108 PART 1 | FROM COLONIZATION THROUGH THE CIVIL WAR
go straight into print and a piano sonata by the same composer
stay in manuscript? Because when this music was written, there
was a market in the United States for songs and almost none for
piano sonatas. Songs—short, melodious, simple to perform, and
carriers of verse—combined traits that appealed to amateur per-
formers, especially when they heard the songs sung onstage. But
mastering a sonata required a good deal more skill, practice, and
most likely lessons. Besides, good players could buy imported
music by Old World composers. W ho needed a piano sonata by
Alexander Reinagle? W hile it is not known how Reinagle would
have answered this question, there is no sign that he tried to get
his sonatas into print.
In Reinagle’s two compositions can be seen the divided her-
itage of composing as an occupation in the United States. In
writing the sonata, Reinagle was acting as a member of the com-
posing profession, whose ideal is tied not to economic outcome but
to intellectual authority, including a composer’s right to control
performances through prescriptive written scores. In contrast,
Reinagle’s role in “America, Commerce, and Freedom” was more
like that of a tradesman working to please customers. Composed
for the theater, the song was expected also to appeal to amateur performers
at home.NOTATION AND MUSICAL CATEGORIES
Before the advent of the phonograph, musical notation was the key to musical
commerce. Not until a piece was written down and printed could it become a
commodity to be bought and sold. But musical notation can also embody the
authority of the composer. Performers who played pieces like Reinagle’s sonata
followed the composer’s instructions closely. In contrast, the score for Reinagle’s
song is less prescriptive. From the song’s beginning to the instrumental tag at
the end, the top line of the keyboard part does nothing but double the voice,
and the lower line is a stripped-down, elementary bass whose only fl ash of inde-
pendence is the string of quick repeated notes near the end. Not a single chord
appears until the last two beats of the piece, a curious way to write for an instru-
ment with chord-playing ability.
It is hard to imagine many accomplished players being content to perform
the keyboard part of “America, Commerce, and Freedom” exactly as written.
Some would surely add chords, decorate the melody, or enrich the bass. Oth-
ers might double the bass line with a cello, or substitute guitar for keyboard, or
extend the instrumental tag. Still others might sing the song unaccompanied,
or move it to a different key. Signifi cant departures from the score would be
unacceptable in the sonata but were expected in the song. The score of “America,
Commerce, and Freedom” was published and sold as an outline to be fi lled in by
performers according to their abilities, tastes, and moods.
Given where the authority lies, Reinagle’s piano sonata may be called a piece
of composers’ music and his song a piece of performers’ music. Performers’ music,
while offering composers little control over performances, gave them access to
customers in the marketplace. Composers’ music offered artistic control but fewK Page 1 of the manuscript
score of Reinagle’s Piano
Sonata no. 1 (Philadelphia,
1786–1794?). This work
was not published until 1978.composers’ music,
performers’ music172028_05_106-131_r3_ko.indd 108 23/01/13 8:20 PM