Vocal Music

Stay Summer Breath

Artist (Composed By): 
Foster, Stephen C. (Collins)
1848

“Stay Summer Breath” was submitted for copyright by W. C. Peters of Louisville on December 30, 1848, though it was most likely published earlier than that because an advertisement by Peters on July 15, 1848, describes the song as “just published.”

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

Stephen Foster Collection

Stephen C. (Collins) Foster (1826–1864) was born in Lawrenceville, Pennsylvania, outside of Pittsburgh. He wrote songs in his youth to perform in amateur blackface minstrel shows and in parlors with his friends. After the immense success of “Oh! Susanna” and “Uncle Ned,” in 1849 Foster signed contracts with music publishers and embarked on a career as a songwriter.

Summer Longings

Artist (Composed By): 
Foster, Stephen C. (Collins)
1849

“Summer Longings” was submitted for copyright deposit by W. C. Peters on November 21, 1849. The words are by Denis Florence MacCarthy, whose poetry Foster discovered in The Home Journal on May 12, 1849.

Sweet Emerald Isle That I Love So Well

Artist (Composed By): 
Foster, Stephen C. (Collins)
1866

“Sweet Emerald Isle That I Love So Well” was submitted for copyright deposit on November 1, 1866, by John J. Daly. George Cooper authored the lyrics. Only the melody is attributed to Foster.

Sweet Little Maid of the Mountain

Artist (Composed By): 
Foster, Stephen C. (Collins)
1861

“Sweet Little Maid of the Mountain” was submitted for copyright deposit on October 7, 1861, by John J. Daly of New York.

Sweetly She Sleeps, My Alice Fair

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

“Sweetly She Sleeps, My Alice Fair” was submitted for copyright deposit on March 18, 1851, by F. D. Benteen of Baltimore. The text was an adaptation of Charles G. Eastman’s “Sweetly She Sleeps,” which appeared in Poems of Charles G. Eastman (Montpelier: Eastman and Danforth, 1848).

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

Tell Me Love of Thy Early Dreams

Artist (Composed By): 
Foster, Stephen C. (Collins)
1864

“Tell Me Love of Thy Early Dreams” was submitted for copyright deposit on August 3, 1864, by John J. Daly of New York.

That’s What’s the Matter

Artist (Composed By): 
Foster, Stephen C. (Collins)
1862

“That’s What’s the Matter” was submitted for copyright deposit on April 29, 1862, by Firth, Pond & Co. of New York.

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

The Abolition Show

1856

This campaign song, with lyrics by Stephen C. Foster and his brother Morrison Foster, is sung to the tune of “Villikins and His Dinah.” The song supports the presidential candidacy of Democrat James Buchanan over Republican John C. Fremont in the 1856 election. Buchanan’s brother, Edward Buchanan, was married to Stephen and Morrison’s sister Ann Eliza. The lyrics of nine of the verses were published in the Pittsburgh Morning Post on September 26, 1856. 

The Flower of Love

Artist (Composed By): 
Foerster, Adolph M. (Martin)
1893

The manuscript, in Adolph M. Foerster’s hand, is dated February 19, 1893.

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