Mercer-Taylor's well-researched and erudite text is a revelation. Tracing the fascinating rise in popularity of European classical music in the US during the antebellum period, Mercer-Taylor provides a rich and informative explanation of how hymnody brought this music to a wide audience. Especially useful are the appendices and web site which tabulate the entire repertoire. Highly recommended.
Peter Mercer-Taylor is Professor of Musicology at the University of Minnesota. His teaching and scholarship have been divided between the nineteenth-century classical tradition—Felix Mendelssohn in particular—and contemporary popular music. Mercer-Taylor's articles have appeared in a range of journals, including 19th-Century Music, Popular Music, Musical Quarterly, The Journal of Musicology, Music &
Letters, and Music Theory Spectrum.