The Ensembles... 

Among other dramatic social changes, the 19^th century brought to light the birth of new musicians–Blacks in a slave society who attracted public notice performing what is now considered Western art music or classical music. Francis Johnson’s ensemble, the Negro Philharmonic Society, and Walter F. Craig’s orchestra are three groups that illustrate the public appeal and social acceptance of the era’s Black orchestras. The three orchestras were chosen for this Hot Topic! discussion with the following criteria: a majority, if not all, of the performers in the orchestras were Black: their “leaders” were highly regarded by the public during the time; the orchestras performed standard European music as well as Black-composed music; and, although popular and significant at the time, the orchestras and musicians are largely disregarded today.

Now, a few scholars have written some material on the subject. (See Arthur La Brew’s (1977) Black musicians of the colonial period, 1700-1800: a preliminary index of names compiled from various sources; Eileen Southern’s Master’s Thesis (1941) The use of Negro folksong in symphonic form; and Dominique-René de Lerma’s 1975 Black Concert and Recital Music, A Provisional Repertoire List.) However, many more scholars tend to write more about 20^th century concert musicians, after the Harlem Renaissance, et al. I may even add that these above listed orchestras and their personnel are virtually unknown by a significant number of African-American concert musicians today, especially those outside of academia. Yup, despite the concurrent success and popularity of the three orchestras, as well as their historical significance in current discussions of Western art music and popular music, they are barely mentioned in today’s historic texts. Perhaps their social significance is not well-understood, since the groups appear to defy today’s music stereotypes. That is, since they do not fit into our (America’s) contemporary ideal of identity, or our race-based classification systems, they simply do not exist. I sadly have often overheard misguided comments such as “Blacks had their own orchestras in the 1800s? Preposterous! And here I thought they were just picking cotton and eating chicken. (Guffaw.)” To which I want to reply (but never do--call me chicken or smart) "Indeed. And in between rubbing our sore backs and licking our fingers, we found an enjoyment in concert music and managed to be highly successful at it. Imagine that!" But then again, I'm sardonic.

Portrait of Frank Johnson, from a Lithograph by Hoffy, 1846

Given his public attention, Francis Johnson's musical fame elevated his social status. He seemed to serve as an example for his community. One of Francis Johnson’s biographers, Arthur La Brew, claims, “More than any bandsman or musician of the nineteenth century, Johnson is responsible for the immediate spark within black communities of the country for the development of musical performance” (1977:iii). The reason that Johnson influenced other Blacks may be attributed to his public success, his acute awareness of racial politics, and his desire to influence his community. Determined to counterbalance racial separation, Johnson set out to elevate the image of Blacks in America. (An aside: this makes me think that if we had a publicly accepted and really hot Black instrumentalist or at least a classical artist of color who was accepted by popular culture, more young people would want to be involved in classical music. I think of groups like Nuttin' But Strings and Black Violin who are definitely doing their thing but on the hip hop tip. Do we have to go mainstream, or be apart of whatever is hot right now in order to influence? Hmmm... That's a WHOLE OTHER TOPIC. Ahem! Back to business.)

 Although Johnson created an image through the medium of music, he was determined to pursue a career path in which few, if any before him, were successful as exemplified by this previously mentioned accomplishments. Given his popularity and advanced musical scholarship, Francis Johnson embodied a remarkable position in concert music. His orchestra was an important part of the period as they were among the first publicly reputed Black musicians to perform European concert music nationally and internationally. Southern confirms the caliber of musicianship at which Johnson and his orchestra performed: “Since the programs for his concerts were published in the London newspapers, we know that his group played arias from operas by Bellini, Rossini, and Hartman; instrumental pieces by Mozart and DeBeriot; comic songs; and arrangements of English and American patriotic songs.” Johnson’s personal musical strength was waltzes, and he often rearranged popular operatic works for public consumption.

In addition to songs composed by Europeans, La Brew explains that Johnson also wrote his own marches: “Francis Johnson was an expert on writing marches. In fact, no bandsman of the time wrote and published as many as he did until John P. Sousa.” However, Johnson’s dedication to public operatic performances did not translate into performance of works for a Black public musical sphere. He sought not to compose exclusively for one particular audience, but to combine his public appeal to the Black community with the performance of works in the style of White traditions:

Since the majority of Blacks by virtue of their socially inferior status at this time and coupled with the fact of not owning musical instruments, could neither read nor write music, a market for specific Black consumption was virtually nil. The music publishers of the period were very cognizant of marketability and thus not particularly interested in music of Afro-American vintage, minstrelsy aside (La Brew 1977:79).

La Brew claims that other styles of music, specifically minstrelsy (a singing troupe of or lyricists and balladeers that toured from city to city, usually Blacks or White performers in Blackface- charcoal painted faces to imitate Black performers- who performed gross caricature of Black life.), were popular for Blacks in America at the time. Although American-produced minstrelsy was a popular form of entertainment at the time, the style was not as respected as European-influenced concert music. Sullivan explains: "… unlike minstrelsy, Negro spirituals, or even Louisiana’s own Creole slave songs, European models remain pre-eminent.” Johnson’s conscious decision to perform concert music and not pursue “music of Afro-American vintage” thus delineates the type of social climate that fostered racial advances. Francis Johnson is a great example of the amalgamation of cultures. The West Indies-born Philadelphia dweller used well-known European operas as the foundation for his compositions. His use of the familiar or old combined with the new made listeners of opera feel comfortable with his new pieces. Johnson employed other Black musicians to perform European music, which can be seen as attempting to showcase his race positively to those with discriminatory glances, thereby propagating integration.