There was a very active musical life in the South during the eighteenth century, and it was much more diffused than in the Middle or New England colonies. A peculiar feature of the public concerts in the South was the frequency with which amateurs appeared as performers. We find the vocal part in one concert was taken by 'a gentleman who does it merely to oblige on this occasion.' In the advertisement of another we read that 'the gentlemen who are the best Performers, both in Town and Country, are so obliging as to assist ... on this Occasion.' Again we notice the announcement of a 'Concert of Vocal and Instrumental Musick to be performed by Gentlemen of the place, for the entertainment of all lovers of Harmony.' Such announcements were common. Of course, amateurs sometimes took part in concerts in the North, especially before the Revolution. As a rule, they were gentlemen of the king's army and navy, among whom the practice of music seems to have been sedulously cultivated. But it would appear that the proportion of practical amateur musicians was much greater in the South than elsewhere in America, and that fact alone speaks volumes for the culture of the Old Dominion.
Charleston was beyond doubt the leading Southern city in musical matters. We know definitely that public concerts were given there as early as 1732, and it is quite probable that they were given earlier. In 1762 was formed the St. Cæcilia Society,[20] an organization devoted to the cultivation of the best in music. It was the first musical society formed in America. The following program, given on the 6th March, 1794, under its patronage, will illustrate the taste of the people of Charleston:
Act 1st
Sinfonie Pleyel
Song, Mr. Chambers
Quartett Violin Pleyel
Song, Mr. Clifford
Overture Gretrie[?]
Act 2nd
Grand Overture (la Chasse) Gossec
Song, Mr. West
Sonata Pianoforte, Rondo, by Mrs. Sully
Duett, Mr. Chambers and Mrs. Chambers
Act 3d
Grand Overture Haydn
Song, Mr. Chambers
Concerto Violin, by Mr. Petit Viotti
Glee, Mr. Chambers, Mrs. Chambers and Mr. West.
It is noteworthy to find a symphony of Mozart on a program of March 9, 1797.
It would appear that the citizens of Baltimore were not quite so refined in their musical taste as their neighbors in Carolina. Nevertheless they enjoyed an active musical life. Concerts of fair quality were common enough, and we read also of such interesting things as the production in English of Pergolesi's Serva Padrona in 1790.[21]