• Queen Charlotte's Kirkman harpsichord
  • American Voices Greenville SC250
  • Lafayette's piano

AMERICAN VOICES: Lost and Found

An SC250 exhibition in celebration of American musical life and the 250th Anniversary of the American Revolution

American Voices: Lost & Found explores the music that was present at the dawn of the United States. Home to one of the largest collections of historic musical instruments in the country, Sigal Music Museum is well-positioned to present an exhibition that gives visitors a front row seat to the beginnings of our musical history.

CELEBRATING THE 250TH IN GREENVILLE, SC

Anchoring the exhibition is the 1775 Berent Piano, the first piano commercially built and sold in the New World. Also on view is Queen Charlotte’s personal harpsichord, crafted by Jacob Kirkman in 1761 and played by the young Mozart, an instrument that arrived from Britain much later and stands in striking contrast to the Berent. Together, these two keyboard instruments illuminate the story of the Revolution both visually and musically.

The exhibition also features a Loud & Bros. square piano (1824), presented to General Lafayette during his celebrated return to America after a forty-year absence, along with early American woodwinds and rare imported European instruments.

In a meaningful parallel, American Voices: Lost & Found also explores the rich traditions of Gullah music, presented in collaboration with a guest artist working with the Joyner Institute of Gullah Studies at Coastal Carolina University. This section, together with material devoted to Indigenous musical traditions of the period, offers visitors a broader and more nuanced perspective on the intersection of music and history during our nation’s formative years.

 

Concerts, lectures, and educational programs will complement the exhibition’s themes throughout the full run of American Voices: Lost & Found.

Additional instruments on display include:

 

Broadwood grand piano, 1791 – a piano that came to America when new, and is typical of post-Revolutionary War imports for fine families in the new country.

 

Houston grand piano, 1795 – bought by Dr. Benjamin Rush in 1795 for the family, handed down through the family of the oldest son’s wife.

 

Erard grand piano, 1852 – bought by William Rives of Virginia for his wife Judith while they were in Paris. Rives was a house and senate member and overall statesman in VA.

 

Clementi grand piano, 1814 – came to America when new and has remained here. It is a rare example of such a piano in America.

 

Steinway grand piano, 1858 – the most original of the ‘first’ Steinway grand pianos, and among the earliest of any. It has been in the American South all its life.

 

Charles Taws square piano, 1794 – bought by David Rittenhouse in Philadelphia, first Director of the mint, most prominent American astronomer at the time, and most prominent surveyor.

 

Charles Albrecht square, 1798 – bought by the Vesh family, who left southern Pennsylvania for North Carolina in the early 1800s.

 

Kirkman spinet harpsichord, 1748 – bought by family of Hezekiah Brainard when new in Old Haddam, CT.

 

Steinway square piano, 1856 – among the oldest surviving Steinway square pianos, part of the production when Steinway might label a piano for a different maker to sell under their own name.

 

John Geib square piano, 1810 – previously owned by the Astor family, then later Doris Duke.

Geib square piano name board

John Geib square piano name board – detail

AMERICAN VOICES: GULLAH GEECHEE CULTURAL RESEARCH WITH RA AMEN STALLINGS

American Voices: Lost & Found also tells the profound story of Gullah music traditions, with help from guest artist Ra Amen Stallings, working with the Joyner Institute of Gullah Studies at Coastal Carolina University. This exhibit gives visitors a more complete look at the intersection of music and history during the turbulent time of our country’s origin.

AMERICAN CLARINETS & BASSOONS BY NATHAN CURTISS

Nathan Curtiss was christened on 3 April 1748 in Woodbury, Litchfield, Connecticut, and died 29 November 1845. Curtiss was a skilled woodturner as evidenced by the five surviving woodwinds, which are well made and precisely turned with characteristics found on English and continental instruments. The clarinets include some features that suggest the maker probably relied on his memory when constructing them.

Curtiss Clarinet

The Sigal clarinet is made of light-weight wood, such as pearwood; and has low pitch level of A=415 with good intonation and scale. It is decorated with a swag of stars next to Curtiss’ name, possibly referring to the original thirteen colonies. Both surviving clarinets have both long keys for F#/C# and E/B incorrectly mounted with the shafts at a 90⁰ angle. Thus, the brass key’s upper section with its narrowest part is used as a touch rather than the usual wide, flat surface. It is possible to play the instrument although it has an awkward feel.

Curtiss Bassoon

All three surviving bassoons have spade-shaped key heads as used by George CATLIN on his bassoons. These woodwinds are among the earliest surviving American-made woodwind instruments.

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