An American Musical Dynasty: A Biography of the Wolle Family of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

"For the span of one hundred years, Peter, Theodore, and J. Fred. Wolle formed an American musical dynasty. While each musician was rooted in the Moravian musical tradition, particularly through the innovations of The Bach Choir of Bethlehem, their influence extended beyond the Moravian Church and became a major force in Bach performance in America. The early characterization of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania as the American Bayreuth remains an apt one to this day." "The musical tradition that shaped these musicians was centered in Nazareth (1740) and Bethlehem (1742), the first Moravian communities founded in Pennsylvania. In addition to schools for young children, the Moravians established academies for young men in Nazareth and for young women in Bethlehem. These academies became well known for their excellence. Music was central in both schools, and each had faculties of fine musicians trained in Europe who transplanted European musical excellence to American soil. As a result, during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, each academy provided a music education unsurpassed in America. In addition, each institution was closely attached to the vital music-making that pervaded all Moravian communities. Thus, this deep reverence for music in Nazareth and Bethlehem nourished and trained many fine musicians. For generations members of the same families sang, played musical instruments, and composed sacred music together." "This book is also about Moravian cultural patterns that produced so many musically productive men, women, and children who still shape life in the city of Bethlehem."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved