ABSTRACT
The following story of the United States Constitution having been set to music by a Boston composer named Greeler must be accepted on faith, for no such composition has been discovered in the United States music libraries, and no such name appears in any book on American composers. The story of the harmonized Constitution was published in the Musical World of London in the issue of November 28, 1874:
“The authors of the Constitution of the Union thought more of reason than of rhyme, and their prose is not too well adapted to harmony, but the patriotic inspiration of Mr. Greeler, the Boston composer, overcomes every difficulty. He has made his score a genuine musical epopoeia, and had it performed before a numerous public. The performance did not last less than six hours. The preamble of the Constitution forms a broad and majestic recitative, well sustained by altos and double basses. The first clause is written for a tenor; the other choruses are given to the bass, soprano, and baritone. The music of the clause treating of state’s rights is written in a minor key for bass and tenor.
