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The assassination of Abraham Lincoln in 1865 threw much of the war-weary American nation in to deep mourning. How did people respond to and deal with their grief?
This event will explore profound questions about popular memorialization of Abraham Lincoln after his assassination in 1865, as well as the differences found in musical memorials, letters, diaries, and press accounts. James M. Cornelius, curator of the Lincoln collection at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, and Thomas Kernan, assistant professor of music history at Roosevelt University, will engage in a moderated discussion about public and private responses to Lincoln's death. Dr. Kernan will play excerpts of some musical responses as examples, as the two delve into the context and sources to convey the fascinating issues at play in 1865 letters and music. D. Bradford Hunt, Newberry Vice President for Research and Academic Programs, will moderate the discussion.
Download a PDF flyer for this program to post and distribute, and explore related Newberry collection materials. Also see the full inventory of the Newberry's James Francis Driscoll Collection of American Sheet Music.
Newberry staff and tonight's speakers collaborated with WFMT Radio Network on "Lincoln in Music and Letters," an hour-long radio program distributed through the WFMT Radio Network, which aired across the U.S. from February 2017 through February 2018.