5. Music printing in North America during the 17th and the 18th centuries
a. Colonial period: first edition of the Bay Psalm Book (1640), the first American music book
In their initial form, the United States of America exist since 1783. With the help of France, they acquire their independence during the long American Revolutionary War, which, after eight years, end the existence of British America, an ensemble of thirteen colonies governed by Great Britain from 1607 to 1783. What does it imply? That, until the end of the eighteenth century, American colonists are highly dependent on their mother countries, mainly Great Britain, France and Spain. Including for printing. But not totally. Giovanni Paoli, the first generalist printer in the Americas, originally coming from Italy, establishes a printing house in Mexico in 1539. He prints some dozens of books and, amongst them, in 1546, a book of spiritual songs. It is not said if this book contained sheet music or only lyrics, though.
In North America, the first publishing house is created in 1639, in Cambridge, Massachussets. In 1640, a psalter is printed there, the Bay Psalm Book. It is actually the first book printed in America. It was not printed by professional typographers and, therefore, contains errors. How dit this work happened? Actually, Joseph Glover, a Puritan pastor, decides to leave London to reach Cambridge and launch a printing business there. He partly raises money amongst friends staying in Great-Britain and the Netherlands to buy a printing machine. He pays the rest. Finally, he hires a locksmith, Stephen Daye, to do the future printing work. With his wife, Elizabeth, the locksmith and several other persons, Glover leaves London. Unhappily, he dies during the travel, yet his wife, with the help of Daye, establishes the printing house, which becomes active within the thirteen colonies of British America.
As psalms are sung, the Bay Psalm Book is obviously a music book, however, it contains no sheet music. For two reasons. The first cause is that the worshippers are supposed to know the songs all by heart. The second motive is that the settlers, present in Massachussets from the beginning of the century, brought with them psalters printed in Europe, like the Ainsworth Psalter, manufactured in the Netherlands in 1612.
b. Colonial period: ninth edition of the Bay Psalms Book (1698), the first American sheet music book
The Bay Psalm Book knows numerous reprints. The ninth edition includes for the first time the sheet music associated to the spiritual songs. Two printers must be credited for this work, Bartholomew Green, born in Cambridge and installed in Boston, and his associate, John Allen. Several specialists say that the sheet music were printed with woodblocks, others talk about copperplates. What everyone can see is that all the sheet music appear at the end of the book, after the texts of the various psalms and a table of contents. And that only fourteen psalms have an associated sheet music. The first ones are psalms 4, 69, 23 and 73. Thus they are not classified in numerical order. Each sheet music of course contains staves made of five lines, but the notes heads are still lozenged ones, like those contained in European sixteenth century sheet music.
Even if several ones may be longer, the average sheet music printed in the book is short, containing tunes written on 4 lines of staves. These tunes have different geographical origins which give them their title. The first one is said to be an Oxford tune, the second one a Lichtfield tune, etcetera. Sometimes, the title of the tune is just a reference to a specific saint. A certain number of the tunes also contain printed textual data related to the musical content. For instance, a tune is said to be a Cambridge short tune. The three last tunes have no real title, they just give a musical indication, first metre, another tune mentioning second metre. These data are, as their name say it, related to the metrical structure of the tune.
The Bay Psalm Book is the first sheet music book printed in America, but, of course, as the collections of sheet music shared by the Library of Congress still show it, numerous music books travelled by boat from Europe to the United States. The most ancient one is a book printed in a benedictine monastery during the tenth century.
c. Towards musical independence: the first printed music composed by composers born in America (1761)
Let us notice here that the first piece of secular music composed by an American born composer, My Days have been so wondrous free, was written by hand in 1759 by a friend of George Washington named Francis Hopkinson, who will co-sign the Declaration of Independence in 1776. Francis Hopkinson is a prolific composer who notably wrote Seven Songs for the harpsichord of forte piano, originally dedicated to George Washington. But the first printed music book containing songs composed in America is Urania, a book of sacred music printed in 1761 by a Princeton graduate, the publisher James Lyon. James Lyon himself could have been one of the composers. though it contains tunes composed in Europe, and its music is dedicated to the military glory of Great Britain.
Various psalters, with or without corresponding sheet music, are printed, for instance Songs of America, published in 1766 by Josiah Flagg and which includes the first sacred compositions written by composers born in America. In 1770, The New England Psalm singer is published in Boston. Printed by Gil and Edes, it contains hymns which are all written by William Billings and, therefore, it is the first book of sacred music entirely composed by a composer born in America. Its title mentions that it contains music never published before. It is made of more than 150 pages and contains pieces of music theory. Its musical content is thus much more complex than the tunes contained in the Bay Psalm Book. An original edition shows that the musical notes of the sheet music are rounded and that musical information were written between the staves.
A book entitled The American Singing Book, printed in 1775 by Daniel Read, contains sheet music composed by the first American composers seen as classical composers, notably William Billings, Supply Belcher, Jeremiah Ingalls and Daniel Read himself, all of them living in different towns located in Massachussets, while being part of a same movement named First New England School, known for the composition of numerous a cappella hymns sung on elementary folk airs. The First New England School, mainly composed of self-taught musicians, developed a new musical style, nearly independent of any European influence. They mainly wrote compositions for the sacred music choirs they were involved in. The American Singing Book, printed in Connecticut, where Daniel Read had moved, knew five reprints during the years following its publication. One of the tunes contained in the book, Windham, composed by Read, shows rounded head notes and these notes have the rhythmic values that we are used to see today.
d. Independence period: American Revolution War Songs
During the decades preceeding the Independence War, the first patriotic songs lyrics are written, associated to English tunes, in response to tragic events . Some of them are printed, like The Liberty Song, using an air named the Heart of Oak and published in 1768. The first significant American military tune is written in 1775 by Sylvanus Ripley. Its title, Bunker Hill, commemorates a battle. It is first printed on a broadsheet. The Independence War has begun. Until its end, various music booklets are printed, containing the first American military music, sometimes mixed with sacred music, like in The Chorister's companion, printed in 1783. It contains amongst others, Virginia, composed by a certain Oliver Brown.
After the War, this type of publications stays popular. For instance, a booklet named Federal Harmony, published in 1790, includes a piece named Montgomery, by Justin Morgan. Its original edition shows that the sheet music notes is a mix of rounded, squared and triangled notes and that the staves are followed by corresponding lyrics.
We must of course mention here The Star Spangled Banner, composed in 1773 and which is the National Hymn of the United States since 1889, however, the most ancient sheet music conserved until nowadays was printed much later, in 1814. Its author, John Stafford Smith, was actually a British composer. But happily, music may travel thoughout frontiers, as it was the case for numerous Irish and Scottish folk tunes played in America until today. Actually, the first conserved exemplary of The Star Spangled Banner's sheet music is printed in 1814, two years after the bombardment of an American fort in Baltimore by British troops. At this time, the Independence War is thus not really totally finished. The printer, Thomas Carr, installed in Baltimore, prints thousand copies of the sheet music. Later, in 1821, he makes a reprint which mentions the bombardment and which is embellished with an illustration in the header and which evokes the presentation of the sheet music books printed for music teachers.
The musical nineteenth century is now running which, happily, will not exclude the insertion of non American composers in the musical history of the country. For instance, in 1791, a composer born in Denmark, Hans Gram, writes The Death Song of an Indian Chief, which is the first orchestral sheet music published in the United States. But the main American sheet music publishers will appear during the twentieth century, developing the industry throughout the dedaces, following technological progress.