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Uchenna Ngwe unravels the remarkable story of Francis Johnson, the most famous African American bandleader of the early 19th century, and how he wowed audiences on a British tour in the late 1830s, including - allegedly - the young Queen Victoria.

Francis 鈥淔rank鈥� Johnson was an African American who maintained a career in the USA when slavery was still yet to be abolished, and the most celebrated Black musician before the American Civil War. He composed songs and music for social dances - cotillions and marches - and founded his own military band of Black Philadelphians in 1824.

In 1837, Johnson organised a European tour where his band wowed audiences and took England by storm. So the legend goes - Johnson was invited to Windsor Castle to meet the new Queen Victoria, where she presented Johnson with a silver bugle.

The image of Victoria meeting Johnson and his musicians is a beguiling one - and yet frustratingly tricky to pin down in hard evidence. Nearly two centuries on, the traces of this remarkable band, their pioneering tour - thought to be the first band of touring musicians from the USA - and the trail of delighted concertgoers they entertained, are scattered in archives, their fame faded away. But oboist and researcher Uchenna Ngwe has long been fascinated by Francis Johnson's story and has been slowly been piecing together the fragments of his life and music that remains...

In this feature, Uchenna takes us on a musical detective hunt on the streets of Philadelphia and London: a rollercoaster musicological journey that encompasses the brand-new nation of the United States and the historic archives of the Library Company in its first capital, Philadelphia; Johann Strauss the elder, composer of the Radetzky March; the Argyll Rooms on John Nash's Regent Street; the tangled inspiration behind the idea of Promenade concerts; and the early improvisational seeds of what would decades later become jazz.

American contributors include jazz expert and native Philadelphian Brent White; historian of brass music Jay Krush; and archivists at the Library Company of Philadelphia Christine Nelson and Michael Barsanti. Meanwhile, exploring Johnson's time in the UK are historians Hakim Adi, Christina Bashford and Leanne Langley - plus we experience a remarkable discovery in the library of the Royal College of Music.

And we hear Johnson's music in a variety of guises: from historically-informed recordings by the acclaimed ensemble Chestnut Brass, to jazz arrangements by Brent White and musicians, to in-depth explorations at the piano and on the oboe from Uchenna herself and composer-pianist Yshani Perinpanayagam.

Writer and Presenter: Uchenna Ngwe
Producer: Steven Rajam
An Overcoat Media production for 麻豆官网首页入口 Radio 3

Music featured in the programme:
Francis Johnson: The Cadmus *
Francis Johnson: : Five Step Waltz *
Francis Johnson: Victoria Gallop *
Francis Johnson: Philadelphia Firemen鈥檚 Cotillion *
Francis Johnson: Five Step Waltz *
Francis Johnson: The General *
Francis Johnson: The Monongahela Waltz *
Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique (4th mvt: March To The Scaffold) - Orchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantique, John Eliot Gardiner (conductor)
Philips 4344022, track 4
Francis Johnson: 鈥淗onour To The Brave鈥�: General Lafayette鈥檚 Grand March *
[Frank Johnson arrangement by Brent White]
Brent White Ensemble - specially recorded
WC Handy: Ole Miss Rag
WC Handy鈥檚 Memphis Blues Band
Memphis Archives 鈥� MA7006, track 4
Francis Johnson: The American Boy **
Francis Johnson: The Grave Of The Slave **
Francis Johnson: Victoria Gallop *
Francis Johnson: The Grave Of The Slave
Performed by Uchenna Ngwe (oboe; then piano) - Specially recorded
Philippe Musard: Quadrille no.2 (after Auber)
Janacek Philharmonic Orchestra, Dario Salvi (conductor) - Naxos 8.574335, track 4
Francis Johnson: Victoria Gallop *
Francis Johnson: Dirge *
Francis Johnson: Philadelphia Gray鈥檚 Quickstep *

* Album: The Music of Francis Johnson and His Contemporaries: Early 19th-Century Black Composers
Chestnut Brass Ensemble, Diana Monroe (solo violin), Tamara Brooks (conductor)
Musicmasters 鈥� 7029-2-C

** Album: Tippecanoe and Tyler Too: A Collection Of American Political Marches, Songs and Dirges **
The Chestnut Brass Company And Friends, John Ostendorf, Patrick Romano, Linda Russell, Frederick Urrey (voices), Rudolph Palmer (piano)
Newport Classic 鈥� NPD 85548

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