CHAPTER XIV
NATIONALISTS, ECLECTICS, AND ULTRA-MODERNS
The new spirit and its various manifestations—Henry F. Gilbert, Arthur Farwell, Harvey W. Loomis—Frederic Ayres, Arthur Shepherd, Noble Kreider, Benjamin Lambord—Campbell-Tipton; Arthur Nevin; C. W. Cadman; J. A. Carpenter; T. C. Whitmer—W. H. Humiston, John Powell, Blair Fairchild, Maurice Arnold—Sidney Homer; Clough-Leighter, and others—Charles M. Loeffler and other Americans of foreign birth or residence.
With the struggle toward national musical individuality on the part of the different nations of Europe, especially with the achievements of modern France, and with the development of the internal aboriginal musical resources of America, the creative musical life of the United States took on an entirely new aspect. While the influences which shaped the romantic and neo-classic epoch did not cease, they became greatly modified. The ideals of that epoch yielded to new issues, and the general forward movement was divided into two camps, one seeking a national individuality for American music and the other a continuation of the most recent European developments, especially those of France and post-Wagnerian Germany. Neither of these two movements was destined eventually to dominate the field. The promoters of neither movement were wholly convinced or wholly single-minded. The so-called 'Nationalists' experimented to some extent with the ultra-modern technical developments, and the ultra-moderns could not refrain from some essays with primitive American themes. It was inevitable that a broad eclecticism should arise, and in this a more truly national movement stepped forth than was presented by either of the existing wings. The will for the greatest freedom, essential to the American spirit, asserted itself, and in its newest phase the nation is declaring for a complete musical independence, based upon the unrestricted assimilation and reflection of every phase of musical influence, within and without.
I
No American composer stands forth with a more sharply defined individuality than Henry F. Gilbert, and none has given himself with greater ardor to the accomplishment of something truly American in musical art. The ultimate stature of an artist finds a certain measure of adumbration in the absorptive and impressionable capacity of his early years. With Gilbert this capacity was exceptionally large and sensitive. As a mere boy in his teens he had an insatiable curiosity concerning every discoverable phase of the world's music, and at that age, while America was still in the throes of the Wagner controversy, he was thoroughly familiar with the music of the entire group of now famous French, Russian, Bohemian, and other composers, whose names at that time were wholly unknown on this side of the water, and comparatively little known at home. At the same time he gained an authoritative knowledge of the folk-songs of the world, and made extensive studies into remote aspects of the world's literature. Gilbert was born in Somerville, Mass., in 1868, and studied for a time with MacDowell, in Boston, but he never had much academic training. Concerning his formative influences, the composer may be allowed to speak for himself, as he has done in the following words:
'It has been my ideal not to allow any composer or school of music to influence me to the point of imitating them. I have striven to express my own individuality regardless whether it was good, bad, or indifferent. I prefer my own hat to a borrowed crown. Of course, I have had many admirations and have absorbed musical nutriment from many sources. I believe that catholicity of education is a thing greatly to be desired.... More than the music of any individual composer; more than the music of any particular school,—the folk-tunes of the world, of all nationalities, races, and peoples, have been to me a never-failing source of delight, wonder, and inspiration. In them I can hear the spirit of all great music. Through them I can feel the very heart-beat of humanity. Simple as these folk-melodies are in structure, they yet speak to me so poignantly, and with such a deep sincerity of expression, as to be (for myself, at least) more pregnant with inspirational suggestion than the music of any one composer.'
American Composers: John Alden Carpenter, Charles Martin Loeffler,
Henry F. Gilbert Campbell-Tipton.
Finishing in his earliest period with the strictly German influence, Gilbert had also done with the exhibition of a predominating modern French influence before his colleagues had awakened to the existence of such a thing. It is, however, significant to note that the 'Negro Episode' for orchestra, and arranged also for piano, dates from earliest days. An orchestral 'Legend' was a companion piece. The modern French influence appears in the richly colored and highly poetic soprano aria, 'Salammbô's Invocation to Tänith,' on Flaubert's text; in the very imaginative songs, 'Orlamonde' (Maeterlinck), and 'Zephyrus' (Longfellow), and in the fanciful tone-poem for piano, 'The Island of the Fay,' after Poe. From this general period came, in strong contrast, the barbaric and famous 'Pirate Song,' as well as the delicate 'Croon of the Dew,' and the 'South American Gypsy Songs.' A strong Celtic influence now asserted itself, based upon the Irish literary revival and a study of ancient bardic and other Celtic folk-songs. The chief results were the 'Lament of Deirdre,' a remarkable song of intensest pathos and mood-heaviness; four very individual songs called 'Celtic Studies'; and the 'Fairy Song,' all on verses of the Irish poets. A fine piece of American savagery from this period, presumably deriving from Whitmanic influences, is the song on Frederick Manley's poem, 'Fish Wharf Rhapsody.' These various phases finally yielded to a strong impulse toward a bold expression of Americanism, and Gilbert composed the 'Comedy Overture on Negro Themes,' a vigorous and jubilant work which has been widely heard and has awakened much interest in the composer. A less important 'Humoresque on Negro Minstrel Tunes,' for orchestra, followed, and a massive orchestral 'Negro Rhapsody,' first produced at the 'Norfolk Festival' under the composer's direction in 1913. 'The Dance in the Place Congo,' for orchestra, after a vivid word-painting by George W. Cable, is the composer's most extensive work. There are also for orchestra 'American Dances in Ragtime Rhythm,' and, in another vein, an impressive 'Symphonic Prologue' to J. M. Synge's 'Riders to the Sea,' conducted by the composer at the MacDowell festival at Peterboro, N. H., in 1914. There is a song on Whitman's 'Give me the splendid silent sun,' a chorus with orchestra, 'To Thee, America,' five 'Indian Scenes' for piano, and other works. Often rough in technique, though greatly resourceful, and rich in orchestral imagination, it is to the spirit of the time and nation that Gilbert makes his contribution and his appeal. He is the avowed enemy of tradition and fashion, whether in art, dress, or speech, and a fighter for freedom and individuality in music.
A. F.