Finding Their Voices - Amherst College

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Zuchtmann was being paid by the Musical Association that the college would be willing to officially hire him if it could afford to. The reality, however, was quite different. From 1877 to 1883, the college made nine new hires, bringing its total employment from 22 to 31. This is hardly the sign of a struggling institution. As long as the student-run Musical Association was able to keep Zuchtmann associated with the college with its own meager funding, the college was happy to freeload on the positive effect his presence might have had on the college’s recruiting efforts. The second interesting feature of the article lies in what the author thinks music courses should cover: vocal and instrumental training (the instrumental portion mostly referring to piano), but no music theory. The only “theoretical” instruction suggested is a course on the “great composers,” which, the author believed, had the potential of building college culture: We don’t claim that all can warble with equal grace or that everyone can become a skillful performer on the piano. We think, however, that all can appreciate a good course of lectures upon music and that such a course will be worth ten times as much as many of the dry dissertations about Romulus and Remus which we agonize under at the present time. Not everyone has an ear for the “concord of sweet sounds” but all can learn to admire and love them. The ignorance, even among students, about our great composers and their productions, is as surprising as it is painful. 57 This apparent lack of knowledge about theoretical aspects of music, and subsequent ignorance of the worth of its study, would come to be a theme in future student writing. The two articles that appeared in 1877–78 had little impact on Amherst’s administrators, and solicited no alumni donations. No more such editorials appeared for another two years. Even if they had no measurable effect, the fact that they appeared at all suggests that a marked change had been wrought in how the student body viewed !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 57 The Amherst Student (15 June 1878): 194. ! 38!
music and how they viewed the responsibilities of the college they attended. Students had begun to feel that the college should have some responsibility for providing them with a musical training. After a hiatus of a few years, articles pushing for musical professorships began to reappear. Rumors that the administration was considering appointing a professor in music had apparently begun to resurface. Again, the source of these rumors is unknown. Although students knew these rumors were essentially unsubstantiated, some still took the opportunity to put forth Zuchtmann as the perfect choice for the role: Founding our hopes upon these rumors and building a castle in the air we have thought that no one would be so well worthy to fill such a chair as Prof. Zuchtmann. […] To him we owe in a great measure, the reputation we have so justly earned, for possessing the first among college organizations. 58 Late in the next year, an editorial appeared asking why the trustees had not yet taken any action: The question has been repeatedly asked, the subject has been agitated by the musically inclined in our midst, and still the cause of delay is as yet wholly unexplained. The necessity and utility of such a chair is a patent fact, and this for various reasons. […] If such a step is impracticable in the judgment of the college authorities, let some measure be undertaken to remedy present evils, and accomplish the desired result. Some action in the matter seems highly desirable. 59 This article, like that of 1878, provides details of why specifically collegesupported musical instruction would be a good idea. Again, most of the author’s focus seems to be tied in with Zuchtmann’s specialty: vocal training. The author argues that training in vocal culture would be greatly beneficial for public speaking, which would be particularly useful for those going into theology or law. Furthermore, he argues that musical training would provide pleasure and profit to both the college in general and to !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 58 The Amherst Student (28 April 1880): 121 59 The Amherst Student (12 November 1881): 52-53. ! 39!
Page 1 and 2: Finding their Voices: Student Activ
Page 3 and 4: Figures and Musical Examples All Am
Page 5 and 6: A Beginning: The Doctor and the War
Page 7 and 8: Seelye was convinced that in Bigelo
Page 9 and 10: whenever Bigelow was on steady fina
Page 11 and 12: the official curriculum. Fortunatel
Page 13 and 14: the development of music education
Page 15 and 16: on this scare source material, it i
Page 17 and 18: Henry Ward Beecher, who would later
Page 19 and 20: elow their titles. 18 This collecti
Page 21 and 22: years. The impermanence of these gr
Page 23 and 24: ! Figure'1.1'*'Amherst'College'Banj
Page 25 and 26: College Orchestra 1860-1862 Instrum
Page 27 and 28: Delta Kappa Epsilon Glee Club 1876-
Page 29 and 30: One final disclaimer is necessary b
Page 31 and 32: grant a request of the Beethoven So
Page 33 and 34: and vocal scores; planned scenery a
Page 35 and 36: Orchestra, inaugurated in late 1871
Page 37 and 38: Association was eventually able to
Page 39 and 40: deemed an enormous success, and the
Page 41: It is rumored that President Seelye
Page 45 and 46: would not be able to pay, Zuchtmann
Page 47 and 48: in late 1883 in the student newspap
Page 49 and 50: performances. With one single excep
Page 51 and 52: Somehow the college authorities fai
Page 53 and 54: student, but when the organ arrived
Page 55 and 56: of his material from the 1869 New A
Page 57 and 58: Figure 1.2 - Old Doc with his cello
Page 59 and 60: involved with his students. 91 He r
Page 61 and 62: The Board of Trustees began address
Page 63 and 64: singing schools or even provide pri
Page 65 and 66: I intend to fill in some of these a
Page 67 and 68: The most difficult part of such a p
Page 69 and 70: Ritter from 1867-1891), who gave le
Page 71 and 72: accepted as an equivalent for some
Page 73 and 74: wrote an essay on the subject in 18
Page 75 and 76: e reconciled, —a proper subordina
Page 77 and 78: into the art they profess the disti
Page 79 and 80: Figure 2.1: Mount Holyoke Banjo Clu
Page 81 and 82: sighted view of music as an entirel
Page 83 and 84: oard agreed with Taylor, and the ch
Page 85 and 86: performances, where they would play
Page 87 and 88: a group well represented in the adm
Page 89 and 90: The evening was passed with pleasur
Page 91 and 92: ody. The president had constant tro
Page 93 and 94:
highly involved in the group’s ac
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Figure 2.3 - The first issue of Dwi
Page 97 and 98:
are not now prepared to state. A sy
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accumulations during its twenty yea
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chorus pieces by Mendelssohn, as we
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Mr. Paine to place high Music on it
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“neither Guido nor his immediate
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Music is a science, and Music is a
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influence need be limited to the in
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numbers seem to have somewhat overw
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Paine’s training many of these co
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Chapter Three Music in America We n
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throne. Under his rule Henry’s re
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the use of music between the two th
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Wherefore, although we look far and
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entirely by the congregation. Every
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Ravenscroft’s The Whole Booke of
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a series of Biblical examples and p
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By the late seventeenth century som
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World.” 184 The old style had cle
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Figure 3.1 - Examples of notation i
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HUMAN HORROR, Secretary. Billings c
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Feminine and Trivial: American Perc
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instrument was convenient for many
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should aspire, his Messiah and othe
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and Haydn Society. What might today
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Upon Mason’s arrival in Boston in
Page 147 and 148:
Perhaps indicative of the prominenc
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Woodbridge’s lecture alone did no
Page 151 and 152:
unification of the country’s 39 d
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Following this concert, the orchest
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thousand springs that the Giver of
Page 157 and 158:
Looking back to Amherst College, we
Page 159 and 160:
Afterword William Bigelow’s trial
Page 161 and 162:
practice or ensemble work should co
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Appendix A. Dictionary of Amherst C
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Amherst” and “The Senior Song,
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Years Active: 1885-1929 In late 188
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Cinyrea Years active: c. 1856? - 18
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“‘Beauty’s’ Immense Octoqui
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perfect imitation of the bagpipes.
Page 175 and 176:
Figure'A.1'-'The'serpent'used'by'th
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Figure'A.3'-'The'Amherst'College'Or
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Figure'A.5'-'Calliopean'Quartette,'
Page 181 and 182:
Figure'A.7'+'The'Amphion'Sextette,'
Page 183 and 184:
Figure A.9 - The Amherst College Gl
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Figure A.11 - The Glee Club at Lake
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Appendix B. Summary of Amherst Coll
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art of Music given in Amherst Colle
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Appendix D. Edward Hitchcock Jr., P
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of his glory with the English Peopl
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known as the “Mysteries,” and i
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shepherds abiding in the field, kee
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exciting majestic a work as Handel'
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Committee [4] and received by a maj
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institution to the President's hous
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On commencement day the band perfor
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C.B. Pratt - Assos. Master W.P. Pai
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The instruments were examined and f
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Friday morning, July 4 th [35] The
Page 213 and 214:
Chas. K. Whipple [Charles King, 183
Page 215 and 216:
E.P Russell - Ass. Master A.R. Thay
Page 217 and 218:
April 27th 1830 - The Band met in t
Page 219 and 220:
Mortimer Blake - Secretary Daniel L
Page 221 and 222:
Band met and played quite well cons
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Amherst College, Oct. 13, 1834 Coll
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Appendix G. Religious status of the
Page 227 and 228:
Appendix H. Report by the Harvard P
Page 229 and 230:
those of Homer, and Plato, and Newt
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4. The next thing to be secured, is
Page 233 and 234:
Appendix I. Melody and original wor
Page 235 and 236:
Boston Musical Gazette 1, nos. 1-7
Page 237 and 238:
Ryan, Thomas. Recollections of an O
Page 239 and 240:
Leaver, Robin A. Luther's Liturgica
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Finding Their Voices - Amherst College

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