Justin Holland was an African American, born free in Norfolk, Virginia. He was the most influential and important American guitarist of the 19th century and wrote the first published and best-selling guitar method in the country. He was also a leading voice in the anti-slavery and civil rights movements. As a composer he synthesized European models and embraced popular, church and parlour songs generating a rich variety of works. A master of virtuosic variations, his arrangements are witty, elegant, and colourful, and culminate in Carnival of Venice, which shows the full range of his gifts, sweeping in breadth and dazzling in effect.