The music of the Antebellum Era expressed the feelings of the two classes of people on Sea Island Plantations: the white plantation owners and the enslaved people. Listen to their songs as we weave a story through music that shows how life and important events were connected to the sounds of those people.

Recently, four Dataw Island residents presented a program of antebellum-era songs. The plantation owners and their families sang some. The enslaved people sang others.

The program included verses from these popular pieces:

  1. My Country Tis of Thee: Smith, Bates, Smith, Ward Musicus

2. Minuet in F: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

3. Michael, Row the Boat Ashore

4. Oh, Freedom

5. Like A Dream: Mary Dana

6. Oh! Susanna: Stephen Collins Foster

7. Nearer my God to thee: Lowell Mason

8. Follow the Drinking Gourd

9. Go Down, Moses

10. Wade in the Water

11. Bonnie Blue Flag 

12. Weeping Sad and Lonely: Tucker, Sawyer

13. Nobody Knows the Trouble I Had

14. Swing Low, Sweet Chariot: Wallace Willis

Here is a 50-minute video recording of the presentations and performances featuring Guy Apicella, Laura Riski, Diane Elvin, and Greg Elvin.

We hope you enjoy these “Voices of the Past.”