ABSTRACT
The population of cities swelled dramatically as the economy changed from rural to industrial; New York grew from 800,000 in 1860 to 2,500,000 in 1900, and had become the centre of music publishing in the United States in the 1880s. There were certain broad changes in the Edwardian ballad which set it apart from the Victorian variety. The 'moral fibre' was different; either Victorian solemnity gave way to Edwardian forced gaiety, or sentimentality was employed for its own sake rather than to reinforce a moral message. The historical pageantry so favoured in Edwardian ballads may be traced back to the Diamond Jubilee which exceeded the 1887 Golden Jubilee in every respect. The great Victorian institution of the 'musical evening' continued into the twentieth century, although in the words of Maurice Disher, 'the sense of tribal duty was lacking'. To end on a musical matter, the way in which the music itself articulates meaning in drawing-room ballads deserves to be investigated.
