OK, Humphrey Bogart never said, “Play it again, Sam” in the classic film Casablanca. However, that’s what came to mind when I discovered a unique piece of handwritten music offered for sale in the Ontario Antiques Mall in Canandaigua, New York.
As regular readers know I’m drawn (no pun intended) to hand-written connections to the past. I’ve written about finding the penmanship exercises of a girl in the 1790s and the same exercise by her daughter in the 1820s. Then there was the note from an uncle to his niece (who apparently was in the care of her uncle) in which the girl was told her father had denied her permission to attend a dance. Early ledgers that chronicle the daily life of early settlers in a region through their purchases and barter arrangements, and deeds, discharge papers – all provide a personal connection to the past.
A unique piece of handwritten music
It’s clear this “A Cannon (sic) of four in one” was lucky to have survived its nearly two centuries, having been folded neatly into eight sections and perhaps tucked away in a book before being rediscovered. It seems to be part art and part musical composition. Being dated and from a nearby community, it was too hard to resist. It’s now framed with acid-free backing and ultraviolet protection glass in hopes that it can be displayed with little threat to its continued existence.
Being a music illiterate (I know what I like and that’s about it) I had no idea what a canon of four in one was. According to A New Dictionary of Music by Arthur Jacobs, it is “four voices entering successively on the same melody.” Near as I can tell a canon and a round aren’t exactly the same thing, but are cousins. Perhaps that explains the circular presentation of this unnamed canon.
As to its performance, we can only guess where and by whom the “Centerville Canon” was performed. A few of my colleagues are musically talented, so I’m going to impose on them to give this melody a try. We may find out if it is common tune or an original work. So, it’s time to “play it again.”
