Charles T. Griffes, from Musical Quarterly, vol. IX, July 1923, no. 3.
Although not a household name, Charles Tomlinson Griffes played an important role in the development of the American art song. Griffes possessed one of the most distinctive voices in American music, and his song catalog, while moderate in size, demonstrated his unique ability to fuse music and text, especially in his mature songs. It is regrettable that he suffered an untimely death, at the age of thirty-five, just as he reached the pinnacle of his career. Even so, professional musicians as well as the concert-going public have greatly benefited from the contributions Griffes bestowed on America.
Born on 17 September 1884 in Elmira, New York, Griffes was the third of five children of Wilber Griffes and Clara Tomlinson. When Griffes was ten years old,he received his first piano lessons from his oldest sister, Katharine, who washerself a student of Mary Selena (Selina) Broughton. Miss Broughton was the pianoteacher at Elmira College, and at age fifteen, Griffes began his formal musicaltraining with her. Broughton also served as a mentor to the young Griffes; itwas at her suggestion and with her financial support that Griffes traveled toBerlin in 1903 to study music at the Stern Conservatory. After two years at theConservatory, Griffes studied briefly with Engelbert Humperdinck. Griffes alsocontinued his piano lessons in Europe with Gottfried Galston.
In 1907, Griffes returned to America and became the director of music at the Hackley School for Boys in Tarrytown, New York. Although he did not intend theposition to be permanent, Griffes served as director at the Hackley School forthe remainder of his short life. At Hackley, Griffes was responsible for a varietyof duties, including teaching piano and organ, directing the choir, performingin concerts, and accompanying guest artists at school functions. Although hewas often frustrated during his years at Hackley, the position afforded Griffesa stable environment with a steady income, allowing him to dedicate his sparetime to composition.
Around this time Griffes began to establish himself in American music circles. He made contacts with many of the prominent musicians in New York, includingfellow American composers Walter Damrosch and Arthur Farwell. In 1909, Griffes'work received its first publication when music publisher G. Schirmer printedfiveof his German Songs. By 1915, Griffes had a contract with Schirmer forthe publicationof six piano compositions (op. 5 and op. 6) and five English Songs for Voiceand Piano (op. 3 and op. 4).
That Griffes had begun, by this time, to drift away from German romanticism is evident in his impressionistic works for piano, including Three Tone-Pictures,op. 5 (1915), and Roman Sketches, op. 7 (1917). In 1916 and 1917, Griffes setfive poems for voice and piano, using the five- and six-tone scales common inEastern music rather than those associated with Western tonalities. Publishedas Five Poems of Ancient China and Japan, op. 10, they were premiered on 1 November1917 by Eva Gauthier, soprano, and Griffes, accompanying at the piano. OtherAsian-influenced works by Griffes include Sho-jo, commissioned by Russian choreographerand dancer Adolf Bolm for the Ballet-Intime, and The Pleasure-Dome of KublaKhan,initially scored for piano solo and later orchestrated. The latter compositiondid not receive its first performance in its original piano version until 21September 1984 when pianist James Tocco played it in the Library of Congress'sCoolidge Auditorium.
The year 1919 was, artistically speaking, the busiest year of Griffes'slife. Soprano Vera Janacopulos debuted Griffes's Three Poems by Fiona Macleod,op. 11, on 22 March with the composer at the piano. The Modern Music Societyfeatured a concert dedicated solely to Griffes's music on 2 April 1919.The first performance of Griffes's Poem for Flute and Orchestra occurredon 16 November 1919 by flutist Georges Barrère and the New York SymphonyOrchestra under the baton of Walter Damrosch. Pierre Monteux conducted the BostonSymphony Orchestra in the first orchestral performances of The Pleasure-Domeof Kubla Khan on 28 and 29 November 1919; the orchestra repeated the performancein New York's Carnegie Hall on 4 and 6 December. And on 19 December 1919,Leopold Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra performed the orchestral debutsof Griffes's Notturno für Orchester, The White Peaco*ck, Clouds, andBacchanale.
Griffes's attendance at the Boston Symphony Orchestra's performance of The Pleasure-Dome of Kubla Khan on 4 December 1919 was his last public appearance. Having suffered from empyema for several months, Griffes succumbed to the disease on 8 April 1920. He was buried on 10 April, and among the pallbearers at his funeral service was Oscar G. Sonneck, director of the publication department of G. Schirmer and former chief of the Music Division, Library of Congress. While it is tempting to speculate on what Griffes could have produced had his life not been cut short, it is perhaps more fitting to focus on what he did accomplish, especially his twenty-six songs for piano and voice. Although famous for his orchestral compositions, vocal works, such as Four Impressions and Three Poems by Fiona Macleod, established Griffes as one of America's most important songwriters.
Further Reading
Anderson, Donna K. Charles T. Griffes: A Life in Music. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1993.
Maisel, Edward. Charles T. Griffes: The Life of an American Composer. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1984.
Upton, William Treat. "The Songs of Charles T. Griffes." Musical Quarterly 9, no. 3 (July 1923): 314-28.
