“Laura Lee” was deposited on August 7, 1851. 

For SATB voices.

Adolph M. Foerster’s A Legend, Op. 86, is a symphonic poem in two parts: “A Legend” and “Nuptial Feast.” Manuscripts of the full score and parts are found in the Adolph M. Foerster Collection. One of the full score manuscripts, dated July 20, 1914, mislabels the work Op. 85. It also indicates that the piece was performed at Willow Grove Park in Philadelphia on August 13, 1920, conducted by Wassili Leps.  

For solo voice and piano.

“Lily Ray” was deposited for copyright on December 9, 1850, by Firth, Pond & Co. of New York.

“Linger in Blissful Repose” was deposited for copyright on July 13, 1858. The placement of Foster’s lyrics for the song in his sketchbook of lyrics suggests he wrote the lyrics around this time. But the melody was older. He included it as “Irene” in The Social Orchestra. 

According to Evelyn Foster Mornweck’s The Chronicles of Stephen Foster’s Family:

“Little Belle Blair” was submitted for copyright deposit on November 5, 1861, by John J. Daly of New York.

“Little Ella” was entered for copyright on December 13, 1853, by Firth, Pond, & Company. Foster arranged “Little Ella” with guitar accompaniment (copyright December 5, 1854), which introduced melodic changes that Foster had his publisher introduce retroactively into the piano-vocal version.

“Little Jenny Dow” was submitted for copyright deposit on January 10, 1862, by Horace Waters of New York.

“Little Jenny Dow” is one of several Foster songs that use the name “Jenny” in the title. The others are “Jennie’s Own Schottisch” (which is part of The Social Orchestra), “Jennie’s Coming o’er the Green,” “Jenny June,” and the original draft of “Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair.”

“Lizzie Dies To-Night” was entered for copyright on May 9, 1861, and deposited on May 23, 1861, by Daughaday & Hammond of Philadelphia. The author of the lyrics was Mary Bynon Reese. The song was originally published in Clark’s School Visitor in May, 1861. Horace Waters’s sheet-music edition from 1862 includes corrections.

WARNING: This is a blackface minstrel song, a genre that features demeaning caricatures rooted in racism and white supremacy.

This song was submitted for copyright on October 18, 1847, by W. C. Peters of Cincinnati. None of the early published editions of “Lou’siana Belle” credit Foster as the composer, but an autographed manuscript and a letter from Foster to publisher William Millet prove it. 

The first score below was used for the Foster Hall Reproductions.

“Love Song,” by Ethelbert Nevin, is a movement from Five Pianoforte Pieces, which was published with seven songs and one choral piece in Sketchbook, op. 2, in 1888. This collection was Nevin's first publication. A holograph sketch is found in the Ethelbert Nevin Collection. 

Adolph M. Foerster’s Love Visions, op. 80, was first published as a song for high voice and piano in 1909. Foerster then orchestrated the song, the manuscripts for which are dated May 1, 1913. The orchestral version was published by Schuberth in 1922.

Firth, Pond & Co. entered and deposited “Lula Is Gone” for copyright on April 19, 1858. Foster wrote a companion song called “Where Has Lula Gone” that was copyrighted shortly after on September 7, 1858.

According to Evelyn Foster Mornweck’s The Chronicles of Stephen Foster’s Family: