When you think of American classical music from the late 19^th century, Dvorak is the first composer who comes to mind. However, contrary to popular belief, Antonin Dvorak was not the first composer to write “American” style music. He was preceded by American composer George Whitefield Chadwick, who in pieces such as his Rip Van Winkle Overture, Symphony no. 2, and String Quartet no. 2 used programmatic titles, the pentatonic scale, and folk songs to reflect American life. Chadwick and his music has fallen into obscurity, but he deserves more credit for his role in the development of American classical music.

George Whitefield Chadwick was born in 1854 in Lowell, Massachusetts and lived until 1931. Most of his career was based in Boston and because of his long life, he saw a large part of the development of American classical music. He dropped out of high school in 1871 to pursue a musical career and a year later enrolled in The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) and became an organist at a nearby church. He travelled to Europe in 1877 where his success as a composer began. Two pieces in particular - his Rip Van Winkle Overture and String Quartet no. 2 - gained him large public acclaim. While in Germany, he studied with Josef Rheinberger and later travelled all around Europe (NEC). In 1880 he returned to Boston, where he began his tenure as faculty, then the director (1887) of the New England Conservatory of Music, a position he held until 1930 (Library of Congress).

While the director of the NEC, Chadwick made many changes to the institution’s curriculum so that it was more in line with what he saw in Europe. Some of these changes included the development of an opera workshop, preparatory orchestra, and theory courses based off of real music (NEC). At this point he was very busy teaching advanced composition students such as Horatio Parker and William Grant Still, among many others. Because of how busy he was and some illnesses, his compositional output greatly decreased and he mostly ended up writing only in the summer. Still, the music he did write features a number of musical characteristics that make Chadwick’s music unique and set him apart from other composers of the time. He deserves to be known as a great pioneer of American classical music.

The first characteristic that set Chadwick’s music apart was his use of programmatic titles that were uniquely American. After he returned from Europe, he began drawing more inspiration from American sources. Many other American-based composers before him studied in Europe, but their music remained strictly European-sounding. This was probably due to the fact that European music was considered to be the pinnacle of musical art and composers did not want to change this. By the time Chadwick returned from Europe (1880), American themes and styles were just beginning to emerge and Chadwick was not hesitant to embrace these new sounds in his music.

Chadwick’s Rip van Winkle Overture was one of his first major hits and helped him become a well-known composer. Written in 1877 while he was in Europe, it was his first major orchestra piece and was well-received by the public. Chadwick had always been interested in the works of Washington Irving, an American author, and it is no surprise that he used the short story of Rip van Winkle as inspiration for one of his first major works. The story of Rip van Winkle is considered one of the first American short stories and has sparked the imaginations of countless artists throughout the generations.

His use of American programmatic titles really became apparent in some of his later works, notably his Symphonic Sketches, finished in 1904. The piece is in four movements, each with a unique title that reflects the character of the movement and the American experience he is trying to depict. The first movement is titled “Jubilee” and is a boisterous movement that sounds as if he is trying to show the character of Boston in the summer, which is a mood he would have been intimately familiar with, having lived in Boston for over twenty years. The second movement, “Noel,” is somber in contrast to the Jubilee and it maintains an aspect of prayer with slow song-like melodies which could be symbolizing some of the African-American sounds that influenced Chadwick’s music. The third movement has an interesting title: “Hobgoblin.” This movement is exciting and feels as though Chadwick is painting a picture of a festival or similar event with many people. The final movement is called “A Vagrom Ballad” and is dance-like with some ballad characteristics included as well.

As you can see, Chadwick’s music features many European characteristics such as harmony and form, while at the same time introducing new American themes and ideas. Chadwick’s use of programmatic titles was one of his first forays into the emerging American style, but he really launched the movement with the use of the pentatonic scale.

The pentatonic scale has come to be associated with American music today, due to the African influence in the late 19^th to early 20^th century. Chadwick picked up on this theme when he returned from Europe in 1880. However, when you think about “American” style music that uses the pentatonic scale, it is not Chadwick, but Dvorak that comes to mind. Dvorak used the pentatonic scale to great effect in his Symphony no. 9, From the New World, written in 1893. This symphony became the example of what American music “should” sound like. However, Chadwick wrote his Symphony no. 2 using the same techniques nearly a decade before Dvorak’s, in 1884 (Ledbetter and Fell Yellin). It is because of this that Chadwick deserves a place in history not as just a pioneer of American music second to Dvorak, but as one of equal standing. Let me now discuss how Chadwick put these elements to use in his second symphony, most notably the scherzo.

In Chadwick’s second symphony, he draws on African-American melodies and the horn-call tradition, both built from the pentatonic scale. The horn-call is a good example of how Chadwick is blending European and American music. The horn-call originated in Germanic music from the early 19^th century, but has become associated with American music thanks to composers like Chadwick who used it because of its symbolization of nature. Here is the pentatonic melody from the second movement scherzo of his second symphony.

Figure 1

In this excerpt, he omits the fourth scale degree, which creates the effect that this is entirely pentatonic, even though he does include the seventh. This melody resembles the kind of music sung in African-American churches, and critics at the time noted the “Americanness” the melody brought to the work (Ledbetter and Fell Yellin). This theme is not the only time Chadwick uses the pentatonic scale. It also appears in his introductory horn call, which symbolizes nature and has become associated with American classical music from this time. The horn call is common in Chadwick’s music, and this particular one is also similar to the one Dvorak uses in his New World Symphony.

Figure 2

(Movement 4 begins at 19:30)

The fact that this tune is so simple leads me to guess that it is a pre-existing tune that Chadwick took for this work. However, it is difficult to be certain, since composers have been known to write convincing folk melodies, rather than use pre-existing ones. One last element I would like to mention is Chadwick’s use of Afro-Caribbean dance syncopations. These are common syncopations today, but they were not as common in Chadwick’s day and not used to the extent that he used them. Here is an example from his 2^nd symphony scherzo movement of some that he used.

Figure 4

These syncopations are the constant background in the scherzo movement and the way he notates them, as I have above, makes them feel more dance-like than they would otherwise be. He also writes the overlying melody - the scherzo that I discussed previously (Figure 1) - so that these syncopations are very much present in the texture. At this point, it is important to recognize how the music of the African-American population is ingrained in “American” style music. Although Chadwick and his peers were responsible for combining European and African-American sounds, credit must be given to the many African-American artists who were just as important, if not more so, in creating the “American” classical music that we know today, but they rarely get any credit. You can always give credit to one individual for a great accomplishment, but there is usually much more to the picture. The development of American art music is not due to a number of individuals, but rather the many different cultures consciously and unconsciously working together to create the American classical music we know today.

Chadwick and his music have fallen into obscurity, but his role in developing the uniquely American style of music that we know today is not to be underestimated. In addition to writing music using characteristics credited to Dvorak, he was responsible for teaching the next generation of American composers. Many of his students went on to continue the development of American music in their own way. We have a lot to thank George Chadwick for, but many people are not even aware of his existence, much less his importance. In 1931, after Chadwick died, music critic Olin Downes wrote in The New York Times:

“No other American composer of this or any previous generation produced as much important music in as many different forms as George Whitefield Chadwick…With him a whole epoch of American music culminated” (NEC).

It is our job as American musicians to make sure George Whitefield Chadwick and his music remains known, so as to ensure Chadwick his position as one of America’s great composers.

Bibliography

George W. Chadwick 1954 - 1931. Online Text. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, 3 March, 2018.

https://www.loc.gov/item/ihas.200153248/

Ledbetter, Steven and Victor Fell Yellin. “Chadwick, George Whitefield.” Grove Music Online, Oxford Music Online. (2001).

https://necmusic.edu/archives/george-w-chadwick

The New England Conservatory of Music. “George W. Chadwick.” Accessed 3 March,

2018.https://doi-org.proxy-bc.researchport.umd.edu/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.05356