Edward MacDowell LCCN2016884366 (cropped)

''Woodland Sketches'', Op. 51, is a

suite Suite may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Suite (music), a set of musical pieces considered as one composition ** Suite (Bach), a list of suites composed by J. S. Bach ** Suite (Cassadó), a mid-1920s composition by Gaspar Cassadó ** ''Suite' ...

of ten short

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

pieces by the American composer

Edward MacDowell Edward Alexander MacDowell (December 18, 1860January 23, 1908) was an American composer and pianist of the late Romantic period. He was best known for his second piano concerto and his piano suites ''Woodland Sketches'', ''Sea Pieces'' and ''Ne ...

. It was written during an 1896 stay at MacDowell's summer retreat in

Peterborough, New Hampshire Peterborough is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 6,418 at the 2020 census. The main village, with 3,090 people at the 2020 census, is defined as the Peterborough census-designated place (CDP) and ...

, where each piece was inspired by a different aspect of the surrounding nature and landscape. The suite was first published in 1896, with pieces such as " To a Wild Rose" (No. 1) and "To a Water-lily" (No. 6) becoming some of MacDowell's most popular works. While some pieces are notable for their use of impressionistic techniques in depicting the

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

wilderness, others are based on elements from Native American and

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music. ''Woodland Sketches'' is considered by critics and historians to contain some of MacDowell's most skillful and distinctive works.

History

In 1896, MacDowell and his wife Marian fulfilled their dream of owning a country home with the purchase of a farm in

. The farm served as MacDowell's summer retreat, where he composed ''Woodland Sketches''. During the summer of 1896, MacDowell was inspired by the nature around his summer home and began composing brief melodies every morning, of which he later disposed. That past April, MacDowell explained how his composing occurred mostly in the summer as well as the importance of inspiration to his work: At the suggestion of his wife, MacDowell recovered one of the thrown-away pieces and titled it " To a Wild Rose". It became the first in a set of ten pieces MacDowell composed that summer, which were first published as ''Woodland Sketches'' that fall by P. L. Jung in New York. The work was then assigned to the publisher Arthur P. Schmidt in 1899. The suite grew popular, and upon MacDowell's death in 1908, had reportedly sold over one hundred thousand copies. The appeal of MacDowell's pieces was due in part to their accessibility to amateur pianists during a time when many households owned a piano. The music historian Richard Crawford wrote in 1996 that ''Woodland Sketches''s source of inspiration in the American landscape may have been one way for MacDowell to "

laim Laim (Central Bavarian: ''Loam'') is a district of Munich, Germany, forming the 25th borough of the city. Inhabitants: c. 49.000 (2005) History Originally its own independent locality, Laim was in existence before Munich. It was first documented ...

an identity as an American composer". Some time prior to composing the sketches, MacDowell told the American writer Hamlin Garland:

Pieces

The suite (Op. 51) consists of ten pieces for piano: * No. 1, " To a Wild Rose" —

A major A major (or the key of A) is a major scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has three sharps. Its relative minor is F-sharp minor and its parallel minor is A minor. The key of A major is the only k ...

* No. 2, " Will o' the Wisp" —

F-sharp minor F-sharp minor is a minor scale based on F, consisting of the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature has three sharps. Its relative major is A major and its parallel major is F-sharp major (or enharmonically G-flat major). T ...

* No. 3, "At an Old Trysting-place" —

A-flat major A-flat major (or the key of A-flat) is a major scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has four flats. The A-flat major scale is: : Its relative minor is F minor. Its parallel minor, A-flat minor, ...

* No. 4, "In Autumn" — F-sharp minor * No. 5, "From an Indian Lodge" — C minor * No. 6, "To a Water-lily" — F-sharp major * No. 7, "From

Uncle Remus Uncle Remus is the fictional title character and narrator of a collection of African American folktales compiled and adapted by Joel Chandler Harris and published in book form in 1881. Harris was a journalist in post-Reconstruction era Atlanta, a ...

" —

F major F major (or the key of F) is a major scale based on F, with the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature has one flat. Its relative minor is D minor and its parallel minor is F minor F minor is a minor scale based on F, consis ...

* No. 8, "A Deserted Farm" — F-sharp minor * No. 9, "By a Meadow Brook" — A-flat major * No. 10, "Told at Sunset" — F minor Most of the works in ''Woodland Sketches'' are in

ternary form Ternary form, sometimes called song form, is a three-part musical form consisting of an opening section (A), a following section (B) and then a repetition of the first section (A). It is usually schematized as A–B–A. Prominent examples includ ...

, consisting of simple melodies with chordal accompaniment. Many of the pieces' subjects are indicative of the nature and wildlife surrounding MacDowell's farm ("To a Wild Rose", "Will o' the Wisp", "To a Water-lily", "By a Meadow Brook") or are inspired by the MacDowells' frequent walks in the woods ("At an Old Trysting-place", "From an Indian Lodge", "A Deserted Farm"). According to the musicologist Douglas E. Bomberger, the pieces "are suggestive of extramusical ideas without telling a specific story". The musicologist Michael Broyles drew a connection between the suite and the short piano pieces of Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg, a Norse similarity that is also evident in MacDowell's piano sonatas.

"To a Wild Rose" (No. 1)

The suite's first piece, "To a Wild Rose", is "MacDowell's best known single work" according to the musicologist

H. Wiley Hitchcock Hugh Wiley Hitchcock (September 28, 1923 in Detroit, Michigan – December 5, 2007 in New York, New York) was an American musicologist. He is best known for founding the Institute for Studies in American Music at Brooklyn College of the City Uni ...

, and it achieved what Bomberger described as "phenomenal popularity". MacDowell believed the work's popularity arose because the publisher spread its score generously across two pages. The piece begins with a spare melody, based on a simple one from the Brotherton Indians. The melody is played in short fragments and accompanied by chords and

pedal point In music, a pedal point (also pedal note, organ point, pedal tone, or pedal) is a sustained tone, typically in the bass, during which at least one foreign (i.e. dissonant) harmony is sounded in the other parts. A pedal point sometimes function ...

s. The climax consists of a repeated

dominant ninth chord In music theory, a ninth chord is a chord that encompasses the interval of a ninth when arranged in close position with the root in the bass. Heinrich Schenker and also Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov allowed the substitution of the dominant sev ...

, which can also be heard as a version of the

Tristan chord The Tristan chord is a chord made up of the notes F, B, D, and G: : More generally, it can be any chord that consists of these same intervals: augmented fourth, augmented sixth, and augmented ninth above a bass note. It is so named as it is h ...

. The piece concludes with a Scotch snap rhythm. Crawford opined that the piece's harmony "saves it from blandness".

"Will o' the Wisp" (No. 2)

Bomberger considered "Will o' the Wisp" to be "the most virtuosic of the set", evoking MacDowell's love for "extreme speed". The music historian Neil Leonard cited "Will o' the Wisp" as an example of MacDowell's "concern for atmospheric effects" in depicting the titular lights with his impressionistic and economic style.

"At an Old Trysting-place" (No. 3)

"At an Old Trysting-place" is the shortest piece in the suite. The music portrays the return to a place where one has once met their lover. It consists of a "long-breathed" melody, in contrast to the melodic fragments in "To a Wild Rose".

"In Autumn" (No. 4)

"In Autumn" begins with a "brisk, staccato theme" followed by chromatic runs. The music shifts to a mysterious and questioning tone in the middle section before returning to the joyous opening theme.

"From an Indian Lodge" (No. 5)

"From an Indian Lodge" opens with bare octaves, introducing a musical depiction of a

pow wow A powwow (also pow wow or pow-wow) is a gathering with dances held by many Native American and First Nations communities. Powwows today allow Indigenous people to socialize, dance, sing, and honor their cultures. Powwows may be private or pu ...

in a wigwam. The piece ends on loud, orchestral-like chords. Just as "To a Wild Rose", "From an Indian Lodge" uses a melody from the Brotherton Indians. However, the piece also incorporates other Native American motifs; the first eight measures correspond to the "Songs of the Walla-Walla Indians, Nos. 1 and 2", while measures 9 to 25 correspond to the "Song of the Brotherton Indians". These melodies are compiled in the musicologist

Theodore Baker Theodore Baker (June 3, 1851"Passed Away," ''Musical America'' (Nov. 10, 1934), p. 32."Dr. Theodore Baker," ''Musical Courier'' (Nov. 3, 1934), p. 20. – October 12, 1934)

"To a Water-lily" has what the music historian John F. Porte described as "one of the most exquisite and perfect lyrics MacDowell ever composed for the pianoforte". The piece is mostly played on the black keys, with a meter change in the short middle section between two rounds of the opening passage scored on three staffs. MacDowell's inspiration for the piece came when his wife introduced him to the titular plant on one of their walks. To illustrate the floating flowers, MacDowell uses triple piano and pedal effects. Bomberger noted that this piece was an early example of impressionistic textures in American music, and it rivaled "To a Wild Rose" in popularity.

"From Uncle Remus" (No. 7)

"From Uncle Remus" reflects MacDowell's nostalgia from reading

Joel Chandler Harris Joel Chandler Harris (December 9, 1848 – July 3, 1908) was an American journalist, fiction writer, and folklorist best known for his collection of Uncle Remus stories. Born in Eatonton, Georgia, where he served as an apprentice on a planta ...

' stories of the titular African American. In the piece, MacDowell attempts to imitate the

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and elements of Southern culture despite never having directly experienced the

American South The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...

. Nevertheless, Bomberger assessed the result as "charmingly nostalgic", and Porte found the piece "delightfully frank".

"A Deserted Farm" (No. 8)

The music critic

Lawrence Gilman Lawrence Gilman (July 5, 1878 in Flushing, New York – September 8, 1939 in Sugar Hill, New Hampshire) was a U.S. author and music critic. Lawrence Gilman was the son of Arthur Coit Gilman and Bessie (Lawrence) Gilman, and the grandnephew of ...

described "A Deserted Farm" as the "quintessence of acDowells style". The piece opens and ends with a grave theme in the minor key. This is contrasted by a middle section in the major key, marked "pianissimo as heard from afar" to indicate echoes from past barn dances. For this work, MacDowell was inspired by an abandoned farmstead where he and his wife previously had lunch.

"By a Meadow Brook" (No. 9)

"By a Meadow Brook" is MacDowell's impression of the

Nubanusit Brook Nubanusit Brook is a stream in southern New Hampshire in the United States. The brook begins at the outlet of Nubanusit Lake in Nelson. It is a tributary of the Contoocook River, part of the Merrimack River watershed. The brook flows south into ...

, which flows past his Peterborough property. The piece suggests what MacDowell's wife described as "the busy, noisy, little stream rushing over a rocky bed" before closing on a diminuendo.

"Told at Sunset" (No. 10)

The tenth and last piece, "Told at Sunset", recalls material from earlier pieces like "At an Old Trysting-place". The piece opens with a theme similar to "A Deserted Farm", which dies away before a new theme grows louder and then also dies away. A more expressive form of the theme from "A Deserted Farm" returns before reaching the piece's conclusion: silence followed by stern chords from the introduction to "From an Indian Lodge" that begin soft but finish in fortissimo. MacDowell used the Scotch snap rhythm extensively in "Told at Sunset", leading Bomberger to call the piece "The Apotheosis of the Scotch Snap".

Reception

In his 1908 study on MacDowell's life, Lawrence Gilman considered some of the ''Woodland Sketches'' to be among "the choicest emanation of MacDowell's genius". He later wrote that in ''Woodland Sketches'', MacDowell's speech "assumes for the first time some of its most engaging and distinctive characteristics" and that the pieces "have an inescapable fragrance, tenderness, and zest". Gilman recognized "At an Old Trysting-place", "From an Indian Lodge", "To a Water-lily", "A Deserted Farm", and "Told at Sunset" to be pieces of "a different calibre", remarkable for their "richness of emotion", "dramatic purpose", and "tactful reticence". He commented that the other five pieces "are slight in poetic substance, though executed with charm and humour". In his 1991 treatise on American music, Nicholas E. Tawa deemed that "the finest of MacDowell's short characteristic pieces" are found in ''Woodland Sketches'', as well as in three of MacDowell's subsequent suites: ''Sea Pieces'', Op. 55 (1898); ''Fireside Tales'', Op. 61 (1902); and ''New England Idylls'', Op. 62 (1902). Michael Broyles wrote in 1998 that MacDowell's "sense of color, focus, and economy of means was extraordinary" in these suites.

Footnotes

References

Sources

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External links

*
Media notes for ''MacDowell: Woodland Sketches / Fireside Tales / New England Idyls'' (Naxos recording 8.559010)

Theodore Baker's dissertation (in German)
{{Edward MacDowell 1896 compositions Compositions by Edward MacDowell Suites (music)