The
Musical Life of Trappe,
Collegeville, Perkiomen
Valley
Fussy
Gottlieb Mittelberger, whose three-year sojourn in colonial
Pennsylvania in the
early 1750s was chronicled for all would-be German immigrants to check
out, had
some very strong opinions about this new land—the life and customs of
both city
folks and country folks. So we’d expect him to have something to say
about the
musical life he encountered as he installed pipe organs and held the
offices of
schoolmaster and organist at Augustus Lutheran
Church
in Trappe.You can
sample of bit of his writings via the Journey to Pennsylvania
article
also in the Historian’s Corner.
What
Mittelberger had no way of anticipating was that the modest musical
life of
17th century
Trappe blossomed over the next two and a half centuries until
modern-day
writers could claim the area to be the center of musical activity,
including
brass bands, singing societies, glee clubs, and chamber music.
The
Musical Life of Trappe, Collegeville, and the Perkiomen Valley
will be the central focus of our historical society’s programs and
museum
exhibits. While we already possess a modest collection of hymnals, song
books,
and sheet music, we are asking our members and friends to dig into
their
basements and crawl through their attics looking for old musical
instruments,
means of reproducing music (Victrolas, music boxes, early radios,
etc.), and
anything else that will tell our story (or sing our song). Two reed
organs now
grace the Andrew Miller Room in the Dewees Tavern, but neither of them
is
playable. Perhaps a member could help us to get them back into shape so
we can
gather around in the parlor and sing those grand old ballads of
yesteryear.
It is also
our plan to feature a number of local musicians in small recitals in
the Henry
Muhlenberg
House on Sunday
afternoons, sharing with us the kind of music Henry and Maria would
have
enjoyed. What we do with the theme this summer is limited only by the
number of
ideas and artifacts our membership shares with us.