This wonderful piece of original sheet music from the era of George Washington's presidential years
is up for bid on eBay.
"For being more than 200 hundred years old," says the seller, "I think it is in remarkable condition and has shown great care through the years."
Entitled "The Battle of Prague" with the following additional wording on the cover: Favorite Sonata for the piano for G. Washington President of the United States with accompaniment, according to the listing. $1 dollar. Boston - Printed & Sold by Graupner No 6 Franklin St.
According to various sources, the seller continues, the printer, Graupner, was born Johann Christian Gottlieb Graupner in 1767 and died 1836. Graupner was an oboist, conductor, teacher, composer as well as music publisher. He joined a regimental band in Hannover at an early age, then to London and during the mid-1790's he came to North America. In 1801 he founded the Boston Philharmonic Society, and five years later was a co-founder of what later became the Handel and Haydn Society. He published instructional books for the clarinet and flute and a widely used 'Rudiments of the Art of Playing on the Piano-Forte'. He became the major publishing figure in Boston in the early decades of the 19th century.
What is interesting about Francis "Frank" Johnson, is that he was born 1792 and passed away 1884. He was an African American musician and composer, and was also a conductor and the first African American to give public performances. If you link into Wikipedia for Johnson, scroll down to the Musical Innovations heading, that section references 'The Battle of Prague' as composed by Frantisek Kotzwara (born 1730 and died February 2, 1791 of erotic asphyxiation) and Johnson's arrangement. This may not be referencing the piece that I am offering, but I found it interesting that Johnson was popular particularly for conducting works that depicted battle and he impressed the audience with realistic effects. The fact that the sheet music that I have has specific references to "The Bugle Horn Call for the Cavalry", many calls for "Cannon", "The Trumpet Call", "Flying Bullets", "Trumpets and Kettle Drums", "Cries of the Wounded", has all lead me to believe that this is a piece of music that he would have loved to conduct.
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