Foster Songs - Classic Songs of Stephen Collins Foster arranged for Voice & Piano (2019)

Arrangements of 10 classic Foster tunes; $25 for two copies of the score and demo recordings; order here. Stephen Collins Foster (1826-1864) is widely regarded as the father of American popular song, and many of his more than 200 songs are still familiar today. Though his harmonic language was simple and his piano accompaniments show frequent signs of amateurism, he was a gifted melodist who actually put his works through long periods of gestation and revision.  The result is melody of such natural character that it can be easily mistaken for folksong. Stephen Foster’s original melodies are rendered here with few variations or embellishments.  The accompaniment harmonies and rhythmic patterns are usually quite different from the originals and simply strive to amplify the spirit of each melody and its lyric. In the live recording excerpts below, the accompaniments are played on an 1834 Nunns & Clark Square piano of the Sigal Music Museum. You can watch the live performance of the entire set here.

 1. De Camptown Races (1850)  Range G4-G5. Camptown is an unincorporated village in the mountains of northeast Pennsylvania close to two other small towns where Foster lived with his brother and attended school; horse races staged there are thought by some to be the inspiration for the song.  It is also possible that the song refers to the common "camp towns" established by transient workers near railroads.  These made it easier for workers to hop trains as they went from job to job, and were often populated by African-Americans.  The song’s lyrics talk about a group of transients who bet on horses to try to make some money.  Since betting on horses was considered immoral, the "Camptown ladies" may also have been shady.   About 2:05. Note: though the score includes Foster’s mimicking of African-American dialect of his day, many performers will prefer to pronounce the words as standard English; that is the choice we made for the premiere performance.

2. Slumber My Darling/Beautiful Dreamer (1862)  Range E4-F5. These two songs, written in the same year, are here combined, taking the liberty of changing the word “queen” in Beautiful Dreamer to “child,” reinterpreting Dreamer and transforming the combination into one extended lullaby.  Beautiful Dreamer was published two months after Foster’s death in 1864 and though it cannot be confirmed, it is thought by some to be his last composition.  About 5:20.

3. Some Folks Do (1855)  Range C4-F5. Published as #29 of Foster’s Melodies, this parlor song espouses a sort of live-for-today optimism over various pessimistic attitudes.  About 1:40.

4. Comrades, Fill No Glass for Me (1860) Range E4-G5. A paean to temperance and sobriety, given here a jaunty setting that might question the speaker’s sincerity.  Foster grew increasingly alcoholic and also wrote drinking songs such as While the Bowl Goes ‘Round.  About 2:35.

5. Merry Little Birds Are We (1862)  Range D4-E5. A silly parlor song originally published with a choral refrain in 4 vocal parts.  About 2:00.

6. There Are Plenty of Fish in the Sea (1863; lyrics by George Cooper)  Range Eb4-G5. One of several songs composed on texts of New York poet George Cooper in 1863-64, after Foster’s own powers of lyric writing were dimmed by bad fortune and alcohol.  About 1:45.

7. Somebody’s Coming to See Me Tonight (1864)  Range D4-F#5. Published posthumously with the chorus in four vocal parts and dedicated to “Miss Ada A. Holmes,” an acquaintance.  About 2:30.

8. Willie Has Gone to the War (1863; lyrics by George Cooper)  Range F4-A5. Foster wrote a number of songs dealing with the Civil War, this one dealing with the dread of a Union family left behind.  Here, an intro, interlude, and a coda have been fashioned from another song of immense popularity during the war years, The Battle Cry of Freedom.  This song, written in 1862 by George Frederick Root, was so popular that more than 700,000 copies are believed to have been printed; designed as a morale booster for Union soldiers, it was so successful that it was also adapted – with appropriately modified lyrics – by the Confederate side.  About 3:35; proceed as quickly as possible to the last song.

9. Hard Times Come Again No More (1854)  Range E4-G5. In this passionate expression of sympathy, Foster – according to his brother – was making reference to the national wave of concern for the poor that had been provoked by the publication of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin.  About 4:45.