In this two-hour presentation, Walter Schmidt, local singer/songwriter
and music teacher, will explore the history of the American Revolution through a unique
lens: the presentation and discussion of several
topical songs published and sung in the colonies and Great Britain between 1763 and 1783.
Listening to them now can provide a unique
insight into that seminal period of American
history.
Based on Oscar Brand’s 1972 collection Songs
of ’76: A Folksinger’s History of the Revolution,
this class will explore the music that captured
the spirit and struggles of the American Revolution. Participants will examine songs from three
distinct stages of the era—beginning with the
initial period of growing tension between the
colonies and Great Britain from 1763 to 1764,
continuing through the war years that began
in 1765, and concluding with the Treaty of
Paris in 1783 and its aftermath. Through these
songs, the class will trace how music reflected
and influenced the evolving emotions, politics,
and hopes of a nation on the brink of independence.
Walter Schmidt, singer/songwriter & music
teacher, will introduce two or three songs from
each period by providing a brief historical background and then singing each song, accompanied by guitar or banjo, and providing an opportunity for brief discussion after each son