Visit Shelley's web site at www.ShelleyStevens.com for free mountain dulcimer tablature every month and secure on-line ordering of her books and CDs. |
||
Contact Webmaster | Visit our main web site - www.melbay.com |
||
