Overview

During the late 1890s and early 1900s, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875-1912) was an important and popular British composer. Respected by such contemporaries as Sir Arthur Sullivan, Sir Edward Elgar, Gustav Holst, and Ralph Vaughan Williams, he attracted the attention of the British music critics, who followed his career with curious interest and often placed him in a class with other noted composers. A prolific composer during his short lifetime, he received great public acclaim and became known both nationally and internationally-his setting of Longfellow's Hiawatha was just as popular as Handel's Messiah in Victorian England. Although he composed Hiawatha when he was only twenty-three, Coleridge-Taylor already had reached a published opus of twenty-nine compositions. Born of a West African doctor and a British mother, Coleridge-Taylor belonged to two decidedly different cultures. Therefore, his compositional style was affected by two underlying currents: the classical tradition that dominated his training at the Royal College of Music, and the African and African-American folk music that was introduced to him through contacts with members of his father's race. This revised second edition, equipped with both an updated and expanded discography and bibliography, traces the development of his compositional style from his final years at the Royal College of Music to the time of his death in 1912. Also included is a list of his arrangements and later editions of his music. The author uses examples from selected works to show the influence of classical texts, West African and African-American elements, and English poetical dramas. Of particular interest are eight rare and/or never-before seen articles by and about this ground-breaking composer.

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9780810844773

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Reviews

Dr. Tortolano...shares a wealth of information about this brilliant and important musical figure. Coleridge-Taylor and his music had a powerful influence on American culture at the turn of the 20th century. Dr. Tortolano in his insightful and detailedwork has beautifully illustrated how Coleridge-Taylor's influence moved and inspired so very many artists, writers, and musicians in the United States during his lifetime. W.E.B. Dubois, Booker T. Washington, Paul Laurence Dunbar, and Harry T. Burleigh are amongst many who are referenced in Dr. Tortolano's book as collaborators and admirers of this great musician...--William E. Thomas

Dr. Tortolano is to be warmly congratulated for his pioneering and painstaking research on Samuel Coleridge Taylor. His endeavours have helped arouse interest in the composer and encouraged Coleridge Taylor's deserved renaissance during recent decades. This revised second edition incorporates an extensive new bibliography, discography, an up-to-date catalogue of his music and an extensive list of 'arrangements.' It also usefully includes articles by or about Coleridge Taylor, some long out of print, others newly published. The author's enthusiasm for his subject in no way hinders objectively critical and perceptive commentary. There is much to enjoy in this fascinating study.--Richard Marlow

Author Information

William Tortolano is College Organist and Professor Emeritus of Fine Arts/Music at Saint Michael's College, Vermont. He is an organist, conductor, musicologist and editor of music. His book Original Music for Men's Voices: A Selected Bibliography was published by Scarecrow Press in 1981.

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