BHA Speaker Series: Songs and Sounds of the Anti-Rent Movement in Upstate NY

Program Type:

Author Talk, Performance, Other

Age Group:

Adults
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Event Details

Songs and Sounds of the Anti-Rent Movement in Upstate NY

A recording of this presentation can be found here: https://youtu.be/3ZroKuzL9mM

Please note:

  • Registration is optional, but is advised due to limited seating.
     
    • Registered patrons will have a seat.
       
    • Waitlisted patrons are invited to use standing room.
       
    • Walk-ins will be admitted if space allows
       
  • Doors open at 6:30pm. Presentation begins at 7pm.
     

Description of the Program: During the 1840s, tenant farmers on the Hudson-Mohawk region’s manors and patroonships engaged in organized protest to contest monopoly ownership of the land they worked. As the farmers argued their cause in newspapers and broadsides, their aspirations also took shape in new poetry set to contemporary tunes. Some of their sources, such as “Old Dan Tucker” and “Bruce's Address,” are still well known, while others are obscure.

Musicologist Nancy Newman will share new renditions of several works while discussing her recent book on the movement’s expressive culture. Building on the ballads reprinted in Henry Christman’s "Tin Horns and Calico" and Old Songs’ “Down with the Rent!,” this presentation examines the role vernacular music played in one of the 19th century’s major social reform initiatives. Once deemed “the thrilling unsung story of the American revolt against serfdom,” the Anti-Rent Movement was indeed sung. The presentation concludes with a look at its later dramatization in novels, film, and public commemorations as the movement’s ramifications continue to resonate throughout the region.

Speaker Bio: Dr. Nancy Newman is Professor at University at Albany–SUNY, where she teaches courses on music history, film music, and social justice. Her first book, "Good Music for a Free People" is a study of the Germania Musical Society, a 19th century orchestra. The ensemble’s repertory and piano sheet music is the subject of her 2014 talk at the Library of Congress, co-sponsored by the American Musicological Society. A recent essay, “#AlmaToo: The Art of Being Believed,” examines the life and legacy of Alma Mahler-Werfel through the lens of MeToo. During the spring of 2022, Dr. Newman was the Rudolph Ganz Fellow at the Newberry Library, researching a critical history of the Chicago Musical College.

About This Series: The Town of Bethlehem Historical Association (BHA) has been incorporated as a not-for-profit membership organization since 1965. Along with upkeep of collections and exhibits at the Cedar Hill Schoolhouse Museum at 1003 River Rd. Selkirk, the BHA is pleased to continue its long tradition of presenting fall and spring series of talks by distinguished local speakers on a variety of topics designed to stimulate an appreciation of our historic heritage. This series of historical talks is presented through a partnership with the Town of Bethlehem Historical Association.

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*** We cannot hold two seats for one registration ***