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Subject: Stephen Foster - new Documentary From: Mary in Kentucky Date: 04 Mar 03 - 11:10 AM A quote from my local paper: (March 3, 2003) Lexington filmmaker and musician, Patrick NcNeese, screened his documentary "Of Myth and Muse: Stepehn Foster and My Old Kentucky Home," a film about the life and works of the iconic songwriter at the public library, in downtown Lexington Saturday. In this documentary two myths are questioned/possibly dispelled: 1) that Stephen Foster had visited the mansion in Bardstown and 2) that his relationship with Jane McDowell was a pleasant one. Also in the film are several quotes from Deane L. Root, PhD, curator of the Foster collection (Center for American Music at the University of Pittsburgh ?)-- Foster wanted to change the nature of the minstrel show through his songs...Foster was the first white composer to write songs that reflected the honest feelings of the slaves, and he gave them the same degree of power and dignity as anyone else he wrote about. There are also some interesting quotes about "My Old Kentucky Home, Goodnight!) as being not about "the big house" so much as being about having a place you call home... If anyone is interested in this article, I can scan it. If anyone is interested in the program to be shown on KET (Kentucky Public Television) I'll watch for it. |
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Subject: RE: Stephen Foster - new Documentary From: masato sakurai Date: 04 Mar 03 - 12:15 PM Mary, I'm interested, as I have been collecting Foster books. "Myths" listed (Click here) at Stephen Foster Pages (Center for American Music, University of Pittsburgh) are: Foster was a Southerner Foster wrote about the "Swanee" River and the old Kentucky home after (or while) visiting those sites Foster was an idle dreamer, an untrained musical genius whose songs were flashes of inspiration Foster was incapable of any kind of work, and did not have to labor at writing music Foster got many of his musical ideas by listening to slaves or attending black church services and then simply writing down what he heard Foster was a racist who glorified slavery and the happy life for slaves on the plantation, and who regretted the abolition of slavery Foster earned a great deal of money but was financially inept Foster was a carefree, spendthrift artist who neither knew nor cared about money Foster hated school, and was therefore poorly educated Foster was gay Foster committed suicide Foster was a drunkard who died intoxicated in a Bowery gutter ~Masato |
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Subject: RE: Stephen Foster - new Documentary From: GUEST,Martin Ryan Date: 04 Mar 03 - 12:19 PM Masato Can you remind me of Foster's Irish connections, please? Regards |
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Subject: RE: Stephen Foster - new Documentary From: masato sakurai Date: 04 Mar 03 - 12:42 PM His grandfather James Foster was the eldest son of Alexander Foster, who emigrated from county Londonderry, Ireland, about the year 1725. Most comprehensive family history was written by Evelyn Foster Morneweck, Stephen's niece, and published in 1944. The two-volume book can be read online. Chronicles of Stephen Foster's Family, vol. 1 Chronicles of Stephen Foster's Family, vol. 2 Read the first chapter of vol. 1. ~Masato |
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Subject: RE: Stephen Foster - new Documentary From: Genie Date: 04 Mar 03 - 01:30 PM I'd love to see the documentary, Mary. Maybe Oregon PBS can be persuaded to air it sometime. Thanks for the info, Masato and Mary. Genie |
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Subject: RE: Stephen Foster - new Documentary From: Mary in Kentucky Date: 04 Mar 03 - 01:52 PM Hmmmmmm, my post didn't register. Here's another try. I found a link to the newspaper article in the Kentucky Standard. If you want a copy, I suggest you print this out now because it won't stay on the 'net very long. As far as the TV program, I'll see what I can find out. http://www.kystandard.com/articles/2003/03/03/news/news04.txt |
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Subject: RE: Stephen Foster - new Documentary From: masato sakurai Date: 04 Mar 03 - 02:35 PM Thanks for the link. John Tasker Howard (in Stephen Foster, America's Troubadour, Tudor, 1934, p. 174) writes: Yet it is the duty of the historian, and th honest biographer, to distinguish between fact and fancy. As far as I can discover, the earliest mention of Federal Hill in connection with Stephen's song was made in the last decade of the nineteenth century, for, commencing in 1893, there appeared in various newspapers, among them the Louisville Journal, a number of news stories cennecting Federal Hill with Stephen Foster and "My Old Kentucky Home." It is important too to note that Susan Pentland [Robinson]'s statement* that Foster visited Bardstown at the time of the Southern trip in 1852 was made in 1900, forty-eight years later. *The Pittsburgh Press (September 12, 1900) See also Morneweck's Chronicles, vol. 2 (pp. 402ff.). ~Masato |
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Subject: RE: Stephen Foster - new Documentary From: Mary in Kentucky Date: 04 Mar 03 - 05:15 PM hehe...shhhhhhh...we've built quite a tourist industry here on this little myth. Now they are saying they can't prove it's true that Stephen visited here, but they can't prove it's not true! |
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Subject: RE: Stephen Foster - new Documentary From: masato sakurai Date: 05 Mar 03 - 06:27 AM The debate is summarized on this page: Kentucky's State Song: "My Old Kentucky Home" (State Library Services, Kentucky Department for Libraries & Archives). |
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Subject: RE: Stephen Foster - new Documentary From: Mary in Kentucky Date: 05 Mar 03 - 06:44 AM For those unfamiliar with the song, here's a little page I made for my Santee this year, Giok. It was his last hint, but I still wasn't sure if a gent from Scotland knew the song. |
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Subject: RE: Stephen Foster - new Documentary From: GUEST,Martin Ryan Date: 05 Mar 03 - 06:57 AM masato Thanks for that. Regards |
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Subject: RE: Stephen Foster - new Documentary From: masato sakurai Date: 05 Mar 03 - 08:30 AM Harold Vincent Milligan wrote as early as 1920 in his Stephen Collins Foster: A Biography of America's Folk-Song Composer (G. Shirmer, 1920, p. 68) as follows: There is a tradition that "My Old Kentucky Home" was written at the home of a relative of the Foster family, Judge Rowan of Bardstown, Kentucky, who was also U.S. Senator. This story cannot be verified. It was certainly not necessary for Stephen Foster to be actually in Kentucky at the time, any more than it was necessary for him to be familiar with Florida in mentioning the Swanee River. The important thing is that the song rings true and expresses an emotion deep-rooted in the human soul. See also The Minstrel of the Alleghenies by Harvey Gaul (issued by Friends of Harvey Gaul, n.d. [1952*], pp. 54-56; Click here). He is skeptical about the story. *This date is from Calvin Elliker, Stephen Collins Foster: A Guide to Research (Garland); "1934" is written on the cover & title page, but it is the year when Gaul wrote it. |
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Subject: RE: Stephen Foster - new Documentary From: masato sakurai Date: 09 Mar 03 - 04:54 AM One more quotation from a recent book, Ken Emerson's Doo-dah!: Stephen Foster and the Rise of American Popular Culture (Da Capo, 1998, p. 190): It's entirely possible that Stephen Foster visited Bardstown sometime in his life and impossible to prove that he never set foot in Federal Hill. But the burden of proof falls on Bardstown's boosters, and all the facts point to Uncle Tom's Cabin rather than Federal Hill as the inspiration of "My Old Kentucky Home."~Masato |
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Subject: Lyr Add: MY OLD KENTUCKY HOME, GOOD NIGHT From: masato sakurai Date: 11 Mar 03 - 07:03 PM DigiTrad version (Click here) is a rewritten one. Strange, the word "darkies" in the second stanza is retained; the stanza seems to have been inserted from another source. The 1853 original is at the Levy Collection (differences are underlined): Title: Foster's Plantation Melodies. No.20. My Old Kentucky Home, Good Night. Composer, Lyricist, Arranger: Written and Composed by Stephen C. Foster. Publication: New York: Firth, Pond & Co., 1 Franklin Square, 1853. Form of Composition: strophic with chorus Instrumentation: piano and voice First Line: The suns shines bright in the old Kentucky home, 'Tis summer, the darkies are gay First Line of Chorus: Weep no more, my lady, oh! weep no more today! Performer: As Sung by Christy's Minstrels. Engraver, Lithographer, Artist: Wakelam; Quidor Engvr. Plate Number: 1892 Subject: Domestic life Subject: Slavery Subject: Plantations Subject: Hunting Subject: Freedmen Subject: Distress Call No.: Box: 068 Item: 007 MY OLD KENTUCKY HOME, GOOD NIGHT (Words and Music by Stephen C. Foster) The sun shines bright in the old Kentucky home, 'Tis summer, the darkies are gay, The corn top's ripe and the meadow's in the bloom While the birds make music all the day. The young folks roll on the little cabin floor, All merry, all happy and bright: By'n by Hard Times come a knocking at the door, Then my old Kentucky home, good night! CHORUS: Weep no more, my lady, oh! weep no more today! We will sing one song For the old Kentucky Home, For the old Kentucky Home far away. They hunt no more for the possum and the coon On the meadow, the hill and the shore, They sing no more by the glimmer of the moon, On the bench by the old cabin door. The day goes by like a shadow o'er the heart, With sorrow where all was delight: The time has come when the darkies have to part, Then my old Kentucky Home, good night! The head must bow and the back will have to bend, Wherever the darkies may go: A few more days, and the trouble all will end In the field where the sugar-canes grow. A few more days for to tote the weary load, No matter 'twill never be light, A few more days till we totter on the road, Then my old Kentucky Home, good night! Kentucky's State Song version ("the people are gay") is HERE (with backgound info). |
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Subject: RE: Stephen Foster - new Documentary From: Sandy Mc Lean Date: 11 Mar 03 - 07:14 PM Does anyone know when or if this will be on Boston PBS (The only one that I can get on cable in Cape Breton) |
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Subject: RE: Stephen Foster - new Documentary From: masato sakurai Date: 28 Mar 03 - 11:03 PM Deane L. Root posted these messages at Google Groups. Subject: Origins of "My Old Kentucky Home" Subject: "My Old Kentucky Home" ~Masato |
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Subject: RE: Stephen Foster - new Documentary From: Mary in Kentucky Date: 28 Mar 03 - 11:09 PM Thanks, Masato. |
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Subject: RE: Stephen Foster - new Documentary From: open mike Date: 29 Mar 03 - 05:31 AM there is a song on the new tom russel album, modern art, about the end of foster's life...it is like a dream or halucination with the characters from his songs floating thru--jeannie with the light brown hair, cotton fields, singing with the banjo, swanee river, camptown ladies, Kentucky Home, with some of the melodies from his songs woven, written by Carl Brouse, called American Hotel, which is apparently where Stephen Foster died. |
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Subject: RE: Stephen Foster - new Documentary From: masato sakurai Date: 29 Mar 03 - 09:00 AM Young E. Allison wrote a booklet The Old Kentucky Home: Its Song and the Story, which was "Published Under the Auspices of My Old Kentucky Home Commission / Federal Hill, Bardstown, Ky. / 1923", where Allison wrote at the beginning (p. 5): Since the days before the "Civil War" the estate of Federal Hill, situated about one mile East of Bardstown, Kentucky, has been known as The Old Kentucky Home. The name became popularly attached to it because of the fact that it was in this house that Stephen Collins Foster composed and wrote in 1852 his song "My Old Kentucky Home." (underline added)~Masato |
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Subject: RE: Stephen Foster - new Documentary From: Stewie Date: 29 Mar 03 - 08:03 PM There is a relatively recent CD devoted to Foster's music presented in a bluegrass-inflected style: 'Swanee: The Music of Stephen Foster'. The musicians involved include Tim O'Brien, Laurie Lewis, Jay Ungar among many others whom I had not heard of - Marty Atkinson, Sarah Elizabeth Campbell et alia. It is a fine tribute to Foster and includes an excellent booklet in which the songs are discussed. There is some info and track listing HERE. My copy is on a different label with a different cat # than the one in the above link: a Californian label - Highland Records NCD-206. Possibly, it is a subsidiary of Gourd Music. --Stewie. |
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Subject: RE: Stephen Foster - new Documentary From: Blackcatter Date: 30 Mar 03 - 01:54 AM Were y'all aware that the Florida Folk Festival is held each year on Memorial Day weekend at the Stephen Foster State Park, on the banks of the Suwannee River in White Springs, FL? This year will be it's 50th Anniversary, I believe. Pretty good for a guy who never even visited the state and didn't even spell the river's name correctly. By the way - I enjoyed the documentary. It ran in Orlando last fall. pax yall |
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