Arthur Foote

MR. ARTHUR FOOTE.

Born Salem, Mass., March 5, 1853.

Mr. Arthur Foote, who in the estimation of many has
written some of the best music as yet produced in this
country and a large number of extremely fortunate
songs, is an American musician in birth, education and
ideas. His teachers were the late Stephen A. Emery,
Mr. B. J. Lang, and in composition Professor John
Knowles Paine. In 1875 he received the degree of A.
M. from Harvard, his principal subjects being musical.
The following is an outline list of his works : For or-
chestra: "In the Mountains," overture; "Francesca da
Rimini," symphonic prologue ; suite for strings in E
minor; concerto for cello; suite for orchestra, (2) for
chorus and orchestra; "Farewell of Hiawatha," (male
chorus) ; "The Wreck of the Hesperus" (mixed chorus) ;
"The Skeleton in Armor." Chamber music : Piano-
forte, quintet in A minor ; pianoforte, quartet in C ;
pianoforte, trio in C minor ; sonata for piano and violin
in G minor ; two string quartets (G minor and E minor) ;
detached pieces for violin and cello with piano. About
piano pieces, the principal ones being two suites (D mi-
nor and C minor). About -forty songs ; various compo-
sitions such as vocal duets, quartets for male voices
and for female voices, church music, etc.

orchestral music, which has been played, not alone by
the Kneisel quartet and the Symphony orchestra of his
native city, but also by the Gewandhaus in Leipsic, the
Chicago symphony orchestra, and in many festivals. In
fact, Mr. Foote has been more fortunate than almost
any other American composer in securing hearings for
his works under favorable conditions. In his way his
undoubted talent has gained for him a solid reputation
which is likely to increase as time goes on. In the early
part of his career his work seemed somewhat under
the influence of Mendelssohn, but later on he outgrew
this tendency and opened up more and more in the di-
rection of modern ideals and methods. In response to
an inquiry as to his ideals of composition he gave the
following :

"In writing I should put it as follows: When there
are words I try to make some adequate musical expres-
sion of them, especially aiming at faithfulness in accent
and rhythm ; more from a lyrical than dramatic point
of view. When there is no suggestion of that sort, as
in a piano piece, or string quartet, etc., my aim is pretty
sure to be in the direction of what is called "absolute
music" and not in what you call the poetical or story-
telling view.

As a song-writer, Mr. Foote is entitled to high distinc-
tion. Of his work in this department Mr. Karleton
Hackett says :

"Arthur Foote has written some of the most delight-
ful songs that have appeared in the last few years, songs
which find a place on the programs of our greatest sing-
ers, which are most effective in public and equally beau-
tiful when studied in the closet. Here perfect mastery
of form and richness of harmonic setting are united to



180 THE GREAT IN MUSIC: FIRST YEAR.

pure flowing melody, and the result is an exquisite lyric
gem. These songs indeed are only to be sung by the
artist, for while they are grateful to the singer they de-
mand a poise and a command of vocal resources such as
can be found only in experienced singers. When one
of breadth of artistic conception sings them, so per-
fectly are they balanced that they seem simplicity it-
self. There is not one forced progression nor any waste
material ; each note is vital and necessary to the whole.
Such songs will well repay study, and among the best
are The Irish Folk Song,' Tm Wearin' Awa,' 'The
Nightingale Has a Lyre of Gold.'

"If a man has the gift of melody he may write songs
that will live ; if he has not this, then no matter what
his technical command of the language of music, no
matter what ingenuinty he may display in harmonic in-
vention, nor how admirable the music may be from the
standpoint of workmanship, the songs will not sing.
The voice expresses itself through melody, and even
the most impassioned declamation must rest on a mel-
odic conception, or in the end it fails. Any man can
master the principles of harmony, but to have a spon-
taneous melodic thought is the privilege of the few.
Each melodic thought is the inspiration for a song, and,
if it receive adequate harmonic setting, a beautiful song.
But unless spontaneous melody was the inspiration the
moment the song is sung it stands revealed in its orig-
inal barrenness mere notes without a meaning. A song
can only be known by hearing it sung, for on paper it
may look well and contain musical thoughts, yet it may
not suit the instrument. No matter what musical ex-
cellence a song may contain it will not prove effective
nor will it live unless it fit the peculiar capacity of the



MR. ARTHUR FOOTE. 181

voice. On the other hand much mediocre music has
lived and held a rank altogether out of proportion to its
intrinsic merit, merely because it serves to display the
beauties of this most fascinating of instruments. But
no song is entitled to a place in literature except where
flowing melody is wedded to deep, rich, harmony ; then
there is indeed a song, and it is this that we admire in
the songs of Arthur Foote."

Personally Mr. Foote is a charming man, and he oc-
cupies a very distinguished position as piano teacher in
Boston. His published works number a hundred or
more and his talent as yet is not worked out. More
and better may be expected from his pen later on. He
is a composer of sincere ideals and artistic tendencies.

COMPOSITIONS BY ARTHUR FOOTE.

It is by no means easy to select from the hundred or
more songs by this author any particular five or six as
a fair representation of his admirable work. The un-
avoidable limitations ot this work, however, restrict us to
the following, which for convenience may be divided into
two classes. First, those which are essentially popular
in character, depending for their life upon melody, in
the usual acceptation of the term. Such as: "The Irish
Folk Song," "I'm Wearin' Awa' " and "Love Me if I
Live." These three have proven their popularity upon
all the leading concert stages of the country.

Then there are others which have less of this custo-
mary melody at first hearing, but which are of a higher
artistic character and employ musical arts with perhaps
more mastery; these, accordingly, in time make their
way and illustrate admirably those superior qualities of



182 THE GREAT IN MUSIC: FIRST YEAR.

the song-maker, which Mr. Hackett so well mentions.
Among songs of this class, "O My Love's Like the
Red, Red Rose," "On the Way to Kew," "Go, Lovely
Rose," and "When Spring Comes Laughing."

AN IRISH FOLK SONG.
(For Alto or Baritone.)

A beautiful minor melody, with a refrain which sim-
ply hums a melody without words. The poem is % by
Gilbert Parker:

"You'll wander far and wide, dear, but you'll come back again;
You'll come back to your father and your mother, in the glen,
Although we may be lyin' 'neath the heather grasses then,

You'll be coming back, my darling."

It is the song of an Irish mother to her son, who is
leaving her to seek his fortune in a country far away.
The musical tone catches the Irish feeling in an ex-
quisite manner.

"LOVE ME, IF I LIVE."
(For Soprano.)

A highly impassioned love song, intense with a breath
from some world where emotion is keyed in an intensity
far greater than that commonly attributed to Boston.
The poem is by Barry Cornwall :

"Love me, if I live,

Love me, if I die.
What to me is life or death,

So that thou art nigh?" etc.

"THE LAND O' THE LEAL."
(For Contralto or Baritone.)

A Scotch song, but not in the Scotch tonality of the
five tones :

"I'm wearing awa', Jean, like snaw when it's thaw, Jean,
I'm wearing awa' to the land o' the leal."



MR. ARTHUR FOOTE. 183

It is perhaps the highest praise possible for this song
to say that despite its more than clever art, it produces
the impression of a spontaneously conceived melody. A
very curious point is the change of rhythm in the last
stanza, where 9-8 measure still prevails, but the first
unit is divided into four parts in place of the usual three.
Foote has persisted in this and has so carried it out
that the effect is excellent. This is a song for a singer.

"ON THE WAY TO KEW."
(For Mezzo Soprano or Baritone.)

A very pleasant and musical setting of a poem by Mr.
W. E. Henley:

"On the way to Kew,

By the river old and gray,

Where in the long ago

We laughed and loitered so,

I met a g-host today,

A ghost that told of you,

A ghost of low replies,

And sweet inscrutable eyes,

Coming up from Richmond, as you used to do."

Charmingly treated from a musical standpoint and
pleasant to hear.

"O MY LUV'S LIKE A RED, RED ROSE."
(For Soprano or Tenor.)

A beautiful setting of the famous words by Burns :

"O my luv's like a red, red rose

That's newly sprung in June;
O my luv's like the melody

That's sweetly played in tune," etc

A very effective and pleasing song, full of the true
spirit of melody.



184 THE GREAT IN MUSIC: FIRST YEAR.

"GO, LOVELY ROSE."

(For Tenor or Soprano )

This song belongs to the more sentimental and lan-
guishing variety than those already quoted. It is suited
to a sweet-voiced tenor of amorous tendencies :

"Go, lovely rose.

Tell her that wastes her time and me,

That now she knows

When I resemble her to thee."

SCHERZINO. OP. 42, NO. i.

(5th Grade.)

A very bright and interesting Scherzino movement,
in which two rhythms are combined in a charming man-
ner, but in one which is very troublesome for the player.
When well played the effect is very bright and pleas-
ing. With the change of signature on page 5 a second
subject comes in, a melody of a more singing character.

POLKA FOR LEFT HAND ALONE. OP. 37, NO. 2.

(5th Grade.)

This is one of several pieces especially written to af-
ford the left hand the same kind of work usually re-
quired from the right. Owing to the manner in which
most music is written, particularly since Mendelssohn,
the left hand has very little to do except to play ac-
companiment to the right. The result is that the left
hand not only fails to acquire agility but, and this is
much more important, fails to produce so vigorous a
tone as the right, and is not able to play a melody with
the same expression. The present piece is interesting
although composed with this utilitarian object in view.
ROMANCE IN A MINOR. (FROM STUDIES, OP. 27, NO. 2.)
(4th Grade.)

A very lovely melody valuable for music and as a
study in expression.



ARTHUR FOOTE. 185

FIVE POEMS AFTER OMAR KHAYYAM. OP. 41.
(6th and 7th Grade.)

Other examples of Mr. Foote's instrumental work
are found in the set of five "poems" upon the well-
known "In a Persian Garden," of Omar Khayyam.
Each piece illustrates a quatrain of the original and all
are written with queer Persian and Oriental effects in
melody and harmony. Each piece is to be understood
in the light of the stanza which stands at the head.
Mr. Foote regards this collection as one of his very
best works.