Providence Waltz
Providence: published and sold by the author No. 70 Westminster St., n.d. Folio broadside (approx. 14" x 10"), a little soiled and with a few short tears and creases in the margin; good or better. Engraved, music only, without words. As organist, teacher and composer, Shaw played a significant role in the musical life of Providence and the early republic. He turned to music after losing his sight in his early twenties, studying with the blind organist John L. Berkenhead, of Newport. He subsequently studied with Graupner and the clarinetist Thomas Granger in Boston. He became the organist at the First Congregational Church in Providence and was instrumental in the founding of the Psallonian Society there in 1809, "formed by its founders, 'for the purpose of improving themselves in the knowledge and practice of sacred music, and inculcating a more correct taste in the choice and performance of it.' The society lasted until 1832 and in its 23 years gave 31 concerts" (Howard, Our American Music (N.Y. 1931), page 140ff). As a composer Shaw concentrated on sacred music: " ... he represented the emergence of the native musician after the great immigration of foreigners in latter half of the eighteenth century...." (DAB), helping to pave the way for the work of Lowell Mason. Not in OCLC, American Imprints or Wolfe. Item #56261
Price: $150.00
