Scan 302
The American history and encyclopedia of music, 1908
6 lines. Read by computer on 11 September 2026. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1of pianos. When Klemm settled in Philadelphia in 1736 he dropped his Teutonic name and became known simply as John Clemm. He finished the organ for Trinity Church in 1741 at a cost to the parish of five hundred and twenty pounds sterling, or nearly three thousand dollars, a large sum in colonial times. This organ was of three manuals and had twenty-six stops. It 1763 it was offered for sale as Trinity was preparing to install an instrument imported from England. Klemm, its builder, died at Bethlehem, Pa., in 1762, at the age of seventy-two.
3The first real impetus given to instrumental music in America came through the introduction of organs into the churches. In the parts of the country where formerly no instrumental music of any kind had been generally tolerated, the introduction of the organ acted as an opening wedge, and the sanction in the use of other instruments naturally followed. When, for financial or other reasons, the organ was not in use, other instruments such as the doublebass, cello, clarinet, flute and violin came to be used. From these sources sprang the desire on the part of the public for instruments and instrumental music. The instruments at first were used chiefly for the purpose of accompanying the voice, but gradually they came to take their place in the production of characteristic instrumental music.
5In the early days there was a strong prejudice against any one devoting himself exclusively to music, but with the coming of the organ conditions underwent a change; for organ playing called for more than ordinary musical skill and for serious preparation on the part of the player. As none of the colonists possessed this necessary preparation, qualified organists were brought from England to fill the positions created by the adoption of organs in the churches. In addition to their services in connection with the church these men usually gave instruction in vocal and instrumental music and in dancing. Many of them also conducted shops where they kept music and musical instruments for sale. It is to these early church organists that the chief credit belongs
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