J. C. Miiller & W. C. Peters at Economy: A Reappraisal

NEW INFORMATION about some communal songs composed for George Rapp's Harmony Society before 1832 has been found.This information, which is presented and discussed here, has prompted me to re-examine scores and documents at Economy, the third and final home of the Harmony Society, and to reassess my earlier opinions about the significance to the Harmonists of the work of the two persons most active as composers there between 1827 and 1832.Before 1832, the person in charge of music in the Harmony Society was the physician Johann Christoph Muller (1777-1845).Sometime around 1827, a young musician named William Cumming Peters (1805-1866), who was then living in Pittsburgh, was hired to assist Muller.We can only conjecture about why this was done.Perhaps when the Society was in Butler County, Pennsylvania (1805-1814), few musically sophisticated visitors came to the community.The Society was also primarily an agrarian one in Indiana (1815-1825), whereas at Economy (1825-1906) it became noted for manufacturing.This may have influenced the way music was viewed by the Harmonist leaders, Muller in particular; in any event, a more sophisticated musical image seemed important to them at Economy.