While it has been pointed out innumerable times that the members
of the New England School of the late 19
th century
were conservative and Brahmsian, it should not be forgotten that
they all had distinctive musical personalities and that many
of their European contemporaries were equally Brahmsian. Foote
himself stood out from his colleagues in a number of ways. He
was the first American composer of note to receive his entire
musical education in America. Unlike his confrères he
was, for most of his career, not an academic, but made his living
by teaching, playing the organ and performing in chamber music
recitals. Much of his music contains neo-classical and even impressionistic
elements - rarities in the America of his time. Most important
his music has a serenity and quiet strength that would be unique
anywhere.
Although he produced copious amounts of vocal, choral, chamber
and keyboard music, Foote only wrote seven orchestral works which
met his standards. Besides the works on this disk there are an
early overture, a cello concerto and a suite for full orchestra
(none recorded). In the 1880s Foote produced two separate suites
for strings, but was not satisfied with either of them. After
many revisions he collected a few of the individual pieces into
the Serenade Op. 25, from which we have the Air and Gavotte here.
The Air is stately and quite Bachian, full of the composer’s
restrained emotionalism. As it develops it becomes more emotional
and betrays a certain American tinge at the same time. The reprise
is very affecting, with interesting counterpoint and masterly
handling of tonality. In contrast, the Gavotte dates from the
composer’s teens, at least in its original version. It
is somewhat more adventurous harmonically, with a charming middle
section reminiscent of Grieg. Again, there is some interesting
counterpoint before the return to the opening material.
A year after the Serenade was published Foote produced his second
work for full orchestra, the Symphonic Prologue
Francesca
da Rimini. The work shows an excellent handling of both structure
and orchestration, although the latter does betray the influence
of Brahms. The repeated main theme emphasizes the sadness of
the tale of Paolo and Francesca rather than some of the more
stormy elements familiar from Tchaikovsky’s version of
the story. The work is compact and to the point, with wide-ranging
tonal shifts somewhat reminiscent of Elgar. A wonderful second
subject stays in the memory once heard. The middle of the piece
relies heavily on the strings, which reach higher and higher
until a restatement of the second subject. This is followed by
a crescendo leading to a summation of the whole piece, portraying
Dante’s image of the two lovers floating in the air, but
not being able to touch. Foote accomplishes this in masterful
fashion.
The
Four Character Pieces after the Rubáiyát
of Omar Khayyám is probably Foote’s masterwork.
In it are combined all the structural and emotional elements
described above, but with the addition of the composer’s
own brand of “eastern” exoticism, one that is not
at all sentimental or fake. Each movement is prefaced in the
score by a passage from the Rubáiyát. The Andante
evokes the world of the Rubáiyát almost instantaneously
and shows a command of the orchestra one would never have predicted
from
Francecsca da Rimini. One can hear the gardens and
the cup of wine described in the attached quotation. The second
movement is a complete contrast, describing the great royal courts
of the East and is one of Foote’s most forceful passages.
The gentler middle section is actually based on the same rhythm
as the opening. The slow movement describes the most famous passage ‘’’A
jug of wine, a Loaf of Bread…”This is done with a
very slow progress to a semi-crescendo, followed by a lovely
pastoral. The final Andante begins with Omar’s invocation
to the Moon though a set of rhythmical variations matched at
every step by the orchestration. This leads to an allegro evoking
the words “Waste not your hour…” with grandiose
references to the opening of the whole work and then to other
movements, as if to drive the point home before the movement
dies away.
The Suite in E has been an American classic since its premiere
in 1907, especially given the many reissues of Koussevitsky’s
wonderful recording. This is a piece that requires exact control
of tempi to be a success and it cannot be said that Schwarz totally
masters this aspect. In the first movement his handling of the
noble opening theme is first rate, as is the development. The
second movement starts with a Pizzicato that Schwarz takes pretty
well, followed by an Adagietto that is one of Foote’s most
memorable utterances-Schwarz also does well here. But in the
exciting final Fugue the tension slackens noticeably and doesn’t
provide the comprehensive conclusion that Foote intended.
Although recorded at different times and in different venues,
the playing on this disc is quite consistent and is yet another
example of how well the Seattle Symphony does with American music.
The woodwinds are strong throughout, especially in their all-important
role in the Four Character Pieces. The strings are also very
good in the Air and the Suite. The real yeoman work here is by
Gerard Schwarz. He puts genuine love and attention into every
one of these pieces and this disc will rank high amongst his
American music recordings as well, even if his work in the Suite
is a little uneven. Since the last recording of the
Four Character
Pieces was in the 1960s and that of
Francesca about
ten years later, there is no question of competition in this
area, although the sound quality in
Francesca and the
Gavotte could be a little less coarse. This disk brings several
essential American works back to modern recording standards and
it is only to be hoped that we may someday have recordings of
Foote’s other three orchestral works.
William Kreindler
see also review by Rob Barnett
Other reviews of Arthur Foote on Naxos
Seattle Symphony Orchestra/Gerard
Schwarz 
