Mr. Parkman

Included on ACM Radio’s playlist for April is the symphonic poem, “The Mystic Trumpeter” (1904) by the Bostonian Frederick Converse (1871-1940). I’ve long been fascinated by Converse (and his contemporaries) as they were drawn to European art music from the hinterlands of the New World, became expert practitioners of composing in the European (usually German) late-Romantic style, often wrote inspired pieces while working tirelessly to develop the beginnings of an American music, only to find the compositional world take a dramatic turn in the 1910s and 20s away from that which they held dear and then lived for roughly 20 years more fully knowing that the musical style which they had incorporated was passé and the musical currents had passed them by.

“The Mystic Trumpeter” is one of my favorite works from these early years of The American Century. A symphonic recasting of Walt Whitman’s poem of the same name from Leaves of Grass, it is gorgeous, evocative, and often just downright thrilling. It is a terrific example of an American composer incorporating the prevailing musical currents of the time while drawing on the literary history of his own country.

Tune in to ACM Radio and The Mystic Trumpeter will appear, akin to the opening lines of Whitman’s poem:

HARK! some wild trumpeter—some strange musician,
Hovering unseen in air, vibrates capricious tunes to-night.

Here is a biographical sketch of Frederick Converse along with his likeness:

Frederick Converse

Frederick Shepherd Converse was born in Newton, Massachusetts on January 5, 1871 and died in Westwood, Massachusetts on June 8, 1940.

During his formative years, Converse studied piano, showed an early interest in composition, and entered Harvard (1889-1893) where he studied with John Knowles Paine. After a brief foray into the world of business, he traveled to Munich to continue his musical studies, where he graduated from the Koenigliche Akadamie der Tonkunst with highest honors. Returning to America, Converse and his family eventually moved to a large estate in Westwood, Massachusetts. Converse would become a prominent and highly respected figure in Boston’s musical life for the next four decades.

Converse had a long relationship with the New England Conservatory, serving first as a trustee (an appointment that lasted until his death), then as a teacher (1900-1902 and again 1920-1931), and later Dean of the Faculty (1931-1938). He also taught at Harvard (1903-1907).

Converse was also a leading figure in the creation of the Boston Opera Company (1909-1914), serving on the Board of Directors and as Vice President for all five years. His operas The Sacrifice and The Pipe of Desire were performed by the Company, the latter was also performed by the Metropolitan Opera in New York in 1910.

Converse wrote music for orchestra, chorus, piano, opera, voice, and chamber ensembles. Included among his output are five symphonies, ten symphonic poems, three string quartets, a piano trio, sonatas for violin, cello, and piano, numerous pieces for chorus, and many art songs.

Converse was one of the last representatives of an American school of composition that had its roots in late German romanticism. Converse’s wife commented that her husband, “always said his work came at the end of an era, that he did not care, because some day his work would be appreciated, that he had had the joy of writing it, and that had made him have a happy life.”