Louis Moreau Gottschalk, The Banjo, op. 15

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKDyYiCXlOg

Louis Moreau Gottschalk was born in New Orleans in 1829 to immigrant parents. His father was from London and his mother was Creole, and of French ancestry. Young Gottschalk grew up surrounded by music of Caribbean and African descent, and was very attracted to the Sunday afternoon public dances that slaves would perform near his house. These experiences helped define his sound and style as a Romantic era composer. When he was 13 years old, he went to Paris to study music at the Paris Conservatoire, but met difficulties upon being there, mainly for being American. He eventually made his way into the fold and performed music extensively in Paris before moving back to the U.S. in 1853. He was successful throughout much of the 1860’s but eventually moved to Brazil because he was involved in a scandalous relationship with one of his students. His life as a composer was very successful in South America, and it was in Brazil that he passed away in 1869.

1. The Banjo was composed in 1855 after Gottschalk returned from Europe. There is much speculation as to what influenced the piece, and Gottschalk never left detailed indications other than a sketch on one of his scores calling it “a melody for Negroes.” It is certain that Gottschalk encountered banjo performers all around New Orleans as a child, but also throughout his extensive travels. This piece was first heard and performed in March of 1855.
2. The genre is a Piano Fanstasy, which is meant to be improvised but still follow a formal plan. Due to the fact that Gottschalk grew up in New Orleans, he was exposed to ubiquitous folk, African, and Creole music all the time. But in addition to this naturally absorbed style of music, he was classically trained and able to blend cultures and styles through those experiences. 
3. The form is five parts with two alternating A and B sections. There is an intro as well as a coda in which Gottschalk incorporated Foster’s “The Camptown Lady” melody. It is rather typical of the period and Gottschalk followed many conventional rules, while still being creative and innovative in terms of texture and style. 
4. This would be a Romantic piece because it contains unusual characteristics that would be found in Romantic era music. For example, it is a piano piece, but it is meant to sound like and be performed like banjo music. There are banjo techniques being incorporated, such as brushless down-stroking, forward backwards rolls, hammer-ons, and many other techniques that were a mix of American, African, and European styles.

Sources:

Smith , Paul E. "Gottschalk's The Banjo, op. 15, and the Banjo in the Nineteenth Century." Palouserivermusic.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Apr. 2017. <http://palouserivermusic.com/files/banjo.pdf>.

Gelfert, Axel. "Biography." Biography. N.p., 2001. Web. 09 Apr. 2017.

Taruskin, Richard, and Christopher Howard. Gibbs. The Oxford history of Western music. New York: Oxford U Press, 2013. Print.