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Historic Music Library
Moves to State Archives
Recent construction at First Church has uncovered 1940s beer cans and tobacco tins tucked inside the walls. But the attic holds something even more remarkable: an extensive library of choral music.
Six bookcases contain more than 1,300 numbered boxes of music dating from the 1880s, collected by the Choral Club of Hartford (CCH), a men's chorus founded in 1907. The collection includes sacred music, folk songs, spirituals, and popular pieces from a variety of publishers.
As I researched the collection, former CCH member Bob Ball and his wife Nancy generously shared their knowledge of the group's history and helped fill in many of the missing details. The CCH performed throughout Connecticut—including at Trinity College, the Wadsworth, and the Jewish Community Center—and even appeared at Lincoln Center before disbanding around 2015. According to Nancy, the group rehearsed at First Church for many years. This helps explain how the CCH music library ended up in the attic.
Because aging paper doesn't fare well in attic conditions, we sought a permanent home for the materials. Archivists from the Connecticut State Library were excited to hear about the collection; they selected the club's correspondence, programs, membership records, as well as representative copies of the music for preservation in the State Archives.
Once again, First Church has helped preserve an important piece of local history. Our Archive, attic, and even our walls continue to tell the stories of the people who worshipped, gathered, and sang here.
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