“The Great Fete in Newport”
The Tennessean, August 19, 1857 (Nashville, Tennessee)
The 1857 summer season in Newport was busy as usual. The biggest party of that summer was given at Chateau-sur-Mer on Bellevue Avenue. William S. Wetmore wanted to honor his friend George Peabody with a giant bash which he called the event the “Fête Champêtre” which translates to “party in the fields.”
George Peabody
(1795-1869)
William Shepard Wetmore
(1801-1862)
According to the New York Times, 3000 invitations were sent out and at least 2500 guests attended the party. “The Yacht Squadron, numbering some forty yachts, lay in the harbor, and nearly all of the gentlemen belonging to the squadron were present for the occasion.” (New York Times, September 12, 1857.) The Yacht Squadron was that of the New York Yacht Club.
The menu was prepared by George T. Downing, owner of the Sea Girt House, on Bellevue Avenue. (For those curious, we will place the menu at the end of this post!)
George T. Downing
(1819-1903)
The New York Times, August 12, 1857
A giant tent was set up on the grounds of the house, and the Germania Musical Society was hired to provide the music. The original Germania Musical Society disbanded at the end of the 1854 summer season, but many of the members came back to Newport in 1855 under the same name. In 1857, the orchestra was conducted by William. Schultze, a founding member of the orchestra.
And now the music! Hear the surviving music that the guests danced to on August 10, 1857, at Chateau-sur-Mer. (Sadly, the march composed for the party, the Fête Champêtre March has been lost.)
Program
William Schultze composed the Fête Champêtre March specifically for this party. We are working hard to find this music.
Dance
Bijouterie Quadrille, by Philippe Musard
Hans Christian Lumbye’s Champagne Galop was an incredibly popular piece. He wrote a New Champagne Galop which was performed at this program. Here is a part from a band arrangement of that piece, with a video of the original galop
Help support our nonprofit’s mission to preserve and share the incredible musical history of Newport, Rhode Island.
If you listened to the whole program, here is the menu as promised!
The New York Times, August 12, 1857