Arthur Foote
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11 Songs, Op.2612 Duets on Five Notes2 Compositions for Piano, Op.602 Old Scotch Songs2 Pedal Studies2 Piano Pieces, Op.622 Pieces2 Pieces for Piano, Op.422 Pieces for Violin and Piano, Op.742 Responses20 Preludes, Op.523 Character Pieces, Op.93 Compositions for Organ, Op.293 Morceaux, Op.33 Piano Pieces for the Left Hand, Op.373 Pieces for Cello and Piano, Op.13 Pieces for Oboe and Piano, Op.313 Songs, Op.103 Songs, Op.553 Songs, Op.794 Characteristic Pieces after the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám, Op.484 Gesänge, Op.394 Songs, Op.514 Songs, Op.675 Bagatelles, Op.345 Pièces, Op.65 Poems after Omar Khayyam, Op.415 Silhouettes, Op.735 Songs, Op.135 Songs, Op.726 Pieces for Organ, Op.506 Songs, Op.437 Compositions for Organ, Op.719 Studies for Piano, Op.27A
A Little Etude in A minorA LullabyA Night PieceA Song of Four SeasonsA Twilight FearAlbum of Selected SongsAll's Well!An Irish Folk SongAnd There Were in the Same Country ShepherdsArise, Shine!Ask Me No MoreAt LastAubade, Op.77Awake! Thou That Sleepest!B
Be thou my guideBenedicite, omnia operaBenedictusC
Cello Concerto, Op.33Christ our PassoverChristmas, Op.80CommunionD
Does the Road Wind Uphill all the Way?DriftingE
Elaine's SongEtude AlbumEye Hath Not SeenF
Flower Songs, Op.49Francesca da Rimini, Op.24From Rest HarrowG
Gavotte and Eclogue, Op.8Go, Lovely Rose!God is Our RefugeH
Hear My Prayer, O GodHow Many Times do I Love TheeI
I am the Moth of the NightI love my loveI will Arise and Go to My FatherIf Doughty Deeds My Lady PleaseIf Thou but Suffer God to Guide TheeIn PicardieInstructive AlbumJ
Jubilate in A-flat majorL
Lilac TimeLoch LomondLove's PhilosophyLygeia, Op.58M
Magnificat and Nunc dimittis in B-flat majorMarcheMeditation, Op.61Melody, Op.44MemnonMount CarmelO
O Lord God, the Life of MortalsO Love, That Wilt Not Let Me GoO Zion, that Bringest Good TidingsOjala! Would She Carry MeOn the Way to KewP
Piano Quartet, Op.23Piano Quintet, Op.38Piano Trio No.1, Op.5Piano Trio No.2, Op.65Pieces at TwilightPostlude in C majorPrelude in A-flat majorR
RecessionalRequiemRoses in WinterS
Search Me, O GodSerenade, Op.25Serenade, Op.45ShadowsShips that Pass in the NightSigh No More, LadiesSing, Maiden, SingSong from the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám, Op.40Song of the ForgeString Quartet No.3 in D major, Op.70String Quartet, Op.32Suite for Orchestra, Op.36Suite for Organ, Op.54Suite for String Orchestra, Op.63Suite No.1, Op.15Suite No.2, Op.30T
Te Deum and Jubilate in E-flat major, Op.7Te Deum in B-flat minorThe BeatitudesThe BellsThe Farewell of Hiawatha, Op.11The Gateway of IspahanThe Green of SpringThe Lake Isle of InnisfreeThe Law of the Lord is PerfectThe Little Creek Goes WindingThe Lord's PrayerThe Miller's DaughterThe Munster FusiliersThe Red Rose Whispers of PassionThe Skeleton in Armour, Op.28The Song by the MillThe Wreck of the HesperusThere Sits a Bird on Every TreeThrough the Long Days and YearsThrough the Rushes, by the RiverThy Way, Not MineTomorrowV
VeniteViolin Sonata, Op.20W
When Icicles Hang by the WallWhen Winds are RagingWikipediaFoote was appointed organist of the First Church in Boston (Unitarian) in 1878, remaining there 32 years. A founder of the American Guild of Organists, he was one of the examiners at the first Guild Fellowship examination. He helped organize the New England chapter of the AGO, and from 1909 to 1912 (when the office was discontinued) he served as National Honorary President of the AGO, succeeding Horatio Parker in that position. He was one of the editors of Hymns of the Church Universal, a Unitarian hymnal published in 1890.
The modern tendency is to view Foote's music as "Romantic" and "European" in the light of the later generation of American composers such as
Aaron Copland, Roy Harris and William Schuman, all of whom helped to develop a recognizably American sound in classical music. A Harvard graduate and the first noted American classical composer to be trained entirely in the U.S., in some sense he is to music what American poets were to literature before Walt Whitman.
Foote was an early advocate of
Brahms and
Wagner and promoted performances of their music. Foote was an active music teacher and wrote a number of pedagogical works, including Modern Harmony in Its Theory and Practice (1905), written with Walter R. Spalding. It was republished as Harmony (1969). He also wrote Some Practical Things in Piano-Playing (1909) and Modulation and Related Harmonic Questions (1919). He contributed many articles to music journals, including "Then and Now, Thirty Years of Musical Advance in America" in Etude (1913) and "A Bostonian Remembers" in Musical Quarterly (1937).
A good part of Foote's compositions consists of chamber music and these works are generally among his best. The Chamber Music Journal (2002), discussing Foote's chamber music, has written, "If his name is not entirely unknown, it is fair to say that his music is. This is a shame. Foote's chamber music is first rate, deserving of regular public performance." His Piano Quintet, Op.38 and Piano Quartet, Op.23, are singled out for special praise. With regard to the Piano Quintet, the author writes, "Each of the movements is a gem. The Scherzo is particularly fine and the rousing finale beyond reproach. I believe that the only reason this work never received the audience it deserved and deserves is because it was written by an American who was 'out of the loop.'" As for the Piano Quartet, the opinion is that "it is as good as any late 19th century piano quartet."
Foote lived in Dedham, Massachusetts and was a member of the Society in Dedham for Apprehending Horse Thieves.