Sorry, hippies. Somebody beat you to it.

Justin Holland (1819-1887), was a civil-rights activist, moving around the same circles as Frederic Douglass. He worked with whites to free slaves in the Underground Railroad. Oh yeah, and he also played a mean guitar.

He became nationally known for his guitar method books – his approach to teaching was considered very conservative for the time (sorry, hippies; I guess he was a square). And, while not a composer himself, he was famous for arranging famous works of other composers, including this one, which includes some popular tunes from Carl Maria von Weber‘s opera, Oberon.

The end of the 19th century saw a sudden explosion of interest in folk music, especially of non-Western-European cultures. From the spicy Spanish-Gypsy flavor of Bizet‘s Carmen, through the Hungarian dances of Liszt and Brahms, to the misty temples of Debussy‘s Pagodas, audiences soaked up music that they had never heard before.

Harry T. Burleigh was an African-American musician who helped to bring the folk music and spirituals of African-Americans to the concert stage. He achieved fame as a singer and arranger in New York, where he met and sang for Dvořák. It is said that Burleigh’s singing influenced Dvořák’s “New World” Symphony.

This cheerful little piece for violin and piano is a perfect example of Burleigh’s skill at blending African-American melodies and rhythm with the European style of composition.

When enjoying art, music, literature, etc., it’s so easy to get fixated on big names – the Picassos, Beethovens, or Dickens (Dickenses?). Over-indulgence of these big names often means little gems get overlooked. José Silvestre White Lafitte was an Afro-Cuban virtuoso violinist who left us only a few composed works. He lived a long life, traveled the world, and received accolades for his violin playing. Here is his “La Bella Cubana”, a habanera, which (likely) captures the sound of 19th century Cuba in a more authentic way than some more famous 20th century American examples.

The music is great. The video, however, changes camera angles  WAY too often. The piece ends at 5:45, and after that it’s a fade-out replay.