archival collections of the moravian music foundation and some notes on the philharmonic society of...

Archival Collections of the Moravian Music Foundation and some notes on the PhilharmonicSociety of BethlehemAuthor(s): RICHARD D. CLAYPOOLSource: Fontes Artis Musicae, Vol. 23, No. 4 (1976 Oktober-Dezember), pp. 177-190Published by: International Association of Music Libraries, Archives, and Documentation Centres(IAML)Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/23506169 .

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177

RICHARDD. CLAYPOOL (BETHLEHEM, PENNSYLVANIA)"

Archival Collections of the Moravian Music Foundation and

some notes on the

Philharmonic Society of Bethlehem

In the custody of The Moravian Music Foundation is one of the most valuable collec

tions of eighteenth and nineteenth century music in America. The importance of this

collection to the study of the extraordinary musical culture of the American Moravians

can hardly be overestimated. It is sometimes forgotten, however, that the holdings of the

Foundation also include vast amounts of manuscript copies and printed editions of music

by non-Moravian, European composers. The purpose of this article is to show how, when,

and why some of the music by non-Moravian, European composers came into the hands

of the American Moravians.

The Unitas Fratrum and the Renewed Moravian Church

The Moravians count themselves among the oldest protestant denominations. They

trace their ecclesiastical origins back to the Hussite movement of the early fifteenth

century. Known as the Unitas Fratrum ox Böhmische Brüder in Europe, they came to be

called Moravians in England because their spiritual ancestors came from the kingdom of

Moravia just east of Bohemia. Suppressed during the Counter Reformation, the Moravian

Church was renewed early in the eighteenth century under the protection of Count

Nicholas Ludwig von Zinzendorf, on whose estate in Saxony its members sought refuge in

1722. The settlement on Zinzendorf s estate was named Herrnhut and under the guidance

of the Count, the Moravians developed a vital spiritual congregation and a unique system

of community management that eventually provided the model for Moravian settlements

in other parts of Europe and the New World.

The music of the old Unitas Fratrum from the fifteenth to the seventeenth centuries

had been exclusively vernacular congregational song.1 With the renewal of the Moravian

Church in the eighteenth century this situation changed dramatically. Under Zinzendorf s

influence the congregational song was employed in an ingenious new service known as the

Singstunde. The Singstunde was originally like a musical sermon—often following a

regular sermon—during which the subject of the sermon was brought home to the wor

shipers through the singing of appropriate lines from the repertory of well-known hymns

and thus improvising a new hymn centered around the ideas of the sermon. But the most

profound change between the music of the old Unitas Fratrum and that of the renewed

church was the introduction into the worship services of choruses, arias, and recitatives

* Mr. Claypool is music cataloguer for the Moravian Music Foundation. 1 Walter Blankenburg, Die Musik der Brüdergemeine in Europa, in: Unitas Fratrum, edited by Mari P.

van Buütenen, Cornelis Dekker, and Huib Leeuwenberg, Utrecht 1975, p. 351-360.



178 Richard D. Claypool: Archival Collections of the Moravian Music Foundation

accompanied with instruments. Indications of the use of concerted music in the services

are said to date from 1734.2 The recent discovery of the score for a cantata sung at the

laying of the foundation of the single brethren's house in Herrnhaag, near Frankfurt, in

1739 confirms the suggestion that the use of concerted music by the Moravians goes back

to the 1730s.3 Possibly sometime around the middle of the 1730s a collegium musicum

was established at Herrnhut to cultivate proficiency in ensemble playing. Documentary confirmation of the existence of this organization is furnished by a printed text for music

performed at a burial in 1739." The title of this text reads:

Begräbnis=/ Arien / zum geseegneten Andencken / des seeligen / Herrn Pastoris / Mucken / in der Kirche / zu Bertholdsdorff / bey Dessen

Beerdigung / den 28 Jan. 1739. / Figuraliter und Instrumentaliter Musicalisch / aufgeführet / Durch das Herrnhutische Collegium / Musicum.

When the Moravians began missionary activities in America, they brought their musical

practices with them and began to develop them in the New World in ways that paralleled those of the congregations in Europe.

Moravian Music in America

The principal Moravian settlements in America and the years when each was settled are: Nazareth, Pennsylvania/1740, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania/1741, Lititz, Pennsylvania/ 1756, Salem, North Carolina/1766.

A small settlement had been started in Savannah, Georgia, in 1735 but it was abandoned in 1740. The few settlers remaining in 1740 moved to Pennsylvania to join the new settlement eventually established at Bethlehem.5

Bethlehem was the center of missionary activities in America. Almost from the time of its founding there is evidence that concerted music was performed there, and there is

every reason to believe that some of this music was probably composed by the Moravians themselves.6 These early works, dating from the 1740s and before, were multi-movement

compositions consisting of arias, recitatives, and choruses. The main period of Moravian concerted music production, however, occurred from the 1760s to about the second decade of the nineteenth century. Compositions from this period were most often single movement anthems for solo voices or chorus accompanied with strings or strings supple mented by woodwinds, trumpets, and horns. The music composed by the Moravians for use in their worship services is preserved in the various congregational collections.

At each of the settlements mentioned above, a collegium musicum like that at Herrnhut was established to develop musical talent for performing the concerted music used in the worship services. These organizations eventually acquired their own separate collections of large-scale vocal works and instrumental compositions by major and minor non

[Theodor Erxleben), ed., Hilfsbuch für Liturgen und Organisten in den Brüdergemeinen, 2d ed. rev.; Gnadau 1891, p. 17. 3 Robert Steelman, A Cantata Performed in Bethlehem in the 1 740s, in: The Moravian Music Founda tion Bulletin XX/2, 1975, p. 2-5. 4 A copy of this printed text is preserved in the Moravian Archives, Bethlehem, Pa., in the Collection of Feast Psalms, Early Imprints, 1726-1786. 5 Karl Kroeger, Moravian Music in America. A Survey, in: Unitas Fratrum, edited by Mari P. van Buijtenen, Cornelis Dekker, and Huib Leeuwenberg, Utrecht 1975, p. 387—388. 6

Steelman, p. 4.



Richard D. Claypool: Archival Collections of the Moravian Music Foundation 179

Moravian, European composers. The instrumental music was used both for educational

purposes and for entertaining the members of the congregation with concerts. Large-scale vocal works by European composers were also performed in these concerts and were also

sometimes used on special festival occasions. Thus, while the congregational collections

contain mostly music by Moravian composers, the collegium musicum collections consist

mostly of music by non-Moravian European composers.

The Moravian Music Foundation

The Moravian Music Foundation has custodial responsibility for more than 10,000 musical documents belonging to the Moravian Church in America. Established in 1956, one of its first major accomplishments was to locate this material, much of which at that

time lay scattered in various churches of the Northern and Southern provinces of the

Moravian Church, and bring it together in two central locations, so that it could efficient

ly carry out its purpose of preserving, studying, and publishing the music. Table I gives these two locations and the collections preserved at each place. In addition to the collec

tions listed in Table I, there are also several miscellaneous collections both in Winston

Salem and Bethlehem consisting of private collections and notebooks.

To provide access to these extensive holdings, the Foundation, assisted by the Z.

Smith Reynolds Foundation and the Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation grants from

the National Endowment for the Humanities, is currently preparing thematic catalogs of the collections. The catalog of the Johannes Herbst Collection edited by Marilyn

Gombosi has already appeared,7 and work is either completed or nearing completion for

the catalogs of the Salem and Bethlehem Congregation collections, the Salem Collegium Musicum Collection, and the Philharmonic Society of Bethlehem Collection.

Many features of the Salem Congregation Collection have already been described in

two recent articles by Frances Cumnock, the cataloger of that collection.8 Another

recent article by Jeannine S. Ingram, cataloger of the Salem Collegium Musicum Collec

tion, describes many aspects of that collection.9 The remainder of the present article will

be devoted to a brief historical sketch of the Collegium Musicum Bethlehem and its

successor organization, the Philharmonic Society of Bethlehem, and the collection of

music that belonged to these organizations.

' Marilyn Gombosi, Catalog of the Johannes Herbst Collection, Chapel Hill, N. C. 1970.

8 Frances Cumnock, The Salem Congregation Collection: 1790-1908, in: The Moravian Music Foundation Bulletin XVII/1, 1972, p. 1—4; The Salem Congregation Music: Problems Then and Now, in: The Moravian Music Foundation Bulletin X1X/2, 1974, p. 1—4. ' Jeannine S. Ingram, Reflections on the Salem Collegium Musicum, in: The Moravian Music Foun dation Bulletin XX/1, 1975, p. 8—11.




TABLE I

COLLECTIONS OF THE MORAVIAN MUSIC FOUNDATION*

Preserved at The Moravian Music Foundation, Winston-Salem, N. C.

Collection Contents

Bethania (N. C.) Congregation Over 200 vocal works (M). Johannes Herbst Over 1.000 scores for vocal works (M). Scores

and/or parts for 45 large- scale vocal works (E). A few volumes of miscellaneous pieces.

Salem (N. C.) Collegium Musicum Over 580 vocal and instrumental works (E). Salem Congregation Over 1.500 vocal works (M). Salem Scores Over 120 vocal works (M). Salem Single Sisters Over 675 vocal works (M).

Preserved at the Moravian Archives, Bethlehem, Pa.

Collection Contents

Bethlehem (Pa.) Congregation Over 1.600 vocal works (M). Philharmonic Society of Bethlehem Over 900 vocal and instrumental works (E).

(contains music formerly belonging to

the Collegium Musicum Bethlehem) Nazareth (Pa.) Congregation About 1.200 vocal works (M). Lititz (Pa.) Congregation About 600 vocal works (M). Lititz Collegium Musicum Over 300 instrumental and vocal works (E). Dover (Ohio) Congregation About 200 vocal works (M). Lancaster (Pa.) Congregation About 100 vocal works (M).

Key to abbreviations:

M = mostly by Moravian composers E = mostly by non-Moravian, European composers

The Collegium Musicum Bethlehem

The Collegium Musicum Bethlehem is said to have been founded on December 13,

1744, by Johann Christoph Pyrlaeus.10 The earliest reference to the Collegium Musicum

that can now be found occurs in the Bethlehem Single Brethren's Diary, a daily record of

events considered important in the lives of the unmarried brethren. The entry occurs on

December 19, 1744, and reads as follows:

10 Joseph Mortimer Levering, A History of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania 1 741-1892, Bethlehem, Pa,

1903, p. 172.




Die Heyden-Boten hatten Nacht-Wache und vorher ein

Liebesmahl: dabey auch das Collegium Musicum war.

Die Wunden Litaney auf Morgen zu singen wurde dabey von Br. Spangenberg angewiesen. Es war eine

besondre Gnade dabey zu spüren.

The Liebesmahl or Lovefeast referred to in the above quotation was an imitation of the

agape of the early Christians — a common light meal of cakes and wine (later coffee and a

bun) - which included prayers and the singing of hymns and other music. It was often

held for an instructive purpose such as that recounted above or for a special social reason

such as the welcoming of an important guest or as part of the celebrations of a festival

day. Johann Christoph Pyrlaeus, the reputed founder of the Collegium Musicum Bethle

hem, was a skilled linguist, fluent in several of the Indian tongues, a keyboard player, and

a good singer. As leader of the Collegium Musicum, he was responsible for drilling both

vocalists and instrumentalists.

On January 14, 1748 — when the Collegium Musicum was just a little over three years old — a meeting was held during which several important resolutions were adopted. First, another musician, Johann Eric Westmann, took over the instruction since Pyrlaeus had

been transferred to Philadelphia. Secondly, regular practicings were established, and West

mann was directed to devote one hour every evening to the task of exercising the musi

cians so that their playing would become „more harmonious." Finally, an account was set

up for a fund to buy instruments. The record of this meeting also indicates that fourteen

musicians were present, most of them single brethren and older boys.11 The early records contain frequent references to music in connection with daily reli

gious worship and festival days, but the Collegium Musicum is not usually referred to by

name. No music has yet been found that can be said to have belonged exclusively to the

organization during these early years. Not until the 1760s do the records contain signifi

cant information regarding the history of the Collegium. The earliest record of the instruments belonging to the Bethlehem Congregation comes

from the sixties. The inventory is dated December 31, 1764, and lists two violins, a viola,

and bass made by John Antes (for which he was paid eight pounds), a choir of trom

bones, two trumpets, and two natural horns — a total of eight instruments, not counting

the choir of trombones. A bassoon is also listed, but that belonged to the congregation at

Christianspring near Nazareth. This list is particularly interesting for the information it

gives about instruments made by John Antes. In a 1956 article, Donald McCorkle

described one violin, a viola, and violoncello made by Antes.12 This inventory, however,

shows that Antes made at least two violins, and there is every reason to believe he may

have made other instruments while in Bethlehem, for he is now known to have started an

instrument-making shop on July 5, 1762.13 One of the violins Antes made is preserved in

11 Bethlehem Brethren's Choir Diary, January 14, 1748. Hans T. David, Musical Life in the Pennsyl vania Settlements of the Unitas Fratrum, in: Moravian Music Foundation Publications No. 6, 1959,

p. 15 — 16, reprinted from Transactions of the Moravian Historical Society XIII, 1942. David indi

cates that Augustus Spangenberg, Zinzendorf's chief administrative deputy, who was present at this

meeting, „did not think that the time had yet come to aspire to church music of higher standing." There is nothing in the original entry in the Single Brethren's diary to indicate such an opinion on

Spangenberg's part. Spangenberg did, however, deliver a rather precious little poem he had written

exhorting the musicians to look to the Lamb for help in improving their playing. 12 Donald M. McCorkle, John Antes, „American Dilettante", in: Moravian Music Foundation Pub

lications No. 2, 1956, p. 489, reprinted from The Musical Quarterly XLII, 1956. 13 Bethlehem Single Brethren's Choir, John Arbo's Commonplace Book 1761-1765, July 5, 1762.

I am grateful to Dr. Lothar Madeheim, Assistant Archivist of the Moravian Archives in Bethlehem,

for bringing this book to my attention.




the Museum of the Moravian Historical Society in Nazareth and one of his violas is in the

musical instrument collection of the Moravian Church in Lititz, Pa.

The musical collection of the Collegium Musicum probably also started to grow in the

1760s. Immanuel Nitschmann ( 1736— 1790)14 arrived in Bethlehem from Europe in

1761. Nitschmann served as steward of the Bethlehem single brethren until his marriage in 1770. He was an excellent performer on the violin and violoncello as well as an organist and leader of the Collegium Musicum Bethlehem. He also served the congregation as

musical scribe. None of the surviving manuscripts he made for the Collegium Musicum,

however, is dated, and little is presently known about when they were made. Table II

shows the copies made by Nitschmann that are preserved in the Philharmonic Society of

Bethlehem Collection. According to Hans T. David,15 the symphonies by Benda, Filtz,

Förster, and Riepel were copied in America, as indicated by the watermarks. The

symphony by Joseph Riepel exists in a manuscript copied by Johann Friedrich Peter

dated 11 September 1767 now in the Salem Collegium Musicum Collection. The title

pages of both the Nitschmann and Peter copies of this piece are worded similarly and it

seems likely that the two manuscripts are related. Since Peter did not arrive in America

until May 18, 1770, Nitschmann probably made his copy sometime after that date.

According to Rufus A. Grider,16 Nitschmann supposedly brought the first copies of

Haydn's quartets and symphonies with him from Europe. There are no instrumental

works by Haydn copied or signed by Nitschmann in the Philharmonic Society of Bethle

hem Collection. However, a Nitschmann manuscript of Haydn's Symphony in F Major, H

I/F7 (entitled Cassatio in the Nitschmann copy), with the first two movements inter

changed (the Andante first and the Presto second), was acquired by the Lititz Collegium Musicum apparently in 1791, according to the year inscribed on the title page. Moreover, three quartets from Haydn's Opus 17 (Numbers H 111/25, H IH/26, and H III/30) copied

by Nitschmann were sent to Salem, North Carolina, in 1786.17 There is thus some reason

to believe that Grider's statement may be at least partly true, even though very few works

by Haydn in copies made by Nitschmann have survived. For the rest of the works listed in

Table II, the best that can be said at the present time is that they were probably part of

the collection belonging to the Collegium Musicum Bethlehem by 1790 when Nitschmann

died.

14 Albert G. Rau und Hans T. David, A Catalogue of Music by American Moravians 1742—1842, Bethlehem, Pa. 1938, p. [5]. The dates given in the Rau and David catalog are incorrect. The burial records of the Moravian Church indicate that Nitschmann died on Thursday, March 25, 1790, not 1791 as indicated by Rau and David. 15

David, p. 18-19. 16 Rufus A. Grider, Historical Notes on Music in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania from 1741 to 1871. in: Moravian Music Foundation Publications No. 4, 1957, p. [5], reprinted from the original edition published by John Hill Martin, Philadelphia 1873. 17 Jeannine S. Ingram, Repertoire and Resources of the Salem Collegium Musicum, 1780-1790, Paper read at the April 10, 1976 meeting of the Southeastern Chapter of the American Musicological Society, held at Williamsburg, Virginia.



Richard D. Clay pool: Archival Collections of the Moravian Music Foundation 183

T A B L E II

MANUSCRIPTS COPIED BY IMMANUEL NITSCHMANN

Composer Work*

Benda, Franz Symphony, G 1300.2

Filtz, Anton Symphony, E 1300.3 Forster, [ Symphony, D 1300.4

Graun, Karl Heinrich Passion Cantata: Ein Lammlein geht 19A

Graun, [ Aria, B—flat (2 vlns, via, vcl) 1300.18B Handel, George Frederick Messiah (Instrumental parts only; 15

no vocal parts in the collection)

Hasse, Johann Adolph Te Deum

Hasse, [ Aria, B—flat (2 vlns, via, vcl) Hasse, [ Aria, B—flat (2 vlns, via, vcl) Hasse, [ Aria, B—flat (2 vlns, via, vcl) Haydn, Franz Joseph Stabat Mater (German text), H XXbis

Pergolesi, Giovanni B. Stabat Mater, (arr. by J. A. Hiller)

Riepel, Joseph Symphony, D

The next important event with regard to the increasing musical resources available to

the Collegium Musicum Bethlehem was the arrival in 1770 of Johann Friedrich Peter

(1746—1813). Peter was born in Heerendyk, Holland. He was educated in Holland and

Germany. While he was a seminary student at Barby, Germany, he copied dozens of

works by major and minor European composers, and most of these copies are dated and

signed. He brought these copies with him to America in 1770. He was in Bethlehem only a short time after his arrival, serving in the following American Moravian settlements

during the years sho^n: Nazareth, Pa. (1770-1773), Bethlehem, Pa. (1773-1779), Lititz, Pa. (1779-1780), Salem, N.C. (1780-1790), Graceham, Md.(1790-1791),Hope, N.J. (1791-1793), Bethlehem, Pa. (1793-1802), Mountjoy, Pa. (1802-1804), Bethle hem, Pa. (1804—1813). Peter was undoubtedly the most important American Moravian

composer. The only compositions by him in the Philharmonic Society of Bethlehem

Collection, however, are his Six String Quintets probably composed in the years prior to 1789, while he was in Salem, N. C.

Manuscripts copied by Peter between 1765 and 1769 are the earliest dated manu

scripts in the collection. Although a precise date of acquisition by the Collegium Musicum

for most of Peter's manuscripts is not known, the music surely must have been available

for performance during his periods of residence in Bethlehem. Table III shows manu

scripts in the collection dated and/or signed by Peter and one manuscript for which a

signed and dated copying bill has been preserved. Two of these manuscripts, a Boccherini

quartet and a trio sonata by Johann Christian Bach, were copied while he was in Naza

reth. Three trio sonatas by Haydn were copied in 1775 during Peter's first period of

service at Bethlehem. Although the copies from which he made his manuscripts dated in

the 1770s have disappeared, Peter's copies from these years suggest that the Nazareth and

Bethlehem musicians already had some instrumental compositions by the 1770s. It is

Major keys are shown with capital letters, minor keys with lower-case letters.




tempting to speculate that some of these may have been the mysterious Haydn pieces referred to above supposedly brought over from Europe by Nitschmann.

One composition listed in Table III, the Wechselgesang der Mirjam und Debora by

Knecht, was not acquired by the Collegium Musicum Bethlehem until 1813. Account

books of the organization for the years 1807—1819 have been preserved and an entry dated October 26, 1813, shows that this composition was purchased on that date from

Peter's legacy. Peter had died on July 13, 1813.

Several compositions copied by Peter are now the only known copies of these works.

All the works listed in Table III by Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach fall into this category18 as does the viola concerto by August Heinrich Gehra.

TABLE III

ITEMS SIGNED OR SIGNED AND DATED BY PETER

Date Composer Work*

24Junl765 Campioni, Carlo A. Trio sonata op 5, no 6, G 1327.6 27 Sep 1766 Bach, Johann C. Trio sonata, op 4, no 5, D 1327.13

5 Oct 1766 Stamitz, [? Johann] Trio sonata, C 1327.9 10 Oct 1766 Haydn, Joseph Quartet, strings, A, H III/A6 1308.7 20 Oct 1766 Bach, Johann C. Trio sonata, op 4, no 1, B—flat 1327.2

11 Mar 1767 Abel, Carl F. Symphony, op 4, no 1, D 1301.1 14 Mar 1767 Abel, Carl F. Symphony, op 4, no 5, G 1374.1 15 Mar 1767 Abel, Carl F. Symphony, op 4, no 4, C 1291.1 18 Mar 1767 Abel, Carl F. Symphony, op 4, no 3, E—flat 1291.4 20 Mar 1767 Abel, Carl F. Symphony, op 4, no 6, D 1300.21 21 Mar 1767 Abel, Carl F. Symphony, op 4, no 2, B—flat 1300.5 25 Mar 1767 Abel, Carl F. Symphony, op 1, no 1, B-flat 1301.2 27 Mar 1767 Abel, Carl F. Symphony, op 1, no 2, C 1301.3

28 Mar 1767 Abel, Carl F. Symphony, op 1, no 3, D 1291.3

30 Mar 1767 Abel, Carl F. Symphony, op 1, no 5, F 1,291.2

5 Apr 1767 Hofmann, Leopold Trio sonata, E—flat 1327.10

9 Apr 1767 Campioni, Carlo A. Trio sonata, op 2, no 6, C 1301.5

12 Apr 1767 Stamitz, Johann W. Orchestral trio, op 1, no 5, B—flat 1327.5

11 Aug 1767 Haydn, Joseph Quartet E-flat, H III/2 1308.9 15 Aug 1767 Gehra, August H. Concerto, viola & orchestra, C 1301.7

23 Aug 1767 Haydn, Joseph Quartet, strings, A, H III/7 1308.8

28 Aug 1767 Schwanenberg, Joseph Trio sonata, D 1327.4

18 Dec 1767 Haydn, Joseph Notturno, E—flat, H 11/21 1308.1 5 Jul 1768 Haydn, Joseph Trio sonata, G, H V/20 1308.10

26 Dec 1768 Bach, Johann C. F. Trio sonata, A 1300.25 27 Dec 1768 Bach, Johann C. F. Symphony, F 1291.6

'8 For a discussion of these works see: Karl Geiringer, Unbeachtete Kompositionen des Bückeburger Bach, in: Festschrift Wilhelm Fischer zum 70. Geburtstag im Mozartjahr 1956, Innsbruck 1956, p, 99-107. * Keys are given last except when a thematic catalog number is shown. Major keys are shown with

capital letters, minor keys with lower-case letters.



Richard D. Clay pool: Archival Collections of the Moravian Music Foundation 185

Date Composer

30 Dec 1768 Bach, Johann C. F.

6 Jan 1769 Bach, Johann C. F.

11 Jan 1769 Klauseck, Ignatz 24 Jan 1769 Haydn, Joseph 26 Jan 1769 Haydn, Joseph 28 Jan 1769 Stamitz, Johann W. 27 Feb 1769 Stamitz, Johann W. 28 Feb 1769 Campioni, Carlo A.

3 Mar 1769 Zanetti, Francesco

7 Mar 1771 Boccherini, Luigi

4 Jun 1772 Bach, Johann C. 1 Feb 1775 Haydn, Joseph 2 Feb 1775 Haydn, Joseph 2 Feb 1775 Haydn, Joseph

1780 Homilius, G. A. 15 Jan 1785 Graun, Johann G. 5 Feb 1785 Stamitz, Johann W.

9 Jan 1789 Peter, Johann F.

(16 Aug 1797) Rolle, Johann H. (copying bill)

9 Nov 1799 Rolle, Johann H.

26 Jan 1799 Knecht, Justin H.

20 Aug 1808 Schulz, Johann A. P.

4 Dec 1808 Gyrowetz, Adalbert

1811 Haydn, Joseph Undated Haydn, Joseph Undated Haydn, Joseph Undated Haydn, Joseph Undated Unidentified

Other music in the collection acquired during the eighteenth century includes the

following dated items:

Work* PSB Call Number

Symphony, B—flat 1300.19 Trio sonata, F 1327.12 Trio sonata, B—flat 1327.3 Notturno, B-flat, H III/12 1308.3 Sonata, 2 vins, vla&vcl, E-flat,HII/6 1308.6 Orchestral trio, op 1, no 2, A 1300.22 Orchestral trio, op 1, no 4, D 1301.4 Trio sonata, op 5, no 1, G 1301.6 Trio sonata, G 1327.8 Quartet, strings, op 2, no 1, c, 1327.11 G 159 Trio sonata, op 4, no 2, A 1300.14 Trio sonata, E-flat, H V/4 1308.13 Trio sonata, G, H V/G2 1308.12 Trio sonata, b, H V/3 1308.11 Passions—Cantate 80

Symphony, B-flat 1291.9 Orchestral trio, op 1, no 6, G 1327.1 Quintets, 2 vins, 2 vlas, vcl 1327.14 Davids Sieg im Eich thaïe 9

Gedor 93

Wechselgesang der Mirjam 88%A und Debora

Hymne 50

Symphony, no 2, E—flat 1381 Die Schöpfung H XXI/2 17.1 A Notturno, strings, E, H HI/8 1308.2 Cassatio, D, H III/3 1308.4 Cassatio, G, H III/4 1308.5 Divertimento, strings, E-flat 1300.24

Date Composer Work PSB Call Number

1789 Maldere, Pierre van Symphony, E-flat 1374.2 1799 Gyrowetz, Adalbert Symphony, op 23, liv 3, C 1368.12

(André edition, PN: 896) 1799 Haydn, Franz Joseph Symphony, no 93, D, H 1/93 1367.14

(André edition, PN: 934) 1799 Haydn, Franz Joseph Symphony, no 94, G, H1/94 1367.11

(André edition, PN: 857) 1799 Haydn, Franz Joseph Symphony, no 97, C, H1/97 1367.13

(André edition, PN: 933) 1799 Haydn, Franz Joseph Symphony, no 98, B-flat, H1/98 1367.12

(André edition, PN: 911)




The Maldere is a manuscript possibly in the hand of William Horsfield (1770—1845), a local storekeeper whose signature appears on the title page together with the date. The

five editions listed above were clearly acquired in 1799 for each is inscribed „Collm. Mus.

Bethlehem 1799." All of these editions also have a seller's label pasted on the title page

reading: „Christian Jacob flutter's Musical Repository, Lancaster. "

The period from the 1780s through the first quarter of the nineteenth century was the

time of greatest activity for the Collegium Musicum Bethlehem. In 1780 the orchestra

was made up of twelve players: two flutists, one oboist, four violinists, one violist, two

cellists — one of whom could also play the trumpet — and two horn players — one of

whom could also serve as another trumpet player.19 In the 1790s documentary confirma

tion of concert activity besides the existence of the music, begins to appear. Before this

time, the ledgers of the single brethren show that funds for music were derived from

special collections among the congregation. In the early 1790s, however, entries in these

ledgers begin to mention specifically amounts received from collections at the concerts.

It should be emphasized that the Collegium Musicum by no means restricted itself to

the performance of instrumental music. Nitschmann's copies of Haydn's and Pergolesi's Te Deums and Graun's Ein Lämmlein geht und trägt die Schuld show that large-scale vocal works were known and probably performed in Bethlehem before 1790. During the

1790s, the stock of large vocal works by European composers continued to grow. Corre

spondence preserved from Johannes Herbst (1735—1812) to Jacob Van Vleck

(1751 — 1831), Nitschmann's brother-in-law, and probably his successor as first violinist and leader of the Collegium Musicum Bethlehem, shows that the organization probably

acquired the oratorios Der Tod Abel's by Johann Heinrich Rolle by 1790, Athalia by Johann Abraham Peter Schulz, Thirza und ihre Söhne by Rolle, and Handel's Te Deum

for the Peace of Utrecht by 1792.

During the first two decades of the nineteenth century, the concert activity of the

Collegium Musicum Bethlehem increased spectacularly. This increase in concert activity can be attributed almost entirely to the influence of David Moritz Michael

(1751 —1827).20 Michael arrived in America in 1795. From 1795 to 1808 he was in Nazareth. Under his inspiration, the concert activity of the Collegium Musicum in Naza reth was established on a regular basis. Preserved in the Moravian Archives in Bethlehem is a notebook entitled: Verzeichniss derer Musicalien welche im Concert sind gemacht wor

den. This notebook contains a list of the music that was given in concerts in Nazareth

beginning with October 14, 1796, and running through 1845. The notebook is especially valuable today since the music belonging to the old Nazareth Collegium Musicum has been dispersed.21 During the years Michael was in Nazareth, concerts were given at the

impressive rate of about one a week. When he was transferred to Bethlehem in 1808, the number of concerts given in Nazareth decreased sharply while the number of concerts

given in Bethlehem, as shown by records of contributions from these concerts entered in the account books of the Collegium Musicum Bethlehem, increased just as sharply. The

high point of this concert activity seems to have been the first American performance of

Haydn's Creation (Die Schöpfung) given under Michael's direction in 1811. "

Grider, p. |5]. 20 Grider, p. 8—10, gives a vivid description of Michael. In the manuscript copy of Grider's book

preserved in the Moravian Archives as part of the collection belonging to the Moravian Historical Society there is a picture of the composer. The dates given for Michael are taken from a copy of a memorial preserved in the Archives at Herrnhut. His dates are incorrectly given by Grider and also by Hans T. David in his 1942 article. 21 For a recent study of the Nazareth Verzeichnis see: Barbara Jo Strauss, A Register of Music Per formed in Concert, Nazareth, Pennsylvania from 1 796 to 1845: An Annotated Edition of an American Moravian Document, unpublished Master's thesis, The University of Arizona, 1976. See also the same author's article, The Concert Life of the Collegium Musicum, Nazareth 1 796-1845, in: The Moravian Music Foundation Bulletin XXI/1, 1976, p. 2—6.




Michael was a man of many accomplishments. Before coming to America, he had

performed as an oboist and French horn player in a number of German theater orchestras

and military bands. Besides composing several anthems for use in the worship services, he

also composed fourteen Parthien for wind quintet or sextet, a wind suite: „Bey einer

Quelle zu blasen," another wind suite: „Bestimmt zu einer Wasserfahrt auf der Lecha"

and a large-scale vocal setting of Psalm 103. Seven of the Parthien, the first suite men

tioned above, and a copy of Michael's Psalm 103 are included in the Philharmonic Society of Bethlehem Collection.

During the years Michael was in Bethlehem, many new additions to the library of the

Collegium Musicum were made. The account books of the organization are invaluable in

pinpointing the dates when some of these accessions occurred. Table IV lists the items

that can accurately be traced to entries in the account books. A terminus ad quern for the

acquisition of 34 additional symphonies, probably acquired during Michael's period of

service in Bethlehem, but not listed in Table IV, is established by the fact that these

works were bound in three sets of partbooks. Payment for the binding of these books was

made on July 6, 1818.

Michael returned to Europe in 1815, and the account books of the Collegium Musicum

Bethlehem immediately showed a decrease in the frequency of concert activity. While

there had been twenty-five concerts in 1813, only eleven were given in 1815, and by

1819, there were only seven concerts for the whole year. In an apparent attempt to

reverse this trend, the old Collegium was reorganized. On December 20, 1820, a con

stitution was drawn up and signed. The name was formally changed to the Philharmonic

Society of Bethlehem, and the members agreed to pay yearly dues of fifty cents each for

the benefit of the Society and a fine of twelve-and-a-half cents for non-attendance at

rehearsals. After this reorganization, the pace of concert activity characteristic of the time

when Michael was in Bethlehem resumed for a number of years.

TABLE IV

PAYMENTS FOR MUSIC LISTED IN COLLEGIUM MUSICUM ACCOUNT BOOKS

Date Composer Work*

Dec 31 1807 Romberg, Andreas J. Symphony, op 6, E—flat

Fleischmann, J. F. A. Symphony, op 6, D

Wilms, Johann W. Symphony, no 1, op 9, C

(Kiihnel edition, PN: 428) Eberl, Anton Symphony, op 33, E—flat 1369

(Kiihnel edition, PN: 501) Kreutzer, Rodolphe Simphonie Militaire from 826

Du Baiser et la Quittance

(Cherubini, Mehul, Kreutzer, etc. edition, PN: 204)

Keys are given last except when a thematic catalog number is shown. Major keys are shown with

capital letters, minor keys with lower-case letters.




Weber, Bernhard A. Marche et Sinfonie Guerriere from 1370.3

Gallensteins Tod: Incidental music

(Werckmeister edition, PN: 83) Nov 24 1809 Himmel, Friedrich H. Psalm One Hundred Forty-six 63

Dec 28 1810 Handel, George F. Judas Maccabaeus. Selections 13

Dec 28 1810 Reichardt, Johann F. Psalm Sixty-five 58 Mar 30 1811 Haydn, Joseph Symphony, no 91, E—flat, H 1/91 1367.10

(Longman and Broderip edition) Jun28 1811 Mozart, W. A. Serenade, D, K 320 1367.1

(André edition, PN: 520) Mozart, W. A. Symphony, no 34, C, K 338 1367.16

(André edition, PN: 2674) Fleischmann, J. F. A. Symphony, op 5, A 1368.13

(André edition, PN: 1467) Haydn, Joseph Symphony, no 88, G, H 1/88 1370.13

(Longman and Broderip edition)

Haydn, Joseph Symphony, no 89, F, H1/89 1367.9 (Longman and Broderip edition)

Jul 1 1811 Schulz, Johann A. P. Hymne 50

May 19 1812 Knecht, Justin H. Te Deum 71

May 8 1813 Jenish, J. August Das Gebet Christi 82

Jul 8 1813 Haydn, Joseph Symphony, no 45, f—sharp, 1370.14

H 1/45: Presto—Adagio (transposed to e)

(André edition, PN: 3200)

During these years the collection continued to grow. A manuscript copy of Mozart's

Requiem was on hand by August 6, 1826, when it was performed as part of a day-long

memorial observation in honor of former Presidents John Adams and Thomas Jefferson,

who had both died July 4, 1826.22 A receipt showing payment for the binding of another

set of symphony books in 1831 has recently come to light, and a set of twenty-two

overtures was bound in 1832. Sometime possibly in the 1830s two compositions by

Charles Hommann, a little-known Philadelphia musician, were acquired. One of these

works was an overture dedicated to the Bethlehem clock-maker, basso and trombonist,

Jedediah Weiss (1796—1873), and the other was a symphony dedicated to the Philhar

monic Society. Charles Hommann's name appears on the rosters of the Musical Fund Society of

Philadelphia from its founding in 1820. He was awarded a prize in 1835 for an overture

he had composed for that organization — a different composition from the one dedicated

to Jedediah Weiss. The National Gazette and Literary Register of Philadelphia for Mon

day, December 7, 1835, carried a review of the concert at which Hommann's prize

overture was premiered. The records of Christ Church in Philadelphia list payments to

Charles Hommann for services as organist at St. James from 1819 through 1829, and a

Philadelphia City Directory lists a Charles Hommann, teacher of music at 127 North

9th Street in 1841. Several compositions by Hommann are preserved in the Library

of Congress, the New York Public Library and the Free Library of Philadelphia, but the

dates of his birth and death and other details of his life remain obscure.

Diarium der Gemeine in Bethlehem, August 6, 1826.




During the 1830s a yearly event sometimes referred to as the Musical Anniversary was

established. It was held every year on Whit Monday and usually consisted of a morning and afternoon concert, often featuring an oratorio at one of the concerts. A Whit-Monday concert by the Philharmonic Society is first mentioned in the Diarium der Gemeine in

Bethlehem on June 11, 1832. This event is described at some length in a Philadelphia

newspaper account quoted by David.23 After 1832 these Whit-Monday concerts were

given every year at least up to 1844.

About the middle of the century, interest in the Philharmonic Society appears to have

waned. It was reorganized in 1858 and once more in 1869. In 1858, the Society acquired the last of the first editions so far identified — last, that is, according to the date of

acquisition by the Society. This edition was an imprint of Beethoven's E major Overture

to Fidelio, published by Breitkopf and Härtel in 1822 with the Plate Number 3550. An inscription on the edition shows that it was presented to the Philharmonic Society on

June 17, 1858 by Theodore F. Wolle (1832—1885). Other first editions in the Phil harmonic Society of Bethlehem Collection that have been identified are the following:

PSB Call Composer Work & Edition Date of

Number Edition

11 Handel, George F. Alexanders Fest (Arr. by 1813

Mozart, K 591) (C. F. Peters, PN: 1049)

99 Mozart, Wolfgang A. Kyrie, D minor, K 368a cl825

(André, PN: 4851) 1306 Haydn, Franz Joseph Quartets, strings, op 17, 1772

H HI/25-30 (Hummel, PN: 230)

1367.1 Mozart, Wolfgang A. Serenade, D major, K 320 1792

(André, PN: 520) 1367.3 Mozart, Wolfgang A. Symphony, no 36, C major, K 425 1793

(André, PN: 594)

The edition of the Mozart symphony was in the collection by 1818 when it was bound

into partbooks with other symphonies. An entry in the account books records payments

to the binder in that year. The edition of the Mozart serenade was acquired from Johann

Christian Till (1762-1844), for $2.00. The account books show that he was paid for this serenade on June 28, 1811. There is no evidence to indicate definitely when the other

editions were acquired. However, as noted above, three quartets from Haydn's Opus 17

were copied by Immanuel Nitschmann and sent to Salem in 1786. It is possible that these

copies were prepared from the edition, which may have been in the library of the

Collegium Musicum Bethlehem at that time.

After the reorganization of the Society in 1869, the frequency of concert activity

again increased. Besides giving several concerts a year, the Society also took part in annual

musical entertainments given by the Young Ladies' Seminary in Bethlehem and also

played for a number of years at the convocation ceremonies of Lehigh University. It

seems finally to have ceased activities in the late 1880s.

During its last twenty-five years, the Society acquired numerous waltzes and polkas

by such composers as the Strauss brothers. Other popular compositions included several

overtures to operettas by composers such as Franz von Suppé; a melodrama, Bergmanns

David, p. 39-40.




gruss, by August Ferdinand Anacker; and a number of opera potpourris. More exalted

compositions were not neglected, however. Schumann's Das Paradies und die Peri was

performed three times in 1867, once for the benefit of the new Hook and Ladder

Company, as an announcement in the weekly Moravian indicates. Rossini's Stabat Mater

was apparently acquired in 1865, when it was first performed in Bethlehem. It was

performed again in 1869, the same year in which Spohr's Die Letzten Dinge received its

Bethlehem premiere. One of the last pieces to be obtained by the Philharmonic Society of

Bethlehem was the Jubilate, Amen, op 3 by Max Bruch, published by Breitkopf & Härtel.

Manuscript copies of the string parts for this composition are dated March 1874.

The history of the musical society in Bethlehem covers a little over 140 years. It shows

how the Moravians' desire to have good music in their worship services led them to

organize a Collegium Musicum in Bethlehem to develop the musical performing abilities

of their members for use in these worship services. At first, both the music and activities

of the Collegium Musicum were intimately connected with the religious life of the con

gregation. The musicians belonging to the Collegium Musicum and later the Philharmonic

Society were the same people who participated in the performances of the congregational music in the church. In time, however, the Collegium Musicum Bethlehem developed its

own identity and acquired its own library of music, which was kept separate from the

growing body of music reserved for liturgical use. It was then a natural step for the

members to amuse themselves and their neighbors with public performances of the music in their own separate collection.

Until the second half of the nineteenth century, the membership of the Philharmonic

Society was almost exclusively Moravian. Like the members of the old Collegium Musi

cum, these musicians were all amateurs. Though some were exceptionally talented, there is no record that any of the players received payment for perfoming. On the contrary, records from the eighteenth century show that the musicians sometimes had to beg the

congregation to take up a collection so they could buy strings for their instruments and music for their library. In the nineteenth century, the members of the Philharmonic

Society paid annual dues for the benefit of the society but received no financial gain individually from their performances. It thus appears that the musicians felt in a true Christian spirit that music was a good and perfect gift from above, and that as such it had to be made available to their brethren and sisters as freely as it was received.

L'article montre de quelle manière la musique des compositeurs européens est tombée dans les mains des moraves américains. Il trace Brièvement les pointes pertinentes dans l'histoire de l'église morave pour montrer quand et comment les moraves ont introduit la musique concertante dans leurs rites religieux. Il discute l'établissement des colonies missionnaires en Amérique, donne un résumé des collections musicales appartenant à ces colonies, et ébauche le travail relatif à la garde et au cata logage de The Moravian Music Foundation. Enfin il discute en quelque détail l'histoire de la Philhar monie Society of Bethlehem et la collection de musique appartenant à cet organisme.

Der Artikel beschreibt, wie Musik europäischer Komponisten in die Hände der amerikanischen Moravians (Herrnhuter, die von den Böhmischen Brüdern abstammen) gelangte. In kurzen Zügen werden wesentliche Punkte in der Geschichte der Brüderunität dargelegt und gezeigt, wann und wie diese mehrstimmige Musik in ihre Gottesdienste einführte. Behandelt wird auch die Gründung von Missionssiedlungen in Amerika, wobei ein kurzer Überblick über deren Musiksammlungen gegeben wird. Außerdem wird die Aufbewahrungs- und Katalog-Arbeit der Moravian Music Foundation skizziert. Schließlich wird detailliert die Geschichte der Philharmonie Society von Bethlehem und die Musik sammlung dieser Organisation besprochen.



archival collections of the moravian music foundation and some notes on the philharmonic society of...

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