The East in the Works of Charles Griffes

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21638/spbu15.2020.101

Abstract

The article is devoted to the oriental compositions of the American composer Charles Griffes (1884–1920), created in the 1910s. These include the symphonic poem “The Pleasure-Dome of Kubla Khan” (1912–1917), the vocal cycle “Five Poems of Ancient China and Japan” for voice and piano (1916–1917), and the Japanese pantomime “Sho-Jo” (1917). Significant creative contacts (Eva Gauthier, A. Coomaraswamy, E. Bloch, A. Bolm, M. Ito), extensive reading, fascination with folklore, poetry, painting, and philosophy of Asian countries led to the formation of his own method of working with oriental materials. The composer saw prospects for the interaction of Western and Eastern music in his address to the archaic, to the stylization of ancient folklore. An example is the music for the pantomime “Sho-Jo” and the cycle “Five Poems of Ancient China and Japan.” Natural modes (pentatonic modes), organ points, ascetic quarto-quinto-second verticals, spatial sound, and rhythmic ostinato allow us to draw parallels with new folkloristics, in particular, with the works of I. F. Stravinsky. In the symphonic poem “The Pleasure-Dome of Kubla Khan,” the European influences at the forefront are associated with the study of the “Russian” East (first of all the writings of N. Rimsky-Korsakov) and the French oriental pieces by C. Debussy and M. Ravel. Colorful in mood and harmony, a multi-layered texture, and spicy timbers testify to the features of impressionism. The technique of orchestral writing enables us to find similarities with Ravel’s “Sheherazade” Overture. Also, the works of Griffes brightly revealed features of the Art Nouveau style: the image of dance, the increased interest in the element of water, ornamental melodies-arabesques, and the independence of timber layers.

Keywords:

Charles Griffes, The Pleasure-Dome of Kubla Khan, Five Poems of Ancient China and Japan, Sho-Jo, Eva Gauthier, orientalism, American music of the first quarter of the twentieth century, impressionism, modern style, new folkloristics

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Author Biography

Anna E. Krom, Nizhny Novgorod State Academy of Music named after M. Glinka

Dr. Habil., Associate Professor, Professor of the Music History Department of the Composition and Musicological Faculty

References

References

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2. Greer, Taylor A. “The Unfolding Tale of Griffes’s ‘White Peacock’”. In A Musical-Theoretical Matrix: Essay in Honor of Allen Forte, pt II, ed. by David Carson Berry, Gamut 3/1 (2010): 167–203.

3. Fabbro, Renato Sergio. “The Stylistic Traits of Charles Griffes’s Piano Music: Roman Sketches, op. 7 and Piano Sonata”. DMA diss., Rice University, 2001.

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5. Hsu, Ti-Fei. “Chinese Influence in Four Twentieth Century Song Cycles by Roussel, Carpenter, Griffes, and Britten”. DMA diss., American Conservatory of Music, 1988.

6. Boyd, Linda M. “Early twentieth-century Art Song: A Recital Program of Selected Works of Griffes, Ives, Ravel, and Schoenberg”. MS thesis, Moorhead State University, 1988.

7. Reeves, David M. “Selected Songs of Charles T. Griffes: An Examination of the Relationship Between Words and Music”. PhD diss., New York University, 1989.

8. Hoyt, Bonnie N. “The Song Styles of Charles Tomlinson Griffes as Seen in Four Impressions and Three Poems By Fiona MacLeod”. DMA diss., University of South Carolina, 1995.

9. Lawson, Elizabeth Carey. “An Analysis of Selected Vocal Music of Charles Tomlinson Griffes and John Harbison”. MA Thesis, University of Portland, 1996.

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11. Savenko, Svetlana. Igor Stravinsky. Cheliabinsk: Arkaim Publ., 2004. (In Russian)

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13. Mittler, Barbara. Dangerous Tunes: The Politics of Chinese Music in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the People’s Republic of China since 1949. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 1997.

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15. Coleridge, Samuel Taylor. Poems. Rus. ed. Prepared by Anna Elistratova and Andrei Gorbunov. Moscow: Nauka Publ., 1974.

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Music Editions

I. Griffes, Charles Tomlinson. Fantasy Pieces for the Piano. Op. 6. New York: G. Schirmer, 1915.

II. Griffes, Charles Tomlinson. The Pleasure-Dome of Kubla Khan. Symphonic Poem for Grand Orchestra. Orchestral Score. New York; Boston: G. Schirmer, 1920.

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Published

2020-03-20

How to Cite

Krom, A. E. (2020). The East in the Works of Charles Griffes. Vestnik of Saint Petersburg University. Arts, 10(1), 3–16. https://doi.org/10.21638/spbu15.2020.101

Issue

Vol. 10 No. 1 (2020)

Section

Music

License

Articles of "Vestnik of Saint Petersburg University. Arts" are open access distributed under the terms of the License Agreement with Saint Petersburg State University, which permits to the authors unrestricted distribution and self-archiving free of charge.