Sunday, April 6, 2014

Charles Kaufmann: Samuel Coleridge-Taylor "Experiment" Broke Down American Barriers in 1904


Charles Kaufmann is introduced before screening of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor and His Music in America, 1900-1912at Boston University, March 17, 2014


Professor Allison Blakely at screening (Photo by Rochelle Li)


The Longfellow Chorus 
(Link to full piece)
Portland, Maine
April 1, 2014



"Nowhere is the work of Coleridge-Taylor more 
appreciated than in the United States, and this 
is true both of white and black Americans. 
First came his music and it thrilled and captivated 
the nation. Then came Mr. Taylor himself. We, 
who are colored, watched the experiment 
with some interest and excitement because we 
wondered if there was enough of artistic feeling 
in the United States to receive a man of negro 
descent as a great artist in a country where the 
color line is so decidedly drawn. . . . He left 
America, as elsewhere in the world, a beautiful 
 memory."

Du Bois, W. E. B. (William Edward Burghardt), 
1868-1963. Coleridge Taylor, ca. 1925. W. E. B. 
Du Bois Papers (MS 312). Special Collections 
and University Archives, University of Massachusetts 
Amherst Libraries




Writing for the Boston Musical Intelligencer, a virtual 
journal about the classical music scene in Boston -- 
an online magazine that ties itself historically to 
Dwight's Journal of Music -- music critic Geoffrey 
Wieting concluded:
"This fine film, touching, informative, and inspiring, 
appears to be the work of a man with a mission. 
Charles Kaufmann seems determined to make 
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor a household name once 
more among music lovers, and has spared no 
pains in ferreting out fascinating details of the 
composer's personal and artistic development. 
To anyone interested in social history or musical 
history or both at a time of considerable 
 ferment, this film can be wholeheartedly 
recommended."

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