Piano Music of North America (Canada & the USA)

[mballan]

A little extra as its now the weekend - Adam Carroll (1897-1974) American songwriter and composer [songs were quite popular between 1920-1935).

His Nocturnal Suite.

Carroll A - Nocturnal Suite.pdf

Malcolm

[Scriabinoff]

Elwell, Herbert

Herbert Elwell.jpg

(b Minneapolis, 10 May 1898; d Cleveland, 17 April 1974).

American composer, critic and teacher. After graduating from the University of Minnesota he studied composition with Bloch in New York (1919–21) and with Boulanger in Paris (1921–4). He received a Prix de Rome (1923), and during his stay in Rome (1924–7) he composed his best-known work, the ballet The Happy Hypocrite. In 1928 he returned to the USA and was appointed head of composition and theory at the Cleveland Institute. He quickly acquired a reputation as a teacher, working also at the Oberlin College Conservatory and the Eastman School summer school before he retired in 1945 to give his attention to composition and music criticism. From 1930 to 1936 he wrote programme notes for the Cleveland Orchestra, and he was music critic of the Cleveland Plain Dealer (1932–64), where his reviews were noted for candour and wit. Among the awards he received were the Paderewski Prize (1945), the Cleveland Arts Prize (1961) and an award from the National Institute of Arts and Letters (1969).

Ewell's music reveals him as a lyricist with a post-Romatic musical language. The majority of his works are vocal, and his sensitive word-setting shows a great admiration for Fauré. His song repertory, with its subtle settings of texts by eminent poets, best reflects his artistry. The influence of Berlioz and Bloch can be heard in Elwell's rich and colourful sonorities.



Bibliography
EwenD
A. Copland: ‘America's Young Men of Promise’, MM, iii/3 (1925–6), 13–20, esp. 14–15
H. Elwell: ‘Is Theory for Composers Only?’, The Musician, xxxiii/11 (1928), 35 only
F. Koch: ‘Herbert Elwell and his Music’, NATS Bulletin, xxviii/2 (1971–2), 30–33
F. Koch: ‘‘Herbert Elwell’’, Reflections on Composing: Four American Composers (Pittsburgh, 1983), 11–26
John G. Suess

Elwell, Herbert (1878-1974)- Sonata.pdf

[Scriabinoff]

Would love some additional help on piecing together some more concrete biographical information. Here is what I have so far:
John F. Carré b. 1894; d. 1966
Pupil of Felix Borowski, pianist and organist, played organ for his parish/church, apparently served a short stint as president of a small Catholic university in Florida (must be confirmed, his name came up in an old Florida Cathloic University newspaper clip from middle 20th century)? (needs confirmation), and he authored a few teaching books and teaching works, seems to be more remembered as an organist and composer for the instrument. Rather curious absence of information on the man.

Work is dedicated to Percy Grainger, interesting names for middle two (of four) movements, II. Romanza, III. Clair de Lune (first I've seen of that for a sonata movement). No information on how Care knew Grainger, either by trade, personally, or if only an admirer of. Would love any additional info to fill gaps in.

Carre, John Franklin (1894-1966) - Sonata Transa (to Percy Grainger).pdf

[alfor]

Thank you for these files!!

A cut-to-size Version of the Elwell Sonata:

Elwell Sonata.pdf

[Scriabinoff]

Thank you for these files!!

A cut-to-size Version of the Elwell Sonata:

Elwell Sonata.pdf

Dear Alfor,

You are most welcome and I sincerely appreciate your cleaning up of the scan. I did my best at the table, but I utilize a KIC, i.e. one of these http://youtu.be/P2YKtMr16jk, by these kids http://www.dlsg.net/kic.html, it works great, except for the fact that the overhead camera and image processing software has a bit of a problem with library score binding and oversized covers, as it recognizes the outer edges of the image and uses that for the final split image page conversion, it creates issues as by shrinking the physical edges to the new page edge, the inner standard size page gets 'shrunk' down too by proportion, also, it can have some less than beautiful borders/outer margins as we've seen. I am no acrobat whiz (I lack a full acrobat, I only have a reader), so I can do little in the way of formatting once the conversion is completed at the scanner (I will need to learn how to do this later though)!

Thanks again to you and others that help with post scan editing

[tobyjj]

but I utilize a KIC, i.e. one of these http://youtu.be/P2YKtMr16jk, by these kids http://www.dlsg.net/kic.html, it works great, except for the fact that the overhead camera and image processing software has a bit of a problem with library score binding and oversized covers, as it recognizes the outer edges of the image and uses that for the final split image page conversion, it creates issues as by shrinking the physical edges to the new page edge the inner standard size page gets 'shrunk' down too

By Gum, By Golly - haven't a clue what you're talking about - but thanks for the post - see full text elsewhere!

regards,
tobyjj

[Scriabinoff]

By Gum, By Golly - haven't a clue what you're talking about - but thanks for the post - see full text elsewhere!

regards,
tobyjj

you're welcome, I'm glad some of my 'freestyle' efforts are appreciate (freestyle = my affectionate term for the process of score stack 'diving' I do when I go out in search of nothing in particular with no definite score goal in mind, just whatever I browse and happen upon by chance that strikes my fancy )

as for the tech speak, basically saying for a 20 thousand dollar (USD) scanner, there seems to be some finer points in the image creation to be desired.

[Scriabinoff]

Charles Trowbridge Haubiel ...

Here is a lovely and rare first of two volumes. I have been desperately searching everywhere for the 2nd book to complete the set, if someone would please help, I know we would all appreciate it so much (I think there may be a copy in a library in the UK if I recall correctly...)

I purchased the first book but this place seems to have the only catalogued copy and probably is a complete set


The British Library, St. Pancras
Title: Homage to Bach. 24 little preludes in polyphonic style. [P. F.]
Author: Charles Haubiel, 1892-1978.
Publication Details: New York : Composers Press, [1953]

Language: Unspecified

Uniform Title: 24 Little Preludes

Identifier: System number 004398792

Physical Description: 2 bk ; 4.̊

Shelfmark(s): Music Collections g.1382.a.(10.)

UIN: BLL01004398792

Haubiel, Charles - Hommage to Bach (24 Little Preludes in Polyphonic Style), Bk I Nos 1 - 12.pdf

[Timtin]

Metamorphoses, Variations on a Melody by Stephen Foster
is another Haubiel piano work which might perhaps be
worth looking out for. Apparently, there's currently a copy
of this substantial work for sale at Travis and Emery in London.

[Scriabinoff]

Metamorphoses, Variations on a Melody by Stephen Foster
is another Haubiel piano work which might perhaps be
worth looking out for. Apparently, there's currently a copy
of this substantial work for sale at Travis and Emery in London.

I have access to this, and actually have been meaning to scan it, I was just at the school a few days ago but was pressed for time and could not request it (it is in our collection but in a remote storage facility so it much be requested and pulled by library staff when they go to the site).

I may have this in as little a 3 business days (along with a ready for pick up item I have on another Barth piano sonata). Stay tuned!

Thanks for the 'push' to get this done.