“They found a secret door to take them into that world where the tears are wiped away…”
Author: Marek
Cartoonist, musician, teacher.
Dixie’s Land No. 5 (“Come, patriots all who hate oppression…”)
This LOC.gov songsheet shows us how Union partisans re-purposed Emmett’s 1859 minstrel walkaround: The opening lines establish reasons for
Library of Congress: “Daguerreotypes” Collection (1839-1864)
A captivating look at the people, clothing, & styles of the antebellum & Civil War eras…
The Hardtacks: Bringing History to Life in Song & Story
Musicians/educators Woody Pringle & Marek Bennett conduct participatory CONCERTS & school RESIDENCIES featuring the music & voices of the CIVIL WAR ERA in a unique combination of period music, primary sources, & visual materials…
Civil War Echoes: Paisley’s “Accidental Racist” (2013)
“When I put on that t-shirt, the only thing I meant to say is I’m a Skynyrd fan…”
Walk in the Parlor (1850s)
Note especially the connections delineated between slavery, land, and knowledge…
Attali: “Noise: The Political Economy of Music” (1977)
“Music is prophecy.”
Kingdom Coming: Union Troops Parade in Richmond
“The demonstrations of the colored people on witnessing the review were at times frantic for joy beyond all description…”
“They follow the American race” ~ Banjo Songs in the Gold Rush
How antebellum minstrel music served a growing continental empire…
I’m Off for California (1850s?)
Here’s a song you’ll recognize, and yet… it’s a side of the Gold Rush story you might not have heard about in school: The melody is Stephen Foster‘s first big hit, “Oh Susannah” (1847), ubiquitous in its time and still common in the “folk song” tradition over a century and a half later. Foster’s original composition features two world-changing technologies…
Hardtacks CD: “Music of the Civil War”
Recorded live with the Sounds of Stow Chorus (17 May 2015)
Gac: “Singing for Freedom” (2007)
“The Hutchinson Family Singers and the Nineteenth Century Culture of Antebellum Reform”
The Hardtacks 