Early German music in Philadelphia — Inside the Classic

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In Category - Music History

Authors: Drummond, Robert Rutherford, 1883-1946 Digital Source: Project Gutenberg Gutenberg Release Year: 2024 First Publication Year: Not confirmed

Key Word: Music -- Germany -- History and criticism; Music -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia -- History and criticism Target Reader: Readers of public-domain and historical texts

Book Edition: Project Gutenberg digital edition Book Language: en

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Words 26,385

Reading time 115 min

Text sections 20

The catalog record for Early German music in Philadelphia — Inside the Classic provides practical reading context through 26,385 words, 1 hr 55 min estimated reading time, and 20 detected text sections.

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Source: Project Gutenberg record #73127

Drummond's 1910 monograph traces German secular music in 18th-century Philadelphia, using manuscript evidence and period records to show how German composers like Händel shaped local taste. The opening, middle, and later excerpts reveal a methodical shift from religious to secular focus, with detailed attention to figures like Francis Hopkinson.

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ter I. Hymn Music of Germans in Philadelphia 5

Chapter II. Church Music and the Manner of its Performance 11

Chapter III. Secular Music 24

Part II. Period of Progress (1750-1783) 35

Chapter IV. Music Teachers 37

Chapter V. Music Dealers, etc. 40

Chapter VI. Concert Music 45

Part III. Period of Greatest Development (1783-1800) 55

Chapter VII. Alexander Reinagle 57

Chapter VIII. Philip Roth and Philip Phile 76

Appendix. List of Reinagle’s Compositions 85

The early immigration of Germans to Philadelphia increased to such an extent, that before the middle of the eighteenth century the English colonists became alarmed for fear that Pennsylvania might be alienated from the English crown, and be dominated by the German immigrants. Indeed, throughout the eighteenth century the greater part of the German immigrants landed at Philadelphia, and from there were distributed into other States. We should naturally expect, with so great a population of Germans in Philadelphia and the surrounding country, that these people would continually extend their influence, and constantly spread abroad their ideas of art, religion, music and literature.

Let us consider for a moment the condition of the Germans who landed in this country. In 1683, moved by William Penn’s alluring proclamations of the glorious new world, as well as by the fact that freedom of conscience was granted in Pennsylvania to all, a band of German immigrants arrived in Philadelphia and founded Germantown. With the exception of the scholar, Francis Daniel Pastorious, there were no highly cultured men or women among them. These people were of the middle class, and were more interested in weaving and agriculture and religious salvation, than in the cultivation of the fine arts. The conditions in Germany were not conducive to culture.

The country was just recovering from the Thirty Years’ War, and the strength of the people was being expended in building up the homes, and improving the land made desolate during that fierce struggle. At this time, too, the German people had little liberty, but rather were under the thumb of absolutism, which was at that time the great force in European countries. It was not an epoch favorable to the cultivation of the fine arts. There was no great literature, no great art, no great music. There was, however, a strong religious spirit, which is often the result of hardship and suffering. It is in the field of religion, too, that we find the best music during the seventeenth century, although it was not original in style, but simply a continuation of Luther’s music.[1] The hymn-writers of that time, both Catholic and Protestant, are not to be despised, and we need mention but a few, whose songs have lived even to the present day: as Paul Fleming (1609-1640) and Paul Gerhardt (1606-1676), Protestant; Friedrich Spee (1591-1635) and Johann Scheffer (1624-1677), Catholics. It can be said, then, with some degree of surety, that the performance of music by the early German settlers in Philadelphia was confined, in the province of music, to hymns.

In this department the Germans hold an important position; not only was their church music an essential part of their services, but the number of hymn-writers and the many editions of German hymn-books published in Philadelphia testify to the love which these new settlers had for church music.

It is only necessary to mention a few of these hymn-writers to recall to mind the extreme productiveness of this style of literature and music. Among the most important hymn-writers were F. D. Pastorious, of Germantown; Johann Kelpius, of the Wissahickon; Conrad Beissel, of Ephrata, and Count von Zinzendorf, the Moravian.[2]

[1] Louis Elson, _National Music in America_, p. 18.

[2] Cf. for further information on this subject: J. H. Dubbs, _Early German Hymnology of Pennsylvania_; Hausmann, _German American Hymnology 1683-1800_, in _Americana Germanica_ 1898, Vol. II. No. 3, p. II.

Beginnings before 1750

HYMN MUSIC OF GERMANS IN PHILADELPHIA.

To Francis Daniel Pastorious has been assigned the honor of being the first German hymn writer on American soil. Pastorious[3] was born Sept. 26, 1651 at Sommerhausen, Germany, of cultured parents of some means and position in society. His father Melchior Pastorious had studied Catholic theology and also jurisprudence, but had finally renounced his faith and had become a Protestant. Needless to say Francis Daniel’s education was not neglected. He was sent to school in various places: as Windsheim, Basel, Nuremberg, Erfurt, Strassburg where he studied law and the French language, Jena where besides law he studied Italian, and finally he took his degree of Doctor of Laws at Altdorf, 1676.

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Drummond begins by stating his intention to emphasize secular music, yet immediately acknowledges that religious music dominated the first half of the 18th century in Philadelphia. This tension between stated focus and historical reality sets the tone for a study that must work with what survives. The foreword also reveals that the first two periods receive more detailed treatment because they have been less thoroughly investigated than the later period—a methodological choice that shapes the entire work.

The excerpts show Drummond relying heavily on manuscript evidence, such as Francis Hopkinson's personal music books from 1755 and 1759. These sources allow him to document which composers were known in Philadelphia, with Händel appearing most frequently. The approach is empirical: Drummond lists pieces and composers rather than making broad claims about influence.

A Foreword That Frames the Evidence

Drummond's foreword is unusually candid about his research strategy. He writes that he found it necessary to treat religious music in detail for the first period, even though his primary interest is secular. This admission signals that the book's structure is driven by the available evidence, not by a predetermined narrative. He also notes that the last period has been more thoroughly investigated, so he goes into less detail there. Readers should expect the first two periods to contain more granular information about specific performances and musicians, while the later sections may be more selective.

The foreword also establishes the book's place in the Americana Germanica series, which focused on German-American cultural relations. This context explains why Drummond emphasizes German contributions specifically, rather than offering a general history of Philadelphia music.

Hopkinson's Manuscripts as a Window into Taste

The excerpts devote considerable space to Francis Hopkinson's music books. Drummond quotes from Sonneck's work to list the contents of a 1755 manuscript: Italian, French, and English pieces arranged for harpsichord, including works by Händel. A 1759 book contains pieces by Händel, Palma, Vinci, Arne, Pepusch, Boyce, Pergolesi, and Purcell. A third volume, undated, includes Scarlatti, Abel, Stamitz, Vivaldi, and others.

Drummond uses these lists to argue that Hopkinson was familiar with many of the best composers of the world, and that he was especially fond of Händel. He also notes that the presence of German composers like Abel, Stamitz, and Schmidt suggests that German music reached Philadelphia through English channels. The evidence is circumstantial but carefully assembled.

The Role of Music Masters in Transmitting German Music

Drummond traces the professional music masters active in Philadelphia: John Beals, then John Palma in 1757, and James Bremner in 1763. He notes that Hopkinson may have studied with any or all of them, but that Bremner is known to have been his teacher. The implication is that these masters, mostly from London, brought with them a repertoire that included German composers.

Drummond speculates that if the music was brought by these masters, then other pupils would have become acquainted with standard composers as well. He singles out Händel, who was almost idolized in England during the 18th century, as having impressed these English-American teachers. The logic is that German music entered Philadelphia indirectly, through the filter of English taste.

The Challenge of Secular vs. Religious Repertoire

Throughout the excerpts, Drummond grapples with the relative scarcity of secular music in early Philadelphia. He acknowledges that religious music was more important in the first half-century, and that his focus on secular music requires him to work with fragmentary evidence. The Hopkinson manuscripts are valuable precisely because they include secular pieces—songs, duets, and instrumental works—alongside sacred ones.

Drummond's method is to let the manuscripts speak for themselves. He does not claim that the pieces listed were performed publicly; only that they were known and studied. This cautious approach reflects the limitations of the historical record. Readers should note that the book's conclusions about musical taste are based on what was owned and copied, not necessarily what was heard in concert.

Drummond's study is best read as a careful reconstruction of musical life from surviving documents. The excerpts show a scholar who is transparent about his sources and his reasoning. Readers interested in the mechanics of cultural transmission—how German music reached America through English intermediaries—will find the detailed manuscript lists and biographical sketches invaluable. The book does not offer a sweeping narrative, but rather a series of well-supported observations about what was played, taught, and valued in 18th-century Philadelphia.

That rainy afternoon, Drummond's careful tracing of Händel through Philadelphia's parlors felt like eavesdropping on quiet lives. The shift from church choirs to secular gatherings lingered, and I found myself wondering how those same melodies crossed oceans of time. Then, almost by chance, I opened How Music Developed A Critical and Explanatory Account of the Growth of Modern Music — Key Ideas to Explore, and the rain outside seemed to slow, as if the whole story had simply been waiting to continue.