Examples of these categories were discussed only within the scope of the five works discussed. Livingston's published biography of Bryan was preceded by two important academic biographies of the composer. Tennessee Woolen Mills on Charles Creek and one of the first manufacturers in Warren County.
The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, also considered Bryan for the position of head of the. Charles Faulkner Bryan drew heavily on the folklore and history of the American South, especially his home state of Tennessee. The Tennessee River flows past Knoxville and Chattanooga, two of the state's four largest cities.
The initial events in the revivals of the Second Great Awakening were led by Presbyterians, Baptists, and Methodists. For this reason, when four-year secondary schools appeared in the 1920s, the majority of students were female. The two acts of the work are set in the main hall of a southern girls' academy at the beginning of the American Civil War.
McMinnville never hosted any major battles of the war, with only minor skirmishes in the area. Although Tennessee was part of the Confederacy, the nature of slavery varied within the state. He also referenced a historic Confederate flag in "Hurah for the Bonny Blue Flag.".
THE BELL WITCH
The Bell Witch is a raw musical setting of a fictional narrative based on a southern tale of the supernatural. Bryan's introduction clearly identifies the narrative nature of The Bell Witch, which is at heart a form of ballad. These choruses can also represent and interact with individual characters.9 The chorus of The Bell Witch narrates the action and takes on personal roles within the drama, such as that of John Bell and his mule.
Bryan's story of the Bell family begins, as noted in his summary, sometime after a series of earthquakes around 1802. Of the works reviewed in this dissertation, The Bell Witch was the only one published during Bryan's lifetime. . The Bell Witch is currently out of print and, along with the rest of J.
The Bell family is relatively prosperous and living in North Carolina in the early days of the nineteenth century. According to Hudson's account, the Bell Witch was the ghost of a murdered overseer and was in love with Mary Bell. Regional musical elements in The Bell Witch are evident in Bryan's melodies, barn dance music, folk song embellishments, and the spiritual style of the form.
Of the works selected for this study, The Bell Witch is the first to use a mountain dialect. The culture of the region is preserved in the use of Appalachian dialect and references to home life on a rural mountain farm. He also followed primary sources in his research, gathering pieces of history from living descendants of the Bell family.
Part of Bryan's regionalism in The Bell Witch is his use of cultural references to indicate a geographic placement of the story. Of the works selected for this study, The Bell Witch is the first in which Bryan introduces lyrics or dialogue in a mountain dialect. The melody is in the tenor, as is thoroughly characteristic of the elongated melody books of the time.
There are no references to a specific geographic setting in the score, other than Jane's reference to Nashville at the end of the piece. Andrew'Jackson was important in the history of not only the United States, but Tennessee as well.
SINGIN' BILLY
Kinch Hardy, leader of the "wild mountain boys" is Walker's main antagonist and rival for the town's attention. 34;The Hawthorn Tree" appears three times throughout Singin' Billy: after the overture, near the beginning of the second act, and at the end of the finale. Miss Callie breaks up the haze of the newlyweds and sends the boys and girls of the choir on its way.
8 The Battle of Culloden (April 16, 1746) was part of the Jacobite rebellion against the English crown. Gussie sings the next number, "The Rising of the Moon," while visualizing the dance ahead. 34;The Rising of the Moon" alternates between reflective, pensive singing and Gussie's dance-like passages.
Walker then sings "Ferry Me Home," one of the loveliest tunes on Singin' Billy. 21, a group of girls begins to sing the sacred text of WONDROUS LOVE in a rhythmic increase to the tune of "John Barleycorn". Kinch and his faction take the second phrase of the sacred melody and return to "John Barleycorn" with the original note values.
The intensity of the musical battle increases as the girls return to their version of WONDROUS LOVE on m. Hank returns to the scene and joins them in the second half of the song. Once the class finishes singing, Kinch and some of his cohorts appear from the shadows.
Walker takes the next verse and continues to sing the history of their ancestors, while Margaret follows with another verse that speaks of romance in the low-country. He takes out a tuning fork and begins to sing "Wondrous Love - Fugato". Walker begins singing the first stanza of WONDERFUL LOVE and proceeds to repeat it, this time with the men of the cast. A notation in the score on the last statement of the hymn's title phrase (m. 28) indicates that "the lower voices win over the Barley theme."31.
