Votaries of Apollo : the St. Cecilia Society and the patronage of concert music in Charleston, South Carolina, 1766-1820
"Blending archival research with musical expertise, Nicholas Michael Butler offers a definitive history of the dynamic and vibrant concert life in Charleston, South Carolina, during the era from 1766 to 1820, when the exclusive St. Cecilia Society functioned as North America's premier musical organization. In the process he provides an unprecedented look into the early membership and inner workings of this storied "secret" society." "Following an overview of the society's half century of concert patronage, Butler focuses on specifics of the musical activity: organizational structure and management of activities, administration of finances, performance venues, performers and their relationship to the society, concert repertoire, and withdrawal from patronage. Although previous scholarship focusing on New England, New York, and Philadelphia has characterized early American concert life as a feeble imitation of European practices, Butler provides evidence that a robust and prolonged commitment to Old World models existed in Charleston."--Jacket
Print Book, English, ©2007
University of South Carolina Press, Columbia, SC, ©2007
Criticism, interpretation, etc
xx, 375 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm.
9781570037054, 1570037051
123818199