A Song by Ferdinand Zellner
Ferdinand F. Zellner, a music teacher at the Fayetteville Female Seminary, wrote two pieces of music that were published in 1856 by Balmer & Weber, a well respected publishing house in St. Louis, Mo.
The better known of the two compositions, certainly in Fayetteville, is the “Fayetteville Polka,” believed to be the first music published by an Arkansan.
Less well known is the second song that Zellner composed: the “Sunbeam Schottisch.” It’s a bright, swaying composition that sounds like it should be the piano soundtrack for a silent movie. Like the polka, the schottische is another folk style of music that came out of Bohemia during the early 19th century. Zellner grew up in Prussia and knew well these two styles of music before coming to America.
The schottische style became fused with American ragtime at the turn of the 20th century.
I am so proud of our rich history. It seems every day I read something about Fayetteville history (and general Arkansas history) that I didn’t know before. Keep it up!