Contemporary American Composers: Being a Study of the Music of This Country, Its Present; Conditions and Its Future, with Critical Estimates and; Biographies of the Principal Living Composers; and an; Abundance of Portraits, Fac-simile Musical Autographs, and; CompositionsHughes, Rupert
History
Contemporary American Composers: Being a Study of the Music of This Country, Its Present; Conditions and Its Future, with Critical Estimates and; Biographies of the Principal Living Composers; and an; Abundance of Portraits, Fac-simile Musical Autographs, and; Compositions
Hughes, Rupert
Composers -- United States -- Biography; Music -- United States -- History and criticism
What would part-song writers do if the Vikings had never been
invented? Where would they get their wild choruses for men, with a
prize to the singer that makes the most noise? Chadwick falls into
line with "The Viking's Last Voyage" (1881), for barytone solo, male
chorus, and orchestra, which gives him a very high place among writers
in this form. He has also a robustious "Song of the Viking," and an
excellent Dedication Ode (1884), for solo, chorus, and orchestra, to
the pregnant words of Rev. H.B. Carpenter, besides two cantatas for
mixed voices, "Phoenix Expirans" and "The Pilgrims." In 1889 was
published his "Lovely Rosabelle," a ballad for chorus and orchestra;
it contains some interesting dissonantial work in the storm-passages.
And his comic opera, "Tabasco," must be mentioned, as well as an
enormous mass of sacred music, which, I confess, I had not the
patience to study. The flesh was willing, but the spirit was weak.
Among Chadwick's songs is a volume of Breton melodies harmonized with
extreme simplicity. Others are "Gay Little Dandelion," which is good
enough of its everlasting flower-song sort; "In Bygone Days" and
"Request," which, aside from one or two flecks of art, are trashy; and
two childish namby-pambies, "Adelaide" and "The Mill." "A Bonny Curl"
catches the Scotch-ton faithfully.
Chadwick usually succeeds, however, in catching foreign flavors. His
"Song from the Persian" is one of his best works, and possibly the
very best is his "Sorais' Song," to Rider Haggard's splendid words.
It has an epic power and a wild despair. Up to the flippancy of its
last measures, it is quite inspired, and one of the strongest of
American songs. The "Danza" is captivating and full of novelty. "Green
Grows the Willow" is a burden of charming pathos and quaintness,
though principally a study in theme-management. "Allah," however, is
rather Ethiopian than Mahommedan. His "Bedouin Love Song" has little
Oriental color, but is full of rush and fire, with a superb ending. It
is the best of the countless settings of this song. I wish I could say
the same of his "Thou Art so Like a Flower," but he has missed the
intense repression of Heine.
[Music: _To Mrs. G.H. Stoddard._
TWO FOLK SONGS.
I
G.W. Chadwick
O love and joy are for a day,
Then tears and sorrow after,
O love is for a summer's day,
And then farewell to laughter.
If love and joy are for a day
And then farewell to laughter,
To live with love give me one day
Though tears forever after.
Copyright, 1892, by Arthur P. Schmidt.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account