EDWARD MACDOWELL
A Great American Tone Poet, His Life and Music
by
JOHN F. PORTE
Author of _Edward Elgar_, _Sir Charles V. Stanford_, etc.
With a Portrait of Edward MacDowell and Musical Illustrations in
the Text
New York:
E.P. Dutton & Company
681 Fifth Avenue
1922
_I do like the works of the American composer MacDowell! What a
musician! He is sincere and personal--what a poet--what exquisite
harmonies!--Jules Massenet._
_I consider MacDowell the ideally endowed composer.--Edvard
Grieg._
[Illustration]
FROM MACDOWELL'S COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY LECTURES.
(Published as _Critical and Historical Essays_).
_For it is in the nature of the spiritual part of mankind to
shrink from the earth, to aspire to something higher; a bird
soaring in the blue above us has something of the ethereal; we
give wings to our angels. On the other hand, a serpent impresses
us as something sinister. Trees, with their strange fight against
all the laws of gravity, striving upward unceasingly, bring us
something of hope and faith; the sight of them cheers us. A land
without trees is depressing and gloomy.
In spite of the strange twistings of ultra modern music, a simple
melody still embodies the same pathos for us that it did for our
grandparents.
We put our guest, the poetic thought, that comes to us like a
homing bird from out the mystery of the blue sky--we put this
confiding stranger straightway into that iron bed, the "sonata
form," or perhaps even the third rondo form, for we have quite an
assortment. Should the idea survive and grow too large for the
bed, and if we have learned to love it too much to cut off its
feet and thus make it fit (as did that old robber of Attica), why
we run the risk of having some critic wise in his theoretical
knowledge, say, as was and is said of Chopin, "He is weak in
sonata form!"
In art our opinions must, in all cases, rest directly on the
thing under consideration and not on what is written about it.
Without a thorough knowledge of music, including its history and
development, and, above all, musical "sympathy," individual
criticism is, of course, valueless; at the same time the
acquirement of this knowledge and sympathy is not difficult, and
I hope that we may yet have a public in America that shall be
capable of forming its own ideas, and not be influenced by
tradition, criticism, or fashion.
Every person with even the very smallest love and sympathy for art
possesses ideas which are valuable to that art. From the tiniest
seeds sometimes the greatest trees are grown. Why, therefore,
allow these tender germs of individualism to be smothered by that
flourishing, arrogant bay tree of tradition--fashion, authority,
convention, etc.
No art form is so fleeting and so subject to the dictates of
fashion as opera. It has always been the plaything of fashion,
and suffers from its changes.
Always respectable in his forms, no one else could have made
music popular among the cultured classes as could Mendelssohn.
This also had its danger; for if Mendelssohn had written an opera
(the lack of which was so bewailed by the Philistines), it would
have taken root all over Germany, and put Wagner back many years.
Handel's great achievement (besides being a fine composer) was to
crush all life out of the then promising school of English music,
the foundation of which had been so well laid by Purcell, Byrd,
Morley, etc._
(On Mozart). _His later symphonies and operas show us the man at
his best. His piano works and early operas show the effect of the
"virtuoso" style, with all its empty concessions to technical
display and commonplace, ear-catching melody ... He possessed a
certain simple charm of expression which, in its directness, has
an element of pathos lacking in the comparatively jolly
light-heartedness of Haydn.
Music can invariably heighten the poignancy of spoken words
(which mean nothing in themselves), but words can but rarely, in
fact I doubt whether they can ever, heighten the effect of
musical declamation.
To hear and enjoy music seems sufficient to many persons, and an
investigation as to the causes of this enjoyment seems to them
superfluous. And yet, unless the public comes into closer touch
with the tone poet than the objective state which accepts with
the ears what is intended for the spirit, which hears the sounds
and is deaf to their import, unless the public can separate the
physical pleasure of music from its ideal significance, our art,
in my opinion, cannot stand on a sound basis.
Music contains certain elements which affect the nerves of the
mind and body, and thus possesses the power of direct appeal to
the public--a power to a great extent denied to the other arts.
This sensuous influence over the hearer is often mistaken for the
aim and end of all music.... In declaring that the sensation of
hearing music was pleasant to him, and that to produce that
sensation was the entire mission of music, a certain English
Bishop placed our art on a level with good things to eat and
drink. Many colleges and universities of America consider music
as a kind of boutonnière.... Low as it is, there is a possibility
of building on such an estimate. Could such persons be made to
recognize the existence of decidedly unpleasant music, it would
be the first step toward a proper appreciation of the art and its
various phases.
In my opinion, Johann Sebastian Bach, one of the world's
mightiest tone poets, accomplished his mission, not by means of
the contrapuntal fashion of his age, but in spite of it. The laws
of canon and fugue are based upon as prosaic a foundation as
those of the rondo and sonata form; I find it impossible to
imagine their ever having been a spur or an incentive to poetic
musical speech.
Overwhelmed by the new-found powers of suggestion in tonal tint
and the riot of hitherto undreamed of orchestral combinations, we
are forgetting that permanence in music depends upon melodic
speech._
PREFACE
Owing to the high cost of book production at the present time,
the use of illustrations, both musical and photographic, has been
restricted in this book. It was decided only to fully illustrate
the analysis of MacDowell's "Indian" Suite for Orchestra, _Op.
48_, this being a work less accessible to the general reader than
the composer's well known pianoforte pieces.
The author gratefully acknowledges the help of:--
Mrs. MacDowell--Information and gift of MacDowell portraits, an
original letter and a piece of MS. of the composer.
Mr. W.W.A. Elkin--Information and loan of scores.
Mr. Charlton Keith--Loan of _D minor Pianoforte Concerto_.
Messrs. J. and W. Chester, Ltd.--Information.
CONTENTS
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
MACDOWELL AS COMPOSER
MACDOWELL THE MAN
THE MACDOWELL COLONY
REPRODUCTION OF A MACDOWELL LETTER
THE MUSIC:
WORKS WITH OPUS NUMBERS
WORKS WITHOUT OPUS NUMBERS
ALPHABETICAL INDEX TO MACDOWELL'S WORKS
EDWARD MACDOWELL
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
EDWARD ALEXANDER MACDOWELL was born in New York City, U.S.A., on
December 18th, 1861, of American parents descended from a Quaker
family of Scotch-Irish extraction who emigrated to America about
the middle of the 18th Century. He was their third son. As a boy
he studied the pianoforte with Juan Buitrago, a South American,
Pablo Desvernine, a Cuban, and for a short time with the famous
Venezuelan pianist, Teresa Carreño. He also indulged in childish
composition on his own account. He was not a "wonderful" pupil
and did not like the drudgery of practising "exercises."
When he was fourteen years of age he went to France, accompanied
by his mother, to study pianoforte playing and the theory of
music at the Paris Conservatoire under Marmontel and Savard
respectively. Here one of his fellow students was Debussy, even
then looked upon as having curious and unconventional ideas on
his art.
MacDowell had also to learn the French language, and the person
who taught him French discovered that the young American had a
decided gift for drawing. He showed one of the boy's sketches to
a teacher at the School of Fine Arts, who offered to take the boy
as a pupil for three years free of charge, and to be responsible
for his maintenance during that time.
With his striking imaginative powers and love of Nature, and his
appreciation of Historical and Legendary lore, it is very
probable that MacDowell might have become distinguished as a
painter had he applied himself to painting, for he was a born
artist and very fond of sketching, but he refused the offer on
the advice of his music teachers, and continued his studies at
the Conservatoire.
After persevering for a couple of years he grew dissatisfied with
the tuition he was receiving, and upon hearing Nicholas
Rubinstein play, he determined to go elsewhere.
Careful discussion with his mother resulted in their selection of
Stuttgart, Germany, whither they accordingly removed, MacDowell
entering the Conservatorium there. Here he was soon convinced,
however, that the instruction given there was of no use to him,
and after having studied under Lebert and Louis Ehlert and having
been refused a hearing by Hans von Büllow, he left Stuttgart and
entered the Frankfort Conservatorium, where his teachers were
Raff, the Principal, for composition, and Carl Heymann for
pianoforte playing. Raff was kind and encouraging to the young
American, and once said to him, "Your music will be played when
mine is forgotten." The influence of Raff's teaching is evident
in a number of MacDowell's early compositions, especially the
_Forest Idyls, Op. 19_, and the _First Suite for Orchestra, Op.
42_.
In 1881 Heyman resigned and nominated MacDowell as his successor,
a proposal seconded by Raff. The gifted American, however,
possessed the criminal fault, in the eyes of jealous and
intolerant old men, of being young; the fact that he was quite
capable of filling the vacant post was, to them, a secondary
consideration, and he was rejected.
He now began to take private pupils, and among them was an
American girl, Marian Nevins, who was to become his wife about
three years afterwards; the _Forest Idyls, Op. 19_, are dedicated
to her. Although he had failed to obtain the vacant professorship
at Stuttgart, MacDowell was appointed head teacher of the
pianoforte at the Conservatorium in the neighbouring town of
Darmstadt. His work here was soul-killing in its drudgery and he
soon relinquished it.
Apart from his teaching labours, MacDowell had, in the meantime,
been composing steadily, and had also been appearing at local
orchestral concerts as solo pianist, and in 1882 Raff sent him to
Liszt armed with his _First Pianoforte Concerto, Op. 15_. The
mighty old Hungarian praised the work highly and also seemed
impressed with MacDowell's playing. He was kind to the struggling
young American, eventually accepted the dedication of the
concerto, and recommended the performance and publication of some
of MacDowell's earlier compositions, notably the _First Modern
Suite, Op. 10_, and the _Second Modern Suite, Op. 14_.
Composition now became more and more the dominating feature in
the development of MacDowell's musical genius, although he was
still obliged to teach for his living.
He was fortunate in being able to persuade local conductors to
try over his orchestral works, a thing that was practically
impossible in his own country, as he afterwards found. In June,
1884, he returned to the United States, and in the following
month (July 21st) he married his former pianoforte pupil, Marian
Nevins, in whom he was to find complete happiness and a devoted
companion and sympathiser. In the same year Mr. and Mrs.
MacDowell returned to Frankfort, after having visited England.
In 1885 MacDowell applied for a professorship at the English
Royal Academy of Music, but Lady Macfarren, wife of the
Principal, was instrumental in securing his rejection on account
of his youth, nationality and friendship with Liszt, who, in
English Victorian academic eyes, was too "modern."
In 1887 MacDowell and his wife, they having returned to Germany,
bought a little cottage in the woods some distance from
Wiesbaden. They were very friendly with Templeton Strong, another
American composer, some of whose works have been played at the
Queen's Hall Promenade Concerts in London.
In September, 1888, the MacDowells sold their German cottage and
returned to their native country, electing to make their home in
Boston, Mass.
MacDowell found that his European reputation and his music had
preceded him to America, and he was well received on the occasion
of his first concert in his native country. Most notable were his
successes when he played his _Second Pianoforte Concerto, in D
minor_ (_Op_. 23), at important orchestral concerts in New York
and Boston.
In 1889 MacDowell played his D minor concerto in Paris, where
more than twelve years before he had been a student, and it was
after his return from this visit to France that his fame as a
pianist and composer began to spread freely in America. In 1890
his _Second Symphonic Poem, Lancelot and Elaine_ (_Op_. 25), was
played under Nikisch at Boston.
The year 1891 was a successful one for MacDowell, for it saw two
performances of a large orchestral work, _First Suite, in A
minor_, he had just completed; the production of his symphonic
_Fragments_ (_Op_. 30); and his first pianoforte recital in
America.
MacDowell's prestige continued to grow steadily. He was
invariably received with enthusiasm on the numerous occasions of
his public appearances as a pianist, while each new composition
he issued was remarkably well received by the public and the
newspaper musical critics. The Boston Symphony Orchestra was
especially encouraging to him, placing both his _"Indian" Suite,
Op. 48_, and his _First Concerto, in A minor, Op. 15_, on the
programme of one of its New York concerts. Teresa Carreño, the
famous pianist from whom he had had a few lessons when a boy,
played some of his music at most of her recitals. She was also
instrumental, with the ready help of Sir (then Mr.) Henry J.
Wood, in making MacDowell's D minor concerto known in England.
The popular London Queen's Hall conductor was impressed with the
work, and has ever since recommended it to budding young pianists
as a concerto worth studying.
The occasion of MacDowell's performance of his D minor concerto
with the Philharmonic Society of New York on December 14th, 1894,
is worthy of note. He then achieved one of the most conspicuous
triumphs of his career. His playing was described by Henry T.
Finck, the distinguished American musical critic, as being of
"that splendid kind of virtuosity which makes one forget the
technique." MacDowell received a tremendous ovation such as was
accorded only to a popular prima donna at the opera, or to a
famous virtuoso of international reputation. The musical critics
generally agreed that the fine feeling and the power of the
concerto was as responsible for his remarkable success before the
critical Philharmonic audience as his playing of it. The
conductor was Anton Seidl.
A few months after the above event, MacDowell created a deep
impression in the same city by his playing of his _Sonata
Tragica, Op. 45_, and some smaller pieces.
In 1896 he bought some land near Peterboro, in the south of the
state of New Hampshire. In addition to a music room connected by
a passage with the house, he built a log cabin in the woods near
by, where he could compose in the solitude that was needed for
the transcribing of his dreams and inspirations into permanent
music form.
In the same year (1896) it was decided to found a department of
music at Columbia University, New York, and MacDowell, described
by the committee formed to appoint a Professor of Music as "the
greatest musical genius America has produced," was offered the
distinguished, but as it proved, laborious task of organising the
new department. After some hesitation he accepted the post, as it
would afford him an income free from the precariousness of
private teaching.
In a letter to the writer, Mrs. MacDowell says: "In taking the
position of Professor of Music at Columbia University, Mr.
MacDowell went into an environment quite different from anything
he had ever experienced before. He had no University training, no
knowledge of its methods, and brought to his work an enthusiasm
and freshness which eventually meant overcrowded class rooms."
During his vacation from the University in 1902-3, he undertook a
great concert tour of the United States, going as far west as San
Francisco. In 1903 he visited England, and on May 14th played his
D minor pianoforte concerto at a concert of the Royal Philharmonic
Society in Queen's Hall, London.
In 1904 he resigned from Columbia because of a disagreement with
the faculty concerning the proper position of music and the fine
arts in the curriculum. His plans for a freer and greater
relationship between University teaching and liberal public
culture were considered impracticable and the authorities
rejected them. MacDowell's attitude in the matter was criticised,
misunderstood and misrepresented at the time. He was even accused
of neglecting the duties of the position he held, whereas, as it
afterwards transpired, he had laboured ungrudgingly at his task.
It is pleasant to know that his students were among the first to
uphold his character. His patience, his droll criticisms, and the
illuminating quality of his teaching endeared him to all who
studied under him.
MacDowell was bitterly disappointed and hurt at the unfavourable
reception of his reforming plans, but until the beginning of his
fatal illness shortly afterwards, he continued his teaching
privately, even giving free lessons to deserving students in
whose talent he had faith.
His lectures at Columbia University are preserved in permanent
form under the title of _Critical and Historical Essays_. In a
letter to the writer, Mrs. MacDowell says of the volume, "I think
my husband would have felt that just such a title implies a more
finished product than one finds, but after his death the demand
was very great among his old students that these notes might be
preserved in permanent form ... Mr. MacDowell had an extraordinary
memory, and seldom had more than mere notes in delivering his
lectures. Occasionally in preparing the lectures, without quite
realising it, he dictated far more than he had intended, not
always using this material in his class room. These Essays
represent the result of what he dictated to me as he walked up
and down his music room trying to crystallize his ideas; they were
printed unedited. I sometimes think one reads in between the lines
of these Essays a good deal of what the man was himself."
Although the time at his command was restricted, the eight years
of MacDowell's Columbia professorship saw the composition of most
of his finest works. For two years he was conductor of the
Mendelssohn Glee Club, one of the oldest and best Male-voice
choruses in the United States, and was also, for a short time,
President of the Manuscript Society, an association of American
composers. Princeton University and the University of Pennsylvania
conferred on him the honorary degree of Doctor of Music.
In the spring of 1905, MacDowell began to suffer from nervous
exhaustion. Overwork and morbid worry over disagreeable
experiences, especially in connection with his resignation from
Columbia, brought on insomnia. A quiet summer on his Peterboro
property brought no improvement in his condition, and the eminent
medical specialists who attended him soon pronounced his case to
be a hopeless one of cerebral collapse. He should have rested
earlier from both his crowded teaching and his composing.
Slowly, but with terrible sureness, his brainpower was beginning
to crumble away and his mind became as that of a little child.
Day after day he would sit near a window, turning over the pages
of one of his beloved books of fairy-tales, an infinitely moving
and tragic figure.
Time went by and the delicately poised intellect grew more and
more dimmed, until at last he hardly recognised his dearest
friends. A few months before the end his physical strength,
hitherto well preserved, began to fail, until at last he sank
rapidly, dying at 9 o'clock in the evening of January 23rd, 1908,
at the age of forty-six, in the Westminster Hotel, New York, in
the presence of his devoted wife.
A simple service was later held at St. George's Episcopal Church,
and he was buried on the Sunday following his death. His grave is
on an open hilltop of his Peterboro property that he loved, and
is marked by a granite boulder on which is a simple bronze tablet
bearing the lines inscribed at the head of one of his last
pieces, _From a Log Cabin_ (_Op_. 62, _No_. 9), an unconscious
prophesy of his own tragic end:--
_A house of dreams untold,
It looks out over the whispering tree-tops
And faces the setting sun_.
The last music that MacDowell published appeared in 1902, and
indicated the beginning of a new and deeper note in his creative
voice. He felt, too, that he was growing away from pianoforte
work and had he lived there would have been further and more
representative symphonic poems and at least one symphony from his
pen, three movements of the latter being among his unfinished
manuscripts. He had hoped for ultimate leisure in which to
compose, free from the drudgery of earning his living by
teaching, and his last great concert tour was undertaken with the
idea of gathering money for the realisation of his dream.
The death of MacDowell completed the blow which his failing
brain-power had dealt to American music and his many sympathisers,
between two and three years before. His spirit lives, however, in
his music and in the wonderful MacDowell Colony at Peterboro, New
Hampshire. The latter is an amazing realisation of the composer's
dream of an ideal environment for creative work in Music, Art and
Literature. A chapter describing the Colony will be found further
on in this book. In addition to the central organisation, now
known as _The Edward MacDowell Association, Incorporated_, there
are springing up in many American cities offshoots known as
MacDowell Clubs, which contribute towards the expenses of the
Colony.
MACDOWELL AS COMPOSER
Macdowell's position to-day in creative musical art remains the
same as it was twenty years ago--one of unassailable independence
and individualism. Although these two factors, whether assailable
or not, must be a feature of any composer who lays claim to
greatness, in MacDowell's case they are so marked as to form the
strongest bulwark of his natural position among great music
makers. His tone poetry is of a quality and power that is not
quite like that of any other composer, and in the portraying, or
suggesting, as he preferred to call it, of Natural, Historical
and Legendary subjects he stands alone. Superbly gifted as a
lyrical poet both in the literary and the musical sense, and with
a most refined and keen feeling for the dramatic, he spoke with a
voice of singular eloquence and power. Probably his greatest
achievement was his remarkable, unerring ability to create
atmospheres of widely varied kinds in his music, and in this
respect there is no composer quite his equal. The soft beauty,
grandeur, vastness and might of Nature; the joys and sorrows of
Humanity; the romance of History and imaginative Legend; the
buoyancy of sunshine and wind; the mysteriousness of enchanted
woods; all these he translated with inimitable vividness into
music. He could suggest with as definite and unmistakable a
musical atmosphere, the simple beauty of a little wild flower, as
the might of the sea; as well the fanciful and imaginative scenes
of fairy tale as the wild and lonely vastness of the great
American prairies; as well the joviality and humour of his
countrymen as the elemental strength, and rude, stern manliness
of the North American Indian, and the heroic, stirring atmosphere
of the ancient bards.
That MacDowell was greater than is generally recognised in
England is an opinion that increasingly forces itself on all who
study and become closely acquainted with his best work. He is
generally admitted to be great in small, lyrical forms, but it is
insufficient to regard him merely as a miniaturist. The form of
the well-known _Sea Pieces_ (_Op_. 55) for pianoforte is small,
for example, and yet the material is big and grand enough for
symphonic work. The equally well-known _Woodland Sketches, Op.
51_, contain pieces of charming and delicate conception, as well
as broader writing, and can hardly be considered as the products
of a restricted inspiration. The poetry is so unmistakably fresh
and individual, and the atmosphere so vividly suggested, that the
ability of the composer to condense his material into such small
compass is remarkable to even the most casual observer. Far from
shewing weakness, the small form of MacDowell's compositions is a
proof of his strength, for few other composers have been able to
suggest such big scenes, often of far-reaching and wide
significance, on such small canvasses as those on which he
painted his tone poems.
The outstanding reason for his preference for writing albums of
short pieces (partly due, no doubt, to lack of time for more
extended work) was that he loved to seize a passing impression or
inspiration and to express it in music before it faded from his
mind. Nearly all his small pieces are musical photographs of the
fancies of an impressionable and sensitive imagination.
The criticism sometimes heard that he was only good in small
forms is, however, based on a fallacy due to an imperfect
acquaintance with his work and is completely shattered by the
indisputable greatness of his two concertos, of his four
pianoforte sonatas and of the _"Indian" Suite_ for orchestra. The
sonatas, although not all of equal value, comprise some of the
finest pianoforte music in existence. They are notable for their
passion, breadth of style, massive momentum, dramatic power and
eloquence of expression. Admirers think them only equalled by
such creations as Beethoven's _Sonata Appassionata_. It is
curious that MacDowell's sonatas are infrequently performed, for
they bring the resources of the modern pianoforte into full and
sonorous play, sweeping the whole of the keyboard with their
stirring expressions. It is possible that as they are not in
general demand, the average virtuoso does not consider their
technical difficulties worth conquering. Nay, it is even doubtful
whether the pianist's mind could always rise to the heights of
fervent poetry and imagination whither MacDowell was often
carried and the memories of which are embodied in his finest
music.
As a tone poet MacDowell has none of the sensuous emotionalism
that wins popularity in the drawing room and at the musical
recitals of popular pianists. He is never sentimental and his
strength and passion is always finely controlled, never feverish.
His music is singularly free from the emotionalisms of sex, the
love-impulse with him is always noble and restrained. In all his
moods there is a human spirit and some definitely suggested
content, the most notable purist exceptions being the two
pianoforte concertos. His tone colourings are never used densely
or oppressively, but only serve to heighten the suggestiveness of
the whole. He loved the pianoforte as an instrument for personal
melodic and harmonic expression, and understood the range of its
tonal resources. His biggest music for it is written with very
broad and extended chords, strong in character, but always
wonderfully clear and ringing, and eminently suited for
pianoforte sonority. His tone nuances range from a shadowy,
mysterious _pppp_ to a virile, massive _ffff_.
MacDowell's best orchestral composition is his _Second (Indian)
Suite, Op_. 48. This is one of his most noble works, scored with
masterly skill and vividly suggesting the great plains and
forests, the wild and lonely retreats, the festivals, sorrows,
rejoicings, and romances and also the stern, rude manliness of
the North American Indians, whose pathetic annals form such a
stirring page in American history. MacDowell also wrote three
symphonic poems for orchestra, another suite, and some symphonic
sketches.
The songs of MacDowell make an important section of the catalogue
of his works, and are chiefly notable for their beauty and
tenderness of expression, and he was at his very best when
writing in the pure lyric form. His efforts comprising Ops. 56,
58 and 60 are of a rare and expressive order. He also composed a
number of fine part-songs for male-voice choruses. Most of his
best vocal works are set to his own verses, as he could seldom
satisfy himself that words ally themselves naturally with music.
Poetry furnishes a composer with inspiration for expression
which, MacDowell felt, could not be clearly demonstrated in a
small space, and that the music therefore is apt to distort the
words if they are harnessed to it in song form. Most of
MacDowell's finest pianoforte pieces bear verses in addition to
titles, thus definitely indicating what the music is intended to
suggest. His verses are of an uncommon and gifted order, for he
was a true poet in both the literary and the musical sense. His
poems were collected some years after his death and published
under the title of _Book of Verses, by Edward MacDowell_. They
are valuable for their own sake, quite apart from their
connection with his music, and make very beautiful reading. A
number of his wonderfully illuminating Columbia University
lectures, to which we have referred more fully in the preceding
chapter, were collected and edited by W.J. Baltzell and published
in 1912 under the title of _Critical and Historical Essays
(Lectures delivered at Columbia University) by Edward MacDowell_.
MacDowell's work is of the kind that appeals intimately to those
only who understand and feel the significance of things musical.
His compositions are seldom mentioned in those terms of effusive
adoration so often applied to the works of many well-known
composers, neither do they figure largely in the recitals of
popular pianists, for minds saturated with sensuous sentiment and
the worship of tradition cannot easily follow his pure idealism
and the significance of the things which he loved and expressed
in his music. His compositions are "modern" in outlook, but
remarkably free in spirit and never savour of the type of
modernism that is little more than gilded pedanticism.
Mention must be made of MacDowell as a pianist. He was capable of
playing with remarkable swiftness of finger action, and his tone
production ranged from the most delicate refinement to overwhelming
floods of orchestral-like strength. In playing his larger works, he
loved to make his music sweep in great waves, and to introduce the
most wonderful contrasts and varieties of tone colour. At his
recitals he played other music besides his own, and became
distinguished as a pianist, although his interpretations were
always more personal than traditional.
MACDOWELL THE MAN
The whole nature of MacDowell was singularly impressionable,
imaginative, idealistic and romantic. He loved the beauty,
grandeur and solemnity of Nature not only for its outward aspect,
but for what he thought it symbolised. His sensitive character
made him extremely sympathetic towards human nature, although he
never used his understanding of his fellow men to cultivate by
trickery or device their favour and praise. He loved and
idealised the ancient days of romance and chivalry, when men
lived the wonderful tales of heroism that are now discredited and
fading before the materialism of modern civilisation, and in this
respect he had an affinity with the English composer, Elgar. He
derived enjoyment from fairy tales and folk-lore, and these were
his apparent consolation in his tragic last years. He was a man
of rare qualities, noble, sincere and unselfish to an extreme. He
hated insincerity in any form, and if he had been more tolerant
in this respect his path would have often been easier. He had a
curious and charming love for the growing things and creatures of
the woods, and although an excellent shot, he could never enjoy
hunting or shooting, as it hurt him to kill birds or animals. He
abhorred the copying, by Americans, of European aristocratic
"sport," for the nobleness of his nature could not descend to the
vicious customs of those only noble by assumption or in title.
His intellectual bearing, his catholicity of tastes and his
learning presented a striking contrast to the narrow outlook and
brainlessness of the average high-brow type of musician, and in
this respect again he was like Elgar.
He dipped deeply into literature, both ancient and contemporary,
and was always working out aesthetic and philosophic problems
concerning music. His knowledge of his art would have done
justice to a learned academician, though this he certainly was
not, and he always held shrewdly formed opinions typical of his
countrymen, on subjects that interested him. He had a healthy
dislike of fashionable "at-homes" and dinner parties where music
is "adored" and "loved" by those who may have a good knowledge of
social matters, but who have little or no ability to comprehend
the deeper significance and power of the art. In fact one
suspects that they adopt high-class music chiefly in an attempt
to indicate an intellectual status they do not possess. For
sincere and able criticism, however, MacDowell always had respect
and interest, and he was always touched by what he thought was
honest praise and admiration. In quiet conversation he was the
most charming of men, but in social gatherings he was ill at
ease, and unable to take part in the tactful conversation and
studied courtesies of society that make for success. His
convictions were passionately idealistic, and he often stated
them with a bluntness and utter lack of diplomacy that would have
made Beethoven claim him as a brother; although MacDowell felt
none of that old giant's bitterness towards Society. Where
Beethoven felt contempt for even the praise of those he knew were
not great enough to understand him, MacDowell was merely
uncomfortable; both because he hated insincere attentions and
because his modesty would seldom allow him to believe that he
deserved even honest congratulations.[Note: When in London in
1903, MacDowell was asked to give some recitals from his
compositions, after the Philharmonic performance of his _D minor
Piano Concerto_, but on seeing the heavy recital list at Wigmore
(then Bechstein) Hall, he characteristically decided that nobody
would want to hear his music after all the other pianists had
played. His London publisher, Mr. W. Elkin. however, asked him to
come the following year, which he promised to do, but his fatal
illness intervened and he never saw England again.]
He was often sarcastic, with the humour of his countrymen, but
never bitter, and even when he was so cruelly misunderstood and
misrepresented about his Columbia resignation, he was more hurt
and disappointed than angry.
In his private life MacDowell's was a healthy, manly and robust
figure. He was fond of outdoor life, of riding and walking, and
of the homely hobbies of gardening, photography and carpentry. He
was fairly tall, broad-shouldered and powerfully built. His
features were strong and intellectual, but a captivating twinkle
and humour in his eyes and a frequent sweetness of expression
prevented his being stern or forbidding. He had a natural, noble
bearing and an unassuming, thoughtful dignity that often gave him
a look of command.
In short, MacDowell was as fine as a man as he was as a composer.
He loved the traditions of the great Republic whose born citizen
he was, and was hopeful of her future in all things, and for her art
he worked nobly and unselfishly. He suffered from discouragement in
an acute form, but worked steadily on with a simple, unshakable
faith in his divine gifts. At the height of his fame he was never
unapproachable, but always had a kindly thought for the struggling
student of limited means; and although his plans at Columbia
University were defeated, he gave free private lessons to poor
students of talent. His noble and unselfish action in this regard
has not often been equalled among past and present successful
musicians. MacDowell was very modest about his work, but he was
quite conscious of the greatness of his gifts, and he had the
ambition to make a name, not merely for his own sake, but also that
America might be able to hold up her head as proudly in music as she
does in other things.
The idea of purely personal fame seldom entered his head and when
it did it made him rather uncomfortable, but his belief that he
was gifted and destined to make a name for his country, sustained
him in the struggle against the endless drudgery that always
dogged the free use of his talents.
One of MacDowell's dearest wishes was that America should have a
musical public capable of judging in an intellectual, educated and
sincere manner the merits of music and musicians, uninfluenced by
traditions and reputations introduced from other countries. He
wanted Americans to encourage their own men in Music, Art and
Literature and not to respect a third-rate artist simply because
he came from a foreign country having traditions of culture. He
insisted on the American composer being treated on absolutely equal
terms with the foreigner and according to his merits.
THE MACDOWELL COLONY
This account of that remarkable haven for creative artists known
as the "MacDowell Colony," situated at Peterboro', New Hampshire,
U.S.A., about three hours from Boston, is a reprint of the
prospectus of the "Edward MacDowell Association." The Colony owes
a great debt to the untiring enthusiasm and energy of Mrs.
MacDowell, who also finds time to give frequent recitals in
various American cities of her late husband's music. In the
opinion of many who know of her work, she is only comparable to
Madame Schumann, in her practical devotion to her great husband's
music and to the realisation of his ideals.
A DREAM COME TRUE
Speaking of nationalism in music--and the remark holds true of
nationalism in all the arts--Edward MacDowell once said: "Before
a people can find a musical writer to echo its genius, it must
first possess men who truly represent the people, that is to say,
men who, being part of the people, love the country for itself,
and put into their music what the nation has put into its life."
When MacDowell defined the essentials of a characteristic
national culture, he did not know that his name would one day be
associated with an enterprise ideally fitted to supply these
essentials. MacDowell had a dream which he hoped might be
converted into reality. This dream was shaped by influences from
two different sources--an abandoned farm in New Hampshire and the
American Academy at Rome.
He was one of the trustees of the American Academy at Rome. In
this capacity he met intimately a remarkable group of men--John
W. Alexander, Augustus St. Gaudens, Richard Watson Gilder,
Charles McKim, and Frank D. Millet. Contact with these men proved
an inspiration to MacDowell and convinced him that there was
nothing more broadening to the worker in one art than affiliation
with workers in the other arts.
In 1895 MacDowell purchased an old farm in Peterborough. In the
deep woods, about ten minutes from the little farmhouse he built
a log cabin:
"A house of dreams untold
It looks out over the whispering tree-tops
And faces the setting sun."
There he did much of his best work and there he liked to dream of
a day when other artists could work in just such beautiful and
peaceful surroundings. This is the dream that has come true.
Until MacDowell went to Peterborough he had worked under the
usual difficult conditions. During the winter he lived in the
city amidst noisy surroundings; in the summer he went the rounds
of country hotels and boarding-houses. Even the comparative
independence of his own house never gave him the quiet and
isolation that he craved at times, for there is no household
whose wheels can be instantly adjusted to the needs of one
member. For years MacDowell tried one makeshift after another
until at last in the Log Cabin he found exactly what he needed.
During the last year of MacDowell's life a society was
incorporated under the name of the Edward MacDowell Memorial
Association. The purpose of the society was to establish in
America a fitting memorial to the work and life of the American
composer along lines of MacDowell's own suggestion. A sum of
about thirty thousand dollars had been raised for MacDowell's
benefit. This amount was entrusted to the Association. Mrs.
MacDowell deeded to the Association the farm at Peterborough and
the contents of MacDowell's home. The Association at once
undertook the development of what has since become known as the
"Peterborough idea" and before MacDowell's death had actually
established, in a modest way, a Colony for Creative Artists.
LIFE IN THE COLONY
In an article in the North American Review, Edwin Arlington
Robinson writes: "It is practically impossible for me to say,
even to myself, just what there is about this place that compels
a man to work out the best that there is in him and to be
discontented if he fails to do so. The abrupt and somewhat
humiliating sense of isolation, liberty, and opportunity which
overtakes one each morning has something to do with it, but this
sense of opportunity does not in itself explain everything ...
The MacDowell Colony is in all probabilities about the worst
place in which to conceal one's lack of a creative faculty."
There is nothing camp-like about the place either in appearance
or in manner of life. There are comfortable living houses for the
men and women with all the conveniences of running water,
electric light, and telephone. A common dining room is in Colony
Hall. Here good wholesome food is served as it would be in any
well-managed household. This much for the creature comforts. For
the other and the more important side of Colony life there are
fifteen individual studios scattered here and there through the
woods.
The daily routine of life in the Colony is somewhat as follows:
After breakfast there is a quick scattering of the residents as
each one hurries off to his studio. It may be recalled here what
an important place MacDowell's Log Cabin plays in this scheme,
and how the idea has been to reproduce for as many people as
might be in the Colony conditions similar to those MacDowell
enjoyed--a comfortable home and an isolated workshop. Each one of
the fifteen studios is out of sound and sight of the others. In
order that the writer or painter may not be disturbed by the
sound of a piano, the composers' studios are as isolated as
possible. All the studios have open fireplaces and pleasant
verandahs and are furnished simply but always attractively. Each
studio has been planned for its own particular site. Some are
hidden in the woods, some command views of Monadnock or East
Mountain, and some long vistas through the trees.
In order that the working day may be long and uninterrupted, at
noon a basket lunch is left at each studio. Dinner is the time
for relaxation and social intercourse. Long pleasant evenings are
passed in the big living room of Colony Hall which is also the
library, or in the Regina Watson Studio which is near Colony Hall
and in the evening is used as a general music room, or in
leisurely walks to the village.
It should perhaps be added that daily life in the Colony is not
the cut and dried affair that this quick resume might seem to
imply. No one, of course, is required to stay in his studio all
day. No one is required to do anything. These artists are
independent men and women, not supervised students, and to all
intents they are as free as the wind. There are only two rules to
which every one must conform. One is that the studios, with the
one exception of the music-room, shall not be used at night. The
reason for this rule is the danger of fire. The other rule is that
no one shall visit another's studio without invitation. The purpose
of this rule is protection against unexpected interruptions. In all
other ways the colonist is free to do as he pleases--free except
for that irresistible compulsion to work which nobody who lives in
the Colony can escape. For, as Mr. Robinson says, the Colony is
"the worst loafing place in the world."
THE TRIUMPH OF EFFORT
A curious distrust of idealistic enterprises prevails in the
world even among people whose own life work is idealistic. This
distrust the MacDowell Colony has had to fight from the start. It
has had to prove that its ideals are practical. It has had to
demonstrate this to the very workers for whom it was founded and
who should from their own experience have clearly understood the
advantages it offers.
Gradually, in the face of discouraging skepticism and in spite of
inadequate equipment, it has won recognition and support. Its
triumph over initial obstacles is best illustrated by the extent
to which it has grown and by the number of earnest art workers
who have availed themselves of its opportunities.
Starting with MacDowell's home, his Log Cabin, and two hundred
acres of land, the Colony now has five hundred acres of land,
including three hundred and fifty acres of forest and a farm in
good cultivation, well equipped farm buildings, fifteen studios,
and five dwelling houses. There is also Colony Hall, a very large
barn which through the generosity of Mrs. Benjamin Prince is
being converted into a beautiful building. Colony Hall is the
social centre of the Colony. The John W. Alexander Memorial
Building, to be used for summer exhibitions of paintings and
sculptures, is now under construction and will soon be completed.
The Colony has also amassed equipment of another sort including
the splendid Cora Dow library of some three thousand volumes and
a most valuable collection of scores and costumes. Furthermore a
superb open air theatre for outdoor festivals of music and drama
has lately been completed. The beautiful stadium seats of this
theatre are a gift from the National Federation of Musical Clubs.
Such growth in the physical plant of any enterprise is evidence
enough of an actual, tangible success. The number of artists who
have availed themselves of the advantages offered by the Colony
are proof of another kind of success.
A SOCIAL ASSET
It should be clearly understood that the MacDowell Colony is in
no sense a philanthropic enterprise. Although it does strive as
far as possible to lower the barriers which lack of means so
often places in the path of talent, yet it is not intended
primarily for the impecunious. The qualification for admission to
the Colony is talent. A prospective colonist must either have
some fine achievement to his credit, or be possessed of a talent
for which two recognized artists in his own field are willing to
vouch.
The directors of the Association consider that it is a sound
economic policy to offer the advantages of the Colony at a
nominal price. They look upon the amount paid by the residents
for board and lodging as the directors of a university look upon
the tuition fees paid by the students. These fees are as much as
the students can be expected to pay, yet they do not go far
toward defraying the entire expenses of the university. The real
return to be made by the student is that later contribution to
society which in all likelihood will be more important on account
of his years of study in the university. Similarly the directors
of the Association are carrying on their undertaking for the
enrichment of American Art and Letters. Like the university, the
Colony must have either public or private support.
In a civilization like ours where the social significance of
creative art is not yet popularly recognized, support for an
enterprise like the MacDowell Colony cannot be expected from the
government. Such support must come from individuals.
This is the reason why the directors of the MacDowell Association
are appealing at this time to the friends and patrons of American
art to help them raise an endowment of two hundred thousand
dollars. Up to the present most of the necessary funds have been
raised through the personal efforts of Mrs. MacDowell. The
Directors feel that the time has come when her strength, never
very great, must be more carefully conserved by lifting from her
shoulders this very heavy financial burden. The Colony has had an
amazing twelve years of life. Shall its future be threatened by
lack of permanent income?
A CHANGE IN NAME
The name of the Edward MacDowell Memorial Association has been
changed to the Edward MacDowell Association, Incorporated. The
use of the word _Memorial_ has sometimes given people the
mistaken idea that the work of the Association was in the nature
of propaganda for the MacDowell music. MacDowell's work is
finished.
His music has long since spoken for itself and has gained
whatever hearing it deserves. The concern of the Association is
for contemporary work and for the future of American art in all
its branches--this and nothing else.
[Illustration: Handwritten Letter.]
To the Hof-Capellmeister Dr. Haase, Darmstadt,
19th Oct., 1885.
DEAR MR. HOF-CAPELLMEISTER,
I permit myself to address you in the hope that you may perhaps
feel inclined to have a little work of mine listed on a
convenient occasion at a theatre. The Opus would take _at most_
15-20 minutes in performance. Tune and scores are throughout
clearly and correctly copied.
You would infinitely oblige me if you would have the great
kindness to grant my request.
In the hope of receiving your early and favourable answer,
I am,
With great respect,
Yours gratefully,
E.A. MACDOWELL.
THE MUSIC
ANALYTICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE NOTES ON MACDOWELL'S COMPOSITIONS IN
ORDER OF OPUS NUMBER. WORKS UNNUMBERED FOLLOW ON
_NOTE_.--_In the British Empire, the more important of
MacDowell's pianoforte pieces and songs published in America by
Arthur P. Schmidt are obtainable from Elkin & Co., Ltd_., 8 & 10,
_Beak Street, London, W.I., who issue a list of the composer's
works they sell. Other MacDowell compositions are mostly
obtainable through J. & W. Chester, Ltd_., II _Great Marlborough
Street, London, W.I. Ops_. 24, 28 & 31 _are issued by Winthrop
Rogers, Ltd_., 18, _Berners Street, London, W.I. In America,
Arthur P. Schmidt for all MacDowell works_.
OPUS 1 TO OPUS 8.
Destroyed by the Composer.
OPUS 9. TWO OLD SONGS, FOR VOICE AND PIANOFORTE.
_First Published_, 1894. (Arthur P. Schmidt).
1. _Deserted_.
2. _Slumber Song_.
The _Two Old Songs, Op. 9_, head the list of MacDowell's
published works with opus numbers. Their position in it, however,
is somewhat misleading to the casual observer of the composer's
artistic development, for they are the fruits of a mature period
and were given the opus number they bear only as a matter of
convenience. They were composed about ten or eleven years after
the songs of Ops. 11 and 12, which in comparison with the _Two
Old, Songs_ are weak and devoid of individuality and originality.
The _Two Old Songs_ are very beautiful and expressive, exhibiting
the composer's melodic gift.
_Deserted_ is a setting of Robert Burns's lines, "Ye banks and
braes o' bonnie Doon." It is one of the most expressive of
MacDowell's songs, being full of deep and very human pathos. The
melody is one of the most poignant he set down, but it is
subjected to repetition that becomes monotonous. The song is
expressively indicated _Slow: With pathos, yet simply_.
_Slumber Song_ is a setting of some of the composer's own lines,
"Dearest, sleep sound." The song presents a fairly good mating of
words and music, and its expression is a lovable one, inimitably
MacDowell-like in effect.
OPUS 10. FIRST MODERN SUITE, FOR PIANOFORTE.
_Composed, Frankfort, 1880. First Played, July 11th, 1882, by the
composer, at the Ninth Annual Convention of the General Society
of German Musicians, held at Zurich.
First Published, 1883_ (Breitkopf & Härtel).
_Dedicated to Mrs. Joachim Raff_.
1. _Præludium_.
2. _Presto_.
3. _Andantino and Allegretto_.
4. _Intermezzo_.
5. _Rhapsody_.
6. _Fugue_.
The first public performance of this suite was secured by Liszt,
whom MacDowell had interviewed and who was entrusted with the
making up of the programmes of the General Society of German
Musicians at that time. It was on Liszt's recommendation, too,
that this suite and its successor, the _Second Modern Suite for
Pianoforte, Op. 14_, were published by Breitkopf and Härtel at
Leipzig. The _First Modern Suite_ is of comparatively little
importance to-day as music, but it is well written and interesting
as an early work by MacDowell. Some significance may be attached
to the fact that we find two movements of the suite bearing
quotations showing their source of inspiration and suggesting
their poetic content. Suggestive titles and verses are an
outstanding feature of all MacDowell's later and finest works.
Two movements of the suite were first heard in London in March,
1885, at a concert composed of American music.
OPUS 11 AND OPUS 12. FIVE SONGS, FOR VOICE AND PIANOFORTE.
_First Published_, 1883 (C.F. Kahnt Nachfolger. British
Empire--Elkin & Co.).
1. _My Love and I_ (_Op. 11, No. 1_).
2. _You Love Me Not!_ (_Op. 11, No. 2_).
3. _In the Sky, where Stars are Glowing_ (_Op. 11, No. 3_).
4. _Night Song_ (_Op. 12, No. 1_).
5. _The Chain of Roses_ (_Op. 12, No. 2_).
These songs are interesting as the first examples published of
MacDowell's work in this form of composition. They are well
written and obviously sincere, which is in itself a merit rare in
song writing, but they have little of the individual charm and
beauty of expression found in the composer's later song groups.
_My Love and I_ is the most popular of the set, having a certain
distinctive charm of its own.
OPUS 13. PRELUDE AND FUGUE, FOR PIANOFORTE.
_First Published_, 1883. (Revised Edition--Arthur P. Schmidt).
This is a well-written number in conventional form, but it is
obviously foreign to MacDowell's temperament, which was only at
its best in subjects having some definite poetical basis. The
work was later revised by the composer, and while quite a good
example of its form, as a MacDowell work it is unconvincing.
OPUS 14. SECOND MODERN SUITE, FOR PIANOFORTE.
_Composed, Frankfort-Darmstadt_, 1881. _First Published_, 1883
(Breitkopf & Härtel).
_Dedicated to Camille Saint-Saens._
1. _Præludium_.
2. _Fugato_.
3. _Rhapsody_.
4. _Scherzino_.
5. _March_.
6. _Fantastic Dance_.
Much of this music was composed in the makeshift studio of a
German railway carriage, while the composer was travelling to and
fro to give lessons, between Frankfort and Darmstadt and from one
of these to Erbach-Fürstenau, the latter place entailing a
typically tiring Continental journey. The suite, like its
predecessor, the _First Modern Suite for Pianoforte, Op. 10_, was
published at Leipzig by Breitkopf and Härtel on the recommendation
of Liszt. The music is of little importance to-day, although it is
melodious and well written. The opening _Præludium_ foreshadows
the composer's later regard for significance of expression, for it
bears an explanatory quotation from Byron's _Manfred_. Teresa
Carreño, the masculine woman pianist, from whom MacDowell had
received one or two early lessons in pianoforte playing, performed
the _Suite_ in New York City on March 8th, 1884, and toured three
movements of it in the following year, in other parts of the United
States.
OPUS 15. FIRST CONCERTO, IN A MINOR, FOR PIANOFORTE AND
ORCHESTRA.
_Composed, Frankfort_, 1882. _First Published_, 1885 (Breitkopf &
Härtel).
_Dedicated to Franz Liszt._
1. _Maestoso, Allegro con fuoco._
2. _Andante Tranquillo._
3. _Presto_--_Maestoso_--_Molto piu lento_--_Presto_.
Joachim Raff frightened MacDowell into composing this concerto.
He called on his young American pupil one day and asked him what
he had in hand? MacDowell, who stood in great awe of his master,
was confused and hardly knowing what he was saying replied that
he "was working at a concerto." Raff told him to bring it along
on the following Sunday, but when that day arrived MacDowell had
only the first movement completed, which had been commenced as
soon as Raff had left him. He evaded his appointment, and his
master named the following Sunday for their meeting, but
MacDowell's visit had to be further postponed until the following
Tuesday, and by that day he had finished the concerto. On Raff's
advice he took the work to Liszt, arranging a second pianoforte
part for the purpose. The old master received him kindly and
asked D'Albert, who was present, to play the second pianoforte.
At the finish he not only complimented MacDowell on his
composition, but on his ability as a pianist, which pleased the
young American immensely, for he had not yet come to regard his
compositions as of any value, and pianoforte playing was his
first study. Afterwards MacDowell wrote to Liszt asking him to
accept the dedication of the concerto, which the venerable
Hungarian did.
The _First Pianoforte Concerto_ hardly ranks as one of
MacDowell's finest works, it having been written before he had
attained, in any notable degree, to his mature impressionist
style. It is, however, brilliantly written, bold and original in
harmonic treatment and full of youthful fire and vigour. With the
second concerto (_Op. 23_), it is one of his few large works not
having some definitely indicated poetic content. If it has not
the significant expression of its greater successors, it has at
least a strength and fervency that indicate a youthful genius of
no common order. Its interest is not of mere historic value as an
early example of MacDowell's work, for it can be performed to-day
with success. It has a lasting white heat of inspiration and even
in the light of the composer's greater works it still sounds
remarkably brilliant and fresh. The influence of Teutonic
training is evident and although the concerto cannot now be
considered as thoroughly representative of MacDowell, it has a
confident bearing and a certain individuality that mark it as
something considerably more than a mere academic experiment. It
must always be remembered, however, that a two-page piece from
_Sea Pieces, Op. 55_, or _New England Idyls, Op. 62_, or any
mature work by MacDowell is of greater artistic value than the
whole of the concerto in question.
OPUS 16. SERENATA, FOR PIANOFORTE.
_First Published_, 1883. (Revised Edition--Arthur P. Schmidt.)
This is a weak and unimportant work in MacDowell's catalogue. The
conventional _morceau_ style did not suit his type of genius even
before it was fully developed. Some years later the composer
revised the piece, but it is still of little value, despite its
outward grace and charm.
OPUS 17. TWO FANTASTIC PIECES, FOR PIANOFORTE.
_First Published_, 1884 (J. Hainauer). (Revised Edition of No.
2--Arthur P. Schmidt.)
1. _Legend._
2. _Witches' Dance_ (_Hexentanz_).
The _Legend_ is interesting and by stretching the imagination may
suggest some fantastic fairy tale, but its chief merit is that it
is more in keeping with MacDowell's natural gift for musical
suggestion than are the preceding pianoforte pieces, and also the
succeeding ones comprising _Op. 18_.
The _Witches' Dance_ became popular with pianoforte virtuosi,
being better known under its German title of _Hexentanz_.
MacDowell grew to detest its shallow outlook and the appeal it
made to the flashy pianist, although he himself played it in
public as late as 1891. He revised both the _Two Fantastic
Pieces_ some years after their original publication.
OPUS 18. TWO PIECES, FOR PIANOFORTE.
_First Published_, 1884 (J. Hainauer). (Revised Edition of No.
1--Arthur P. Schmidt.)
1. _Barcarolle in F._
2. _Humoresque in A._
These are two more unimportant pieces in conventional style,
indicating that MacDowell had not realized at that time just
where his true genius lay. The revised version of _Barcarolle_
made some years after its original publication, fails to make it
convincing, although it has a certain outward charm and is well
written in the particular style of piece of which it is an
example. Poetic significance, as we know it in MacDowell's
representative works, is conspicuous by its absence in these two
compositions.
OPUS 19. FOREST IDYLS, FOR PIANOFORTE.
_First Published_, 1884. New Edition, 1912 (C. F. Kahnt
Nachfolger. British Empire--Elkin & Co.).
_Dedicated to Miss Marian Nevins._
1. _Forest Stillness._
2. _Play of the Nymphs._
3. _Rêverie._
4. _Dance of the Dryads._
These pieces are noteworthy as early attempts at significant
expression and the consequent foreshadowing of MacDowell's mature
period. Their suggesting of their particular subjects as
indicated in the titles is fairly well done, but they are of
little importance as music, reflecting as they do the nineteenth
century German romanticism that had already been fully exploited
by Schumann and others. There is little of the individuality of
MacDowell in any of the _Forest Idyls_. The dedication is
interesting, for Miss Marian Nevins became Mrs. MacDowell in the
year of the original publication of the pieces. The revised
edition of _Forest Idyls_ now in circulation in England is by
Robert Teichmüller, and was issued in 1912. MacDowell himself
revised the _Rêverie_ (No. 3) and the _Dance of the Dryads_ (No.
4) in his later period, and these are published in America by
Arthur P. Schmidt.
1. _Forest Stillness_ is an _Adagio_, opening with softly
breathed chords _misterioso_. The effect is one of deep
stillness, but soon becomes dull and burdensome, seeming to lack
that touch of genius found in the composer's later works, which
are able to preserve their interest throughout.
2. _Play of the Nymphs_ is technically clever and brilliant, but
lacks interest and is too spun out.
3. _Reverie_ is a short and tuneful little piece with little or
nothing MacDowell-like in it and much of nineteenth century
German romanticism and harmonies. It has been arranged for
orchestra, and for pianoforte and strings.
4. _Dance of the Dryads_ would doubtless attract lovers of the
Sydney Smith type of salon music, if there are any of them left.
It opens in quite a bewitching dance manner and then goes on
tinkling away on top notes, with chromatic runs, half floating
arpeggios and all the rest of the stock-in-trade of pretty salon
music. There are, however, some rather characteristic touches in
it, which distinguish it from its companions. The key transitions
from A flat major through distant D major and then F sharp major
in bars 22, 23 and 24 (Teichmüller 1912 Edition) respectively are
quite personal.
OPUS 20. THREE POEMS, FOR PIANOFORTE DUET.
_Composed, Winter_, 1884-5. _First Published_, 1886 (J.
Hainauer).
1. _Nights at Sea._
2. _Tale of the Knights._
3. _Ballade._
Like the _Forest Idyls, Op. 19_, these pieces have a definite
poetic basis, but are conceived in a manner that only slightly
suggests the individuality of the composer. They are quite
musical and well written for a pianoforte duet, but lack the
sustained interest one expects to find in MacDowell's work.
OPUS 21. MOON PICTURES AFTER HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN, FOR
PIANOFORTE DUET.
_Composed, Winter_, 1884-5. _First Published_, 1886 (J.
Hainauer).
1. _The Hindoo Maiden._
2. _Stork's Story._
3. _In Tyrol._
4. _The Swan._
5. _Visit of the Bear._
The titles of these pieces are quite characteristic of MacDowell,
and are early indications of his love of the imaginative and
fanciful atmosphere of fairy tales. The pieces were originally
intended to form a suite for orchestra, but the opportunity arose
to have them printed as pianoforte duets and the composer was not
in a financial position to refuse the offer. Unfortunately he
destroyed the orchestral sketches. The _Moon Pictures_ are as a
whole charming and imaginative in conception, and represent the
fancies of the immortal Hans Andersen, although they are far from
being truly representative of MacDowell as we now know him.
OPUS 22. FIRST SYMPHONIC POEM, HAMLET AND OPHELIA, FOR FULL
ORCHESTRA.
_Composed, Frankfort, Winter_, 1884-5. _First Published_, 1885
(J. Hainauer).
_Dedicated to Henry Irving and Ellen Terry._
With the appearance of _Hamlet and Ophelia_ MacDowell found his
reputation considerably increasing. The work was performed in a
number of German towns soon after its first appearance, and
within a year following its publication the _Ophelia_ section was
performed in the composer's native city, New York. In the year
following this latter event, the _Hamlet_ section was played in
the same city. The first complete performance at Boston, Mass.,
was on January 28th, 1893, the Boston Symphony Orchestra playing
with Nikisch as conductor. _Hamlet and Ophelia_ really consists
of two separate poems for orchestra, and was first published in
that form, but MacDowell himself afterwards authorised its
alteration into one work, and he named it _First Symphonic Poem_.
The piece is not an altogether unworthy product of his genius. It
bears unmistakable evidence of Teutonic influence, but there is a
certain originality of thought and a freshness of spirit about it
that make for serious work. It was by far the most important of
MacDowell's music up to this period, for in addition to a skill
and brilliance of harmonic and orchestral colouring, it has a
depth of feeling and fuller exposition of personality than its
predecessors. It has a sense of romance, a beauty of melodic
outline and an attempted justification of title that are, at
least, sincerely effected, and although it is far from being one
of its author's representative works, it must be remembered that
he was but twenty-four years of age at its completion. As a
youthful achievement it is very fine, the creation of a gifted,
though immature, tone poet, and full of a promise that the future
was to amply fulfil. The title and dedication of the work are
interesting, and both indicate its link with the English dramatic
world. The performance of the English Shakespearian actors, Sir
Henry Irving and Ellen Terry, inspired MacDowell whilst in London
in 1884, on his honeymoon trip with Mrs. MacDowell.
OPUS 23. SECOND CONCERTO, IN D MINOR, FOR PIANOFORTE AND
ORCHESTRA.
_Probably Commenced Early in 1885 at Frankfort. Completed at
Wiesbaden the same year._
_First Performance in New York City, March 5th 1889, at
Chickering Hall, by the Composer and Orchestra Conducted by
Theodore Thomas._
_First Published_, 1890 (Breitkopf & Härtel).
_Dedicated to Teresa Carreño._
1. _Larghetto calmato_--_Poco piu mosso._
2. _Presto giocoso._
3. _Largo_--_molto Allegro, etc._
This is the most frequently played of MacDowell's two concertos
for pianoforte. It is much the finer of the two, being constructed
with greater skill and artistic confidence than the _First
Concerto, Op. 15_, and of all the works of MacDowell's early
period it is the most enduring. Like its predecessor, it is
one of the composer's few compositions that have no definitely
indicated poetic content. As a whole it is a work full of
feeling, brilliantly cohesive and logical, with good material
that is handled with confident skill, but it is not to be
compared with even the small works of the composer's mature
period, which commences with his _Opus_ 47. Its character,
however, is altogether strong and virile, containing many
passages of pure tonal beauty and eloquent expressiveness. The
orchestra is written for with skill and imagination and is on
equal terms with the solo instrument. The only fault of the work
is that its pianoforte part is far too continuously brilliant.
The concerto was enthusiastically received on MacDowell's first
performances of it in New York in March, 1889, and in Boston a
month later. On July 12th of the same year he played it in Paris.
His playing of it at a concert of the New York Philharmonic
Society on December 14th, 1894, was a memorable one and created a
furore, and he not only had to bow several times after each
movement, but at the end was given a storm of cheering and
recalled again and again to receive the acknowledgments of the
Philharmonic audience, which could be very critical when occasion
demanded. On May 14th, 1903, MacDowell visited London and played
the concerto at a concert given by the venerable Royal Philharmonic
Society held at Queen's Hall. The work had been first played in
London (Crystal Palace) three years previously, by Carreño.
OPUS 24. FOUR PIECES, FOR PIANOFORTE.
_Composed, Wiesbaden, Early Summer_, 1887.
_First Published_, 1887 (J. Hainauer. British Empire--Winthrop
Rogers, Ltd.).
1. _Humoresque._
2. _March._
3. _Cradle Song._
4. _Czardas_ (_Friska_).
The interval of time between the preceding work and these pieces
is explained by the fact that MacDowell and his wife had been
travelling, and the latter had passed through a dangerous illness
at Wiesbaden. The _Four Pieces for Pianoforte_ (__ 24) were among
the first productions of the composer after his return to
Wiesbaden, and date from that delightful period when he lived
with his wife in a cottage in the woods, some way from the town.
The pieces under notice are tuneful and well written, but quite
devoid of the individuality that distinguishes the composer's
later works. The brilliant _Czardas_ was revised by MacDowell in
his later period.
OPUS 25. SECOND SYMPHONIC POEM, LANCELOT AND ELAINE, FOR FULL
ORCHESTRA.
_Composed, Wiesbaden_, 1887-8. _First American Performance at
Boston, Mass., January 10th_, 1890, _at a Symphony Concert
Conducted by Nikisch. First Published_, 1888 (J. Hainauer).
_Dedicated to Templeton Strong._
MacDowell was not long in returning to the domain of symphonic
music, the _First Symphonic Poem_, _Hamlet and Ophelia, Op. 22_,
and the _Second Pianoforte Concerto, Op. 23_, having been
composed only about two or three years previously and separated
from it in order of opus number merely by a group of unimportant
piano pieces comprising _Op. 24_. _Lancelot and Elaine_ has its
poetical basis in the legends of King Arthur's days, which
MacDowell loved to read about and idealize. The work as a whole
follows Tennyson's poem and is essentially programme music. It is
impressively scored, rich and sonorous in harmonic treatment and
full of strikingly vivid and expressive poetical feeling. The
brilliance of the tournament; the loveliness of Elaine; the
nobleness of Lancelot; the scene of the maiden's funeral barge
floating down the river, and the knight's ensuing grief--all are
graphically illustrated in MacDowell's tone poem. The work
embraces moods and colours from brilliant exhilaration to
sombreness and poignant emotion. The climaxes are stirring and
coherent, and in many places the music really attains to a
considerable amount of dramatic power, contrasted by passages of
infinitely expressive tenderness. The whole thing was evidently
composed in a state of fervent inspiration and the feeling of
Teutonic influence, which was still over MacDowell at that time,
is forgotten in the power and beauty of his tone poetry, already
becoming individual and distinct from that of other composers.
OPUS 26. FROM AN OLD GARDEN, FOR VOICE AND PIANOFORTE.
_Composed, Wiesbaden_, 1887. _First Published_, 1887 (G.
Schirmer).
1. _The Pansy._
2. _The Myrtle._
3. _The Clover._
4. _The Yellow Daisy._
5. _The Bluebell._
6. _The Mignonette._
These songs are purely lyrical and are quite delightful examples
of MacDowell's work in this form, which he was to afterwards
uphold as a beautiful medium for song writing. They are not quite
of his very best output, but make charming solo numbers and are
free from vocal emotionalism. Many flower songs of other
composers are harnessed to highly emotional subjects and tend to
become love-songs, MacDowell's songs are a welcome relief in
their purely lyrical outlook. It will be noticed that the titles
of the songs in this group are all of the simple type of flowers
such as he loved, the gaudy, heavy and carefully cultivated
blossoms being conspicuous by their absence. It will serve no
purpose here to suggest which of the songs is the best, for each
has its own particular charm and it is more a matter of taste and
fancy than judgment as to which are the favourites.
OPUS 27. THREE PART-SONGS, FOR MALE CHORUS.
_Composed, Wiesbaden_, 1887. _First Published_, 1890 (Arthur P.
Schmidt).
1. _In the Starry Sky Above Us._
2. _Springtime._
3. _The Fisher-boy._
These are spirited and well written part-songs. They contain
expressive matter and make good and contrasting numbers for
male-voice choirs. The fact that they savour of the influence of
the German romantic school does not detract from their general
merit, although they are not truly MacDowell-like.
OPUS 28. SIX LITTLE PIECES, IDYLS (AFTER GOETHE), FOR PIANOFORTE.
_Composed, Wiesbaden_, 1887. _First Published_, 1887 (J. Hainauer.
Revised Edition--Arthur P. Schmidt. British Empire--Winthrop
Rogers, Ltd.).
1. _In the Woods_.
2. _Siesta_.
3. _To the Moonlight_.
4. _Silver Clouds_.
5. _Flute Idyl_.
6. _The Bluebell_.
These pieces were suggested to the composer by lines by the
German poet, Goethe. The music attempts to suggest the various
scenes indicated by the verses quoted at the head of each piece.
It is an advance on the preceding small pieces for pianoforte,
and foreshadows the later MacDowell of inimitable poetic
suggestion in music. The whole set was later revised by the
composer in his mature period, and in this form they are
acceptable, but even now not satisfying to those who are
acquainted with his greater work.
OPUS 29. THIRD SYMPHONIC POEM, LAMIA (AFTER KEATS), FOR FULL
ORCHESTRA.
_Commenced, Wiesbaden_, 1888. _Completed, Boston,_ _Winter,_
1888-9. _First Published_, 1908 (_Posthumously_) (Arthur P.
Schmidt). _Dedicated to Henry T. Finck_.
MacDowell refrained from publishing this work because he had been
unable to try it over in America with an orchestra, as he had
been able to do in Germany with his earlier symphonic works, and
he was not altogether certain of its effect. He, however,
published his two later suites for orchestra, Ops. 42 and 48,
with confidence.
The chief demerit of _Lamia_ is that it is obviously influenced
by the music of Wagner, and has but little of MacDowell's
customary individual expression. Apart from this defect, however,
it is undoubtedly effective, strongly and well written, and
interestingly scored. MacDowell himself considered it at least
the equal of his two earlier symphonic poems, _Hamlet and
Ophelia, Op. 22_, and _Lancelot and Elaine, Op. 25_, and intended
revising it. The work was published after his death by friends
who were anxious to provide against any future doubt as to its
authenticity. The composer dedicated it to Henry T. Finck, the
distinguished American musical critic, who was one of the first
to recognise the significance of MacDowell's music.
_Lamia_ has its poetic basis in the romantic, legendary poem by
John Keats. An introductory note by the composer in the full
score briefly outlines the meaning of the music:--
_Lamia, an enchantress in the form of a serpent, loves Lycius, a
young Corinthian. In order to win him she prays to Hermes, who
answers her appeal by transforming her into a lovely maiden.
Lycius meets her in the wood, is smitten with love for her and
goes with her to her enchanted palace, where the wedding is
celebrated with great splendour. But suddenly Apollonius the
magician appears; he reveals the magic. Lamia again assumes the
form of a serpent, the enchanted palace vanishes, and Lycius is
found lifeless._
The music commences with a sinister theme, _Lento misterioso, con
tristezza_, given out by bassoon and celli, accompanied by a soft
drum roll. This motive is the main one of the work, and may be
regarded as that of Lamia. After some impassioned development,
the music leads quietly into an _Allegro con fuoco_. This opens
with a strong tune, having a distinctly Teutonic flavour. It is
announced by the horns _con sordini_, accompanied very softly by
held notes in the strings, except viola, _pizzicato_ in the
celli, and tympani. From now onwards the music is graphic, and
contains some passages of unmistakable dramatic power. The
presence of the sinister opening theme is frequently felt. Near
the end the whole sinks away, a plaintive little clarinet solo,
_Lento_, indicating the death of Lycius. This is followed by a
short and vigorous conclusion.
OPUS 30. TWO FRAGMENTS, THE SARACENS AND THE LOVELY ALDA, FOR
ORCHESTRA.
_Composed, Wiesbaden, about_ 1887-8. _First Performed, November,_
1891, _at Boston, U.S.A., by Listemann and the Boston Philharmonic
Orchestra. First Published_, 1891 (Breitkopf & Härtel).
These two orchestral pieces have their poetic basis in _The Song
of Roland_, and were at first intended by the composer to form
movements, or at least important parts, of a symphony on the same
subject. The description, _Fragments_, under which MacDowell
published them, after his plan for a symphony had been abandoned,
is a very modest one for two such fine pieces of orchestral tone
poetry. _The Saracens_ is a piece of great power, dramatic and
wild in spirit and vivid in harmonic and instrumental colouring.
It represents the scene in which the traitor, Ganelon, determines
on the deed that results in the death of Roland. The whole
passage is vividly suggested by the music.
_The Lovely Alda_ is a very beautiful and human piece. Aldâ was
Roland's bethrothed and the music aims at suggesting her
loveliness and her mourning for her lover. There are passages of
intensely impressive melancholy in the _Fragment_ and its human
feeling is typical of MacDowell. Altogether the two pieces are
music on a high plane and worth attention for their own intrinsic
value, quite apart from their connection with the symphony that
never materialised. They bear a stamp of seriousness of effort
and a conscious responsibility that only the really great
composer is able to indicate.
OPUS 31. SIX POEMS AFTER HEINE, FOR PIANOFORTE.
_Composed, Wiesbaden_, 1887. _First Published_, 1887 (J. Hainauer.
Revised Edition--Arthur P. Schmidt. British Empire--Winthrop
Rogers, Ltd.).
1. _We Sat by the Fisherman's Cottage._
2. _Far Away, on the Rock-coast of Scotland._ (Scotch poem.)
3. _My Child, We Were Once Children._
4. _We Travelled Alone in the Gloomy Post-chaise._
5. _Shepherd Boy's a King._
6. _Death Nothing is but Cooling Night._ (_Poeme érotique_.)
Certain of these pieces, in the edition revised by the composer,
are rather good, and are full of suggestive effort. They have,
too, a touch of the composer's individuality about them, although
not of his greater kind. The pianoforte writing is well done and
effective, but lacks the sweep of line and power of the later
works. As a whole, however, the _Six Poems after Heine_ are quite
creditable and self contained pieces, each number bearing some
Heine verses indicating its poetic basis.
The first piece is contemplative and contains some distinctly
MacDowell-like harmonic touches.
The second graphically depicts the raging sea of the rocky coast
of Scotland, a grey old castle and a beautiful, but ailing, woman
harpist, whose gloomy song goes out into the storm. The music is
powerful and picturesque in the storm passages, while the sad
Scottish song of the woman adds vivid local colour to the whole.
The third number is rather poor and devoid of any real interest.
The journey in the post-chaise is told fairly graphically in the
fourth piece. The music is not very interesting, although its
hurried progress suggests the monotony of travel in a rumbling
vehicle on a night journey.
The fifth piece is lovely and tender, but not particularly
expressive. The last of the set opens with a noble, half-sad
melody that is typical of MacDowell. Its agitated middle section
provides a good contrast.
Two of the poems were played in orchestral garb for the first
time in England at a London Queen's Hall Promenade Concert on
October 3rd, 1916. They were No. 6, _Poeme érotique_, and No. 2,
_Scotch Poem_.
OPUS 32. FOUR LITTLE POEMS, FOR PIANOFORTE.
_Composed, Wiesbaden, about_ 1888. _Revised by the Composer_,
1906. _Copyrighted_ 1894 _and_ 1906 (Breitkopf & Härtel).
1. _The Eagle._
2. _The Brook._
3. _Moonshine._
4. _Winter._
These pieces are, in their revised version, more individual and
more worth playing than any of the preceding small pianoforte
works by MacDowell. They have his true ring and stamp, although
even here not in its most highly-developed form, and they
exemplify his already unerring power to create atmospheres of
far-reaching significance, even in tiny spaces, for all four
poems are but two-page pieces, and the most striking, _The
Eagle_, is but twenty-six bars in length.
1. _The Eagle_ is a tone picture of Tennyson's lines:--
_He clasps the crag with crooked hands;
Close to the sun in lonely lands,
Ring'd with the azure world, he stands.
The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls;
He watches from his mountain walls,
And like a thunderbolt he falls._
The opening high, wind-swept chords; the succeeding
softly-breathed, high chromatics, with the deep-voiced bass,
creating an atmosphere of the vast loneliness of wild mountain
heights; the gradual descent to spell-binding silence and then
the startling shriek and swoop down of the eagle--all these are
suggested in this tiny piece with unmistakable power. _The Eagle_
is remarkable for its programme music aspect in the light of
MacDowell's later works, for in these it is perfected suggestion
and not realism that we find.
2. _The Brook_ is a clever little piece, delicate and refined. It
begins with lovable simplicity, which is broken for a time by an
expressive and characteristic passage marked _sotto voce_. The
piece as a whole has for its motto Bulwer's lines:--
_Gay below the cowslip bank, see the billow dances;
There I lay, beguiling time--when I liv'd romances;
Dropping pebbles in the wave, fancies into fancies._
3. _Moonshine_ opens softly with a broad and dignified melody. The
expression soon becomes tender, but is interspersed with jocular
little passages. MacDowell illustrates in his characteristic
manner a lonely tramp at night, with the grotesque streaks of the
moonlight breaking quaintly into the pedestrian's contemplative
mood. The music is curiously lonely and suggestive of a quiet
moonlight night in the country. Particularly lovable are the soft,
characteristic chord progressions, followed by lonely silence, on
the second page, just before the opening melody returns. The
piece ends with the moon kissing the traveller good-night.
4. _Winter_ is a piece of deep feeling, quite haunting in its
expression of lonely grief. Its motto is taken from some lines by
Shelley:--
_A widow bird sate mourning for her love
Upon a wintry bough;
The frozen wind crept on above,
The freezing stream below.
There was no leaf upon the forest bare,
No flower upon the ground,
And little motion in the air
Except the mill-wheel's round._
The music is of the kind that remains in the memory for a long
time and is of a quality as moving in its sadness as anything
MacDowell ever composed. Its suggested scene seems to be the
bleak and icy winter of North America.
OPUS 33. THREE SONGS, FOR TENOR OR SOPRANO AND PIANOFORTE.
_Composed, Wiesbaden_, 1888. _First Published_, 1894 (J.
Hainauer. Revised Edition of Nos. 2 & 3--Arthur P. Schmidt).
1. _Prayer._
2. _Cradle Hymn._
3. _Idyl._
These songs are rather beautiful, and sincerely, although not
grandly, inspired. They are probably the least known in America
and England of MacDowell's songs, but they do not lack a fine,
spiritual outlook.
OPUS 34. TWO SONGS, FOR VOICE AND PIANOFORTE.
_Composed_, 1888. _First Published_, 1889 (Arthur P. Schmidt).
1. _Menie._
2. _My Jean._
These two songs are full of freshness and charm of expression.
_Menie_ is a beautiful song; _My Jean_ is, however, the more
important of the two, it is inspired and characteristically human
in spirit. Neither of these songs, however, can be compared for
spontaneous beauty and expression with MacDowell's later groups.
OPUS 35. ROMANCE, FOR VIOLONCELLO AND ORCHESTRA.
_Composed, Wiesbaden_, 1888. _First Published_, 1888 (J.
Hainauer).
_Dedicated to David Popper._
This is an outwardly charming and melodious work, but strangely
alien to MacDowell's general high tone. The usual significant
poetic matter is absent, but unlike the pianoforte concertos
(_Ops._ 15 and 23), which are also abstract works, the piece is
altogether inferior in artistic value, even if we look upon it as
an early attempt, for preceding pieces are, at least, more
sincere. The two following numbers, 36 (_Etude de Concert for
Pianoforte_) and 37 (_Les Orientales for Pianoforte_), and this
_Romance for Violoncello and Orchestra_ present a sequence of
creative work unworthy of MacDowell, a falling off common to most
composers of standing at some time or other. The technical side
of the work is fair, the tone quality of the violoncello having
been evidently considered. The piece is dedicated to Popper,
whose name is familiar to all 'cello players.
OPUS 36. ETUDE DE CONCERT, IN F SHARP, FOR PIANOFORTE.
_Composed, Boston, U.S.A._, 1889. _First Published_, 1889 (Arthur
P. Schmidt).
"Don't put that dreadful thing on your programme," was the burden
of a telegram MacDowell once despatched to Teresa Carreño when he
heard she was to play the _Etude de Concert in F sharp_, so we
know that the composer himself came, later on, to recognise the
inferior quality of this work. It is good enough for the salon
composer and the show pianist, but as coming from MacDowell's pen
it made a poor start as practically the first thing he composed
on his return to his native country in 1888, especially as he had
been preceded there by his good European reputation. The
brilliant pianistic effect of the piece, however, is undeniable.
OPUS 37. LES ORIENTALES, FOR PIANOFORTE.
_Composed, Boston_, 1889. _First Published_, 1889 (Arthur P.
Schmidt).
1. _Clair de Lune._
2. _Dans le Hamac._
3. _Danse Andalouse._
The first work produced by MacDowell in Boston, _Etude de
Concert, Op. 36_, was followed by music of equally poor quality,
in the composer's opinion. The pieces under notice are after
Hugo's _Les Orientales_, and although tolerably suggestive of
their titles, are of such poor inspiration that they have little
or no musical value outside the salon type of compositions that
the composer himself abhorred. Even the pretty _Clair de Lune_ is
shallow stuff, although it has attained some popularity as a
melodious solo, both in its original version and in its
arrangement for violin and pianoforte.
OPUS 38. EIGHT (formerly Six) LITTLE PIECES, MARIONETTES, FOR
PIANOFORTE.
_Composed about_ 1888. _Revised and rearranged by the Composer_,
1901. _First Published_, 1888 (J. Hainauer. Revised Version,
1901--Arthur P. Schmidt).
_Dedicated to Miss Nina Nevins._
ORIGINAL VERSION: REVISED VERSION:
1. _Soubrette._ 1. _Prologue._
2. _Lover._ 2. _Soubrette._
3. _Villain._ 3. _Lover._
4. _Lady-Love._ 4. _Witch._
5. _Clown._ 5. _Clown._
6. _Witch._ 6. _Villain._
7. _Sweetheart._
8. _Epilogue._
These little pieces are quite notable and extremely interesting
both in their original and revised versions. Although the
subjects they portray are the stiff-moving and grotesque figures
of Marionettes, their general effect is often intensely human.
The set as a whole may be viewed as a half serious, half
whimsical study of characters in human life, issued under the
disguise of jointed and painted dummies. Beneath the quaint,
stiff movement of the music there is just that touch of
seriousness, a sort of droll sadness, that makes of it something
more than a doll's play. The revised edition of _Marionettes_ is
the best and most characteristic, and in the United States is the
accepted one. In England, however, the original edition,
published at Breslau in 1888 by Julius Hainauer, is still being
sold.
_Soubrette_ is a stiff, but bright little piece. In places it has
a wistfulness that seems to suggest that the human counterpart of
the character has feelings, not being merely an emotionless
puppet for public amusement.
_Lover_ has much the same stiff movement as the preceding piece,
but is more tender and subdued, dying softly away in the final
bars. There is much human feeling in this number.
_Villain_ is a realistic Marionette piece, with a quaint,
foreboding and sardonic spirit, the little climax being quite
villainous.
_Lady-love_ brings a gentle and charming study to view, the
typical quaint movement of the pieces as a whole being here
considerably softened and made more flowing and graceful.
_Clown_ makes a jolly number, but beneath its outward dummy-like
comicalness there runs a strain of human feeling that towards the
end comes uppermost, the music becoming quite subdued, growing
fainter and fainter until nothing is left but a few little final
jerks.
_Witch_ has a grotesque and mechanical jauntiness. There are some
powerful and sinister passages in it, the final gesture, with its
sudden tonic minor chord, capping the realism of the piece.
In the revised version of _Marionettes_ the character drawing is
more skilful, and we incidentally notice the illuminating and
characteristic English used in the works of MacDowell's mature
period instead of the conventional Italian musical terms. The
little comedy-drama is opened by a _Prologue_, in which jovial,
wistful and sardonic motives variously indicate the types of
characters in the play, and is rounded off by an _Epilogue_,
which is one of the most beautiful of MacDowell's smaller pieces,
being full of tender feeling, and indicating unmistakably the
deeper and human significance of the composer's Marionette
studies. The whole album comprises one of MacDowell's most
interesting portrayals of everyday human nature, standing quite
alone in its droll half-amusing, half-pathetic mode of expression.
It is something quite apart from the more specialised romantic
and heroic figures of the three symphonic poems, _Hamlet and
Ophelia, Op. 22_, _Lancelot and Elaine, Op. 25_, and _Lamia,
Op. 29_; the three last pianoforte sonatas, _Eroica, Op. 50_,
_Norse, Op. 57_, and _Keltic, Op. 59_; or of the noble _"Indian"
Suite, Op. 48_.
OPUS 39. TWELVE ETUDES FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF TECHNIQUE AND
STYLE, FOR PIANOFORTE.
_Composed, about_ 1889-90. _First Published_, 1890 (Arthur P.
Schmidt).
BOOK I:
1. _Hunting Song_.
2. _Alla Tarantella_.
3. _Romance_.
4. _Arabeske_.
5. _In the Forest_.
6. _Dance of the Gnomes_.