SOUNDING CHILDHOOD by Alisa Clapp-Itnyre
Welcome to SOUNDING CHILDHOOD!
A website devoted to 19th-century children's musicChildren were just as musical as adults during the 19th century, but little has been done to explore their music. Neither was there the capability nor interest in recording nineteenth-century children's songs or their singing.
Yet music for Victorian children was very diverse and captivating. Some of it was used for play (taught by adults, adapted by children, like nursery rhymes and folksongs), much of it was taught in church and school (hymns and school songs), and Christmas carols were sung extensively during the holidays. Some songs were even used politically, like patriotic numbers and those for the animal-rights movement (Bands of Mercy songs).
This academic website attempts to fill this musical void for educational and historical purposes, to capture these songs, some of which haven't been heard for over 120 years. It stems from my research and publications focused on Victorian children's music, and is part of the Sounding Victorian collaborative (est. Dr. Phyllis Weliver, 2016). Since 2015, and in collaboration with colleagues at my institution, Indiana University East, in Richmond, Indiana, I have organized 3 camps, 2 short-term choirs, and now a permanent choir (the Community Choristers) for young people to learn these older songs so that we can hear what children in the 19th and early 20th centuries were singing. It is organized by SEVEN musical genres (go HERE to read how I have organized them).
I hope you will enjoy this re-created musical experience, which will allow you to experience the sounds of childhood from another era. As you see by the pictures, even our contemporary children relish re-visiting the Victorian past: feigning photographic seriousness, dressing in period clothes, and of course singing these engaging songs! And I thank them for learning them!
Dr. Alisa Clapp-Itnyre
Professor of English
Indiana University East
Richmond, IN
About the Author and List of Publications
Email me with any questions! aclappit@iu.edu