In 1872, the largest musical concert in the history of the world was held in Boston at the newly-built coliseum, which could hold 100,000 people (quite an architectural achievement for 1872, wouldn't you say?).
The World Peace Jubilee and International Musical Festival,
honoring the end of the Franco-Prussian War, took place in the Back Bay area of
Boston, approximately where Copley Square is today, and my great-great
grandfather, John Allen Gould of Walpole, was there. He saved his “official
programme;” it’s been stored in his tin document box since then; this week’s
Sepia Saturday prompt gave me the excuse to bring it out again.
Bands from London, Paris, Berlin and Dublin performed; Johann Strauss (remember the "Waltz King?") was there, as well as his son, who directed a 2,000 member orchestra for a performance of Verdi's Il Trovatore.
The United States Marine Band played.
One of the most popular performances was by the Fisk University Jubilee singers -- it was the first appearance of an African-American chorus in a large musical production!
Johann Strauss played the violin. The audience demanded -- and got -- an instant repeat of his new "Jubilee Waltz."
It was a pretty big deal!
The “programme” listed a few wonderful numbers: Rossini’s Overture
from William Tell (I’ll bet those
Bostonians never imagined the Lone Ranger and Tonto barreling over the
plains!); Bach’s “Commit Thy Ways;” “Let the Bright Seraphim” by Handel.
Strauss added another waltz: “Wine, Women and
Song.”
There was a
sextette from Lucia, performed by a
“bouquet of Artists, Chorus and Orchestra.” All members of the bouquet were
listed on a facing page, including two sopranos from Portland, Maine, two altos
from Bangor, one Portland tenor, and a bass from Bath, just 6 miles north of my
town.
While most people enjoyed the World Peace Jubilee, not
everybody was pleased. One critic wrote:
The great, usurping, tyrannizing, noise and
pretentious thing is over, and there is a general feeling of relief, as if a heavy,
brooding nightmare has been lifted from us all.
Oh, well...can’t please ‘em all!
To
see what other Sepia Saturday contributors have found, visit:
I had never heard of the World Peace Jubilee before, what a fascinating story. The tyrannising noise can never be the noise of voices or musical instruments - only the noise of guns and bombs.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you, Alan! And, by the way, yours was the fastest response to a post I've ever received -- were you just sitting there, waiting for me to post? Good morning to you!
Delete"Tyrannizing" - gee whiz, what a way to describe a musical performance. What was the critic expecting -- Tiptoe Through the Tulips?? I imagine the concert made for a very joyful sound.
ReplyDeleteBoy, Wendy -- you're nearly as fast as Alan this morning! And that sourpuss critic must have been fun to live with, right? NOTHING would have pleased him...
DeleteThat must have been an amazing event to witness, and how wonderful to have the programme save by your ancestor!
ReplyDeleteI've seen stereographs on the web about this coliseum -- pretty incredible! But I can't imagine actually being there. And John Allen saved everything (we have letters, diaries, military commissions, etc.) so there's a lot of stuff to work with.
DeleteJohann Strauss in there - fantastic! What a history such a big gathering made. It's wonderful to see a copy of your great great grandfather's programme. Thanks for showing that.
ReplyDeleteHazel
I know, Hazel -- the REAL Johann Strauss! It is pretty amazing, isn't it? Makes me realize that people like Strauss weren't just names in history books!
DeleteWhat a wonderful experience that concert must have been. I can hardly imagine how much work went into pulling it all together. What lucky Bostonians to have such an opportunity to hear so many world renowned artists of the day. And that critic was simply a curmudgeon!
ReplyDeleteCurmudgeon -- perfect word to describe him, Gail! And back then, of course, they didn't even have radio or phonographs -- the only music you had was LIVE music!
DeleteWhat a marvellous collection to have from your great great grandfather.
ReplyDeleteEverybody in my father's family saved stuff, Anne, so I've got lots of it -- endless possibilities for Sepia Saturday offerings!
DeleteWould all of those attending have been able to hear the music properly? They didn't have the amplifiers we have today. It must have taken a bit to organise the crowd and the entertainment.
ReplyDeleteI wondered that myself. Maybe that's why the critic was so negative; the acoustics would have been dreadful, I'd think. If you google the 1872 World Peace Jubilee, you can find stererographs that show the inside of the coliseum -- unbelievable! And you're right -- the organization must have been challenging. Think of where to park all those horses and carriages: no worse than today, I'd guess.
DeleteA fascinating piece of local history. I worked in Boston for a year, but had never heard of the peace conference or the Coliseum - what happened to the building? What struck me was the event marked the end of the Franco-Prussan War as I would not have expected that to have an impact in the USA. How wonderful too to have the programme from your great great grandfather. I would love to have been at that concert - my kind of music.
ReplyDeleteI was born in Boston, but had never heard of the Jubilee, either! I found the programme in the tin document box, then did the research! I think the coliseum burned down (a tinderbox, I'm sure); Copley Square is now totally unrecognizable with all the building changes, etc.
DeleteThat sounds like a major event. I am surprised that I never heard of it before.
ReplyDeleteIt's pretty clear it was a HUGE event, but I'd never heard of it, either! Funny how much happens in our own backyards, isn't it?
DeleteA great post. Most interesting. I was going to use the word curmudgeon for the critic but someone beat me to it. But it makes you wonder how long the preparations had been going on. We have just been through an election with a lengthhhhhhy run-up, so perhaps I know how he felt. The concert would have been gorgeous, though.
ReplyDeleteAnd I would've used "curmudgeon" if I'd thought of it! It's a perfect word to describe that old grump. The organization of the Jubilee must have been a mammoth undertaking; the idea itself was pretty spectacular -- imagine inviting bands from all over the world to come to Boston in 1872!
DeleteHow wonderful. Amazing that you have the program from so long ago.
ReplyDeleteMakes me think that maybe I should keep a few more such items from current times. Maybe my great grandchildren will be interested?
We've got savers on BOTH sides of the family, so I've got lots of interesting things going all the way back to the late 1700s; it's an amazing sense of connection and place...it all gets passed down to the person in each generation who is most interested! I've already got my eyes on my nephew Sam...
DeleteIt must have been an amazing thing to witness.
ReplyDeleteI remember seeing the Symphonie des Milles,
a "thousand voices" and it was impressive.
:)~
HUGZ
There's something wonderful about all those voices; blending, harmonizing, syncopating, etc. Your symphony of a thousand sounds wonderful!
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