The Civil War in Music and Memory Concludes Symposium
January 21, 2022 — The Civil War Symposium sponsored by the Springfield-Greene County Library concludes with a dramatic touch, The Civil War in Music and Memory, at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 6, in the Library Center auditorium. Teens and adults are invited to attend, and masks are required.
The program will feature literary readings on early Springfield and the Civil War in Missouri and Arkansas, with the music of Stephen Foster and others.
Readings are planned by James S. Baumlin, Missouri State University professor; MSU Professor Emeritus William Garrett Piston; and Library Local History Associate John C. Rutherford.
Vocal performances are planned by mezzo soprano Ann Marie Daehn and baritone Chris Thompson, with piano accompaniment by Ethan Stahl.
Here's a sample of the performance:
Song: Stephen Foster, “Hard Times Come Again No More” (1854). Perf. Ann Marie Daehn, piano accomp. Ethan Stahl. One of Foster’s early sentimental favorites:
Reading: “War Comes to Missouri, 1861-1863.” Reading by W. Piston.
Song: Stephen Foster, “That’s What’s the Matter” (1862). Perf. Chris Thompson, piano accomp. Ethan Stahl. A martial tune to raise morale.
Reading from Louisa Kinney Sheppard, A Confederate Girlhood (1892).
Witnessing War (I): Before the Battle of Wilson’s Creek, the Campbell women host General Lyon. Reading by J. Baumlin.
Piano march: G. W. Hewitt, “General Lyon’s Funeral March” (1861). Perf. Ethan Stahl.
A piece commemorating the Battle of Wilson’s Creek (August 10, 1861) and the first Union general to fall in combat.
Reading from William Garrett Piston and John C. Rutherford, “We Gave Them Thunder” (2021). CSA General Marmaduke begins his raid. Reading by J. Rutherford.
The event is co-sponsored by The Library, the Missouri State University Opera Theatre, the MSU Department of English, and the Ozarks Studies Institute in celebration of Piston and Rutherford’s 2021 book, “We Gave Them Thunder”: Marmaduke’s Raid and the Civil War in Missouri and Arkansas.”
For information call 417-616-0534.