Hopkinson: America Independent, or The Temple of Minerva - The Colonial Players and Singers, Gillian B. Anderson

 Just before the Bicentennial Year, I had the good fortune of discover ing additional documents pertaining to The Temple of Minerva.  Among these was a broadside that led to the identification of almost all the music. While this discovery was exciting, I was even more gratified to find that the music was beautiful. Although it had not been written by Hopkinson, it was sophisticated and technically very demanding. It consisted of some of the loveliest songs ever written by composers like George Frederick Handel and Thomas Arne. Clearly, colonial music making was not all primitive, and sophisticated music making did not cease during the Revolution. Francis Hopkinson wrote the words and chose the music and The Temple of Minerva stands as a monument to his excellent taste. 

However the significance of America Independent or The Temple of Minerva goes beyond its positions in our musical history. Through it we can experience once again the feelings of the patriots during the struggle for independence. It expresses the longing for the fulfillment of the patriot's dream: an independent nation, great, glorious, wise and free. --Gillian B. Anderson