Frederick Shepherd Converse (1871-1940): His Life and MusicBorn into Boston wealth, Harvard educated, and German trained (composition), Converse was considered by many to be the most important composer in America just prior to World War I. Performances of his operas by the Metropolitan and Boston Opera companies greatly stimulated acceptance of indigenous American opera. |
Contents
EARLY LIFE AND CAREER 18711907 | 3 |
Early Professional Career | 8 |
The Harvard Years | 15 |
APEX OF THE COMPOSERS CAREER 19071914 | 33 |
The Pipe of Desire at the Metropolitan Opera | 36 |
The Sacrifice at the Boston Opera House | 43 |
Reputation and Influence | 54 |
THE MIDDLE YEARS 19151930 | 62 |
Scale Resources | 122 |
Harmonic Vocabulary | 127 |
Nonharmonic Elements | 131 |
Key Schemes and Modulations | 132 |
MELODY | 137 |
OTHER STYLISTIC ELEMENTS | 147 |
Form | 152 |
Orchestration | 156 |
War Activities | 64 |
Converse Returns to Teaching 1920 | 68 |
Puritan PassionsSilent Film Music | 69 |
Three Orchestral Works Depicting America | 75 |
THE FINAL YEARS 19311940 | 86 |
Year of Honors1933 | 88 |
Converses Illness | 92 |
His Last Symphony | 97 |
CONCLUSION | 105 |
Evaluation | 109 |
CHAPTER 6 HARMONY | 121 |
CONCLUSION | 158 |
EPILOGUE | 163 |
Catalog of Music | 196 |
Discography | 217 |
Untitled Speech on behalf of the Boston Opera Company c 1912 by F S Converse | 218 |
Henry Hadley by F S Converse | 222 |
Music and Life by F S Converse | 226 |
| 230 | |
| 241 | |
ABOUT THE AUTHOR | |
Common terms and phrases
Adagio Allegro American composers American opera American Sketches April artistic Basses Beast Beauty Boston Evening Transcript Boston Herald Boston Opera Company Boston Post Boston Symphony Orchestra California career cello Chadwick choral chords Clarinet composer's composition concert conductor Conservatory of Music Converse completed Converse composed Converse wrote Converse's Converse's music December diary dramatic emotional Endymion's Narrative England Conservatory Example expression F. S. Converse Fabien Sevitzky February Flivver Ten Million Frederick Shepherd Converse harmony Harvard Henry Hadley interest January letter libretto Louis major male chorus March Masque of St melody Minor mixed chorus molto Morgan movement Mystic Trumpeter Opera House Orchestra Program Book Ormazd Percy MacKaye performance piano Piano four hands Pipe of Desire play Puritan Passions Sacrifice Scammon score singing solo Sonata Song soprano String Quartet symphonic poems Symphony Orchestra Program theme titled tone-poem voice and piano Wallace Goodrich writing York