Songs with Guitar

Come with Thy Sweet Voice Again

Artist (Composed By): 
Foster, Stephen C. (Collins)
1854

“Come with Thy Sweet Voice Again” was submitted for copyright deposit on September 19, 1854, by Firth, Pond & Co.

An arrangement for guitar accompaniment was also published in 1854 by Firth, Pond & Co., though there is no record of copyright entry or deposit.

Dear Friends

Date of Birth: 
1982
Date of Death: 
2000

Dear Friends was the ensemble-in-residence at the Stephen Foster Memorial at the University of Pittsburgh from 1982 through 2000. The ensemble was originally devoted to performing 19th century American Music, much of which was drawn from the University's Center for American Music's Foster Hall Collection, but expanded their repertory to reflect the diverse musical life of 19th and 20th century America, as well as traditional European and Latin Music.

Ellen Bayne

Artist (Composed By): 
Foster, Stephen C. (Collins)
1854

“Ellen Bayne” was never entered for copyright deposit. The earliest known copy was published by Firth, Pond & Co. on February 3, 1854.

A guitar arrangement of the song was submitted for copyright on November 13, 1854, by Firth, Pond, & Co.

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

Eulalie

Artist (Composed By): 
Foster, Stephen C. (Collins)
1851

“Eulalie” was entered for copyright deposit on December 6, 1851, by Firth, Pond & Co.

The song was arranged for guitar accompaniment and submitted for copyright deposit on January 11, 1853.

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

Farewell My Lilly Dear

Artist (Composed By): 
Foster, Stephen C. (Collins)
1853

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

“Farewell My Lilly Dear,” arranged for guitar accompaniment, was submitted for copyright deposit on August 26, 1853.

The song also appears in “Old Folks Quadrilles.”

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

Foster, Stephen C. (Collins)

Date of Birth: 
July 4, 1826
Date of Death: 
January 13, 1864

Stephen Foster (b. July 4, 1826, Lawrenceville, Pennsylvania; d. January 13, 1864, New York) was one of the first American songwriters to earn a living through composition alone. Many of his songs, most of which were for the parlor or minstrel stage, achieved great popularity during his lifetime and continue to be popular today. His songs depicting African Americans, however, have been controversial since they were written.

Gentle Annie

Artist (Composed By): 
Foster, Stephen C. (Collins)
1856

The title page of “Gentle Annie” was deposited for copyright on April 24, 1856. It was originally published by Firth, Pond & Co.

The first score listed below is the edition that was used in the Foster Hall Reproductions and The Music of Stephen C. Foster: A Critical Edition. 

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

Hard Times Come Again No More

Artist (Composed By): 
Foster, Stephen C. (Collins)
1854

“Hard Times Come Again No More” was entered for copyright on December 16, 1854, and deposited for copyright on January 17, 1855, by Firth, Pond & Co.

A guitar arrangement was published in 1855, although there is no record of copyright entry or deposit. Beginning with “Come with Thy Sweet Voice Again,” Firth, Pond, & Co. did not copyright any of Foster’s arrangements for voice and guitar.

In The Chronicles of Stephen Foster's Family, Evelyn Foster Morneweck writes,

Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair

Artist (Composed By): 
Foster, Stephen C. (Collins)
1854

“Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair” was entered for copyright deposit on June 5, 1854, by Firth, Pond & Co. The name Jennie, not Jeanie, appears consistently in the draft text of Foster’s manuscript book. 

The composer’s niece, Evelyn Foster Morneweck, suggests that the publisher asked for the change but avowed that the song was always known to the Foster family as “Jennie with the Light Brown Hair.” She writes in The Chronicles of Stephen Foster’s Family,

Little Ella

Artist (Composed By): 
Foster, Stephen C. (Collins)
1853

“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.

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