Grating The Nutmeg

  In this episode of Grating the Nutmeg, Natalie Belanger tells us about how two journals kept by a Revolutionary War-era girl in the Connecticut Museum of Culture and History’s  collection have inspired an original work of music.    Several years ago, Leonard Raybon (Associate Professor of Music at Tulane University) encountered two journals and other writings by Hannah Hadassah Hickok, held at the Connecticut Museum. Hannah was the matriarch of the non-conformist Smith Family of Glastonbury. Her daughters would go on to became nationally famous for protesting their lack of voting rights in the 1870s by refusing to pay their taxes — an act that resulted in the town of Glastonbury confiscating their property, including their beloved cows.   Inspired by the young Hannah's unique voice, Leonard composed an original mini-musical based on her writings. You'll hear Natalie and Leonard's conversation about what moved him to compose the piece and how it fits into his larger project of producing "Ameri-musicals" tha