Revolutionary War Music Comes Alive at Stanley-Whitman House on March 29 with Richard Donohue

FARMINGTON, CT — What did Revolution sound like? On Sunday, March 29, at 2:00 PM, Stanley-Whitman House invites audiences to find out.

Presented as part of its America250 commemorative series, What a Glorious Crash They Made: Musick of Connecticut’s Revolution is a stirring program of Revolutionary War-era songs, ballads, hymns, and patriotic tunes—many published right here in Connecticut during the colonial struggle for independence. The live concert-lecture is performed by tenor, historian, and music educator Richard Franklin Donohue, using harpsichord and voice to transport listeners back to the soundscape of the American Revolution.

“This is not merely a concert,” says Stanley-Whitman House Executive Director Andy Verzosa. “It’s a form of living history. These songs were once the soundtrack of a young colony becoming a state.”

The program explores how colonists used music as a vital form of resistance, remembrance, and resilience—turning to song at a time when secular music was sometimes viewed as “extravagance and dissipation.” From anthems of early rebellion to hymns of thanksgiving at war’s end, Donohue brings each piece to life with dramatic storytelling and scholarly insight.

Selections include John Dickinson’s “Liberty Song,” William Billings’s “Chester,” and Andrew Law’s “Middletown”—among others. These once-popular songs were used to rally resistance, commemorate triumphs, and convey hope amid the struggles of 1765–1783. Audiences may even be invited to sing along.

Donohue, who last appeared at the museum with his winter solstice program Tá an Gheimhreadh Taghta in December 2025, is known for his ability to connect historical music to lived experience. “Richard’s work reminds us that music isn’t just decorative,” Verzosa notes. “It carries emotion, identity, and purpose. Through it, we remember who we are.”

Stanley-Whitman House’s Music in the Tavern series has long spotlighted music as a lens on community and heritage. Past guests have included Connecticut State Troubadours Kate Callahan (2016–2018) and Nekita Waller (2018–2021), both of whom wrote original songs as part of their official tenure. Their work reflects a tradition that stretches back centuries—exactly the lineage that Donohue explores.

While What a Glorious Crash They Made was developed well before Ken Burns’ 2025 PBS documentary The American Revolution, it aligns with the same idea: that the arts—music, maps, paintings—can illuminate the past in visceral ways that words alone cannot. “Burns used period instruments and artwork to reanimate static images,” Verzosa adds. “We do the same with live music and storytelling. Donohue lets us hear history in its original key.”

This special performance exemplifies Stanley-Whitman House’s mission to blend scholarship with participation and bring history to life through the arts. As one of the museum’s earliest events in its multi-year America250 initiative, it sets the tone for programming that is inclusive, immersive, and emotionally resonant.

EVENT DETAILS
Sunday, March 29, 2026 — 2:00 PM
Stanley-Whitman House, 37 High Street, Farmington, CT
Admission is free with a suggested donation. Seating is limited.
To reserve, visit https://www.s-wh.org/ or call (860) 677-9222.

ABOUT THE ARTIST: Richard Franklin Donohue is a Connecticut-based tenor, historian, and music instructor. He specializes in early music from Middle English carols to 19th-century art songs, and has presented programs at historical venues across New England. Donohue serves as Town Historian of Cromwell, CT, and has led the Cromwell Historical Society for nearly two decades. His regular history column, “Rosetown Review,” appears in the Cromwell Life newspaper.

ABOUT STANLEY-WHITMAN HOUSE: Located in the heart of historic Farmington, Stanley-Whitman House is a ca. 1720 National Historic Landmark and living history center that explores the complexity of colonial life through research, storytelling, and the arts. Its America250 programming honors not only well-known patriots, but also underrepresented voices—including women, Indigenous peoples, and African Americans—whose stories are essential to the American founding.