Black Manhattan, Vol. 2

Black Manhattan Vol. 1 centered on music composed by members of the legendary Clef Club. The present volume ranges a bit more widely, offering music from the theater, ballroom, and recital stage. All of the selections heard here are performed from original orchestrations using antique instruments; most have never before been recorded. To twenty-first century eyes the list of composers may seem curious, with a few recognizable names mingled with the seemingly unknown. But early twentieth-century readers would have had an almost completely opposite reaction: for example, many would have never heard of Joplin, but were avid consumers of Dixon or Johns songs. Now, with the perspective of a century of hindsight, we have the opportunity to be aware of all of them, perhaps gaining a better understanding of their influence, both on each other and on the development of American music.