Thomas Vincent Cator (23 March 1888 – 9 April 1931) was an American composer. His most significant achievement was the discovery and use of what he caleed the aura-modal scale.
Biography
Thomas Vincent Cator was born in
Jersey City, New Jersey
Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.Gustave Lussi (from 1921 to around 1930).
Cator became popular in the late 1910s and 1920s with his songs. A notable story was when renowned singer
Eleonora de Cisneros
Eleonora de Cisneros (October 31, 1878February 3, 1934) was an American opera singer. She was a singer for the Metropolitan Opera company and became one of their principal singers. She was the first American-trained opera singer hired by the M ...
sang his song "The Kiss" in a
Liberty Bonds
A liberty bond (or liberty loan) was a war bond that was sold in the United States to support the Allied cause in World War I. Subscribing to the bonds became a symbol of patriotic duty in the United States and introduced the idea of financi ...
sale in New York City in early 1919 and received 43 million dollars for 43 kisses to bankers. He also invented the ''Aura-Modal Scale'', in which he composed several piano pieces.
In 1922, Cator wrote the composition operetta for the play ''
Inchling
''Inchling'' is a three-act children's fantasy play by American poet, painter, playwright Ira Mallory Remsen. It was performed in the summer of 1922, at the Forest Theater in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. It was the most popular children's play ...
,'' written by
Ira Mallory Remsen
Ira Mallory Remsen (May 11, 1876 – November 29, 1928), known locally as Rem Remsen, was an American painter, playwright and Bohemian Club member. He was the son of Dr. Ira Remsen chemist and former president of Johns Hopkins University. Rems ...
, that was a story of an inch worm and its struggle for wings, which captured the fantasies of young children.
Death
Cator died of a heart attack on April 9, 1931, in
Carmel-by-the-Sea, California
Carmel-by-the-Sea (), often simply called Carmel, is a city in Monterey County, California, United States, founded in 1902 and incorporated on October 31, 1916. Situated on the Monterey Peninsula, Carmel is known for its natural scenery and ric ...
at the age of 45.
Compositions
* ''The Kiss'', for voice and piano
* ''To Ramona'', for voice and piano
* ''The pool of quietness'', for voice and piano
* ''St. Moritz'', for voice and piano
* ''One Day'', for voice and piano
* ''Zamboanga'', for voice and piano
* ''Clorinda sings'', for voice and piano
* Three melodies for violin and piano
* Operetta ''
Inchling
''Inchling'' is a three-act children's fantasy play by American poet, painter, playwright Ira Mallory Remsen. It was performed in the summer of 1922, at the Forest Theater in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. It was the most popular children's play ...
'' (text by
Ira Mallory Remsen
Ira Mallory Remsen (May 11, 1876 – November 29, 1928), known locally as Rem Remsen, was an American painter, playwright and Bohemian Club member. He was the son of Dr. Ira Remsen chemist and former president of Johns Hopkins University. Rems ...
)
* Violin sonata (1929)Recital Programs of the Curtis Institute for Music of the year 1929/30, program from 2 December 1929; retrieved from archive.org on 06.01.2021