Harry T. Burleigh, "one of Erie's most popular church singers".

Harry T. Burleigh has been recognized primarily as the singer who introduced Antonin Dvorak to plantation songs and spirituals and as a pioneer arranger of African-American spirituals. In the past several decades, more and more singers have discovered the art songs that in the first quarter of the twentieth century earned Burleigh distinction as one of the most respected composers of American art songs. But other important aspects of his career are less well known, such as his more than thirty years as an editor at the New York office of Ricordi Music Publishing Company, headquartered in Milan, Italy. His role as vocal coach and mentor to a number of singers--including Roland Hayes, Marian Anderson, Paul Robeson, Carol Brice, Abbey Mitchell, Revella Hughes, and Ella Belle Davis--has been overshadowed by the greater fame of those he assisted. Even less understood is Burleigh's success as a recital performer, which drew these younger singers to seek his help in developing their own singing careers. His fifty-two-year tenure as baritone soloist at the wealthy St. George's Episcopal Church in Stuyvesant Square in New York City merely hints at the importance of Burleigh's role as a link between nineteenth- and early twentieth-century African-American concert singers such as sopranos Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield, Madame Marie Selika, and Madame Sissieretta Jones; tenors Wallace King, Harry A. Williams, and Sydney Woodward; and baritones John Luca and Theodore Drury and the younger singers who followed him and have become established in our collective memory as "the first" generation of African-American concert singers: Roland Hayes, Marian Anderson, and Paul Robeson.

The Burleigh family papers hold programs and clippings of reviews of Burleigh performances that document a significant recital career along the eastern seaboard, particularly through New England, with a few appearances as far west as Minneapolis and Chicago and as far south as Nashville and Atlanta. In fact, Burleigh saw himself primarily as a singer, particularly in the first twenty years of his career in New York City. It was to become a serious classical singer that he left Erie, Pennsylvania, in January 1892 to audition at the National Conservatory of Music in New York City, where Antonin Dvorak would be director the following September. In an interview with A. Walter Kramer (1916) at the height of his fame as an art song composer, Burleigh declared, "I never even dreamed of being a composer--at least not out loud. I was going to be a singer and I am." As Kramer's article emphasized, despite Burleigh's modest protests, he was indeed a genuine composer as well as a singer. Burleigh's skill as a song composer was rooted in his thorough knowledge of German lieder and American song repertoire, along with Italian and French opera arias, and the vocal facility of his songwriting grew from a public singing career that began in his teenage years in Erie.

Burleigh described his January 1892 audition at the National Conservatory of Music in a 1924 interview with Lester A. Walton (1974, 83): "The late [Rafael] Joseffy, Romualso Sapio and Adele Margulies were among the artists of renown on the jury. I think I was given an ABA for reading and B for voice. I was told that AA was the required mark, below which I had fallen a little." When the conservatory registrar, Frances MacDowell (mother of composer Edward MacDowell), informed Burleigh that he had failed the audition, he told her of his ambition to be a professional singer and showed her a letter of recommendation from Mrs. Elizabeth Russell. "I told her my cherished longings, and she sympathized with me" (Walton 1974, 83).

Burleigh had first seen Frances MacDowell in Erie at a musicale played by Venezuelan pianist Teresa Carreno at the Robert W. Russell home, at which Burleigh's mother had assisted as a maid and Burleigh as the doorman. Carreno had been Edward MacDowell's teacher, and she introduced MacDowell's piano compositions to audiences in the United States and Europe. She and Frances MacDowell became lifelong friends, and Frances MacDowell was Carreno's traveling companion on the tour through Erie.

Frances MacDowell now interceded on Burleigh's behalf. He did not report whether there was a second audition, but a few days later he learned that he was one of the four successful applicants among the two hundred who had applied for a tuition scholarship that January (Kramer 1916, 25).

Burleigh immediately distinguished himself at the conservatory. Henry T. Finck reported that Burleigh, who had taken business courses in Erie and was reported to be the "best penman in Erie" at his high school graduation ("Another 'Grand Success'" 1887), copied his music history lectures down verbatim in shorthand. Finck (1971, 279) termed Burleigh "the best student I ever had" and his success was not limited to his study of music history. In October 1892, the Cleveland Gazette carried an item from the New York Age reporting that at the beginning of the new academic year, Burleigh had scored 100 percent on the reentry examinations ("Doings of the Race" 1892).

Burleigh also won respect for his singing and became a featured soloist at conservatory concerts. In February 1893, the Cleveland Gazette reported Burleigh's singing in a performance of the opera Faust ("In the Opera Faust" 1893), and the 1894-1895 conservatory catalog includes a sample program conducted by Dvorak on which Burleigh sang an aria from Ponchielli's Gioconda (Aborn 1965, 278).

During the same period, Burleigh was making his mark in the African-American concert community. A survey of the correspondence from communities throughout the country in black newspapers such as the Cleveland Gazette, the New York Age, and the Washington Bee reveals an active concert life among middle- and upper-middle-class African Americans. Local musicians often performed recitals and concerts in black churches, but occasional appearances by star performers such as sopranos Sissieretta Jones and Madame Marie Selika featured local singers alongside the visiting performers. These concerts often drew large audiences (black and white) that filled concert halls rented for the occasion.

In August 1892, at the end of his summer stint as wine steward at the Grand Hotel in Saratoga Springs, New York, Burleigh was a featured singer in "the summer school for Christian workers" in the Adironacks, at North Hudson, New York ("Erie, Pa., Echoes" 1892). A month later, only nine months after he had arrived in New York City, the Washington Bee reported that Burleigh, "the celebrated Western baritone," appeared in two Grand Encampment Concerts at the Metropolitan Church in Washington, D.C., with the great African-American soprano Sissieretta Jones, tenor Sidney Woodward, violinist Joseph Douglass (grandson of Frederick Douglass), and conductor John T. Layton (who in 1903 would direct the Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Society's first performance of Hiawatha's Wedding Feast in Washington, D.C.) (1976, 196). The New York Age reported that he had sung with Madame Marie Selika, the other reigning African-American concert soprano ("Doings of the Race" 1892). When Cleveland Gazette editor H. C. Smith visited Burleigh in New York City in November of 1892, he reported, "Our people in New York City and Brooklyn appreciate Mr. Burleigh, too, and show him every attention, social and otherwise. He is in constant demand for concerts, etc., possessing a strong, broad and yet sweet baritone voice which he uses artistically" (Smith 1892).

Two years later, in October 1894, shortly after he was hired as baritone soloist at St. George's Episcopal Church, Burleigh appeared in a Bergen Star Concert featuring soprano Florence Batson (later Batson-Bergen) at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia. The advertisement bills Burleigh as the "Celebrated Baritone and Teacher in the National Conservatory of Music" ("Bergen Star Concert Program" 1894). Burleigh had moved immediately into the highest ranks of African-American concert singers. How did the black art music elite of Washington and Philadelphia know enough about this young student in New York City to "celebrate" him so soon after he began his study at the National Conservatory? What was it in Erie that prepared him to move immediately into the top echelon of black concert singers?

A survey of the Cleveland Gazette, a black newspaper that began publication in 1883, and several papers in his hometown of Erie, Pennsylvania, shows that even before he studied at the National Conservatory, Burleigh had earned public recognition as one of Erie's best classical singers. By the time he left Erie on January 3, 1892, he was appearing with the city's most accomplished singers (all of them European Americans) at numerous church and civic events and was earning strong affirmation for his vocal skill. His reputation reflected not only his natural gifts but also significant formal vocal and instrumental training.

Burleigh's family was known in Erie for its singing, and in the earliest newspaper reports, Burleigh sang baritone in a family quartet. On June 10, 1881, the Erie Morning Dispatch reported that the choir of Grace Mission "gave a pleasant entertainment at the church, at which there was a very large audience present." It featured the fifteen-year-old Burleigh, his older brother Reggie, and his younger sisters Ada and Eva Grace, singing "Beautiful Sunset" ("Grace Mission Entertainment" 1881). Ada died of consumption several years later (James 2003). In November 1883, the Cleveland Gazette reported that the ladies of St. James A.M.E. Church had given a supper and concert at Grand Army Hall. The music was under the direction of Professor Lawrence, an ancestor of Miss Ada Lawrence, a retired school teacher still living in Erie. The quartet--Burleigh's mother, now Elizabeth Elmendorf; his sister, Eva; Burleigh; and Mr. Lawrence--sang "Sweet and Low," in a rendition that was pronounced "especially fine" (Boz 1883).

In 1884, the eighteen-year-old Burleigh had begun his high school studies and was a featured soloist at meetings of the High School Literary Society. The following February, the high school's Washington's Birthday celebration featured Burleigh singing "The Day" ("His Little Hatchet" 1885).

During his high school years, Burleigh also attended Clark's Commercial College, where he gained the stenographic skills that later stood him in such good stead as a student at the National Conservatory and as Antonin Dvorak's copyist. H. C. Clark, the college's founder and director, espoused a liberal view of business education and promoted an active literary society that presented frequent public programs. In March 1885, Burleigh was featured on Longfellow Day at the Clark College literary society meeting at which members "responded to the roll call by sentiments from the writings of the poet." But this time, Burleigh played guitar--in a duet with George Dinkey. The paper reported that "the programme proved to be a highly seasoned intellectual fest, and those who braved the storm in order to be present were rewarded" ("Longfellow Day" 1885). Burleigh was featured in guitar duets on a number of occasions and sometimes as a soloist; on one occasion, he played the violin. Although newspaper reports do not mention his playing the bass viol, the reference to his bass viol on the subscription lists as he left Erie in 1892 and the comments about his playing the bass viol and the timpani in the National Conservatory orchestra indicate that he gained proficiency in several instruments (Charlton 1932; Snyder 1992, 455).

In April 1885, Burleigh and George Dinkey played several guitar duets for a Junior YMCA meeting, another of Burleigh's frequent venues at the time ("Junior Y.M.C.A. 1885). At the Clark College final literary program of the season, Burleigh sang a solo and performed in an instrumental trio, probably as a guitarist, with George Dinkey and another performer ("Clark's College Literary" 1885).

In autumn 1885, the Episcopal Cathedral of St. Paul, where Burleigh and other members of his family had been baptized, established its first Men and Boys Choir. Burleigh sang baritone, and two younger African Americans, Charles Fisher and Charles Franklin, sang soprano. The Erie Morning Dispatch reported that their first performance was a great success: "At the opening of each service the voices of the choir were heard in the distance, swelling in volume as the members approached the auditorium with measured tread and impressive mien. The little songsters followed by the adults filled the [vaulted] arch with sacred and inspiring melody. Miss Beebe's fine organ tones added greatly to the effect, while the accompanying responses and chants served to make truly congregational worship." The reporter commented that the twenty-eight--voice choir's singing demonstrated "the intimate connection which music bears with divine worship" ("The Surpliced Choir" 1887).

The written accounts of Burleigh's early years reflect some confusion regarding Burleigh's church membership. His family was primarily affiliated with St. James African Methodist Episcopal Church, the only black church in Erie. In 1845, Burleigh's grandfather Hamilton Waters had helped to establish the Wesleyan Methodist Church, which was its predecessor, and Burleigh's father, Henry Thacker Burleigh, and stepfather, John Elmendorf, were active in the leadership at St. James. The St. James Record Book indicates that in 1883, Elmendorf served as a trustee. But because in its early years, St. James did not always have a minister who was authorized to administer the sacraments, Burleigh and the other members of his family were baptized at the Episcopal Cathedral of St. Paul, and some family funerals were also held there. It was not unusual among Erie's African-American families for some members to have connections in several congregations of differing denomination. In addition to their involvement in activities at St. James A.M.E. Church, Burleigh's mother and his aunt Louise Waters often attended St. Paul's, and as a boy, Burleigh accompanied his mother to services there ("Harry Burleigh" 1931).

By 1885, Burleigh was becoming well known in the city for his singing, and in addition to serving in the St. Paul's Men and Boys Choir, he began singing at the First Presbyterian Church and the Reform Jewish Temple. These were paid positions that added to the family income (James 2003).

During his high school years, Burleigh also achieved recognition as a public speaker. Several weeks after the St. Paul's Men and Boys' Choir debut, the first of several reports of Burleigh's oratorical skill appeared. At the Clark College Literary Entertainment, Burleigh gave a declamation one would like to have heard: "The Influence of Music on the Circulation of the Blood" ("Literary Entertainment" 1885). The following February, at Erie High School's George Washington Day celebration, Burleigh gave what one review reported to be "the declamation of the day ... considered either in its own significance or the remarkably fine oratorical display in its delivery" ("Washington's Birthday" 1886). Burleigh discussed "Washington as a Politician." The review summarizes the themes of Burleigh's speech and concludes, "The young man's effort would not have discredited many a public speaker of acknowledged recognition, and suggested the future possibilities which lie before the proper development and use of his undeniable gifts." A day or so later, Burleigh gave a similar "Tribute to Washington" at Clark College's Washington celebration. His speech "was unanimously voted the best thing of the evening. It was an original effort, ... and, all things considered, was a remarkable production" ("Washington's Birthday" 1886). These presentations foreshadowed his commencement oration at his high school graduation in June 1887.

During the summer and fall of 1886, Burleigh appeared as soloist at the Cross and Crown Church ("Cross and Crown" 1886) and again at Grace Mission, where his singing was said to be "exceptionally fine." He sang "Come Where the Lindens Bloom" by Dudley Buck and as an encore added "When the Flowing Tide Comes In" ("At the Grace Mission" 1886).

Until this time, Burleigh's appearances as a singer and speaker had been reported with appreciation, but in 1887, he began to move in a more sophisticated stratum of Erie's singers. George F. Brierly (who had trained at the Worcester Cathedral choir school in England) came to Erie as an organ tuner with the Burdett Organ Works after the Great Chicago Fire in 1871 and was by this time the music director of the First Methodist Episcopal Church in Erie. He set up a vocal music studio, and he also directed the Orpheus Society, a prominent choral group. The seventy-two-year-old Brierly told an interviewer that he had been Burleigh's voice teacher, a claim supported by reports of Erie concerts in which Brierly accompanied Burleigh and other singers. (1) In January 1887, Burleigh appeared again in a guitar duet with George Dinkey and as a soloist on a program with Mrs. Winnie Eggleston, Brierly's soprano soloist at First Methodist Church ("The Ladies Receive" 1887).

Burleigh now began appearing in a broader range of civic and church circles, such as the Loyal Ladies' League of the U.S. Grant Circle of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR), the Select Knights of the Ancient Order of the United Works (AOUW), and the First Baptist Church. At an April concert, despite inclement weather, "the Baptist Church was filled to overflowing, ... aisles and all." Burleigh's vocal solo "displayed his really good bass voice to fine advantage. He responded to a persistent encore" ("Last Night's Concert" 1887).

Burleigh was one of several graduates whose orations at his high school commencement exercises in June 1887 were printed in full by the Erie Morning Dispatch. One might question whether a speech written as a high school exercise can be taken to express serious personal conviction, but Burleigh's comments at age twenty suggest that his views on the importance of education and the cultural life were already well formed. Given his mother's sophistication and educational background and the family's focus on pursuing the best education available, as well as the influence of his business college mentor, H. C. Clark, it is not surprising that Burleigh argues for a liberal education rather than a narrow preparation for the trades:

   That scheme of education which gives a man just enough to carry him
   through life is selfish and short-sighted. Blind to facts of which
   the world is full, it sees not the present, and reads not the past
   aright. Nothing will tend more to make a man mean and narrow than to
   train him to provide only for the comforts of life. The bread and
   butter education is good enough for bread and butter, but it is soon
   exhausted. The truly successful man has more power than will carry
   him through a difficulty; he always has a surplus. A merely
   practical education is a preparation for the work we have to do now.
   It is not a preparation for the unknown work of the future.
   ("Commencement Day" 1887)

Early education must build a strong basic foundation, Burleigh asserted. "Of what shall this education consist? How much shall it give? How far shall it go? These are problems which are pressing upon the attention of the educator. First, it is agreed the foundation must be firm, sure and strong, not complex in materials, but few and simple." He maintained that the "three R's" should be the focus of the first six or seven years, "then may come the studies that broaden and strengthen."

Burleigh continued, arguing that the goal of true education is that the student shall be "equipped in mind, strengthened in body, firm of purpose." In his closing remarks, Burleigh spoke to the importance of individual achievement and excellence: "Quisque suae fortunae faber--'Every man is the maker of his own fortune' still holds true. Tell a man to stay where he is and we will have no excellence, for we will have no incentive; and where there's no incentive you cannot expect progress" ("Commencement Day" 1887).

Although the pursuit of excellence was a hallmark of Burleigh's career, his high school address expresses views that seem in contrast to his later identification with Booker T. Washington's trade and industrial school philosophy and his apparent rejection of W.E.B. Du Bois's call for a classical education for the Talented Tenth. Shortly after Du Bois's Souls of Black Folks ([1903] 1982) was published in 1903 (after Burleigh read a review but undoubtedly before he read the book), Burleigh wrote Washington:

   I have just finished reading "The Outlook's" review of DuBois'
   book; and it is so strong and true an article that I can [not]
   refrain from writing you because it states your position so clearly
   that a blind man can see that DuBois' work is purely personal
   whereas your work is general. You are for the masses while he pleads
   for the classes. It is obvious who has the greater and higher field.
   The article is a truthful justification of your methods and is
   timely, for many others of the (highly educated and cultivated
   class)? [sic] may be influenced by what DuBois says. (Burleigh 1903)

It would seem that Washington's promotion of industrial education rather the professional training that Du Bois recommended for the Talented Tenth corresponds to the "bread-and-butter" education that the twenty-year-old Burleigh found inadequate and limiting. Certainly, Burleigh represented the Talented Tenth, and the choices he made for himself and later for his son were in line with Du Bois's views. But Burleigh's recital career was enhanced by his travels with Washington in New England to raise funds for Tuskegee, and Washington's support could open many doors for him. Washington benefited, too, because Burleigh's singing helped to open the purse strings of the audiences whose support Washington solicited. Aside from these considerations, it is clear that the full development of the singer's views on education and political action requires further study.

Two days after his graduation from Erie High School, Burleigh sang at the Young Men's Debating Society of the YMCA. A reviewer commented, "Mr. Harry Burleigh always sings well, but his solo on this occasion was above his usual standard." At this event, Burleigh was presented with a set of Shakespeare in recognition of his accomplishment ("Public Meeting" 1887).

In autumn 1887, Burleigh, his mother, and his sister Eva were invited to join the Orpheus Society, directed by George Brierly (Thacker 1887; James 2003). The Orpheus Society, organized in 1878, was regarded as the best singing society in Erie, so this was significant recognition, and undoubtedly, the Burleighs integrated the choir. Its president was Henry Catlin, the former editor of the abolitionist newspaper The True American and a tireless advocate of racial equality.

In his advertisement in the Erie City Directory (1859-1860, 37-38), Catlin had billed the True American as "an uncompromising Political and Reform paper" that solicited "the support and sympathy of all friends of Human Progress. It is a medium of free discussion for all manner of men and women, except slaveholders, rumsellers, and codfish aristocrats." Like William Lloyd Garrison, Catlin was not afraid to call slavery a sin. Appealing to biblical moral principles, he declared, "We believe that 'Righteousness exalteth a nation, while sin is a reproach to any people.' ... We advocate all rights for all men, women and children. We would extend to white people 'all the privileges and immunities' we claim for black people." In a populist vein, he continued, "We believe in the 'first circles' and the last--in the 'upper crust' and lower crust of Society, that is, we believe in them, reversed. The lazy snobs of the 'first families' properly belong in the lower layer, while the honest laborer is the true aristocrat" (37-38).

Catlin and his father-in-law had worked with Burleigh's grandfather Hamilton Waters in Erie's Underground Railroad network, and after the Civil War, Catlin worked as correspondence clerk at the J. E Downing Insurance Agency where Burleigh's aunt Louise Waters also worked as a clerk. So, Catlin's interest in music and his commitment to racial equality were both in play here in helping to open the door for the Burleighs to participate in the Orpheus Society.

In addition to singing for the white Presbyterian, Episcopal, and Jewish congregations, Burleigh was also a featured soloist in public programs put on by St. James A.M.E., his home church. In mid-October, the Erie Morning Dispatch reported that the "Grand Army Hall was crowded to suffocation last evening by the audience gathered to be entertained by a programme of songs, readings and tableaux offered by members of St. James A.M.E. Church. The entertainment passed off handsomely, and the audience was delighted by the really credible performances of all who took part." Burleigh sang "The Vagabond" by Molloy and gave a declamation, "Spartacus to the Gladiators" ("The A.M.E. Entertainment" 1887).

Burleigh's solo appearances in Erie increased in frequency in late 1887 and early 1888. In May 1888, he joined a touring group of jubilee singers, his first documented performances of the slave-song repertoire that was to become a Burleigh trademark. The New Orleans University Jubilee Singers, like the Fisk Jubilee Singers and the Hampton Jubilee Singers, originally founded to raise money for an African-American school but now functioning independently (Abbott 1996), had sung in Erie before, and when they performed for the "large and thoroughly well satisfied audience" on May 9 under the auspices of the Sons of Veterans, "Everybody was pleased and went away asking when they could hear them again." The program was reported in detail, with comments on the skill of individual singers, including "the most powerful basso that has ever appeared in Erie." Their repertoire included "Swanee River," in addition to "Who Build de Ark" and "Didn't Ole Pharaoh Git Los'" ("The Jubilee Singers" 1888). The program was so successful that the Women's Relief Corps engaged them for a second concert the following evening, which would include appearances by "local talent." Undoubtedly, Burleigh was among the local singers, and although the local paper did not report the fact, it seems that the group invited him to join the troupe.

Burleigh's name disappears from the Erie papers until the following December, when the New Orleans Jubilee Singers returned to town--with Harry Burleigh. The December 4 Erie Morning Dispatch reported, "Mr. Harry Burleigh, who has been for some months connected with the New Orleans Jubilee Singers, was in the city visiting his family on Saturday" ("Breakfast Table Gossip" 1888). This mention (his first appearance in a Dispatch society column) suggests that he may have intended to continue traveling with the group, but he seems instead to have stayed in Erie.

The Fisk Jubilee Singers and other jubilee groups had appeared numerous times in Erie throughout the 1880s. The Fisk Jubilee Singers' fame and their remarkable success in raising funds for their school from their first tours in the early 1870s generated immediate interest from Hampton Institute and other black schools in the South in sending singing groups on tour. In April 1875, the Hampton Jubilee Singers performed at the Park Opera House in Erie ("Slave Songs of the South" 1875; "The Hampton Singers" 1875), and in Burleigh's early years, numerous other appearances by jubilee groups, as well as both black and white minstrel troupes, were reported. By the late 1880s, some jubilee groups attempting to imitate the success of the Fisk singers even falsely claimed to originate from Fisk. For example, the October 8, 1887, Cleveland Gazette reported that "A bogus company of Fiske [sic] Jubilee Singers concerted in Akron recently." When the Fisk Jubilee Singers, under the leadership of one of its early members, Frederick Loudin of Ravenna, Ohio, appeared in Erie on December 14, 1888, a week after the New Orleans singers had performed, their advertisements stressed that they were indeed the original group. The performance at the Park Opera House was sponsored by the Women's Relief Corps of the Strong Vincent Post of the GAR (Advertisement 1888; "Breakfast Table Gossip" 1888).

The newspaper review of their performance is typical of contemporaneous descriptions of the singing of plantation or jubilee songs: "Too much praise cannot be given to the remarkably sweet harmony which the small company produces. Their songs are of that wild, weird music, the distinguishing feature of southern plantation Negro songs, and reaches the sensibilities of the listener with great force" ("The Jubilee Concert" 1888).

One must wonder how Burleigh viewed these songs. His formal vocal training had been in European-American parlor and art-song traditions, along with sacred hymns and choral works. St. James A.M.E. Church, the only black church in town, seems to have used the spirituals in public primarily as a way to draw a white audience for entertainments to raise money for the church. The founders of the A.M.E. church did not encourage the use of spirituals in their services, largely because these leaders espoused a message of racial uplift that called for leaving behind the vestiges of slavery such as the "spiritual songs" and "corn-field ditties" (Payne 1968a).

Burleigh's friend tenor John C. Diehl (who was white) reported singing spirituals with Burleigh at the Himrod Mission, which had been founded by white abolitionist William Himrod ("Harry Burleigh" 1931). Burleigh's family had been active at the Himrod Mission from its beginning. In addition to church services for the black community (before the establishment of St. James A.M.E.), the mission offered literacy education, and Burleigh's grandfather Hamilton Waters was one of the first scholars. But since the leadership at Himrod was white (one of the reasons Hamilton Waters and others established the Wesleyan Methodist congregation in 1847), Burleigh's singing spirituals at Himrod does not in itself prove his personal commitment to their preservation at this time.

A study of the repertoire of the Fisk Jubilee Singers and other jubilee troupes shows that they did not limit themselves to jubilee songs or spirituals, but it was primarily these distinctive songs that drew the white audiences and brought the financial rewards (Ward 2000). Had Burleigh's grandfather and mother instilled in him the love for this musical heritage that he later expressed so eloquently, despite the embarassment these songs caused many educated African Americans? Or did he come to understand the musical treasure that they represented from composers such as Dvorak and Edward MacDowell (2) during his years at the National Conservatory? At any rate, his tour with the New Orleans Jubilee Singers indicates that he knew the jubilee songs and could sing them well.

After his return to Erie, Burleigh's 1889 solo appearances included an entertainment for two hundred Clark College students at the Clark home ("Students Well Entertained" 1889), a musical soiree at the home of Mr. T. P. Barton on Twenty-third Street ("Musical Soiree" 1889), the Solders' and Sailors' Home with the St. Paul Episcopal Choir ("Thursday's Concert" 1889), and a concert to benefit the victims of the Johnstown flood at which Burleigh was reported to have sung an aria from Bellini's Il Puritani ("For the Flood" 1889).

At the closing concert of the Orpheus Society's season, Burleigh was a featured soloist--he sang the Toreador song from Bizet's Carmen--and also sang two selections in a quartet with his voice teacher and conductor, George Brierly, and John Diehl ("Last of the Season" 1889), who would later be the principal of Academy High School and then Erie School superintendent. Burleigh would write the music for Academy High School's song and would arrange several songs for the Erie Academy choirs during Diehl's tenure.

In the fall of the 1889-1890 concert season, Burleigh seized the opportunity to hear one of the world's greatest tenors, Italo Campanini. He hid in the balcony of the Park Opera House all afternoon so he could hear Campanini and his group of singers--probably not because he could not afford the fifty-cent gallery ticket but because the audience was segregated ("Park Opera House" 1889; Walton 1974, 81). Burleigh had spoken and sung from that stage before he left Erie, but as was often the case, African Americans were welcome on stage where they could not join the audience.

The newspaper reviews of Burleigh's singing were becoming more detailed, and he sang more frequently in the company of George Brierly, Winnie Eggleston, John Diehl, and T. W. Shacklett, the premiere classical singers in the city. He sang works by Gounod, Denze, and Schumann, including "The Two Grenadiers," which often appeared in his recitals in later years, and he added several opera arias ("City Items" 1889; "Last of the Season" 1889). Clearly, his repertoire was growing more sophisticated.

In October, the Cleveland Gazette reported, "The congregation at St. Paul's Episcopal church were delighted with the offertory sung yesterday by Mr. Henry Burleigh. His selection was 'One Sweetly Solemn Thought,' by [Robert] Ambrose. The music is very exacting and difficult to render, though the theme is delightful in sentiment. Mr. Burleigh rendered the selection with wonderful evenness throughout and exceeded all his previous efforts for clearness of enunciation, purity of tone and the feeling which he infused into the vocalization generally" ("A Promising Young Baritone" 1889).

The Burleigh family was still occasionally called on to sing. At the fiftieth anniversary celebration of the Himrod Mission and School, they provided "a leading feature of the excellent music provided for the occasion." Burleigh also sang a solo ("Half a Century" 1889).

By this time, Burleigh's reputation as a singer was spreading beyond Erie to Cleveland and Buffalo, where his family had many friends. In 1890, the Cleveland Gazette reported frequent visits by Burleigh to Cleveland, where he was often a guest of editor H. C. Smith, a cornetist and band leader as well as a radical reformer. Burleigh also developed a friendship with Gazette local reporter Ernest Orsburn, a fine baritone. Both Smith and Orsburn frequently visited Burleigh in Erie. (3)

During this same year, Burleigh appeared in Erie at First Presbyterian Church ("A Good Entertainment" 1890), Park Presbyterian Church Mission ("Late Local Briefs" 1890), The Episcopal Cathedral of St. Paul ("Interesting Services" 1890), the First Christian Church ("Christian Church Entertainment" 1890), the Simpson Methodist Episcopal Church ("The First Fair" 1890), the Tenth Street Methodist Episcopal Church ("A Grand Success" 1890), St. James A.M.E. Church ("Personal and Church Notes" 1890), and as a member of the Madrigal Club (although they did not sing madrigals, at least in public), which gave a benefit concert for the Central Presbyterian Church organ fund ("Madrigal Club" 1890). For the celebration of "The Anniversary of Lee's Surrender" at the Soldier's Home, "Mr. Harry Burleigh gave some of his delightful solos, which are always well received" ("Veterans Rejoice" 1890). When the Pythagoris Commandery gave an entertainment at Liedertafel Hall, Burleigh sang a solo, and a Burleigh family quartet consisting of his mother, his Aunt Louise, his sister Eva, and Burleigh also sang ("Concert and Social" 1890).

In 1891, notices in both the Cleveland Gazette and the Erie Morning Dispatch show that Burleigh was on the go, making frequent use of the regular train service between Erie and its neighboring cities, Cleveland to the west and Buffalo to the east. May found him performing with H. C. Smith's Excelsior Cornet Band in Cleveland ("Local Department" 1890) and at St. Philip's Episcopal Church in Buffalo, an appearance that "was highly appreciated." His "many warm friends" in Buffalo wished him "the greatest success" ("Talbert Testimonial" 1891).

Some of Burleigh's contacts in Buffalo may have developed during the years when he and his brother Reginald worked as stewards on the lake steamers, many of which originated their routes in Buffalo. Burleigh and his family had connections to the Talberts, the wealthiest black family in western New York State. Burleigh was best man at the wedding of William and Mary Burnett Talbert ("Local Department" 1891), a significant connection, because Mary Burnett Talbert was to be one of the founders of the NAACP. Even more significant, Burleigh may have learned of the National Conservatory of Music in New York City from William's brother Thad, who went to study organ at the conservatory about a year before Burleigh did ("At the National Conservatory" 1891). Talbert's time at the conservatory was less happy than Burleigh's, but they collaborated on at least two concerts in New York City after Burleigh's arrival, and there is no doubt that Burleigh would have heard a good deal from Talbert about his studies there.

By this time, Burleigh's success in the Erie area was spreading beyond the city limits. In May, he sang at the commencement exercises in Girard, Pennsylvania, where he was the guest of the school principal and "was presented with a floral tribute" ("A Crayon Artist" 1891).

In Erie, Burleigh sang "In Absence" as part of a male quartet at a gymnasium benefit concert sponsored by the Ladies' Auxiliary of the YMCA. He also sang "Agnus Dei" in a mixed quartet and "Farmer's Mass in B flat" in a double quartet accompanied by full orchestra and piano. The reviewer found the numbers a beguiling combination: "In expression, sympathetic interpretation and execution the work of the singers was a revelation.... The more concerts of this kind the city has, the better for musical interests here" ("Gymnasium Benefit" 1891). Along with his usual appearances at church and community events, Burleigh sang at a memorial service at the First Presbyterian Church ("The Late Mrs. Jos. Johnstone" 1891) and entertained a group of his friends at "an evening of recitation and song with Miss May M. Brown, of Cleveland." "In his usual happy manner," he sang "I Fear No Foe" ("An Obituary Notice" 1891). (4) He was one of a number of featured musicians who entertained at the ball in honor of the fifth anniversary of the Order of Railway Conductors ("News in Brief" 1891).

In September 1891, only three months before he left for New York City, Burleigh had another opportunity to join a touring jubilee group. The Cleveland Gazette reported that he had stopped in Cleveland on his way to Ravenna, Ohio, to join Frederick Loudin's Fisk Jubilee Singers ("Local Department" 1891). Loudin had been a member of the Fisk singers for several years and then took his own group on extended tours through Europe and Asia. But Burleigh returned abruptly to Erie when, to his amazement, the First Presbyterian Church raised his salary to keep him as soloist ("Local Briefs" 1891; "Educated in Europe" 1891).

However, the Presbyterians could not offer Burleigh enough to keep him from venturing to New York City in January 1892 to audition for a scholarship at the National Conservatory of Music. It is tantalizing to speculate what occurred between October and December 1891 to turn his attention to New York, but it is very likely that communication with Thad Talbert, who was studying at the National Conservatory, was a factor.

In December 1891, just two weeks before he left for the audition in New York, Burleigh was a featured soloist at a historic event that confirmed his place among "the finest vocal talent in the city" ("Concert at the Cathedral" 1891). The new St. Peter's Roman Catholic Cathedral had been completed but not yet consecrated (Burleigh would also sing at the consecration a year and a half later), and a gala concert inaugurated it on Tuesday, December 15. On this program, Burleigh sang Mattei's "O Patria," or "My Native Land," which was becoming one of his signature songs. Reviews in three Erie papers the following day lauded Burleigh's performance. The Erie Morning Dispatch described the anticipation that his singing aroused: "That Mr. Harry Burleigh has the same power as of old over Erie hearts was evinced by the tremendous applause that greeted him as he stepped forward to sing Mattei's "Native Land" ("A Brilliant Success" 1891). According to the Erie Daily Times, when Burleigh sang "an Italian ballad," he "threw much dramatic feeling into its execution" ("The Cathedral Concert" 1891). And the Erie Evening Herald reported, "He had an opportunity to use his well-cultivated voice with all its fullness, and the hearty applause that followed was well merited" ("Concert" 1891).

The final number on the program was "A Catastrophe" by Sprague, "which recounted the mishaps of a tack, a boy and a school master." It was sung by a male quartet, with Burleigh singing baritone and Turner (T. W.) Shacklett, a warden of St. Paul's Episcopal Cathedral, singing bass, "in magnificent style" and "provoking the most hilarious applause" ("A Brilliant Success" 1891).

The 1891 Christmas Mass was still celebrated at the old St. Patrick's Cathedral, now designated the Pro-Cathedral, and Weber's Jubilee Mass was featured in this last "most important event of the Catholic church" to be celebrated there. The Massassauga Point Orchestra from the nearby resort (now Presque Isle) accompanied, and Burleigh, John C. Diehl, and T. W. Shacklett were among the distinguished singers to assist the choir ("At the Pro-Cathedral" 1891; "Christmas Day" 1891).

Burleigh's singing had always served a broadly ecumenical audience, but these gala events preceding his departure for New York carried him into new ecclesiastical territory. St. Paul's Episcopal Cathedral was a high-church congregation, so he was familiar with the liturgy. But this performance shows that the twenty-five-year-old Burleigh had achieved all that was possible in Erie. He had earned recognition among the finest classical singers in the city, and his appearances drew keen anticipation and warm approbation. He was ready for new challenges in New York.

No evidence has been found that Burleigh's singer friends in Erie knew of his plans to leave for New York, unless the especially warm praise for his singing arose partly from anticipation of his prospects there. The January 9, 1892, Erie correspondence in the Cleveland Gazette says simply, "Mr. Harry T. Burleigh left for New York Sunday night" ("Erie, Pa., Topics" 1892).

This would have been January 3rd, and Burleigh's social calendar was full in his last few days in Erie. The trains between Erie and Cleveland were also busy. On Sunday, December 24th, Burleigh sang at the Pro-Cathedral. On Christmas day, Lillian Chesnutt, daughter of writer Charles Chesnutt, and a Mr. Richardson, both of Cleveland, were guests of Mattie and Nettle Dickson in Erie. In the evening, Harry and his sister Eva joined them, and "a pleasant theater party was enjoyed" ("Erie, Pa., Topics" 1892). On December 29, the Reverend J. C. Price, an African-American minister from Salisbury, North Carolina, gave a frank address at the Tabernacle (Church of Christ) on "The Race Problem," preceded by a solo and an encore by Burleigh ("The Race Problem" 1891). And on New Year's Day, Burleigh visited Sadie E. Cisco, a niece of Ernest Orsburn, and Ida M. Brown in Cleveland ("Local Department" 1892). Despite the intriguing silence of the Erie and Cleveland media about the purpose of Burleigh's venture to New York, when word came back to Erie of his successful audition for a full four-year tuition scholarship at the National Conservatory of Music, both Erie papers and the Cleveland Gazette were happy to report it. The January 15 Erie Morning Dispatch, in an article titled "Merited Success," said: "Mr. Harry T. Burleigh of this city, was one of four successful competitors, in a class of over 200 members, for a free scholarship in the National Conservatory of Music, New York. Proficiency was determined by an exhaustive competitive examination in writing, music, solfeggio or scale singing, sing songs, ballads, oratorio, etc. Mr. Burleigh, who arrived home yesterday, expects to return to New York next week to commence his studies."

This was the first of a flurry of articles in the Erie Morning Dispatch, the Erie Daily Times, and the Erie Evening Herald commenting on Burleigh's deserved success in the audition and proposing the raising of funds to assist him in his early months at the conservatory. Two "From Bystander" columns in the Erie Evening Herald asserted that Burleigh had earned the community's support through his own generosity in assisting charitable causes. The January 23 column drew an analogy to the biblical promise, "Cast thy bread upon the waters, and it will return to thee after many days." Gifted young men and would should be given generous support.

   A case in point is that of Mr. Harry Burleigh. He had musical
   talent. People liked to hear him sing, and whenever he was called
   upon to assist in church or charity work he never said no. While he
   was singing his way into the hearts of all who listened to him, he
   never had a thought of future reward. He never had an idea that he
   would receive a free scholarship in the National Conservatory of
   Music at New York. Yet this has happened. The moment it was known
   there were men in this city who said, "Now is our time to assist Mr.
   Burleigh" he is poor, he will need money while in New York, and we
   must help him now in return for the oft-repeated assistance given to
   enterprises in which we have been interested.... And who will
   question that the fruits of the good done by Mr. Harry Burleigh have
   returned to him after many days. This is the rule. It always has
   been; it always will be. ("From Bystander" 1892).

At first, a benefit concert was suggested ("From Bystander" 1892; Testinonial to Harry Burleigh" 1892; "A Benefit Concert" 1892), but it soon became apparent that there was not time to organize such an event. Burleigh needed to be back in New York City on Friday, January 20, to begin his studies in order to keep his scholarship, so it was decided to collect subscriptions for a fund to be given to him directly. As the Erie Evening Herald noted, "It is not the intention to ask anyone for large amounts, but persons who desire are requested to contribute the amount they would have cheerfully expended for tickets to a benefit concert" ("Not Time Enough" 1892). By January 18, subscription lists were posted at the city drugstores; in the next few days, City Treasurer Hanley's office, the Strong Vincent Veterans Post, and the offices of the Brown Folding Machine Works, where Burleigh had worked as a clerk and accountant, added their lists ("Local Briefs" 1892; "The Burleigh Subscription" 1892; "Table Talk" 1892).

Meanwhile, Burleigh brought back a critical review of the New York music scene. While he was in New York, Burleigh had gone to hear Adelina Patti, the famous soprano against whose standard other singers were often measured (and the Patti after whom Burleigh's soon-to-be colleague, Sissieretta Jones, would be dubbed "The Black Patti"). Burleigh found her performance less impressive than "the American nightingale," Annie Louise Tanzer-Musin, who was to appear at the Tabernacle in Erie the following week. Burleigh reported that Tanzer-Musin's "wonderful range of voice exceeds that of Patti by several notes," and in his opinion, her "execution is not excelled by any singer in the world." Burleigh even delayed his departure for New York to begin his studies in order to hear Tanzer-Musin before he left ("City Chit-Chat" 1892). Among Erie's several newspapers, the Erie Morning Dispatch most frequently reported Burleigh's activities and from time to time mentioned other members of his family. Even so, the report of such music criticism by Burleigh confirms that he had indeed made his mark among the city's musical elite.

This was Burleigh's time in Erie. The subscription lists now held in the Burleigh collection at the Erie County History Society help to tell the story. Several of Burleigh's musician friends--including C. F. Allis, T. W. Shacklett, and J. W. Little--pitched in to help solicit funds personally, as did his stepfather, John Elmendorf. Allis was a cashier at the Second National Bank and the organist at First Presbyterian Church. Shacklett, a city councilman and vestryman at St. Paul's Episcopal Cathedral, was in constant demand as a bass soloist, dramatic reader and actor. Little had been the choir director at the First Methodist Episcopal Church before George E Brierly took the position, was a trustee at First Presbyterian Church, and was also affiliated with the Orpheus Society. Shacklett and Little collected the largest amounts and gathered the largest individual donations. Their lists included numerous donations of five dollars, some of ten dollars, and even a couple of twenty-five dollars, a substantial sum in 1892. Burleigh's stepfather, John Elmendorf, collected by far the largest number of donations, but most of his donations were smaller. He did, however, collect one anonymous donation of $25. Most of the pledges were for one dollar, some for fifty or seventy-five cents. Some people contributed cash but did not list their names. Some names of longtime friends appear as do many who would have known Burleigh only as a singer or as a member of the Waters/Burleigh/Elmendorf family. Insurance agent J. F. Downing (employer of Burleigh's aunt Louise) pledged ten dollars, as did Mrs. W. L. Scott, the widow of John Elmendorf's former employer. Henry Catlin and Burleigh's high school principal, H. C. Missimer, each pledged three dollars. The Reverend Huske, pastor at St. Paul's, followed Shacklett's example, contributing five dollars, and John Depinet, a tenor who sang with Burleigh at the cathedral concert, also donated five dollars. The name of Elizabeth Russell, at whose home Burleigh had heard Rafael Joseffy and Teresa Carreno play, does not appear on the lists, but the anonymous contribution of twenty-five dollars given to John Elmendorf may have come from her. Some women contributed, whether their husbands did or not. The outpouring of support for Burleigh was remarkable, both in the number of donations and in their total. The subscription lists show that at least $466.50 was pledged, which, according to some calculations, translates in 2004 terms to nearly $10,000. (5) The collection of subscriptions continued for several days after Burleigh left for New York City on the January 20 midnight train ("Off to New York" 1892).

The paragraphs typed at the top of Charles Allis's subscription list echo the newspaper tributes:

   We, the undersigned, hereby subscribe and pay the amounts set
   opposite our names respectively, towards a fund now being raised for
   Mr. HARRY T. BURLEIGH of this city, as a testimonial of appreciation
   from his friends and acquaintances for the many favors gratuitously
   conferred by him in singing at funerals, entertainments, and
   concerts, etc. etc., and for the benefit of churches, societies and
   other associations in the city.

      While Harry could get a living as a book-keeper, stenographer and
   typewriter no one will question his commendable ambition to continue
   the study of music and under the best masters to train a voice so
   seldom equaled in this country.

      Out of some 250 applications he was one of four who have been
   given free scholarships, (tuition only) [sic] during a term of five
   years if desired at the National Conservatory of Music, 126 and 128
   East 17th St. New York City. During his musical studies he will only
   have occasional opportunities to earn money for his own support and
   a little assistance now from his Erie friends will do him more good
   than many times the amount later on. With his clerical education,
   his bass viol and a well trained voice he will be well equipped for
   life.

The number of Burleigh's competitors for a tuition scholarship had grown from 200 to 250 in the public report, and Burleigh had attained a local celebrity that even his mother and his aunt Louise, who had most strongly encouraged his ambitions, might not have anticipated. They and his stepfather, John Elmendorf, must have shared a great sense of satisfaction and excitement as they saw Burleigh off on the train for New York, where he would establish his multifaceted career as a professional singer, composer, music editor, and arranger of spirituals, not as a novice but continuing a public career that had been well established in northwestern Pennsylvania, eastern Ohio, and northwestern New York.

APPENDIX

Burleigh's Erie Repertoire 1881-1891

The following information is gathered from newspaper microfilms, primarily the Erie Morning Dispatch and the Cleveland Gazette. An effort has been made to check the accuracy of the listed titles and composers, where given. As can be seen, in the earlier years, titles and composers of songs are not given, and in later years, this information is sometimes incomplete.

Date Performed   Composer                    Title

Vocal Solo

1881/06/10       Wesley, Charles             "Jesus, Lover
                                             of My Soul"

1884/01/19       unnamed                     unnamed

1885/02/17       unnamed                     "The Day"

1885/04/10       unnamed                     unnamed

1885/05/08       unnamed                     unnamed

1885/09/30       unnamed                     unnamed

1886/01/22       unnamed                     unnamed

1886/06/22       unnamed                     unnamed

1886/08/09       Buck, Dudley                "Come Where
                                             the Lindens Bloom"

1886/08/09       Buck, Dudley?               "When the Flowing
                                             Tide Comes In"

1886/12/30       unnamed                     unnamed

1887/01/04       unnamed                     unnamed

1887/01/17       unnamed                     unnamed

1887/04/15       unnamed                     unnamed

1887/04/23       unnamed                     unnamed

1887/05/13       unnamed                     unnamed

1887/10/13       Molloy, James L.            "The Vagabond"
                                             Republic Hall

1887/11/15       unnamed                     unnamed

1887/11/17       unnamed                     unnamed

1887/12/09       unnamed                     unnamed

1888/01/02       unnamed                     unnamed

1888/01/21       unnamed                     unnamed

1888/02/29       unnamed                     unnamed

1888/04/05       unnamed                     unnamed

1889/02/21       unnamed                     unnamed

1889/05/25       Adams                       "The Abbott"

1889/06/12       Bizet, Georges              "Toreado Song," Carmen

1889/06/13       unnamed                     unnamed

1889/06/17       Gounod, Charles             "She Alone Charmeth
                                             My Sadness," Irene

1889/09/05       Denze                       "Come to Me"

1889/10/04       Ambrose, R. S.              "One Sweetly
                                             Solemn Thought"

1889/10/22       Bischoff, J. W.             "Good Night,
                                             Sweet Dreams"

1889/10/22       Buck, Dudley, arr.          "Annie Laurie"

1890/02/08       unnamed                     unnamed

1890/03/11       unnamed                     unnamed

1890/03/19       unnamed                     unnamed

1890/03/19       unnamed                     unnamed

1890/03/22       unnamed                     unnamed

1890/03/24       unnamed                     unnamed

1890/04/11       unnamed                     unnamed

1890/05/01       Lassen, Eduard              "Thine Eyes So
                                             Blue and Tender"

1890/05/29       Mattei, Tito                "O Patria"
                                             ("My Native Land")
                                             (Canzone)

1890/05/29       Meyer-Helmund, Erik         "The Daily Question"

1890/05/29       Pinsuti, Ciro Ercole        "The Warrior"

1890/06/05       unnamed                     unnamed

1890/06/12       unnamed                     role of Herod,
                                             Bethlehem

1890/06/12       unnamed                     unnamed

1890/06/21       unnamed                     unnamed

1890/08/11       unnamed                     unnamed

1890/09/05       H. Trotere                  "In Old Madrid"

1890/09/25       Randegger,                  "The Mariner's Home
                 Alberto                     Is the Sea"

1890/10/11       Randegger,                  "The Mariner's Home
                 Alberto                     Is the Sea"

1890/10/20       Molloy, James L.            "Love's Old Sweet
                                             Song"

1890/10/22       MacCaum, Hamish             "O Mistress Mine"

1890/10/22       Mattei, Tito                "Slumber Song"

1890/10/22       Pinsuti, Ciro Ercole        "Eldorado"

1890/10/22       Pinsuti, Ciro Ercole        "There Is Music
                                             by the River"

1890/10/22       Schumann, Robert            "The Two Grenediers"

1890/10/22       MacCaum, Hamish             "O Mistress Mine"

1890/10/22       Mattei, Tito                "Slumber Song"

1890/10/22       Pinsuiti, Ciro Ercole       "Eldorado"

1890/10/22       Pinsuti, Ciro Ercole        "There Is Music
                                             by the River"

1890/10/22       Schumann, Robert            "The Two Grenediers"

1890/10/29       unnamed                     unnamed

1890/11/04       unnamed                     unnamed

1890/11/07       unnamed                     unnamed

1890/11/07       unnamed                     unnamed

1890/11/17       Riegg, Carl                 "'Tis I Alone Can Tell"

1890/11/18       unnamed                     unnamed

1890/11/29       Spencer                     "Let All Obey"

1890/12/15       unnamed                     "A Summer Night"

1891/01/15       unnamed                     unnamed

1891/05/29       unnamed                     unnamed

1891/06/21       unnamed                     unnamed

1891/06/29       Mattei, Tito                "O Patria" ("My Native
                                             Land") (Canzone)

1891/06/29       unnamed                     unnamed

1891/07/29       unnamed                     "Isrofel"

1891/10/07       unnamed                     unnamed

1891/10/19       unnamed; bass solo in       "The City Hath No
                 anthem                      Need of the Sun"

1891/10/31       Pinsuti, Ciro Ercole        "I Fear No Foe"

1891/11/04       unnamed                     unnamed

1891/12/04       unnamed                     unnamed

1891/12/15       Mattei, Tito                "O Patria" ("My Native
                                             Land") (Canzone)

1891/12/17       unnamed                     unnamed

Vocal Duets

1889/06/12       Bellini, Vincenzo           duet from Il Puritani

1889/06/13       Bellini, Vincenzo           duet from Il Puritani

1890/04/29       unnamed                     unnamed

1890/10/22       Glover, Stephen             "I Heard a Voice in
                                             the Tranquil Night"

1890/10/22       Glover, Stephen             "I Heard a Voice in
                                             the Tranquil Night"

1890/11/12       unnamed                     unnamed

1891/05/--       unnamed                     unnamed

1891/05/09       unnamed                     unnamed

Vocal Quartets

1881/06/10       unnamed                     "Beautiful Sunset"

1883/11/21       Barnaby, Joseph             "Sweet and Low"

1885/10/11       unnamed                     unnamed

1886/01/20       unnamed                     unnamed

1887/04/22       unnamed                     unnamed

1888/12/02       unnamed                     unnamed

1889/03/10       unnamed                     unnamed

1889/05/30       unnamed                     "Strew Flowers on
                                             Our Soldiers' Graves"

1889/05/30       Ormsby, O. B./              "Cover Them Over with
                 Will Carleton               Beautiful Flowers"

1889/05/30       unnamed                     "They Are Sleeping"

1889/06/12       Storch                      "Night Witchery"

1889/06/12       Hatton                      "Sailor's Song"

1889/06/13       unnamed                     unnamed

1889/06/17       Geible                      "Annie Laurie"

1889/10/07       Pinsuti, Ciro Ercole        "The Merry World Is Free"

1889/10/07       Pinsuti, Ciro Ercole        "Lovely Spring"

1889/11/26       unnamed                     unnamed

1889/12/18       unnamed                     unnamed

1890/08/08       unnamed                     unnamed

1890/08/11       unnamed                     unnamed

1890/09/25       unnamed                     unnamed

1890/10/22       Faning, Eaton               "Moonlight"

1890/10/22       Kucken, F.                  "There's One That
                                             I Love Dearly"

1890/10/22       Leslie, Henry David         "Lullaby of Life"

1890/11/20       unnamed                     "Good Night"

1891/02/24       Cowen, Frederic Hymen       Bridal Chorus from
                                             Rose Maiden

1891/06/29       Garett                      "O, My Love's Like a
                                             Red, Red Rose"

1891/06/29       MacCuna                     "Hark Forward"

1891/12/15       Sprague, N. B./             "A Catastrophe"
                 Charles Shelton

1891/12/25       Weber                       Jubilee Mass

Guitar

1885/03/25       unnamed                     unnamed

1885/04/17       unnamed                     unnamed

1885/05/08       unnamed                     unnamed

1885/05/25       unnamed                     unnamed

1885/07/24       unnamed                     unnamed

1885/09/30       unnamed                     unnamed

1887/01/04       unnamed                     unnamed

Date Performed   Venue                       Event

Vocal Solo

1881/06/10       Grace Mission               Entertainment; family
                                             quartet: Eva, Ada,
                                             Harry, Reggie

1884/01/19       Erie High School            Literary Society

1885/02/17       Erie High School            Washington's Birthday
                                             Celebration

1885/04/10       Clark's College             Literary Society

1885/05/08       Clark's College             Literary Society

1885/09/30       Clark's College             Literary Society

1886/01/22       Clark's College             Literary Society

1886/06/22       Home of Colonel             Cross and Crown benefit
                 J. Ross Thompson

1886/08/09       Grace Mission               Cross and Crown benefit

1886/08/09       Grace Mission               Cross and Crown benefit

1886/12/30       C.L.S. Circle
                 (full name unknown)

1887/01/04       unnamed

1887/01/17       C.L.S. Circle
                 (full name unknown)

1887/04/15       Home of Prof. H. C.         Reception
                 and Mrs. Clark

1887/04/23       First Baptist Church

1887/05/13       Grand Army of the           Select Knights, Erie
                 Republic Hall               Legion, A.C.U.W.

1887/10/13       Grand Army of the           St. James A.M.E. Sunday
                                             School Program

1887/11/15       Grand Army of the           Cross and Crown benefit
                 Republic Hall

1887/11/17       Strong Vincent              W.E.C. concert, Women's
                 Post Hall                   Relief Corp

1887/12/09       Y.M.C.A.                    Young Men's Debating
                                             Society

1888/01/02       Y.M.C.A.                    Y.M.C.A. Reception

1888/01/21       Y.M.C.A.                    Junior Y.M.C.A.

1888/02/29       Y.M.C.A.                    Y.M.C.A. Quarterly
                                             Meeting

1888/04/05       Grand Army of the           U.S. Grant Circle Loyal
                 Republic Hall               Ladies' League, auxiliary
                                             of G.A.R. Post 364

1889/02/21       unnamed                     Agassiz Association
                                             meeting

1889/05/25       T. P. Burton residence      Musical soiree

1889/06/12                                   Orpheus Society
                                             closing concert

1889/06/13       Park Opera House            Johnstown Flood
                                             Fund benefit

1889/06/17       Park Opera House            Music festival

1889/09/05       Tenth Street Methodist
                 Episcopal Church

1889/10/04       St. Paul Cathedral          Sunday service

1889/10/22       Madrigal Club benefit       Central Presbyterian
                                             organ fund

1889/10/22       Madrigal Club benefit       Central Presbyterian
                                             organ fund

1890/02/08       First Presbyterian          Entertainment
                 Church

1890/03/11       Grand Army of the           Equitable aid
                 Republic Hall

1890/03/19       Riblet Hall                 Knoll's Orchestra

1890/03/19       Tenth Street Methodist
                 Episcopal Church

1890/03/22       Episcopal Cathedral
                 of St. Paul

1890/03/24       Home of Mrs.                Women's Christian
                 Hubbell                     Temperance Union meeting

1890/04/11       Soldiers' and               Anniversary of
                 Sailors' Home               Lee's surrender

1890/05/01       First Presbyterian          Strawberry Festival
                 Church

1890/05/29       St. John's Episcopal        Y.P.S. (Young
                 Church, Cleveland           People's Service?)

1890/05/29       St. John's Episcopal        Y.P.S. (Young
                 Church, Cleveland           People's Service?)

1890/05/29       St. John's Episcopal        Y.P.S. (Young
                 Church, Cleveland           People's Service?)

1890/06/05       Tabernacle

1890/06/12       Grand River Institute,
                 Austinburg, Ohio

1890/06/12       Grand River Institute,
                 Austinburg, Ohio

1890/06/21       Y.M.C.A.                    Young Men's
                                             Debating Society

1890/08/11       Y.M.C.A.

1890/09/05       Central Presbyterian
                 Church parlors

1890/09/25       Central Presbyterian
                 Church parlors

1890/10/11       St. James African           Literary entertainment
                 Methodist Episcopal
                 Church

1890/10/20       Liedertafel Hall            Eva McCoy piano recital,
                                             Pythagoris Commandery,
                                             no. 11, K.T. (Knights
                                             Templar)

1890/10/22       Madrigal Club benefit       Central Presbyterian
                                             organ fund

1890/10/22       Madrigal Club benefit       Central Presbyterian
                                             organ fund

1890/10/22       Madrigal Club benefit       Central Presbyterian
                                             organ fund

1890/10/22       Madrigal Club benefit       Central Presbyterian
                                             organ fund

1890/10/22       Methodist Episcopal         Central Presbyterian
                 Church, Wayne St.           organ fund

1890/10/22       Madrigal Club benefit       Central Presbyterian
                                             organ fund

1890/10/22       Madrigal Club benefit       Central Presbyterian
                                             organ fund

1890/10/22       Madrigal Club benefit       Central Presbyterian
                                             organ fund

1890/10/22       Madrigal Club benefit       Central Presbyterian
                                             organ fund

1890/10/22       Methodist Episcopal         Central Presbyterian
                 Church, Wayne St.           organ fund

1890/10/29       Eva McCoy and pupils        Unitarian Universalist
                 recital                     Church

1890/11/04       Y.M.C.A.                    Young Men's Debating
                                             Society

1890/11/07       First Christian Church      Ladies of the First
                                             Christian Church

1890/11/07       First Christian Church      Ladies of the First
                                             Christian Church

1890/11/17       Tabernacle                  St. Paul's Church
                                             Choir concert

1890/11/18       Hebrew Temple               Young ladies'
                                             entertainment

1890/11/29       Liedertafel Hall            Eva McCoy piano recital,
                                             Pythagoris Commandery,
                                             no. 11, K.T. (Knights
                                             Templar)

1890/12/15       Y.M.C.A.                    New Year's program

1891/01/15       Gabel's Hall                Providence Union E.A.U.

1891/05/29       St. Philip's Church,
                 Buffalo

1891/06/21       First Presbyterian          Entertainment
                 Church

1891/06/29       First Presbyterian
                 Church

1891/06/29       First Presbyterian
                 Church parlors

1891/07/29       Chestnut Street
                 Presbyterian Church

1891/10/07       Park Presbyterian Church

1891/10/19       First Presbyterian          Memorial service, Mrs.
                 Church                      Jos. Johnston

1891/10/31       private home                with Miss May M. Brown
                                             of Cleveland

1891/11/04       Y.M.C.A.                    Young Men's Debating
                                             Society

1891/12/04       Jarecki's Hall              Gem City Union

1891/12/15       St. Peter's Cathedral       Gala Concert

1891/12/17       Maennerchor Hall            Order of Railway
                                             Conductors, Fiftieth
                                             Anniversary

Vocal Duets

1889/06/12       Park Opera House            Johnstown Flood
                                             Fund benefit

1889/06/13       Tabernacle                  St. Paul's Choir concert

1890/04/29       Tenth Street Methodist
                 Episcopal Church

1890/10/22       Madrigal Club benefit       Central Presbyterian
                                             organ fund

1890/10/22       Central Presbyterian
                 Church parlors

1890/11/12       Simpson Methodist           First Fair
                 Episcopal Church

1891/05/--       Cleveland                   Excelsior Cornet
                                             Band concert

1891/05/09       Girard, Pennsylvania        Girard High School
                                             Commencement

Vocal Quartets

1881/06/10       Grace Mission               Entertainment

1883/11/21       Grand Army Hall             St. James Ladies
                                             supper and concert

1885/10/11       Episcopal Cathedral
                 of St. Paul

1886/01/20       Episcopal Church,
                 Waterford, Pennsylvania

1887/04/22       First Baptist Church        Fiftieth anniversary

1888/12/02       Y.M.C.A.

1889/03/10       Park Church Mission         Orpheus Society
                                             closing concert

1889/05/30       Soldiers' and Sailors'      Johnstown Flood
                 Home                        Fund benefit

1889/05/30       Soldiers' and Sailors'      Music Festival
                 Home

1889/05/30       Soldiers' and Sailors'
                 Home

1889/06/12       unnamed                     Orpheus Society
                                             closing concert

1889/06/12       unnamed

1889/06/13       Park Opera House            Pythagoris Commandery,
                                             no. 11, Knights Templar

1889/06/17       Park Opera House

1889/10/07       Methodist Episcopal         Short Family benefit
                 Church, Wayne Street

1889/10/07       Methodist Episcopal
                 Church, Wayne Street

1889/11/26       Y.M.C.A.

1889/12/18       Himrod Mission

1890/08/08       Central Opera House

1890/08/11       Y.M.C.A.                    Ladies' Auxiliary

1890/09/25       Central Presbyterian
                 Church parlors

1890/10/22       Madrigal Club benefit       Central Presbyterian
                                             organ fund

1890/10/22       Madrigal Club benefit       Central Presbyterian
                                             organ fund

1890/10/22       Madrigal Club benefit       Central Presbyterian
                                             organ fund

1890/11/20       Liedertafel Hall

1891/02/24       First Methodist Episcopal
                 Church

1891/06/29       First Presbyterian Church

1891/06/29       First Presbyterian Church

1891/12/15       St. Peter's Cathedral

1891/12/25       St. Patrick's               Christmas Day
                 Pro-Cathedral

Guitar

1885/03/25       Y.M.C.A.                    Longfellow Day program

1885/04/17       Y.M.C.A.                    Junior Y.M.C.A.

1885/05/08       Clark's College             Literary Society

1885/05/25       C.L.S. Circle               Longfellow Day program

1885/07/24       Y.M.C.A.                    Railroad Men meeting

1885/09/30       Clark's College             Literary Society

1887/01/04       unnamed                     unnamed

REFERENCES

The A.M.E. entertainment. 1887. Erie Morning Dispatch October 14: 4.

Abbott, A. Lynn. 1996. "Do thyself-a no harm": The jubilee singing phenomenon and the "Only Original New Orleans University Singers." American Music Research Journal 6: 1-47.

Aborn, Merton Robert. 1965. The influence on American musical cultures of Dvorak's sojourn in America. Ph.D. diss., Indiana University.

Advertisement. 1887. Fisk Jubilee Singers. Erie Morning Dispatch October 8: 5.

Another "grand success." 1887. Cleveland Gazette May 21: 1.

At the Grace Mission--Closing entertainment of the season last evening. 1886. Erie Morning Dispatch August 11: 4.

At the National Conservatory of Music. 1891. Cleveland Gazette February 21: 3.

A benefit concert. 1892. Erie Morning Dispatch January 18: 3.

Bergen Star concert program. 1894. Philadelphia Library Company. Courtesty of Eileen Southern.

Boz. 1883. Erie jottings. Cleveland Gazette November 24: 3.

Breakfast table gossip. 1887. Erie Morning Dispatch October 8: 8.

A brilliant success. 1891. Erie Morning Dispatch December 16: 5.

Burleigh, Harry T. 1903. Letter to Booker T. Washington, July 18. Booker T. Washington Papers, Library of Congress.

The Burleigh subscription. 1892. Erie Morning Dispatch January 21: 3.

The Cathedral concert. 1891. Erie Daily Times December 16: 1.

Caitlan, Henry. 1859. Advertisement for the True American. 1859-60 Erie City directory for the city of Erie, 37-38. Erie, Pa.: H. W. Hulbert.

Charlton, Melville. 1932. Harry 32 Burleigh. Dunbar News, January 22. Burleigh Family Papers.

Christian Church entertainment. 1890. Erie Morning Dispatch November 7: 5.

Christmas Day--Pro-Cathedral. 1891. Erie Morning Dispatch December 25: 5.

Church Xmas services. At the Pro-Cathedral. 1891. Erie Daily Times December 24: 1.

City chit-chat. 1892. Erie Morning Dispatch January 19: 7.

City items--Fine concerts this evening at the new M.E. Church on Wayne Street. 1889. Erie Morning Dispatch October 7: 8.

Clark's College Literary. 1885. Erie Morning Dispatch May 8: 4.

Cleveland Gazette. 1887. October 8: 2.

Commencement day--Closing exercises of the high school class of '87 at the Opera House. 1887. Erie Morning Dispatch June 23: 1, 3.

Concert and social--Pythagoris Commandery no. 11, K. T., give a pleasant entertainment at Leidertafel [sic] Hall. 1890. Erie Morning Dispatch November 20: 5.

Concert at the Cathedral. 1891. Erie Evening Herald December 14: 7.

A crayon artist--On "The Gazette" staff--Personal--The "Blue Veins" read it. 1891. Cleveland Gazette May 19: 1.

Cross and Crown entertainment. 1886. Erie Morning Dispatch June 22: 4.

Decoration day--At the home. 1889. Erie Morning Dispatch May 30: 5.

Doings of the race. 1892. Cleveland Gazette October 1: 1.

Du Bois, W.E.B. [1903] 1982. The souls of black folk. New York: New American Library.

Economic History Services Web site. What is its relative value in U.S. dollars? http://eh.net/hmit/compare/ (accessed January 29, 2006).

Educated in Europe. 1891. Cleveland Gazette October 10: 1.

Entertainment and banquet--Of Hale Circle. 1887. Erie Morning Dispatch June 22: 4.

Erie, Pa., echoes. 1892. Cleveland Gazette August 20: 2.

Erie, Pa., topics. 1892. Cleveland Gazette January 9: 2.

Finck, Henry T. 1971. My adventures in the golden age of music. New York: Funk and Wagnalls, 1926. Reprint, New York: Da Capo Press.

The first fair. 1890. Erie Morning Dispatch November 12: 8.

For Cross and Crown Church. 1886. Erie Morning Dispatch August 9: 1.

For the flood fund. 1889. Erie Morning Dispatch June 12: 5.

From Bystander. A benefit for Harry Burleigh. 1892. Erie Evening Herald January 16: 4.

From Bystander. The Burleigh contribution. 1892. Erie Evening Herald January 23: 7.

"Gloria in Excelsis." At the Pro-Cathedral. 1891. Erie Evening Herald December 24: 2.

A good entertainment. 1890. Erie Morning Dispatch February 8: 8.

Grace Mission entertainment. 1881. Erie Morning Dispatch June 10: 3.

A grand success. 1890. Erie Morning Dispatch March 29: 8.

Grand encampment concert. [1892] 1976. Washington Bee September 3; reprinted in Black Perspective in Music 4 (July 1976): 196.

Gymnasium benefit concert. 1891. Erie Morning Dispatch April 29: 6.

Half a century--The fiftieth anniversary of Himrod Mission to be celebrated on Sunday. 1889. Erie Morning Dispatch December 18: 7.

The Hampton Singers to-night. 1875. Erie Morning Dispatch April 20: 4.

Harry Burleigh, tenor [sic], is son of former slave. 1931. Erie Dispatch-Herald April 10: 25.

His little hatchet--How the high school will celebrate at the birthday of the truthful George. 1885. Erie Morning Dispatch February 17: 4.

In the opera Faust. 1893. Cleveland Gazette February 11: 2.

Interesting services at St. Paul's. 1890. Erie Morning Dispatch March 22: 6.

James, Karen. 2003. Burleigh Society Web site. http://www.burleighsociety.org.

The Jubilee concert. 1888. Erie Morning Dispatch December 15: 7.

The Jubilee Singers' concert. 1888. Erie Morning Dispatch May 10: 4.

Junior Y.M.C.A.--A successful reception given last evening. 1885. Erie Morning Dispatch April 18: 3.

Kramer, A. Walter. 1916. H. T. Burleigh: Composer by divine right and the American Coleridge-Taylor. Musical America (April 29): 25.

The ladies receive. How New Year's Day was observed in Erie by the Y.M.C.A. 1887. Erie Morning Dispatch January 4: 4.

Last night's concert. 1887. Erie Morning Dispatch April 23: 4.

Last of the season. 1889. Erie Morning Dispatch June 12: 6.

Late local briefs. 1890. Erie Morning Dispatch March 10: 8.

The late Mrs. Jos. Johnstone--Memorial service last evening at the First Presbyterian Church. 1891. Erie Evening Herald October 19: 7.

Literary entertainment to be given Friday evening, at Clark's College. 1885. Erie Morning Dispatch October 29: 4.

Local briefs. 1891. Erie Evening Herald September 22: 7.

Local briefs. 1892. Erie Evening Herald January 20: 7.

Local department. 1890. Cleveland Gazette April 18: 3.

Local department. 1891. Cleveland Gazette September 26: 3.

Local department. 1891. Cleveland Gazette October 3: 3.

Local department. 1892. Cleveland Gazette January 9: 3.

Local department. 1892. Cleveland Gazette January 23: 3.

Longfellow Day. 1885. Erie Morning Dispatch March 3: 4.

Madrigal Club at the Tabernacle. 1890. Erie Morning Dispatch October 22: 7.

Merited success. 1892. Erie Morning Dispatch January 15: 5.

Mr. Burleigh's benefit. 1892. Erie Morning Dispatch January 20: 4.

Musical soiree. 1889. Erie Morning Dispatch May 25: 8.

News in brief. 1891. Erie Daily Times December 11: 4.

Not time enough for a benefit. 1892. Erie Evening Herald January 18: 7.

An obituary notice--Interesting personal mention. 1891. Cleveland Gazette October 31: 2.

Off to New York. 1892. Erie Morning Dispatch January 21: 5.

Park Opera House--Campanini in opera. 1889. Erie Morning Dispatch September 25: 6.

Payne, Daniel A. 1968a. Music and the fine arts. In History of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, 1: 452-459, edited by Charles S. Smith. Nashville, Tenn.: House of the A.M.E. Sunday-school union, 1891. New York: Johnson Reprint.

--. 1968b. Recollections of seventy years. 1888. New York: Arno Press.

Personal and church notes. 1890. Cleveland Gazette October 11: 1.

Programme. 1890. Erie Morning Dispatch September 25: 5.

A promising young baritone. 1889. Cleveland Gazette October 5: 1.

Public meeting--Of the Young Men's Debating Society. 1887. Erie Morning Dispatch.

The race problem. 1891. Erie Morning Dispatch December 30: 5.

Slave songs of the South. 1875. Erie Morning Dispatch April 18: 4.

Smith, H. C. 1892. In New York City--Mr. Harry T. Burleigh and the Toussaint L'Ouverture Club both credits to the race. Cleveland Gazette November 19: 3.

Snyder, Jean E. 1992. Harry T. Burleigh and the creative use of bi-musicality: A study of an African-American composer and the American art song. Ph.D. diss., University of Pittsburgh.

Students well entertained. 1889. Erie Morning Dispatch April 5: 5.

The surpliced choir. 1885. Erie Morning Dispatch October 12: 3.

Table talk. 1892. Erie Evening Herald January 22: 5.

Talbert testimonial. 1890. Cleveland Gazette May 30: 2.

Testimonial to Harry Burleigh. 1892. Erie Evening Herald January 16: 7.

Thacker. 1887. Erie's news. Cleveland Gazette October 1: 3.

Thursday's concert. 1889. Erie Morning Dispatch June 10: 5.

The veterans rejoice. 1890. Erie Morning Dispatch April 11: 6.

Walton, Lester A. 1974. Harry T. Burleigh honored to-day at St. George's (March 30, 1924). Reprinted in Black Perspective in Music 2 (Spring): 80-83. (Original clipping, dated March 30, 1924, held at the Schomburg Libary, New York.)

Ward, Andrew. 2000. Dark midnight when I rise: The story of the Jubilee Singers who introduced the world to the music of black America. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Washington's birthday celebrated at the people's college. 1886. Erie Morning Dispatch February 20: 3.

White, Lucien H. 1927. Music and the stage. New York Age November 12: 6.

(1.) The undated Musical Courier article gives Brierly's age as seventy-two. Erie census records cite his birthdate as 1842, but a survey of the 1913-1915 Musical Courier has not yet yielded the exact citation for the article.

(2.) Despite his virgorous objection to Dvorfik's recommendations for an American school of music, when he heard Burleigh sing the spirituals, MacDowell urged him to arrange them so that any singer could sing them. Burleigh reported that when he showed MacDowell an early sketch of "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot," the composer helped him "increase the sophistication" of his arrangement (White 1927, 6).

(3.) This summarizes numerous references in the "Local Department" column, which appears on page 3 of the Gazette: January 4, 1890; May 24, 1890; August 23, 1890; August 30, 1890; September 20, 1890; September 27, 1890.

(4.) May M. Brown later trained in medicine at the Cleveland University of Medicine and Surgery, graduating in March 1894 (Cleveland Gazette, March 31, 1894), but died shortly after entering practice in Nashville, Tennessee.

(5.) This caculation comes from the Economic History Services Web site.