R. Nathaniel Dett (1882-1943)
[Deep
River: Music for Violin and Piano by Composers of African Descent;
Phoenix Park-Kim, piano; Merwin Siu, violin; MSR MS 1372 (2011)]
[Merwin Siu, violin; Phoenix Park-Kim, piano]
October 11, 2012 is the first birth anniversary of R. Nathaniel Dett following the 2011 release of the first recording of his 1928 composition for solo piano, Cinnamon Grove - Suite for piano (15:20). This late-Romantic piece sounds absolutely delightful on the recording by pianist Phoenix Park-Kim and violinist Merwin Siu, Deep River: Music for Violin and Piano by Composers of African Descent; MSR MS 1372 (2011). Prof. Phoenix Park-Kim spent years researching neglected works of composers of African descent. Cinnamon Grove is the longest work on the CD and our favorite. The artists have made a significant contribution to the musical legacy of R. Nathaniel Dett.
R.
Nathaniel Dett was an African American composer and pianist whose
tenure as Choral Director at Hampton Institute was legendary. He was
born in Drummondville, now part of Niagara Falls, Ontario. Prof.
Dominique-René de Lerma, http://www.CasaMusicaledeLerma.com, has kindly made his research file on R.
Nathaniel Dett available to AfriClassical.com. At age five, Dett was
playing pieces by ear. He then began piano lessons. Dett and his
family immigrated to the U.S. in 1893, settling in Niagara Falls, New
York, where they ran a tourist home.
In
1903 Dett began his studies at Oberlin Conservatory of Music. We learn
from Prof. De Lerma that Dett majored in both piano and composition.
It was at Oberlin that he first heard Dvorak's use of Bohemian folk song
in classical music. Dr. De Lerma writes: “From this time, he was
resolved to participate in the preservation of the spirituals although
he had originally looked on them, as did others, as reminders of slavery
times.”
“When
Dett completed his five-year course at Oberlin in 1908, he became the
first African American to earn a B.A. in Music there with a major in
composition and piano.” “He immediately began teaching, first at Lane
College (Jackson, Tennessee) until 1911, when he moved to Lincoln
Institute (now University) in Jefferson City, Missouri, and then in 1913
to Hampton Institute (now University) as director of the music program.
Dett
died in Battle Creek, Michigan while touring with a Women's Army Corps
chorus as a member of the U.S.O. As a composer, Dett is remembered
chiefly for the choral works he based on African American spirituals,
and for the works for solo piano he composed in the Romantic style, such as Cinnamon Grove.
Comment by email:
Dear Bill, Thank you so much for these updates and posting of our recording. Hope you are enjoying the autumn in Ann Arbor. Phoenix [Phoenix Park-Kim]
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