Richard Faith (March 20, 1926 - February 28, 2021) was an American composer who has been known primarily in university music circles as a concert pianist, professor of piano, and a published composer of piano pedagogy literature, orchestral and chamber works, opera and most prolifically, song. A neo-romantic, Faith has always been first and foremost a melodist.

Biography

Richard Bruce Faith was born in

Evansville, Indiana Evansville is a city in, and the county seat of, Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States. The population was 118,414 at the 2020 census, making it the state's third-most populous city after Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, the largest city in ...

. His mother was a homemaker active in community affairs, and his father, a dentist. Both parents were very supportive of his choice to become a musician as they too came from musical backgrounds. Faith's mother studied piano before her five children were born; his father picked up musical skills without a teacher and played piano, violin and sang in the church choir. Around age eight, Richard began to study piano with his fifteen-year-old cousin and he soon began improvising melodies on the keyboard. Between the ages of eleven and twelve he began writing down his piano compositions, one of which later became a work for women's chorus entitled "Daffodils" (

I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" (also commonly known as "Daffodils") is a lyric poem by William Wordsworth. It is one of his most popular, and was inspired by a forest encounter on 15 April 1802 between he, his younger sister Dorothy and a "lon ...

) with poetry by

William Wordsworth William Wordsworth (7 April 177023 April 1850) was an English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with their joint publication ''Lyrical Ballads'' (1798). Wordsworth's ' ...

.Lavonis, William. "The Songs of Richard Faith." DMA Thesis, University of Cincinnati, 1992 Before his natural bent toward composing could take root and grow, Faith embarked on a career as a concert pianist. In 1940 at age fourteen, he appeared with the

Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra The Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra is an orchestra in Evansville, Indiana. Founded in 1934, the orchestra consists of approximately 80 musicians led by conductor Roger Kalia. It is the largest arts institution in the Indiana, Kentucky, and Illin ...

, and after a few years of study he entered

Chicago Musical College Chicago Musical College is a division of the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University. History Founding Dr. Florenz Ziegfeld Sr (1841–1923), founded the college in 1867 as the Chicago Academy of Music. The institution h ...

, where he received both undergraduate and master's degrees in piano performance. At age nineteen he placed in a collegiate contest and was given the opportunity to perform in Chicago's Orchestra Hall. The work was ''Chopin's Concerto in F Minor'' (Op. 21). This was followed in 1947 by his professional debut at Kimball Hall (Chicago) and, in 1948, by a return to Orchestra Hall for a solo recital and an engagement with the

Chicago Symphony Orchestra The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) was founded by Theodore Thomas in 1891. The ensemble makes its home at Orchestra Hall in Chicago and plays a summer season at the Ravinia Festival. The music director is Riccardo Muti, who began his tenure ...

. During the early fifties Faith concertized as a recital accompanist for both singers and instrumentalists in programs that included his own compositions. Faith's first instructor in composition was Max Wald, with whom he worked from 1947 to 1949. In the Fall of 1954 he began doctoral work in composition at Indiana University in Bloomington with

Bernhard Heiden Bernhard Heiden (b. Frankfurt-am-Main, August 24, 1910; d. Bloomington, IN, April 30, 2000) was a German and American composer and music teacher, who studied under and was heavily influenced by Paul Hindemith. Bernhard Heiden, the son of Ernst ...

. Two years later Faith received his first full-time teaching appointment at

Morningside College Morningside University is a private university affiliated with the United Methodist Church and located in Sioux City, Iowa. Founded in 1894 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, Morningside University has 21 buildings on a campus in Sioux City (ar ...

in Sioux City, Iowa. Although he was devoted to teaching piano, his great love for composition continued to flourish. In 1960 he went to Rome as a Fulbright Scholar, studying both piano and composition with

Guido Agosti Guido Agosti (11 August 19012 June 1989) was an Italian pianist and piano teacher. Agosti was born in Forlì in 1901. He studied piano with Ferruccio Busoni, Bruno Mugellini and Filippo Ivaldi, earning his diploma at age 13. He studied counterp ...

at the

Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia The Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia ( en, National Academy of St Cecilia) is one of the oldest musical institutions in the world, founded by the papal bull ''Ratione congruit'', issued by Sixtus V in 1585, which invoked two saints prom ...

. He chose Italy because of his interest in Italian history and its early Renaissance art. He also was seeking the "clarity of Italian musical expression." Faith spent the greatest part of his life at the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

in Tucson, where he assumed the position of Assistant Professor of Music (Piano) in 1961. He remained at the school until 1988, with an interim year at Morningside College in 1968. Many of his most popular compositions are the fruits of his tenure at Arizona: songs, choral works, piano concertos, orchestral and chamber works and opera. Faith's first published work was the "Legend for Piano," printed by Summy-Birchard in 1967.

Shawnee Press Shawnee Press, Inc., was an independent print and recorded music publisher and for a time, the largest educational music publisher in the world. The Company published several music types including choral, vocal, instrumental, and classroom in a ...

began publishing his compositions in 1968, followed by G. Schirmer Inc. in 1971 and Belwin Mills in 1974. In the late 1970s Faith's music achieved significant recognition with performances in London, Washington, D.C., and Tucson, and commercial recordings were released. From 1982 to 1988 he received annual awards from the

American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...

(ASCAP). Following his retirement from teaching in 1988, Richard Faith relocated from Tucson a number of times. Ever the itinerant musician, he was not content to settle in one place for very long. To freely quote the Yeats poem that he eventually set to music, Faith can be described as a "wandering Aengus" with a "fire in his head." He lived in Reston, Va., in California, Bloomington, In., returning to his home town of Evansville in the late 1990s, and in Denver. In 2015 he made his home in Savoy, Illinois where he gave piano recitals at his independent retirement community and continued to compose up until two weeks before his death. During the last 30 years performances, publications, dissertations and recordings of his works have flourished. His vast musical output includes over 60 chamber works, 21 choral arrangements, 4 operas, 16 orchestral pieces, 61 keyboard works and over 120 songs, including an unofficial contribution to the AIDS Quilt Songbook with his "Winter Journey," with poetry by William Lavonis. Faith's musical works and documents are being housed at the Fred Fox School of Music in the College of Fine Arts at the University of Arizona-Tucson. Richard Faith died at his home on February 28, 2021 in Savoy twenty days shy of his 95th birthday.

Musical style and songs

Faith's music displays a freely modulating harmonic language within the boundaries of tonality that combines neo-romantic and impressionistic qualities. With Debussy, Ravel, and Rachmaninoff as important influences on his music, and Brahms as a model with respect to form, Faith also shares musical traits with Vaughan Williams, particularly in the areas of modality and harmonic color and with

Roger Quilter Roger Cuthbert Quilter (1 November 1877 – 21 September 1953) was a British composer, known particularly for his art songs. His songs, which number over a hundred, often set music to text by William Shakespeare and are a mainstay of the En ...

, the Victorian whose songs displayed a trait known as "decorous Romanticism." Faith's English flavor is even further highlighted by the composer's choice of poetry, much of which comes from English and Irish authors. Having developed a somewhat dry wit and an infectious, silly humor, Faith infrequently reflected these personality traits in his music, leaning more toward a sound that exudes a deep longing and romantic spirit. Faith's song output spans the years 1944 to the present—his entire life as a composer. The over 120 settings run the stylistic gamut from sophisticated concert pieces to simple miniatures, duets, vocalises and selections with obbligato instruments, including flute, cello, viola and harp. His settings are generally for medium voice. Some have been written for specific singers to whom he has dedicated the music. Many of the songs are grouped according to subject matter, but are not necessarily musically connected. They may be sung as sets or separately, and may be transposed to suit the singer. Faith's tempo indications use traditional Italian terminology and the metronome markings are only suggestions. He is a gracious composer who allows individuals to develop their own interpretations of his music.Lavonis, William. "The Songs of Richard Faith." The NATS Journal, Sept/Oct, 1994 Because Faith himself is a pianist, many of the songs have sophisticated accompaniments. Sometimes the piano doubles the voice, though hardly ever through an entire piece. At other times the piano will play a

countermelody In music, a counter-melody (often countermelody) is a sequence of notes, perceived as a melody, written to be played simultaneously with a more prominent lead melody. In other words, it is a secondary melody played in counterpoint with the prima ...

to the voice to form a kind of obbligato. Like Debussy, Faith has a fondness for triplets, because of the movement and flow they add to a song.

Thomas Nashe Thomas Nashe (baptised November 1567 – c. 1601; also Nash) was an Elizabethan playwright, poet, satirist and a significant pamphleteer. He is known for his novel ''The Unfortunate Traveller'', his pamphlets including ''Pierce Penniless,'' a ...

's "Spring, the Sweet Spring" (1950) is an exercise in perpetual motion for the accompanist, with only brief repose at the end of each stanza. This inventive, florid accompaniment, along with Faith's strict use of ABA form, thin texture, and a definite key signature (G) lend a neo-baroque character to this Elizabethan poem. The harmony, however, remains contemporary, with Faith's use of incidental chromatics and added-note chords. Like many composers who rely on modality rather than tonality, Faith rarely uses key signatures. His harmonic idiom displays a changing palette of colors marked by simultaneous cross-relations, the Lydian sharped fourth, and combinations of this sharped fourth and Mixolydian flatted seventh. Faith has denied any desire to pursue more avant-garde idioms. Earlier experiments in progressive styles met with little success, and if anything beyond the romantic exists in Faith's music, it may be the influence of Hindemith which was furthered by his studies at Indiana University with

, himself a Hindemith pupil. Traces of this influence can be discerned in the appearance of quartal/quintal harmony in many of the songs. This is seen in "The Blackbird" by the Victorian author

William Ernest Henley William Ernest Henley (23 August 184911 July 1903) was an English poet, writer, critic and editor. Though he wrote several books of poetry, Henley is remembered most often for his 1875 poem "Invictus". A fixture in London literary circles, the o ...

composed in 1955. The accompaniment begins with broken ninth and tenth intervals supported by mildly dissonant chords; it is then followed by a hocket-like passage. This underlying texture continues through the first half of the song, contrasting with legato vocal melody. Faith's use of arch form or "coming full circle" reflects the influence of Brahms, whose many songs fall into this structural category. He may end with a literal repeat, a transposed portion, or only a fragment of A, and may repeat text, music, or both in the process. Arch form is also reflected in the use of dynamics. Many songs begin quietly, reach a climax in an interior section, and then end as they began. The composer's selection of poetry brings to the foreground some of literature's most famous writers in works that in this day and age have been unjustly neglected by the general public:

Conrad Aiken Conrad Potter Aiken (August 5, 1889 – August 17, 1973) was an American writer and poet, honored with a Pulitzer Prize and a National Book Award, and was United States Poet Laureate from 1950 to 1952. His published works include poetry, short st ...

Edward Lear Edward Lear (12 May 1812 – 29 January 1888) was an English artist, illustrator, musician, author and poet, who is known mostly for his literary nonsense in poetry and prose and especially his limerick (poetry), limericks, a form he popularised. ...

Charles Cotton Charles Cotton (28 April 1630 – 16 February 1687) was an English poet and writer, best known for translating the work of Michel de Montaigne from the French, for his contributions to ''The Compleat Angler'', and for the influential ''The Comp ...

, and

Christina Rossetti Christina Georgina Rossetti (5 December 1830 – 29 December 1894) was an English writer of romantic, devotional and children's poems, including "Goblin Market" and "Remember". She also wrote the words of two Christmas carols well known in Brit ...

, to name a few. In his later years Faith began to set more diverse poets, including Moorish, Islamic and Chinese authors. That Faith is well-read is apparent not only in his choice of fine poetry to set to music, but also in his allusions to literature in many of his instrumental works. In addition, he often selects longer poems than would be considered usual for a song and writes few miniatures. The success of setting a lengthy piece of verse seems to depend upon Faith's ability to delay the listener's climactic expectations by moving through harmonic ambiguity until reaching an emotionally charged section that merits a cadence—usually on open sonorities without the thirds. This event may repeat itself many times with a greater or lesser dynamic level, thereby expanding his music resources. Faith's songs adhere strictly to the rhythm dictated by the text of the poem. In fact, he simultaneously composes both melody and accompaniment by singing the text and playing the keyboard and immediately writing it down. Faith's adherence to the text rhythm results in shifting meters to accommodate phrases of varying length and text-derived rhythmic figures often provide the basis for his accompaniments For subject matter Faith prefers nature imagery over love poetry and until 1994 with his

Mother Goose The figure of Mother Goose is the imaginary author of a collection of French fairy tales and later of English nursery rhymes. As a character, she appeared in a song, the first stanza of which often functions now as a nursery rhyme. This, howeve ...

Rhymes, there had been only one comical song—Edward Lear's "

The Owl and the Pussycat "The Owl and the Pussy-cat" is a nonsense poem by Edward Lear, first published in 1870 in the American magazine '' Our Young Folks: an Illustrated Magazine for Boys and Girls'' and again the following year in Lear's own book ''Nonsense Songs, S ...

," written in 1960. Many of Faith's settings reflect the nationality of the poet and the time period in which the poem was written. For example, ''Four Love Songs'' on Elizabethan lyrics (1982) display thin textures, balanced forms, and traditional harmonic progressions, while the Jean de La Ville de Mirmont :fr:Jean de La Ville de Mirmont songs have a French character that reveals Faith's debt to Ravel and Debussy. More recently, Faith's songs on Moorish poetry evoke an exotic, middle eastern quality. In the beautiful setting of

Ben Jonson Benjamin "Ben" Jonson (c. 11 June 1572 – c. 16 August 1637) was an English playwright and poet. Jonson's artistry exerted a lasting influence upon English poetry and stage comedy. He popularised the comedy of humours; he is best known for t ...

's "To Celia" (commonly known as "

Drink to Me Only with Thine Eyes "Drink to Me Only with Thine Eyes" is a popular old song, the lyrics of which are the poem "To Celia" by the English playwright Ben Jonson, first published in 1616. Lyrics After this song had been popular for almost two centuries, scholars bega ...

"), Faith, by stressing the poem's inherent passion, brings a fresh outlook to a lyric which had become too familiar in arrangements of the old English setting. He achieves this through an operatically conceived vocal line: high and sustained, and encompassing a range of an octave and a fifth. Two works that do not necessarily fall into specific stylistic categories, but deserve mention nonetheless, are

Percy Bysshe Shelley Percy Bysshe Shelley ( ; 4 August 17928 July 1822) was one of the major English Romantic poets. A radical in his poetry as well as in his political and social views, Shelley did not achieve fame during his lifetime, but recognition of his achie ...

's "Music When Soft Voices Die" and the miniature "Remember Me" by the Victorian

. The spontaneous quality of the Shelley song reveals the poem's great effect on Faith, who, after nearly two years without song writing (1957), produced one of his most frequently performed pieces. The introduction's angular, twisting melody, taken later by the vocal line, lends a troubled, unsettling quality to the lyric. "Remember Me" was written in 1954 and is unusual for its brevity. The poet, Christina Rossetti, was an Englishwoman of Italian descent and is best known for her words to the hymns "In the Bleak Mid-Winter" and "Love Came Down at Christmas." Faith set three more of her poems which are included in the first published volume of songs by Leyerle Publications. Many of Faith's songs have themes related to the sea, and there are a number of others in which the sea figures as an integral element in the poem. This stems from the composer"s extreme fascination with water, having been raised near the high banks of the wide Ohio River in Evansville, Indiana. "Sea Fever" (

John Masefield John Edward Masefield (; 1 June 1878 – 12 May 1967) was an English poet and writer, and Poet Laureate from 1930 until 1967. Among his best known works are the children's novels ''The Midnight Folk'' and ''The Box of Delights'', and the poem ...

), one of Faith's few biographically-influenced songs, displays such a depth of emotion rare for a nineteen-year-old. It is an important early song because it established many compositional techniques to which the composer returned throughout his lyrical output. Another "sea" example is "Ships" an English translation of "Vaisseaux, nous vous aurons aimés" by Jean de la Ville de Mirmont :fr:Jean de La Ville de Mirmont, the French World War I poet killed in action in 1914. This poem was also set by Fauré in that composer's final song cycle ''

L'horizon chimérique ''L'horizon chimérique'', Op. 118, is a song cycle by Gabriel Fauré, of four mélodies for voice and piano. Composed in 1921, the cycle is based on four of the poems from the collection of the same name by Jean de La Ville de Mirmont.Orledge (19 ...

''. Faith's song is scored for cello obbligato, piano, and female voice. Faith skillfully translates into music the emotions behind the words of the world's greatest authors. Although many of his songs display common characteristics, each reveals an approach that allows the poem's individuality to shine through. Performers of art song, both singers and pianists, will appreciate Faith's output, considering the variety of poems he set to music and the gracious way he treats the voice and piano in his neo-romantic/impressionistic manner. Somewhat reticent of theoretical discussions, however, Faith considers himself only to be a composer of the heart, who relies on his musical gifts to bring joy to others.

Selected works

Chamber and instrumental music

* ''Air'', for saxophone and piano * ''Andante and Allegro'', for bassoon and piano, 2011* * Chant and Movement, for viola and piano, 2002* * Concerto for Clarinet and Piano, 1989; Southern Music Co. * Concerto for Two Pianos and Percussion * ''Doric Dances'', for cor anglais (or alto saxophone) and piano, 2000 * ''Elegy'', for clarinet and piano, 1950* * ''Elegy'', for clarinet choir * ''Essays'', for oboe and piano, 1964 * ''Evocation'', for trombone and piano, arr. from "Music I Heard With You", 1987* * ''Evocations'', for trumpet (Bb or C) and piano, 2006 * ''Fables'', for viola and piano, 1974* * ''Fantasy'', for violin and piano * ''Fantasy Trio No. 1'', for violin, clarinet or oboe and piano, 1982 * ''Fantasy Trio No. 2'', for violin, clarinet and piano, 1988 * ''Four Duets'', for violin and cello * ''Harvest Song'', for baritone and woodwind quintet * ''Highland Sketches'', for baritone saxophone and piano, 2011* * ''Incantations'', for soprano, viola and piano, 1994 * ''Miniatures'', for clarinet and piano, 1992; Belwin Mills * ''Miniatures'', for oboe and piano, 1988; Belwin Mills * ''Moorish Dances'', for violin, percussion and piano, 2002 * ''Movements'', for horn and piano, 1966; Shawnee Press * Oboe Concerto, 1982 * ''Pastorale'', for cor anglais (or alto saxophone) and piano, 2000 * ''Phantasies'', for saxophone and piano, 1985 * ''Poems'', for cello and piano (based on ''Four Faith Songs''), 1984 * Quintet for Flute, Clarinet, Violin, Cello and Harp, 1956 * Rhapsody for Cello and Piano, 1960* * Rhapsody for Flute and Piano, 2007 * Rhapsody for Violin and Piano in Four Movements, 1954-55* * ''Romance'', for violin and piano, 1952* * ''Second Fantasy Trio'', for violin, clarinet and piano, 1995 * Sextet for Wind Quintet and Piano, 2001 * ''The Solitary Reaper'', for baritone and woodwind quintet * Sonata for Cello and Piano, 1985 * Sonata for Flute and Piano, 1957 * Sonata for Trumpet and Piano, 1957 * Sonata No. 2 for Trumpet and Piano, 1985 * Sonata for Viola and Piano * Sonata for Violin and Piano, 1948* * String Quartet, 1955* * Suite for Bassoon and Piano, 1989; Southern Music Co. * Suite for Clarinet and Piano, 2007 * Three Duets for Violin and Viola * Three Nocturnes for Violin and Piano, 1970* * Three Pieces for Oboe and Piano * Trio for Flute, Cello and Harp, 1984 * Trio for Oboe, Bassoon and Piano, 2003 * Trio for Violin, Cello and Piano, 1965 * Trio for Violin, Horn and Piano * Two Pieces for Brass * ''Two Poems'', for voice, violin, cello and piano (Mirmont), arr. 2010 * ''Two Romances'', for violin and piano * ''Two Songs'', for violin and piano, 2000* * ''Two Sea Pieces'', for clarinet and piano, 1966 * Various pieces for clarinet and piano (''Air'', ''Eventide'', ''Harlequin'', ''Serenade''), 1987* * Woodwind Quintet * unpublished

Choral

* ''All Day I Hear the Noise of Waters'', for SSA and piano (

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of ...

), 1966 * ''The Blackbird'', for SATB and piano (

), 1965 * ''Creation'', cantata for soloists and SSATBB, 1993 * ''Daffodils'', for SSA and piano (

), 1970 * ''God Be in my Head'', for SATB and piano, 1990 * ''Hymn of Praise'', for SATB and piano or organ, 1989 * ''Indian Summer'', for SATB and piano (

Wilfred Campbell William Wilfred Campbell (1 June ca. 1860 – 1 January 1918) was a Canadian poet. He is often classed as one of the country's Confederation Poets, a group that included fellow Canadians Charles G.D. Roberts, Bliss Carman, Archibald Lampman, and ...

), 1964 * ''Kyrie'', for SATB and string orchestra (organ version), 1990 * Mass (''Missa Hominum''), for SATB, soloists and piano,1986 * ''Music I Heard With You'', for SATB and piano (

), 1968; G. Schirmer * ''O Spirit of the Summertime'', for SATB and piano or string quartet (

William Allingham William Allingham (19 March 1824 – 18 November 1889) was an Irish poet, diarist and editor. He wrote several volumes of lyric verse, and his poem "The Faeries" was much anthologised. But he is better known for his posthumously published ''Dia ...

), 1970 * ''On the Isle of Skye'', for TTBB (Richard Faith), 1986 * ''Remember Me'', various vocal arrangements (

), 2003, 2006 * ''Sea Fever'', for TBB and piano (

) 1965; for SATB and piano, 1980 * ''Sleep Child'', from ''The Little Match Girl'', for SATB and piano (Michael Ard), 1994 * ''Sonnet 54'', for TTBB (William Shakespeare), 1986 * ''Spring, the Sweet Spring'', for TTBB (Thomas Nashe), 1986 * ''Though I Speak'', for SATB and piano (St. Paul), 1991 * ''The Waters of Babylon'', cantata in 4 movements, for baritone solo, SATB chorus and piano (Jeremiah, Isaiah), 1976 * ''The Wayfarer'', for SATB and violin, viola, cello, horn and piano (

Rainer Maria Rilke René Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rilke (4 December 1875 – 29 December 1926), shortened to Rainer Maria Rilke (), was an Austrian poet and novelist. He has been acclaimed as an idiosyncratic and expressive poet, and is widely recogni ...

), 1996 * ''What Sweeter Music'', for SATB and piano ( Robert Herrick), 1993

Opera

* ''Beauty and the Beast'', 3 acts, for piano, orchestra or small chamber orchestra (Michael Ard), 1992 * ''The Little Match Girl'', 1 act, for piano or chamber orchestra (Michael Ard), 1979; orchestration 1990-91 * ''Sleeping Beauty'', 2 acts, for piano or orchestra (Michael Ard), 1970 * ''The Wydah's Gold'', 5 scenes, for piano or chamber orchestra (Robert Weller), 1997

Orchestra

* ''Aureole'', 1981 * Concert Overture, 1988 * Concerto for Clarinet and Chamber Orchestra * Concerto No. 1 for Piano and Orchestra, 1969; kermitpeters.net * Concerto No. 2 for Piano and Orchestra, 1975; chamber arrangement, 1998 * Concerto No. 3 for Piano and Orchestra, 1982 * Concerto for Clarinet and Chamber Orchestra, 1987 * ''Elegy'', 1966 * ''Festivals'', 1980; originally Concerto for Two Pianos, 1972 * ''Idylls'', for oboe and chamber orchestra, 1982 * ''Lydian Overture'', 1984 * ''Odyssey'', 1965 * ''A Pastoral Overture'', 1964 * ''Phantasie'', for piano and orchestra, 1977 * ''Processional'', for string orchestra, 1994 * Sonata No. 1 for piano; orchestrated 1995

Piano and organ

* ''Allegheny Serenade'', for two pianos, 1998* * Andante and Allegro for Two Pianos, 1998* * ''Arabesques'', 2000* * ''Carousels'', 1991; Belwin Mills * ''Carousels'', for two pianos, 1972* * ''Celebration'' * Concerto for Two Pianos, 1973-74; Shawnee Press, Hal Leonard * ''Dance Suite'', for 4 hands, 1990 * ''Dances'', 1977; Shawnee Press, Hal Leonard * ''Differencias'', 1969* * ''Elegy'', for organ (arr. of "Elegy for Orchestra"), 1991* * ''Etude "Stratification"'', 1984 * ''Family Portraits'', 2006 * Fantasy No. 1, 1968* * Fantasy No. 2, 1987; Shawnee Press * ''Finger Paintings'', 1966; Shawnee Press, Hal Leonard * Five Preludes and a Nocturne, 1967; Shawnee Press * ''Floating'' * ''Four Cameos'', 1971; Shawnee Press * ''Four Timbres'', 2009 * ''Gaelic Suite'', 1993* * ''Gallantries'', 2009 * ''The Highwayman'' * ''Islands'', 1970, 1985; Shawnee Press * ''Le Mont Saint Michel'', 2008* * ''Legend'', 1967; Summy Birchard * ''Little Preludes'', 1966* * ''Masquerades'', 1988; Belwin Mills * ''Moments in a Child's World'', 1968; Shawnee Press * ''Night Piece'' * ''Nocturne'', 1975 * ''Pastoral Suite'', 1989, revised 2009; Shawnee Press * Piano Concerto No. 1, 1969 * Piano Concerto No. 2, 1975 * Piano Concerto No. 3, 1982 * ''Performance Practices in Late 20th-Century Piano''; Alfred Publishing Co. * ''Piano Transcriptions of Songs'', 2005-10* * ''Pipes'', 1987; Belwin Mills * ''Recollections. Nine Short Pieces'', 1969, 1974; Shawnee Press * ''Rhapsody'', 1980* * ''Russian Folk Tales'', 1990; Belwin Mills * ''Service Sonata'', for organ, 1970* * Six Preludes and a Nocturne * ''Skandian Suite'', 2008 * ''Sketches'', 1987; Belwin Mills * Sonata No. 1, 1962, revised 2010 * Sonata No. 2, 1957 * Sonata No. 3, 1958 * Sonatina, 1987 * Sonatina, 1987; Belwin Mills * ''Souvenir from 12 by 11'', 1979; Alfred Publishing Co. * ''Suite "Trouveres"'', for harpsichord, 2002* * ''Tableaux'', 4 hands 1987; Belwin Mills * Three Etudes, 1978, revised 2009 * ''Three for Two'', for two pianos 1998* * ''Three Night Songs'', 1964, 1980, 2010 * Three Sonatinas * ''Toccata "The Dark Riders"'', 1969; Shawnee Press * ''Travels'', 1970; Shawnee * Two Nocturnes, 1976 * ''Voyages'', 2001* * ''Woodland Adventures'', 1988* * unpublished

Songs

(published by Leyerle Publication

unless otherwise indicated) * Noon (

Robinson Jeffers John Robinson Jeffers (January 10, 1887 – January 20, 1962) was an American poet, known for his work about the central California coast. Much of Jeffers's poetry was written in narrative and epic form. However, he is also known for his short ...

), 1944-45; revised 2004* * Sea Fever (

), 1945 * Music I Heard With You (

), 1946-47 * Granite (Lew Sarett), 1948* * She Weeps Over Rahoon (

), 1950* * Dark Hills (

Edward Arlington Robinson Edwin Arlington Robinson (December 22, 1869 – April 6, 1935) was an American poet and playwright. Robinson won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry on three occasions and was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature four times. Early life Robins ...

), 1950 * Spring, the Sweet Spring (

), 1950-51 * Tumultuous Moment (Lew Sarett), 1951* * Desire in Spring (

Francis Ledwidge Francis Edward Ledwidge (19 August 188731 July 1917) was a 20th-century Irish poet. From Slane, County Meath, and sometimes known as the "poet of the blackbirds", he was later also known as a First World War war poet. He befriended the establish ...

), 1952 * Evening (

Rupert Brooke Rupert Chawner Brooke (3 August 1887 – 23 April 1915)The date of Brooke's death and burial under the Julian calendar that applied in Greece at the time was 10 April. The Julian calendar was 13 days behind the Gregorian calendar. was an En ...

), 1952* * To Helen (

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wide ...

), 1953 * Remember Me (

), 1954 * The Blackbird (

), 1955 * Music When Soft Voices Die (

), 1957 * Dry Spell (Lizzi Morrison), 1957* * River Roses (

D.H. Lawrence David Herbert Lawrence (11 September 1885 – 2 March 1930) was an English writer, novelist, poet and essayist. His works reflect on modernity, industrialization, sexuality, emotional health, vitality, spontaneity and instinct. His best-k ...

), 1958* *

Dover Beach "Dover Beach" is a lyric poem by the English poet Matthew Arnold. It was first published in 1867 in the collection ''New Poems''; however, surviving notes indicate its composition may have begun as early as 1849. The most likely date is 1851.Al ...

(

Matthew Arnold Matthew Arnold (24 December 1822 – 15 April 1888) was an English poet and cultural critic who worked as an inspector of schools. He was the son of Thomas Arnold, the celebrated headmaster of Rugby School, and brother to both Tom Arnold, lite ...

), 1958 * In the Evening of Inhabiting Mists (Linda Joy), 1959* * Spring (Jack Wertz), 1960* * The Owl and the Pussy-Cat (

), 1960 * Bobby Shafto (

), 1961 * Laura Sleeping (

), 1962 * Hymn of Praise (The Jewish Union Prayerbook), 1962 * The Sun has Set (

Emily Brontë Emily Jane Brontë (, commonly ; 30 July 1818 – 19 December 1848) was an English novelist and poet who is best known for her only novel, ''Wuthering Heights'', now considered a classic of English literature. She also published a book of poet ...

), 1964-65 *

The Solitary Reaper "The Solitary Reaper" is a lyric poem by English Romantic poet William Wordsworth, and one of his best-known works. The poem was inspired by him and his sister Dorothy's stay at the village of Strathyre in the parish of Balquhidder in Scotland ...

with flute and piano (

), 1966 * Harvest Song with flute and piano (

Joseph Campbell (poet) Joseph Campbell (15 July 1879 – 6 June 1944) was an Irish poet and lyricist. He wrote under the Gaelic form of his name Seosamh Mac Cathmhaoil (also Seosamh MacCathmhaoil) Campbell being a common anglicization of the old Irish name MacC ...

), 1967* * Caterpillar (Lillian Vaneda), 1967; revised in 1992 as ''Firefly'' (June Presswood) * Night Piece (

), 1970* * The River (

Patrick MacDonogh Patrick MacDonogh (1902–1961) was an Irish poetry, Irish poet who published five books of poetry in his lifetime. His work is included in the Faber Book of Irish Verse. Biography Patrick MacDonogh was born in Dublin, one of five children. His ...

), 1971, revised 2009* * On the Isle of

Skye The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye (; gd, An t-Eilean Sgitheanach or ; sco, Isle o Skye), is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated b ...

(Richard Faith), 1973 * I have Embarked, for voice, cello (and violin) and piano;(Jean de la Ville Mirmont :fr:Jean de La Ville de Mirmont; trans. by Martha Belen), 1975 * Chant with cello and piano (vocalise), 1976 * It is a Beauteous Evening (

), 1976 *

The Lake Isle of Innisfree "The Lake Isle of Innisfree" is a twelve-line poem comprising three quatrains, written by William Butler Yeats in 1888 and first published in the '' National Observer'' in 1890. It was reprinted in ''The Countess Kathleen and Various Legends a ...

(

William Butler Yeats William Butler Yeats (13 June 186528 January 1939) was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer and one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival and became a pillar of the Irish liter ...

), 1980 *

The Wild Swans at Coole ''The Wild Swans at Coole'' is the name of two collections of poetry by W. B. Yeats, published in 1917 and 1919. Publication history ''The Wild Swans at Coole'', a collection of twenty-nine poems and the play ''At the Hawk's Well'', was first p ...

(William Butler Yeats), 1981 * The Wind Blows Out of the Gates of the Day (William Butler Yeats), 1981 * To Celia (

Drink to me only with thine eyes "Drink to Me Only with Thine Eyes" is a popular old song, the lyrics of which are the poem "To Celia" by the English playwright Ben Jonson, first published in 1616. Lyrics After this song had been popular for almost two centuries, scholars bega ...

after

Philostratus Philostratus or Lucius Flavius Philostratus (; grc-gre, Φιλόστρατος ; c. 170 – 247/250 AD), called "the Athenian", was a Greek sophist of the Roman imperial period. His father was a minor sophist of the same name. He was born probab ...

), 1982 * He Remembers Forgotten Beauty (

), 1982; Classical Vocal Reprints * O, the Month of May (

Thomas Dekker (writer) Thomas Dekker (c. 1572 – 25 August 1632) was an English Elizabethan dramatist and pamphleteer, a versatile and prolific writer, whose career spanned several decades and brought him into contact with many of the period's most famous dramatists. ...

), 1982 * Sonnet 54 (O, how much more does beauty beauteous seem,

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

), 1982 * In the Land of Sleeping Seeds for two high voices (Mary Stigers), 1982* * It was a Lover and his Lass (

), 1982 * The Song of Wandering Aengus (

), 1982 * I Hear the Shadowy Horses (

), 1982 * If I Were (poet unknown), 1982 * Ships for voice, cello (and violin) and piano (Jean de la Ville Mirmont :fr:Jean de La Ville de Mirmont; trans. by Martha Belen), 1983 * Stanzas Written in Dejection near Naples (

), 1984* * Flight (James Wood), 1984* * Why Must I Go (James Wood), 1984* * Perhaps (James Wood), 1984* * Though I Speak (Corinthians I, 13, St. Paul), 1985* *

Annabel Lee "Annabel Lee" is the last complete poem composed by American author Edgar Allan Poe. Like many of Poe's poems, it explores the theme of the death of a beautiful woman.Meyers, Jeffrey. ''Edgar Allan Poe: His Life and Legacy''. New York: Cooper Squ ...

(

), 1985 *

The Passionate Shepherd to his Love "The Passionate Shepherd to His Love" (1599), by Christopher Marlowe, is a pastoral poem from the English Renaissance (1485–1603). Marlowe composed the poem in iambic tetrameter (four feet of one unstressed syllable followed by one stressed ...

(

Christopher Marlowe Christopher Marlowe, also known as Kit Marlowe (; baptised 26 February 156430 May 1593), was an English playwright, poet and translator of the Elizabethan era. Marlowe is among the most famous of the Elizabethan playwrights. Based upon the ...

), 1985 * Serenade (anon. medieval Latin; trans. by

Helen Waddell Helen Jane Waddell (31 May 1889 – 5 March 1965) was an Irish poet, translator and playwright. She was a recipient of the Benson Medal. Biography She was born in Tokyo, the tenth and youngest child of Hugh Waddell, a Presbyterian minister ...

), 1985 *

Sonnet 116 William Shakespeare's sonnet 116 was first published in 1609. Its structure and form are a typical example of the Shakespearean sonnet. The poet begins by stating he does not object to the "marriage of true minds", but maintains that love is not ...

(Let me not to the marriage of true minds,

), 1986* *

The City in the Sea :The City in the Sea ''is also the title of a science fiction novel by Wilson Tucker'' "The City in the Sea" is a poem by Edgar Allan Poe. The final version was published in 1845, but an earlier version was published as "The Doomed City" in 1831 ...

(

), 1989 * To Jane or The Keen Stars were Twinkling (

), 1989 * Echo (

), 1991 * Spring Quiet (Christina Rossetti), 1991 * No Music in the Wind (Lou Anna Thomas), 1991* * My Heart is like a Singing Bird (Christina Rossetti), 1992 * Scenes from ''Macbeth'' for Soprano, Baritone and Piano (William Shakespeare), 1992* * Apollo and Daphne for Mezzo, Baritone and Piano (Richard Faith), 1992* * Return of Spring ( trans. by Launcelot Cranmer-Byng), 1992 * Absence (Abū Bakr al-Turushi; trans. by

Cola Franzen Cola Franzen (February 4, 1923 – April 5, 2018) was an American writer and translator. Life She published more than twenty books of translations, by notable Spanish and Latin American authors. She was a member of ALTA (American Literary Translat ...

), 1993* * Serene Evening (Muhammad ibn Ghālib al-Rusāfi; trans. by Cola Franzen), 1993* * Split my Heart (

Ibn Hazm Abū Muḥammad ʿAlī ibn Aḥmad ibn Saʿīd ibn Ḥazm ( ar, أبو محمد علي بن احمد بن سعيد بن حزم; also sometimes known as al-Andalusī aẓ-Ẓāhirī; 7 November 994 – 15 August 1064Ibn Hazm. ' (Preface). Tr ...

; trans. by Cola Franzen), 1993* * Leavetaking (Ibn Jakh; trans. by Cola Franzen), 1993* * Oh, Fateful Night (Ibn Safr al-Marīnī; trans. by Cola Franzen), 1993* * Winter Journey (William Lavonis), 1993 * All Day I Hear the Noise of Waters (

), 1993* * To Chloris (

Sir Charles Sedley, 5th Baronet Sir Charles Sedley, 5th Baronet (March 1639 – 20 August 1701), was an English noble, dramatist and politician. He was principally remembered for his wit and profligacy.. Life He was the son of Sir John Sedley, 2nd Baronet, of Aylesford in Ke ...

), 1993* * Where are you going to, my pretty maid? (

), 1994 * Jenny Wren (Mother Goose), 1994 * I saw three ships (Mother Goose), 1994 * The Queen of Hearts (Mother Goose), 1994 * God Be in My Head (Sarum Primer), 1994 * What Sweeter Music ( Robert Herrick), 1994 * So all day long the noise of battle rolled (

Alfred, Lord Tennyson Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of his ...

), 1994* *

Crossing the Bar "Crossing the Bar" is an 1889 poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. It is considered that Tennyson wrote it in elegy; the narrator uses an extended metaphor to compare death with crossing the "sandbar" between the river of life, with its outgoing "floo ...

(Alfred, Lord Tennyson), 1994 * Wisdom is Sweeter than Honey (Makeda,

Queen of Sheba The Queen of Sheba ( he, מַלְכַּת שְׁבָא‎, Malkaṯ Šəḇāʾ; ar, ملكة سبأ, Malikat Sabaʾ; gez, ንግሥተ ሳባ, Nəgśətä Saba) is a figure first mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. In the original story, she bring ...

), 1994; publ.as INCANTATIONS, Musik Fabrik, France * Come, my Beloved ( Song of Songs: The Shulammite), 1994; publ.as INCANTATIONS, Musik Fabrik, France * I Bind you by Oath (A Roman Spell), 1994; publ.as INCANTATIONS, Musik Fabrik, France * I Cannot Dance, O Lord (

Mechtild of Magdeburg Mechthild (or Mechtild, Matilda, Matelda) of Magdeburg (c. 1207 – c. 1282/1294), a Beguine, was a Christian medieval mystic, whose book ''Das fließende Licht der Gottheit'' (''The Flowing Light of Divinity'') is a compendium of visions, ...

), 1994; publ.as INCANTATIONS, Musik Fabrik, France *

So, we'll go no more a roving "So, we'll go no more a roving" is a poem, written by (George Gordon) Lord Byron (1788–1824), and included in a letter to Thomas Moore on 28 February 1817. Moore published the poem in 1830 as part of '' Letters and Journals of Lord ...

, duet for tenor and baritone (

Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and Peerage of the United Kingdom, peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and h ...

), 1995; Classical Vocal Reprints * The Isles of Greece (Lord Byron), 1995 * A Sailor's Song (Audrey Weinreis), 1995 * The Isle of Pines ( Po chü-i trans. by L. Cranmer Byng), 1995 * Time does not bring relief (

Edna St. Vincent Millay Edna St. Vincent Millay (February 22, 1892 – October 19, 1950) was an American lyrical poet and playwright. Millay was a renowned social figure and noted feminist in New York City during the Roaring Twenties and beyond. She wrote much of he ...

), 1995* * To a Waterfowl (

William Cullen Bryant William Cullen Bryant (November 3, 1794 – June 12, 1878) was an American romantic poet, journalist, and long-time editor of the ''New York Evening Post''. Born in Massachusetts, he started his career as a lawyer but showed an interest in poetry ...

), 1996 * The Death of a Conqueror (Jared Freedeen), 1996* * Though the Way be Dark (Carl A. Dallinger), 1996 * Autumn Memories (Carl A. Dallinger), 1996 * A Moment in Time (Carl A. Dallinger), 1997 * Old Mother Goose (

), 1997 * My Mother Said (Mother Goose), 1997 * Sing a Song of Sixpence (Mother Goose), 1997 * Old Woman, Old Woman (Mother Goose), 1997 * Love is not all (

), 1998* * And you as well must die, beloved dust (Edna St. Vincent Millay), 1998* * Low Moon Land (

), 1998* * Apollo and Daphne for Mezzo, Baritone and Piano (Richard Faith), 2000* * Water (Michael Ard), 2000; revised 2010; Classical Vocal Reprints *

The Stolen Child "The Stolen Child" is an 1889 poem by William Butler Yeats, published in ''The Wanderings of Oisin and Other Poems''. Overview The poem was written in 1886 and is considered to be one of Yeats's more notable early poems. The poem is based on I ...

(

), 2001; Classical Vocal Reprints * Prelude (

John Millington Synge Edmund John Millington Synge (; 16 April 1871 – 24 March 1909) was an Irish playwright, poet, writer, collector of folklore, and a key figure in the Irish Literary Revival. His best known play ''The Playboy of the Western World'' was poorly r ...

), 2001* * Vocalise, 2001* * Fire (Michael Ard), 2001; revised 2010; Classical Vocal Reprints * Air (Michael Ard), 2002; revised 2010; Classical Vocal Reprints * Earth (Michael Ard), 2002; revised 2010; Classical Vocal Reprints * The Dead Poet, duet for tenor and baritone (

Lord Alfred Douglas Lord Alfred Bruce Douglas (22 October 1870 – 20 March 1945), also known as Bosie Douglas, was an English poet and journalist, and a lover of Oscar Wilde. At Oxford he edited an undergraduate journal, ''The Spirit Lamp'', that carried a homoer ...

), 2002* * O Spirit of the Summertime for High Voice, Cello and Piano (

), 2003* * At the Mid Hour of Night (

Thomas Moore Thomas Moore (28 May 1779 – 25 February 1852) was an Irish writer, poet, and lyricist celebrated for his ''Irish Melodies''. Their setting of English-language verse to old Irish tunes marked the transition in popular Irish culture from Irish ...

), 2005* * Sudden Light (

Dante Gabriel Rossetti Gabriel Charles Dante Rossetti (12 May 1828 – 9 April 1882), generally known as Dante Gabriel Rossetti (), was an English poet, illustrator, painter, translator and member of the Rossetti family. He founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhoo ...

), 2005* * The Fiddler of Dooney (William Butler Yeats), 2007; Classical Vocal Reprints * Verses from Lamentations (

Jeremiah Jeremiah, Modern: , Tiberian: ; el, Ἰερεμίας, Ieremíās; meaning " Yah shall raise" (c. 650 – c. 570 BC), also called Jeremias or the "weeping prophet", was one of the major prophets of the Hebrew Bible. According to Jewish ...

), 2007* *

Sonnet 104 Sonnet 104 is one of 154 sonnets written by the English playwright and poet William Shakespeare. It is a member of the Fair Youth sequence, in which the poet expresses his love towards a young man. Synopsis The youth does not seem to have gro ...

(William Shakespeare), 2007* * Drifting (Li Po (

Li Bai Li Bai (, 701–762), also pronounced as Li Bo, courtesy name Taibai (), was a Chinese poet, acclaimed from his own time to the present as a brilliant and romantic figure who took traditional poetic forms to new heights. He and his friend Du F ...

) trans. by L. Cranmer Byng), 2009* * The Rose of Tralee (William Pembroke Mulchinock), 2009* * Echoes: Two Songs in One (

John Todhunter John Todhunter (30 December 1839 – 25 October 1916) was an Irish poet and playwright who wrote seven volumes of poetry, and several plays. Life Todhunter was born in Dublin, the eldest son of Thomas Harvey Todhunter, a Quaker merchant ...

, Thomas Moore), 2010* * Poems from the Voices of Gaia (Michael Ard), 2010; Classical Vocal Reprints * The Ancient Wind ( Po chü-i trans. by L. Cranmer Byng), 2010* *

, new setting (William Shakespeare), 2011; Classical Vocal Reprints * There Will Be Rest (

Sara Teasdale Sara Teasdale (August 8, 1884January 29, 1933) was an American lyric poet. She was born Sarah Trevor Teasdale in St. Louis, Missouri, and used the name Sara Teasdale Filsinger after her marriage in 1914. In 1918 she won a Pulitzer Prize for her ...

); for Karen Krueger, 2011; Classical Vocal Reprints * On first looking into Chapman's Homer (

John Keats John Keats (31 October 1795 – 23 February 1821) was an English poet of the second generation of Romantic poets, with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley. His poems had been in publication for less than four years when he died of tuberculo ...

), 2012 Classical Vocal Reprints * Much have I travell'd in realms of gold (John Keats), 2014* * From House of Dust, duet for tenor and baritone ( Conrad Potter Aiken), 2014* * unpublished

Discography

* Incantations & Rhymes: Music for Soprano, Viola, and Piano. Karen Peeler, soprano; Henrietta Neeley, viola; Robin Guy, piano. Superdups, Tewksbury, MA. * Music I heard With You — David Jimerson Sings Songs of Richard Faith * Remember Me: Songs by Richard Faith. Lesley Manring, soprano; Julie Simson, mezzo-soprano; William Lavonis, tenor; Kurt Ollmann, baritone; Elizabeth Rodgers, piano; Richard Faith, piano. eDream Studios, Milwaukee, WI. * Remember Me: Songs by Richard Faith. Brenda Baker, soprano; Richard Faith, piano. * Rhapsody-Chamber Music of Richard Faith * Songs of Love and Longing, Valerie Errante, soprano * The Songs of Richard Faith. Joseph Hopkins, baritone; Richard Faith, piano. Hopkins Recording Company * Incantations and Rhymes. Trio Ariana * The Ensemble da Camera of Washington. Fantasy Trio for Violin, Clarinet and Piano * New Works for Bassoon. Suite for Bassoon and Piano * The Catalina Chamber Orchestra. Concerto for Clarinet and Chamber Orchestra

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Faith, Richard 1926 births 2021 deaths 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century American pianists 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century American pianists 21st-century classical pianists American classical composers American classical pianists American male classical pianists American male classical composers American piano educators People from Evansville, Indiana Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia alumni