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“Our War-Songs” (1864): Popular Song and Music Criticism during the American Civil War

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Abstract Popular music journalism during the American Civil War faced two primary challenges: how to talk about war songs objectively in the midst of war, and how to overcome an… Click to show full abstract

Abstract Popular music journalism during the American Civil War faced two primary challenges: how to talk about war songs objectively in the midst of war, and how to overcome an elitist attitude that focused on European concert music and all but ignored commercial sheet music. Theodore Hagen’s “Our War-Songs” (1864) overcame both obstacles, deftly avoiding superficial patriotism to provide a bipartisan and respectful examination of war songs. In so doing he endorsed commercial song as a meaningful genre and set the stage for a critically viable journalism of popular music.

Keywords: american civil; songs 1864; civil war; war songs; war; music

Journal Title: Popular Music and Society
Year Published: 2018

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