Virginians Will Dance or Die!: The Importance of Music in Pre-Revolutionary Williamsburg

Description

Music used to be in all places in pre–Revolutionary Williamsburg, Virginia. In 1771, plantation owner Landon Carter noted in his diary that he could hear instruments through the windows of each house on the town. In taverns and private homes, at formal performances and dances and casually around the campfire, music filled the day by day lives of the people of Williamsburg.
Even as the average citizen enjoyed music all through public events, the city’s elite, emulating their British counterparts, spent lavishly on instruments, sheet music and private lessons and held private concerts and dances. Williamsburg’s theater, the first of its kind in The united states, provided a venue for all Virginians and brought a large number of musical acts to the stage. Drawing on up to date newspaper accounts, this book is the first to explore how some 18th–century Williamsburg citizens experienced the growing musical world around them.

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