How music changed in the United States between 1776 and 1880

Here is a brief timeline on how people contributed on music.

1776: "Father and I Went Down to Camp" -- probably the earliest American words written to the "Yankee Doodle" tune, printed as a broadside, and attributed to Edward Bangs, a student at Harvard College. It has been claimed that Dr. Richard Schukburgh (or Schakburg) wrote the first American words to "Yankee Doodle" near Albany, New York in 1755, but there is no proof of that claim. The composer of the "Yankee Doodle" tune is unknown but it is believed to have been written in America in the 1750s or 1760s.

1778: First patriotic war song by a native American: Chester, words & music by William Billings. The tune was first written by Billings in 1770 and five stanzas were written in 1778. A new text was added in 1786 and was sung for many years by the Old Stoughton Musical Society. It has been recorded.

1786: The Stoughton Musical Society was founded when 25 male singers were listed in a journal. Contrary to popular belief, neither Supply Belcher nor William Billings had any direct connection to forming this musical society. This is now the oldest choral society in the United States.

1787: "The Grand Constitution", a ballad written about the U.S. Constitution is set to the English tune, "Heart of Oak." This ballad was performed in 1987 for the bicentennial of the U.S. Constitution and also the Stoughton Musical Society's Constitution written in October of 1787, just two weeks after the U.S. Constitution. It is now the oldest constitution of any musical organization in the United States.

1788: First secular music printed by a native born composer: Seven Songs for the Harpsichord or Forte Piano, by Francis Hopkinson. Actually there are eight songs and they are dedicated to George Washington.

1789: Songs written in tribute to George Washington's Inauguration as First US President, including an "Ode to the President of the United States and set to the English tune, "God Save the King."

1790: About this year the first known singing contest was held in the United States between the choir of the First Parish Church in Dorchester and the male singers of the Stoughton Musical Society. The Stoughton group won the contest after they sang Handel's "Hallelujah Chorus" from memory and without any instrumental accompaniment -- an impressive performance for its time. This famous chorus had been published in the U.S. for the first time in 1786.

1791: First orchestral score published in America was the song, "The Death Song of an Indian Chief," composed by Hans Gram, who had emigrated from Denmark. This song was published in The Massachusetts Magazine, Vol. II (March 1791).

1794: Several important tune collections were published. One was The Continental Harmony by William Billings. Another one was The Harmony of Maine by Supply Belcher of Farmington, Maine. Belcher was originally from Stoughton, Massachusetts.

1797: "The Battle of Trenton" by James Hewitt, dedicated to George Washington and includes "Washington's March" and "Yankee Doodle."

1798: First use of the popular English tavern tune, " Anacreon in Heaven" in a song dedicated to President John Adams: "Adams and Liberty."

1799: Memorial songs composed in memory of George Washington, such as Peter A. con Hagen's "Funeral Dirge on the Death of General Washington."

1805: One of the first collections with American folk hymns titled, The Christian Harmony, or Songster's Companion, by Jeremiah Ingalls, published in Exeter, New Hampshire. Ingalls later moved to Newbury, Vermont where he wrote more sacred music. His music has remained popular with various choruses, like the Old Stoughton Musical Society, whose favorite Ingalls tune has been NEW JERUSALEM.

1814: "The Star-Spangled Banner" was written by Francis Scott Key [above portrait] and set to the tune of "Anacreon in Heaven." The original title of the poem by Key was "The Defense of Fort McHenry" and it was first published in several Baltimore newspapers a short time after it was written on September 16, 1814.

1815: The Handel & Haydn Society was founded and gave its first concert on Christmas Day in Boston. It is now the oldest continuous performing arts organization in the U.S.

1817: "There's Nothing True But Heaven" - words by Sir Thomas More and music by Oliver Shaw is one of the first popular songs.

1818: The first complete performance of G.F. Handel's oratorio, Messiah (1742), as it was published at that time on 25 December by The Handel & Haydn Society in Boston. It continues on today with H & H in annual performances, usually held in December.