Music in rural New England family and community life, 1870-1940

"Drawing upon interviews and archival primary source materials, this book presents new insights into the musical practices and traditions of late-nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century rural northern New England - a context that includes traditional ballads and hymns and, surprisingly, popular songs and commercial dance music. Jennifer Post lets the voices of ordinary people - the participants - tell us about their music and cultural history. Their stories are infused with issues of concern - landscape and community, gendered expression, imagined traditions, and historical representation - to ethnomusicologists, historians, and social scientists."--Jacket.