Donald Scarinci writes:

>I've be reading books about American Colonial history and I was wondering
>what music would have been perefered in the court of George III.  Does
>anyone know the music that George Washington and Ben Franklin may have
>liked? I'm curious about this if there are any musical historians in the
>group.

I'm not a musical historian, nor do I play one on TV.  But I can point you
the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation's website (http://www.history.org/),
which contains a great deal of information about what the American
colonists listened to in the 1760s and 70s.  That website also sells some
CDs, including one called "A Delightful Recreation:  The Music of Thomas
Jefferson." It is a recording of a selection of music found in Jefferson's
library, and includes works from Vivaldi, Balbastre, Purcell, Handel,
Campioni, and Corelli, among others.

Speaking of recordings, Vox had a two-fer of early American chamber music
at one time.  I don't know if it's still in print, and I only remember one
of the pieces included -- a string quartet by Benjamin Franklin.  Also,
there is a CD called "George Washington:  A Portrait In Song," (I don't
remember the label) which purports to contain period music in honor of the
great man.  You should be able to find it on Amazon.

As is the custom with posts of this kind, I must tell you that I have
no connection -- financial, physical, or spiritual -- with any of the
aforementioned entities.  Hope that helps.

Regards,
Bob Chen,
Los Angeles, CA