Who are our heroes? How did they go to battle and with what songs? Whose side were they on? A medley of early American music featuring a portrait gallery of eminent Americans, but also high spirited celebrations, of the new nation, and around the quintessential American themes of freedom and independence. This program constitutes a chapter in the Boston 2015 celebrations of the Marquis de Lafayette and the historic return of his rebuilt 18th century “freedom frigate”, the Hermione. Drawing on original print and manuscript sources, we will include songs in celebration of Lafayette’s friends and associates, Washington and Jefferson, as well as both American and French compositions reflecting the social and political climate of the turbulent years 1775-1830. Liberty, martial glory, loyalty, and a healthy dose of satire and irreverence are all present in the lively ballads and broadsides of that crucial time. Anne Azéma (director), Camila Parias, Deborah Rentz-Moore, Daniel Hershey, and John Taylor Ward, voices, are joined by Sarah Darling, violin and Libor Dudas, fortepiano.