BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY : AFRICAN AMERICAN " FRANCIS JOHNSON " WAS A MUSICIAN AND PROLIFIC COMPOSER DURING THE ANTEBELLUM PERIOD : GOES INTO THE " HALL OF BLACK HEROES "

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Francis Johnson (composer)

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Francis Johnson
Birth name	Francis Johnson
Also known as	Frank Johnson
Born	June 16, 1792 Martinique, West Indies
Died	April 6, 1844 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Occupation(s)	Musician, teacher
Instruments	bugle, violin
Years active	1810s–1844

Francis "Frank" Johnson (June 16, 1792 – April 6, 1844) was an African American musician and prolific composer during the Antebellum period. African American composers were rare in the U.S. during this period, but Johnson was among the few who were successful. Performing as a virtuoso of the (now rare) keyed Kent bugle and the violin, he wrote more than two hundred compositions of various styles—operatic airs, Ethiopian minstrel songs, patriotic marches, ballads, cotillions, quadrilles, quickstepsand other dances. Only manuscripts and piano transcriptions survive today.

Johnson was the first African American composer to have his works published as sheet music. He also was the first African American to give public concerts and the first to PARTICIPATE in racially integrated concerts in the United States. He led the first American musical ensemble to present concerts abroad, and he introduced the promenade concert style to America.

Biography

Francis "Frank" Johnson was born in Martinique in the West Indies and immigrated to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1809 by the age of 17. He directed military bands and society dance orchestras, taught music, and performed on the violin and keyed bugle. His early career consisted of performing for balls, parades, and dancing schools. He first became widely known in 1818 when George Willig published Johnson's Collection of New Cotillions. His career flourished in the 1820s, as he performed arrangements of "fashionable" music for most of the major dance functions in Philadelphia. In 1837 Johnson and a small ensemble of African American musicians sailed to England to take part in the celebrations surrounding the ASCENT of Queen Victoria to the British throne.^{[citation needed]} While there, he was exposed to the promenade concert style. When Johnson returned from England in 1838 he introduced this new style of concert in Philadelphia during the Christmas season.

Johnson's Voice Quadrilles, a musical work performed in London and in major U.S. cities, was well received and successful. His work New Cotillions and March was performed forGeneral LaFayette, as America celebrated LaFayette's visit in 1824. A townsman in Philadelphia noted that nothing would be more natural than for a master such as Johnson to perform at the grand LaFayette Ball.^{[citation needed]} This notoriety is a hint as to why Johnson's music was included in compilations alongside Beethoven, Bellini, Brahms,Burgmüller, Czerny, Donizetti and Weber.^{[citation needed]} When his Philadelphia brass band toured England in 1838, Johnson was able to play for Queen Victoria. After playing for Queen Victoria, she presented him with a silver bugle.^[1]

Johnson successfully rivaled white musical organizations, receiving patronage from the public in spite of the considerable racial discrimination of the time. Available accounts show that his composition and playing must have had qualities which cannot be reconstructed from the surviving manuscripts. Historical accounts suggest that his performances infused stylistic rhythmic changes, differing from the written versions, which were either inferred by performers or instructed verbally.^{[citation needed]} This is presumed to be similar to the improvisations made by jazz musicians today, although the current practices and idioms are probably vastly different from the ones used by Johnson. He was able to create interesting music, harmonies, and effects that differed from the diatonic harmonies and triadic melodies that were popular at that time. (Southern 112–113)

Johnson also performed sacred music at African American churches in Philadelphia, New York, and Boston. He staged a performance ofCreation in March 1841 at the First African Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, and later repeated the performance at a white church.

Johnson served as a teacher to wealthy white students, one of whom wrote that the teacher's studio walls were covered with images of instruments, various instruments could be found around the room, and shelves were laden with thousands of musical collections. The student noted that Johnson's spot for composing contained unfinished manuscripts, with pen and ink ready for use.^{[citation needed]}

Music

Musical innovations

The Philadelphia Public Ledger newspaper reported that Johnson introduced the extended technique of singing while playing,^{[citation needed]} which has become more common today as a way of providing wind instrumentalists a means of producing harmonies. The use of flute obbligato to imitate the chirping of canaries in his "Bird Waltz" was "so natural that the keenest perception cannot discover the difference."^{[citation needed]} Composers Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel may have been influenced by Johnson's techniques.^{[citation needed]} The orchestral version of Ravel's "Ma Mère l'Oye" (Mother Goose) features a similar effect in the "Tom Thumb" movement, where flutes depict the chirping birds that steal the breadcrumb trail.

The work Philadelphia Fireman's Quadrille astounded audiences as Johnson's bugle was heard to "distinctly cry, 'Fire!' 'Fire!'" Johnson became associated with such dramatic effects, and imitations by his contemporaries were said to be far less effective. Program music became popular during this period, particularly works that depicted battle. Johnson arranged Frantisek Kotzwara's The Battle of Prague, impressing the audience with realistic effects. Johnson's New Railroad Gallop began with the sound of steam, CONTINUED with the sound of passengers entering the cars, then concluded with the sound of the train reaching full speed. (Southern 112)

Musical style[Unfortunately, only reviews from newspaper critics, audience members and PROGRAMS survive to tell of the sounds produced by Johnson. During this period, it was common to not write a complete score, since works were in such demand that this time-consuming task was best left as notes; the performers could more easily be taught to produce the desired sound. Arrangements were commonly published for amateurs in order to increase the demand for the original band or orchestra. Only surviving today are the piano arrangements requested by publishers, along with skeleton guides of Johnson's other arrangements. Johnson's elaborate and extended effects were apparently more important than his straightforward compositions. Foreshadowing the jazz era, his actual music was simple, allowing the composer to instruct the performers in developing more musically complex versions.