Date sent: Tue, 4 Jan 2000 00:00:24 EST
Subject: Re: Essay: Help with topic!
To: vocalist
Send reply to: VOCALIST <vocalist>

Hi David,
Dvorak is a good topic. I, too, really like his music, which makes studying
him (or writing about him) easier. Don't forget his American connection and
his encouragement to American composers to eschew the European traditions and
try to use native musical subject matter. A couple of names to look up that
will relate to him are Arthur Farwell and the Wa-Wan Press, and Harry T.
Burleigh. Farwell was a European educated Minnesotan who took Dvorak's
advice to heart, encouraging American composers to use native American
(literally "Indian") themes in their music. H. T. Burleigh was a black
American vocalist who was asked to sing before Dvorak. He sang plantation
songs and spirituals. He later set many of the tunes to new harmonizations.
These are still in print (Belwin-Mills) and are great representations of
second generation African-American musical art.
As far as Grieg, his interest in Norwegian folk fiddling caused him to write
the Slatter, Op. 72 (for piano, his instrument), and the 19 Norwegian folk
tunes, Op. 66, as well as other pieces. A cheap Dover edition is readily
available. Also look up Percy Grainger. This may ruin your paper, but he is
a huge study of his own, and his connection with Edvard Grieg is very strong
and very touching. Grainger was a seminal folk-music collector (on a par
with the more highly touted Bartok), and a composer of folk-like tunes, but
couldn't really be called a "nationalist" composer.

Good luck,
Robert