# American Composers BEFORE 1900



## Brad (Mar 27, 2014)

Anyone know of some notable American composers before the 20th century? I don't know of any besides Gottschalk (who was a BEAST). When I say before the 20th century, I mean someone who composed most of their works before 1900. And by American I mean from the continents of North and South America. Let's throw Antarctica in there too.


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

Off the top of my head, personally, I like John Knowles Paine, especially his Mass in D minor. Also Horatio Parker, who seems to be best known for teaching Charles Ives, but Hora Novissima was pretty famous in his time. I also like George Whitefield Chadwick's chamber pieces on Naxos, though his lifetime bleeds into the 20th Century, as did Amy Beach. 

I don't know how you feel about Edward MacDowell, but he was pretty serious about writing Indian-inspired music, which was unique for his time.


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## Guest (May 13, 2014)

All I really know is that neat little Amy Beach piano concerto...


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## scratchgolf (Nov 15, 2013)

Stephen Stinkin' Foster. That sounds like "Old Dog Tray" to me.


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## musicrom (Dec 29, 2013)

I've heard a couple pieces of Arthur Foote's. They were pretty decent, but not extremely memorable.


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

scratchgolf said:


> Stephen Stinkin' Foster. That sounds like "Old Dog Tray" to me.


Now, now, Mr. Foster spun off a number of composed 'art songs' of a quality of which many take them as 'folk songs,' i.e. exactly what a number of his counterpart European composers have done, to much acclaim 

Much of the American classical music of the era was still very much under the influence of European style composers, in the case of Horatio Parker, one criticism being it is like watered-down Brahms 

I'm more interested in the likes of James Bland, black composer (1800's) of "Golden Slippers," "Carry me back to old Virginia," etc. These were meant to be sung inflected in a sort of 'ebonics,' dialect -- the lyrics written in that style, i.e. minstrel show fare.


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## Guest (May 14, 2014)

Benjamin Franklin composed a string quartet, if I recall correctly.


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## Brad (Mar 27, 2014)

PetrB said:


> I'm more interested in the likes of James Bland, black composer (1800's) of "Golden Slippers," "Carry me back to old Virginia," etc. These were meant to be sung inflected in a sort of 'ebonics,' dialect -- the lyrics written in that style, i.e. minstrel show fare.


I think I'll give Mr. Bland a listen, I hope I don't find his music to live up to his name..


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## Brad (Mar 27, 2014)

BPS said:


> Benjamin Franklin composed a string quartet, if I recall correctly.


What didn't he do?? That guy was incredible.


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## Brad (Mar 27, 2014)

Now that I think about it, what the heck was Canada doing at this point in time? Were they too busy being vaguely British to produce some original music??


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

Brad said:


> What didn't he do?? That guy was incredible.


Another thing he did do...







http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass_harmonica


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## scratchgolf (Nov 15, 2013)

Brad said:


> What didn't he do?? That guy was incredible.


Exercise or pay taxes :lol:

Ok, I'm finished. I'll let the serious discussion continue


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## brianvds (May 1, 2013)

Brad said:


> What didn't he do?? That guy was incredible.


His string quartet is, er, not one of his finest achievements.

Anyway, the most famous 19th century American composer is surely Dvorak...


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## arpeggio (Oct 4, 2012)

*William Billings*

William Billings. American Revolutionary Era composer.

He composed some fantastic hymns.

William Schuman's _New England Triptych_ is based on the music or Billings.


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

musicrom said:


> I've heard a couple pieces of Arthur Foote's. They were pretty decent, but not extremely memorable.


I find some of Foote's chamber works like this piano quintet very compelling, if not especially American sounding.


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## Brad (Mar 27, 2014)

Weston said:


> I find some of Foote's chamber works like this piano quintet very compelling, if not especially American sounding.


This is some good stuff! I can't believe I've never heard of him


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## Brad (Mar 27, 2014)

arpeggio said:


> William Billings. American Revolutionary Era composer.
> 
> He composed some fantastic hymns.
> 
> William Schuman's _New England Triptych_ is based on the music or Billings.


I just looked him up. In addition to a fantastic name, his hymns sound great!


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

Billings came up some time back. http://www.talkclassical.com/26592-classical-music-entertainment-there-9.html#post493593 references one of my posts and this video:






Absolutely superb!


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## Brad (Mar 27, 2014)

Just stumbled upon this..apparently the U.S. had plenty of harpsichord music in the 18th century


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

Martin Pearlman and the Boston Baroque have an interesting CD called Lost Music of Early America, featuring music of the Moravians. They had quite a culture in pre-Revolution North Carolina and Pennsylvania.


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## Alfacharger (Dec 6, 2013)

Born in Bohemia, he eventually settled in Kentucky, Anthony Philip Heinrich. Here is the fourth movement from his 1847 Program Symphony "The Ornithological Combat of Kings". Condors and Eagles, oh my!


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Some of the earliest chamber music in America was composed by John Antes (1740-1811) and Johann Friedrich Peter (1746-1843), both Moravians from Pennsylvania. Antes' string trios and Peter's string quintets can be found together on a New World Records CD, played by the American Moravian Chamber Ensemble.

Arthur Foote's name deserves to be dropped in here again. His chamber music is his best stuff and it is really, really fine. All American classical music before the 20th century is essentially European-sounding, and Foote is worthy of his models. On three Naxos CDs (8.559009, 8.559014, and 8.559039) you can get Foote's principal chamber works. I think you'll agree that at least some of this music deserves regular repertoire status.

Several other American composers who lived well into the 20th century were still writing in 19th-century Romantic idioms, so should be investigated. George Whitefield Chadwick (1854-1931) has been mentioned; his _Symphonic Sketches_ is his masterpiece, but he also wrote a couple of symphonies, some symphonic poems, five string quartets, and other stuff. George Templeton Strong (1856-1948) produced a fascinating programmatic symphony - his second, called _Sintram_: "The Struggle of Mankind Against the Powers of Evil" - as well as other orchestral works, available on Naxos CDs. Victor Herbert (1859-1924), the "Babes in Toyland" guy, also wrote fine concert music, including two cello concertos (#2 the better known, admired by Dvorak, Herbert's friend and colleague in America) and a symphonic poem, _Hero and Leander_. Edward MacDowell (1860-1908) probably doesn't need much introduction - lots of beautiful piano music, two piano concertos, orchestral suites, and symphonic poems - but Frederick Shepherd Converse (1871-1940) isn't particularly well-remembered; check out his violin sonata and some symphonic poems. Daniel Gregory Mason (1873-1953) is another unfamiliar name I'm glad to have discovered; his violin sonatas are excellent, and his _String Quartet__ in G-minor_, op. 19, "Based on Negro Themes," really captivated me. John Alden Carpenter (1876-1951) composed some delightful orchestral works, songs, and chamber music. And finally, Charles Martin Loeffler (1861-1935) was a composer of real originality whom I have yet to explore in depth; I've found his chamber works excellent and his song cycle "Five Irish Fantasies" really powerful.

All of this music - some of it truly fine and unfairly neglected - makes pretty clear that music in America didn't begin with Charles Ives.


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## Brad (Mar 27, 2014)

Alfacharger said:


> Born in Bohemia, he eventually settled in Kentucky, Anthony Philip Heinrich. Here is the fourth movement from his 1847 Program Symphony "The Ornithological Combat of Kings". Condors and Eagles, oh my!


One hears such..America in this music! A wonderful find that I will be exploring, thanks.


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## Brad (Mar 27, 2014)

Woodduck said:


> Some of the earliest chamber music in America was composed by John Antes (1740-1811) and Johann Friedrich Peter (1746-1843), both Moravians from Pennsylvania. Antes' string trios and Peter's string quintets can be found together on a New World Records CD, played by the American Moravian Chamber Ensemble.
> 
> Arthur Foote's name deserves to be dropped in here again. His chamber music is his best stuff and it is really, really fine. All American classical music before the 20th century is essentially European-sounding, and Foote is worthy of his models. On three Naxos CDs (8.559009, 8.559014, and 8.559039) you can get Foote's principal chamber works. I think you'll agree that at least some of this music deserves regular repertoire status.
> 
> ...


I'm starting to think that Woodduck is a Naxos salesman with a PhD in under appreciated pre 20th century American music...

But seriously, thanks for this fantastic information. The only problem is now I have no idea where to start! :tiphat:


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## hreichgott (Dec 31, 2012)

Samuel Coleridge Taylor was mostly before 1900


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## Nereffid (Feb 6, 2013)

hreichgott said:


> Samuel Coleridge Taylor was mostly before 1900


His father (who was from Sierra Leone) was descended from African-American slaves, but Samuel was born in England to an English mother. He visited America a few times but AFAIK he's always been known as an English composer.


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## isridgewell (Jul 2, 2013)

Try William Henry Fry. Naxos has just released a disc of his orchestral works. His Niagra Symphony is quite impressive given when it was written.

A few others:

William Billings
George Frederick Bristow
Eugene Thayer
Benjamin Carr
George Whitfield Chadwick


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## Brad (Mar 27, 2014)

Nereffid said:


> His father (who was from Sierra Leone) was descended from African-American slaves, but Samuel was born in England to an English mother. He visited America a few times but AFAIK he's always been known as an English composer.


Either way he wrote some pretty interesting music, or so I've discovered, like a very Romantic violin concerto. Apparently he was named the "African Mahler". Quite the title.


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## Brad (Mar 27, 2014)

isridgewell said:


> Try William Henry Fry. Naxos has just released a disc of his orchestral works. His Niagra Symphony is quite impressive given when it was written.
> 
> A few others:
> 
> ...


Some parts of Fry's Niagara Symphony sound very influenced by Liszt, who would've been huge in '54.

I've also found that many of the lesser-known U.S. composers wrote some sort of variation on "Yankee Doodle"; must've been equivalent to Europe's obsession with Paganini variations..


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## ptr (Jan 22, 2013)

Strange, so "American" means born or US based? Cuz, most of the interesting music written in the Colonies before 1900 comes from the Catholic missions in the Latin American part of these two continents...
Much of which has been re discovered during the last 30 or so years! Amongst, Jeff Skidmore and his Ex Cathedra has released some excellent discs of this repertoire on Hyperion!

/ptr


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## Wood (Feb 21, 2013)

*Juan Pedro Esnaola*


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## Brad (Mar 27, 2014)

ptr said:


> Strange, so "American" means born or US based? Cuz, most of the interesting music written in the Colonies before 1900 comes from the Catholic missions in the Latin American part of these two continents...
> Much of which has been re discovered during the last 30 or so years! Amongst, Jeff Skidmore and his Ex Cathedra has released some excellent discs of this repertoire on Hyperion!
> 
> /ptr


I know that Gottschalk toured as a pianist in Latin America in the mid-19th century so there must've been a solid musical culture down there, like Esnaola mentioned above.


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## norman bates (Aug 18, 2010)

talking of Anthony Philip Heinrich, an interesting piece of him:
http://rogerbourland.com/2006/07/04/anthony-philip-heinrich-the-barbeque-divertimento/


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## mtmailey (Oct 21, 2011)

SCOTT JOPLIN & GEORGE GERSHWIN comes to mind here they where both born in the 1800's


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## Funny (Nov 30, 2013)

William Henry Fry. Mid-19th century. He was writing Bruckner before Bruckner. First known use of saxophone in a symphonic work.


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