Houston’s Early Musical Roots in the late 19th Century

By Don Looser, PhD

Houston was founded on the banks of Buffalo Bayou in 1836. The city introduced the German Singing Society to Texas in 1839, and as early as 1872, the Houston Philharmonic Society was founded composed of 30 to 40 mixed voices which performed choruses from standard oratorio or operatic repertoire. The Houston Choral Club was organized in 1885 to give gaslight opera, and a Male Quartet Club functioned from 1894 to 1915. Houston also led the state with the formation of the first woman’s singing society, the Treble Clef, in 1895.

There were no church edifices built in Houston until 1842. Many congregations met in the old Texas Capitol where “lining-out” was the typical hymn singing arrangement. Most of the choirs in the major churches in Houston were organized around 1859, except for the newer Jewish congregation whose choir was formed in 1868. In many cases, the choir consisted of a quartet.

An organ was first introduced to Houston in 1846 at the Baptist church, but was taken from the church by one of its members and thrown into the bayou before it could be used. An old melodeon was in use in the Episcopal church before 1855, but in that year a reed organ was purchased. By 1859, many Houston churches had purchased the Mason-Hamlin Organ-Harmonium, a new invention that was a double-bellows instrument. Houston boasted a local organ builder, F. Hesse, though there were no known examples of his work in the city.

The first known pipe organ installed in a Houston church was delivered to the Episcopal Christ Church Cathedral in August 1875, “a day never to be forgotten. Laus Deo.” This Hutchings-Plaisted tracker organ consisted of two manuals and 19 ranks. Mr. C. H. Preston “of Boston” was the acting church organist. Rector John Julyan Clemens wrote that the cost of the instrument was $2,500, “which cost nearly as much as the original debt” and was paid for on delivery “thanks to our good women.”

The first opera performance in Houston took place in 1867 by the Roncari Opera Troupe, followed two years later by the Marie Friederici Opera Troupe, and later by other, largely European, organizations. Most concert activity was performed by German immigrants or singers drawn from domestic opera troupes.

Orchestral music in Houston dates from 1868 when a small symphonic ensemble was established at the Exchange Saloon. However, Saengerfest orchestras from 1885 to 1913 and a visit by the Russian Symphony Orchestra in 1912-13 whetted local appetite for a permanent ensemble. Prior to 1930, operatic, symphonic, and concert activity in Houston had been largely of the non-resident, touring variety. However, the city had heard Paderewski, McCormack, Kreisler, Heifetz, the Chicago Opera, and the New York Philharmonic in concert. Local symphonic activity began with the formation of the Houston Symphony Orchestra Association in 1913. 

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