Piano Music of Heart and Place: a guest post by author and pianist Laura Dean
Few things in American history capture the imagination and curiosity as dramatically as the “Wild West.” Westerns, the Oregon Trail, the Gold Rush, the tragedy of displaced native peoples—all these things form a mosaic we know as the Old West.
One thing that has been ignored until now, however, is the role that music played in the westward expansion. Author and pianist Laura Dean, in her newly released book Music in the Westward Expansion: Songs of Heart and Place on the American Frontier (McFarland Publishing), has brought this music to life. As she writes, this book “shines a light on the musical history of the old West from 1800-1900. It includes stories and music from the Northern Cheyenne People, the Lewis and Clark Expedition, missionaries, fur trappers, pioneers on the Oregon Trail, and settlers in early frontier communities. The book also touches on twentieth century composers who were inspired by the people and the landscape of the American West.”
This thorough, readable, and meticulously annotated book is alive with stories of people, instruments, singing, dancing, and community-building through notes. It’s a reminder that wherever humans go, music goes too—always reminding us of our capacity for joy and grief; always reminding us of our shared humanity.
Piano music inspired by Music in the Westward Expansion: Songs of Heart and Place on the American Frontier
By Laura Dean
At the core of the Westward Expansion lies some 400,000 people who uprooted their lives in pursuit of the dream for a better life in the American West. Taking only the essentials that would fit into a simple wagon, the pioneers made room for musical instruments right alongside their guns, ammunition, food, and tools. On any given wagon train, travelers might bring along an eclectic collection of portable instruments – from fiddles to flutes and banjos to bugles. The songs of the trail included the sweet melodies of Stephen Foster, romantic ballads, patriotic tunes, and traditional hymns. As pioneers settled into their new lives on homesteads and in early frontier communities, they wasted no time organizing music lessons, brass bands, church choirs, and community concerts.
Forget about “There’s gold in them there hills.” Rather, consider this: “There’s gold in them there archives!” In the five years plus of conducting research for my new book, I’ve encountered and collected hundreds of pieces of sheet music - musical treasures! When Rhonda Rizzo first reached out to me regarding writing something for her blog, I immediately thought of sharing some of the pieces that I’ve been playing for musical presentations and author events based on Music in the Westward Expansion.
As this blog caters to musicians and music enthusiasts, I’ve chosen to highlight four pieces, and one set of preludes that I consider hidden musical treasures. In the book’s appendix, you will find a selected list of songs and musical works from each chapter- much of the sheet music, as indicated in the appendix, is available in digital format. That’s right, dear reader, you can easily find these pieces and play them for yourself.
The wide variety of songs and pieces that I’ve collected in my research includes fiddle tunes, vocal pieces, solo piano works, guitar works, marching band music, and transcriptions of wax cylinder recordings made by musicologists toward the end of the 1800s. My research included combing through the archives of historical societies in New Mexico, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. I also searched in the digital archives of historical societies throughout the West. National archives such as the Library of Congress, and the Smithsonian also turned up a mountain of musical gems. The following pieces are a small sample of the musical works that I am playing as I host author events and book talks.
“Flute Call and Love Song” by Thurlow Lieurance (1878-1963). This plaintive piano solo features a melody originally played by John Turkey Legs, a Northern Cheyenne flute master. Thurlow Lieurance recorded the flute song on a wax cylinder recording machine and then harmonized the melody in this work for solo piano. In my early research, I traveled to Montana to meet with Jay Old Mouse, who was the flute maker of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe in southeastern Montana. His flute lineage can be traced back to John Turkey Legs. You can find the score here in the Lincoln Nebraska digital archives.
“Old Dan Tucker” was a popular dance tune in the nineteenth century. As people moved west, they did not have room in their wagons for pianos, or other keyboard instruments, but they did have room for violins. Fiddle music was a primary source of entertainment and diplomacy in the Lewis and Clark Expedition. This piano solo of “Old Dan Tucker,” captures the rollicking spirit of the fiddle. One can just imagine the men of the Corps of Discovery gathered around the campfire while the boatman and lead musician, Pierre Cruzatte, sawed away on the fiddle. You can find the score here in the Library of Congress digital archives.
“Missionaries Adieu,” also known as “My Dearest Lovely Native Land,” was a hymn sung by Narcissa Whitman on her wedding day as guests wept into their hankies, knowing that they, more than likely, would never see Narcissa again. For on the next day, she and her new husband, Dr. Marcus Whitman, led by a frontier guide, headed West on a mission to convert Native People to Christianity. They traveled the grueling 2,000 miles by horseback from the Eastern United States to what is now the area of Vancouver, Washington. They eventually founded the Whitman mission near what is now Walla Walla, Washington. This hymn and thousands of other old hymns can be found on hymnary.org.
“The Blue Juniata” (1844), by Marion Dix Sullivan, was the first popular U.S. song that was written by a woman. Pioneer journals indicate that this was a favorite song of the Oregon trail. In nineteenth century fashion, the song was adapted for the piano as a theme and variations. You can find a solo piano version of it here.
Marion Bauer (1882-1955), composer, teacher, and music critic, was born into a musical family in Walla Walla, Washington toward the end of the Westward Expansion. Over the course of her career, she wrote more than 150 compositions and became known as a pioneering woman composer of the twentieth century. Her 6 preludes, Op. 15, can be found on IMSLP.
This short list provides a tiny taste of the variety of music inherent in the musical story within the larger story of the Westward Expansion. Each group that traveled west brought heart to the experience as they wove their unique thread into the musical tapestry that was as diverse as the people and experiences of the nineteenth century American West. It is my hope that musicians, arts enthusiasts, and K-12 educators find inspiration in my book as a jumping off point for exploring composers, music, and content that offers a new look at the history of the Westward Expansion, one that looks through the lens of music to highlight the wide range of diversity that was part of this important moment in history.
Pianist, music teacher, and author Laura Dean’s dynamic music career spans over twenty-five years and includes audiences in the United States, Europe, and Mexico. Originally from Montana, Laura lives in Seattle, Washington where she performs, teaches, adjudicates, writes, and offers private and public concerts along with school/community residencies and music education workshops. Her new book, Music of the Westward Expansion: Songs of Heart and Place on the American Frontier (McFarland Publishing) was published in Spring of 2022 and is now available for purchase!
Aiming for maximum engagement, Laura’s solo programs and residencies weave together live instrumental (piano and guitar) and vocal music, narrative, and photographs. Her programs include, The Romance of Mexico’s Manuel M. Ponce (1882-1948), Women with a Past: A Tribute to the Colorful Lives and Music of Six Pioneering Women Composers, and Let’s Go to Cuba: Exploring the Culture of Cuba Through Song and Dance. Her current program offering, Heart and Place: Music of the Westward Expansion, explores the music, history, and culture of the 1800s American West including music of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, the Oregon Trail, and early frontier settlements.
Romanza de Amor, her first solo recording, released on Yellow House Records (2011), features a selection of solo piano works from Manuel M. Ponce. Women with a Past, released on Yellow House Records (2015), features a selection of solo piano works from five women composers from the baroque through the modern era including Cécile Chaminade, Amy Beach, and Dana Suesse. She has a Master’s of Music Education and is a Nationally Certified Teacher of Music.
For more information about Music in the Westward Expansion: Songs of Heart and Place on the American Frontier, and about Laura and her work, please visit: www.lauramusic.biz