A professor at FGCU who researched Koreshan music is bringing that music back to life.
Dr. Thomas Cimarusti, a professor of musicology at FGCU's Bower School of Music, specializes in 18th and 19th-century Italian vocal music, world music, and public musicology. In 2018, he went to the FGCU archives and found a Koreshan soundbook with just the text. He and a student were able to track down the songs and link the music and text.
The Koreshans were a religious sect in the 1800s with a compound and central headquarters in Estero at the site of what is now Koreshan State Park.
Cimarusti started the research as part of the Seidler Award granted in 2018. Cimarusti said, “Over the course of a summer, the student and I married the music and the text and actually made a hymn book.” He said there were 17 songs at the time and he found four more. He said he’s very hopeful it will be published.
He said he started his research by looking for original Koreshan music but was able to find only a clarinet part to celebrate the birthday of Cyrus Teed, the founder of the Koreshan sect.
Cimarusti said the Koreshans performed the music of other composers. “They would have been singing pieces by the 18th and 19th century big-name composers. They were very interested in high art music, classical music," he said. "They took some of that music and put new words to it.”
The Koreshans were very involved in music. There are photos of kids playing clarinets, all-female orchestras, and women playing cellos. “They had a rather extensive sophisticated musical setup,” Cimarusti said. Everyone in the cult took music; it was a part of their curriculum.
Lyn Millner, a journalism professor at FGCU and an author, published a book about the Koreshans in 2015. “I love that Tom Cimarusti has researched their music and actually brought it back to life and recreated it. It’s amazing what he has discovered,” she said.
She said that while researching the Koreshans, she was aware of their music but had never heard any of it. She said they left behind sheet music and descriptions of the songs but she never fully researched the sheet music.
She said, “What Tom has done…the first time I heard a choir sing Koreshan music, I was astounded. The docents from the park were there and they had tears in their eyes. They could not believe they were listening to Koreshan choral music.”
One of Cimarusti's goals is to educate Florida that this is one of the most well-visited parks in the state. He thinks it's important to share what Florida history is. He wants to educate the public that we have a very rich history, especially when it comes to music.
About Koreshan State Park
In 1893, the Koreshans, a religious sect founded by Dr. Cyrus R. Teed, moved here and built a settlement based on a commitment to communal living and a belief that the universe existed on the inside of the Earth. Living celibate lives, the enterprising Koreshans established a farm, nursery and botanical gardens. The park, at 3800 Corkscrew Road in Estero, is home to 11 immaculately restored and nationally registered historic buildings erected by the Koreshans between the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
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