Episode 2

Amelia Tilghman the Musical Messenger

Episode 2 Transcript

INTRO

Hey Y’all, and welcome back to classical queens. I’m Jessica Joy and I’m here to introduce you to the Black women in classical music you probably haven’t heard about. I’m really excited and appreciative of all the support that has been given after episode 1. It really has meant a lot. I’m excited to keep sharing this research and the thought surrounding it. I also look forward to the day I get to introduce you all to some of the amazing people, that I think have brilliant personal insight on topics such as the ones we discuss here. Insight, that comes from all sorts of background lifestyles, experiences, and perspectives, that must be imparted. But I’ll keep you posted about that. Till then, lets get started.

Some of my oldest friends, we were lovers of books. We were 11 or 12 and would try our hand at writing, discussing books. Not simple books either, really great literature. Much Shakespeare was memorized and acted out. We were lucky. So it wont be a surprise to you that my loving the written word was always intrinsically me. However, this didn’t happen in the realm of research, where I really appreciated the writing, or i began to understood how much I didn’t yet know, till I came across this article by Juanita Karpf, entitled, “As Words with Fire: Art music and 19th century African American feminist discourse”, a few years ago. Ive come back to this piece so many times for its sources, or Ms. Karpf’s well researched and interestingly brought together perspective. This article spoke of this women who seemed to do it all. She played piano and sang, taught music, and was a journalist. If you are an active gigging musician or teacher of any sort, you probably understand this world, of doing all of the things as a means of building a career. This woman epitomized this reality. ‘As words with fire’ also had me more closely considering activism within the classical culture, which became yet another thing that really just had me locked in! I of course had seen activism in physical art, music, fashion, intermingled in much of pop culture or counter cultures, and in dance, but it took me some time to consider that utilizing or combining the black idiom and classical music, or even being black and performing classical music, could be a means to do that as well. This article, and all other written word about her, was an enlightening view into what this woman did to not only maintain her musical output, but also her need to honor and support Black culture and edification. The woman in question, is Amelia Tilgman.

TERM DROP

Now let’s drop!

Primary Research:  Oxford Reference defines Primary Research as- Techniques of original data collection or research direct from the target respondents. Primary research includes qualitative (language based data) and quantitative (numerical data) research that can include surveys, focus groups, questionnaires, and interviews.

For this research, both my own, and research utilized throughout all of Juanita Karpfs writings on Amelia Tilghman, is Primary Research. This sort of writing, is exciting, because it gives us voices from other times. It allows us to really (as I’ve said before) keep the past where it is, and from there understand what is ours and what is just of the past. Primary sources can be uncomfortable, because our thoughts now can challenge what we are reading, or possibly may not challenge those past perceptions, which may be even more uncomfortable. But they are so imperative. So we must look.

Edification: Oxford Dictionary Defines Edification as: The instruction or improvement of a person morally or intellectually.

LET’S MEET THIS WEEKS QUEEN

Past Queen- Amelia Tilgman September 6, 1856-1931

Amelia Tilgman was born in Washington D.C., September 6, 1856. Her parents Margaret Reynolds Tilghman and Henry Tilghman, having been able to be apart of the free black community in Washington D.C., were able to take advantage of the educational opportunities for their children. Amelia at a very young age, had a propensity towards singing, and piano performance- and her parents were able to create a space for her to study music, through the D.C. Churches. Now sadly, I must leave the details surrounding Amelia’s childhood at this, because no information exists beyond what is here. Skip to 1868 Amelia Tilghman is now attending Howard University at 12 years old, working towards receiving a teaching a degree. Two years later, she accepted a position teaching at the black public schools, as an elementary teacher- she taught singing, and literacy. During this time you would also fine Ms. Tilghman building her concert career- and earned the public title “Queen of Song”.  In 1871, She received her teaching certificate, and graduated in Howards second graduating class, with high honors. Around this time it is also said she attended Boston Conservatory, but I haven’t been able to find enough confirmed information on this, to speak more about it. 

Context-Schools: Private schools were the only way for blacks to receive a collegiate education as government funding and legislation for Black public schools didn’t exist till 1862. Until this time, “music education took place in Washington’s black churches.”

In 1885 at the age of 29, a major change happened for Ms. Tilghman, she left Washington D.C. and moved to Montgomery Alabama, with a job to work In Booker T Washingtons teaching district. She not only created space for public and private music to be taught for the first time, but she also began the first Black Music Journal ‘The Musical Messenger’, and put together her first community performance of Esther, The Beautiful Queen- based on the original Cantata by William Bradbury. It was a massive feat to bring together, 60 musicans and singers, and she did that singlehandedly, and in all the reviews I have read, from black and white perspectives, created an astounding work. She helped to build faith and pride in her community. Showing that excellence can be found from within. That excellence can be black. But what made all of this possible for her, aside from her natural musical talents and serious work ethic, was her connections to community leadership.

Context: Black Churches: A quote from a Juanita Karpf’s article (the early years of African American music periodicals 1886-1922 history ideology, context) states “Churches were the most powerful organizations and the real center of social life. In addition to their primary role as places of worship, they housed schools, maintained cemeteries, offered charity, and provided venues for concerts, dramatic performances, public speeches, literary society meetings, and gatherings such as those concerned with temperance, enfranchisement, and race relations.” To me, this is highly enlightening- Black church community was a means of the ultimate support and pride of identity, it was really the place where opportunity lived.

There were three people in particular whose influence help push forward Tilghman’s work in Alabama- Reverend Robert Charles Bedford a white clergyman who established the first black church in Montgomery, Cornelius Nathaniel Dorsett, a member of the Tuskegee Board of Trustees, and the first licensed black physician to ever practice in Alabama, Warren Logan-  all apart whom were apart of Booker T Washington’s inner circle. These three men not only helped Tilghman advertise her Journal or performance of Esther, the beautiful queen, but also acquired performance venues. They also must have openly advocated her teaching position in Alabama, as Booker T Watshington (known as THE leading educator) was very open about his views on not supporting music in schools, or supporting music as a viable career. After a few years in Alabama, Tilghman had a short stint in Iberia Louisiana, and then moved back to D.C. to take care of her sick mother in 1888, where she taught/ edited her magazine, composed and performed. Not much information on her personal life exists outside of her work. She died December 12, 1931 from an unknown illness.

Amelia Tilghman’s career, as posited by Juanita Karpf (and I cannot help but agree) was centered around this idea of activism, through supporting and showcasing excellent Black art. She wanted to teach white america that Black peoples excellence in performance, intellectualism, and writing deserve to be discussed, recorded, and thus remembered. In music, She offered an enterprising perspective that didn’t just come from a biased racial sphere, but from a place of bolstering what she already knew to be beautiful, and wanted others to see as well. The Musical Messenger was filled with black perspectives on pedagogical techniques, performance reviews, the goings on of touring musicians, and even new compositions, with information on access to them, and ideas surround cultural thought. With her journal, she truly set a precedent and inspired many other black journalists who would follow her initial model- like W.E.B.DuBois and his journal “The Crisis” Her’s is the perfect example of advocacy- she not only legitimized black music journalism, but did her part to help shift the white cultural focus, from black inadequacy, towards black excellence.

Questions For Our Queen?

What was so revolutionary about The Musical Messenger- aside from it being the first Black music journal?

This is a two part answer:

Well first, the ability to sustain a journal during this time period, for anyone, was tricky. A quote form Juanita Karpfs research states “ In fact, virtually no 19th century editor could hope for indefinite respite from fiscal strain, and among the luminaries of newspaper casualties can be found such journalists as Frederick Douglass and Susan B. Anthony, each of whom claimed losses of some $10,000 from their failed publications. “ Amelia was able to continue this journal from 1885-1891, and although she probably didn’t acquire a substantial amount of money from her effort, she was able to receive some financial backing for her  journal, however eventually it wasn’t enough for it to continue. But either way, it seems as if she left her effort with no debt. Props to the Queen!

Next, her need to shift common racial perspective towards black performances of classical music. To give you all an idea on what was the standard white public perception around Black performance we need to look to the press releases. Going to those primary sources, really helps us understand the progression, or lack Thereof, of thoughts surrounding race. Which will then really enlighten us as the real need of Tilghmans work, during this time.

White Press Perspective

“They put into the music their own minor pathos. Many of the voices were exceedingly sweet, and some of them remarkable in range and sympathetic quality. Untrained except by themselves, without a conductor, with no orchestra, they sang with a nice ear for harmony and effect. Used to singing spirituals and plantation melodies, they carried in to the rendition of the cantata the simplicity and the primitive pathos of their musical natures.” 

Ugh…..This review made me a little sick…. And this is not the worst press comment I’ve read, not at all, not by far.

The use of simplicity, primitive, untrained ( which of course is in direct relation to European standards), the refrence to the lack of access, and the  baseness of black music….All of these overt racist comments, are trends that continue to color common thought surrounding Black people in and outside of classical music. “If white newspapers in the nineteenth century covered performances by black artists at all. They often did so with a patronizing attitude, thereby reinforcing the subaltern status of Blacks.”

Why does the personal information of Amelia Tilghman no longer exist?

To answer this question, I think it’s important to go back and consider Dinah Bowman. Something I pointed out in our first episode, was that what we know of Dinah and her life, is through the writings or papers of her husband and children. Her family felt the need to teach of her impact, and so, we know a little of her. Heading back to Amelia Tilghman, we have a slightly different situation here. We can understand Amelia’s perspective on many things through her journal. She reprimands, coaches, advocates, says anything she deemed fit, to further her scope of teaching and black excellence. But what she didn’t have, was a family in the way that Dinah did. She and her sister both chose to not marry or have children. This makes perfect sense to me based on the time period. She was so very active and apart of her community, she took care of herself, and didn’t need financial support. Why would she possibly give that all away in a marriage, to someone who would probably not support her work. It’s the late 1800’s support like that, would have been so unlikely. On a personal note, having lived through something like that, a taking of voice and expression, I can empathize with her situation. Her sacrifice was to be a voice for the artists within black culture, through doing so, she forgot herself in the process. 

Does the Musical Messenger still exist? 

The Montgomery Alabama publication years, unfortunately, have been lost. But some of her journal from 1889 on, are still in existence. 

LEARN FROM OUR ROYALTY

There is so much we can learn from our royalty today. Amelia Tilghman was such a dynamic person, whose work reached many differing audiences, and it is because of her and what she pioneered that we have such a dirth of black music scholarship during the late 1800s- early 1900s . To me, that is monumental. But there is something that just sticks with me, about how her whole career centered around the lifting of others up. Esther, the Beautfiul queen, she chose to put on numerous times, because it places a black woman, a dark skinned black woman to be specific, in a space of ultimate holiness, respect, and beautify, in order to counter how she and many others were seen every day of their existence.The musical messenger she created with the help of Lucinda Bragg- a journalist and intellectual. She didn’t save the limelight for only herself, but created space for other women take up space. In all other things we have seen her do, her actions always had in mind those beyond her. 

 This concept, of having those who are not just ourselves in mind as we work to alter organizational practices, offer opportunities, create programs, find funding, or really anything to just help people in differing situations….has me contemplating. Lately, in almost all the work I do, I have noticed that the right and just thing isn’t simple. That it cant simply be allowed to happen, because the political game, the pandering to cultures of power as a means to maintain a false control, is more important than just simply doing the right thing by all people. I’m baffled that consideration is novel! We just post, and move on. Ever perpetuating the racial chokehold that our American society was built upon. Amelia Tilghman, did everything in her power to leave a voice, to showcase amazing people, and create more diverse spaces for blacks in classical music and in the world. This one, marginalized woman did this, in the late 1800s. So I want us to question, where do we fall in the work? Are we being actionable, and what does that even look like? 

I see this looking a few different ways.

Action means, creating policies centered around protecting BIPOC peoples interests. Realizing that just because something was fair for you, doesn’t mean we are all one and the same. Action means, empowering each other, giving room and space to those who generally get spoken over, ignored, or deemed unimportant. Action means not taking something that is someone else’s, and making it about you, that is taking someone’s power- they worked hard for that. Action means, reading- but not leaving it at that, directly implementing, in your home, in your workplace, in all spaces- because bias lives everywhere. Action means, letting it be okay that you don’t know everting, but making yourself vulnerable (to those trusted, not just anyone) and admitting it and putting actual work in, to alter bias, because it lives in us all. 

Amelia Tilghman taught me that I am not alone. That community can come from the past if its hard to find in your present. Her story showed the need for us all to keep looking at that different perspective. Realizing that a bold comment to some, can be oppression to others. 

CONCLUSION

Well, yall, thank you joining me this week.  If you have any suggestions on black women in classical music you would like to know more about, drop me a DM on my instagram @ClassicalQueens. I would love to hear from you all, and understand the ways you have been able to implement information such as this into your spaces. 

Now, I’m Not pitching JSTOR or anything, but For right now, they have opened up their articles to the public, for free. you cant download, but you can read almost every Juanita Karpf source I use. But as always, I’ll leave sources on instagram @classical queens,

For now this is a bi-weekly podcast, and if you like it, you should leave a five star rating and a review! Can’t wait till next time.

See ya, Classical Queen’s!