In addition to touring troupes and performances on parlor pianos, much of Foster's music circulated during his lifetime in versions for brass bands. Adolphe Sax, best known today as the inventor of the saxophone, had perfected "saxhorns" in the 1840s, a matched family of conical bore brasses using the recently developed valve system, and their powerful yet sweet sound quickly came to dominate public music throughout mid-19th century America. As an adventure in musical time travel the sounds that listeners in Foster's time would have heard are duplicated on this recording by a quintet of authentic period instruments. Their unique sound is strikingly different from that of modern brasses. Additionally, at a time when the distinctions between classical and popular music were less marked than today, their performers would have blended elements of classical, popular and folk traditions. Though Foster wrote few instrumental pieces himself, his sturdy melodies were regularly adapted as marches, quick steps and dance pieces by other composers, a typical practice of the time.