Vincent Persichetti

Vincent Ludwig Persichetti (June 6, 1915 – August 14, 1987) was an American composer, teacher, and pianist. An important musical educator and writer, Persichetti was a native of Philadelphia. He was known for his integration of various new ideas in musical composition into his own work and teaching, and for training many noted composers in composition at the Juilliard School. His students at the Juilliard School included Philip Glass, Charles L. Bestor, Hall Overton, Karl Korte, Michael Jeffrey Shapiro, Larry Thomas Bell, Richard Danielpour, Kenneth Fuchs, Jing Jing Luo, William Schimmel, Robert Dennis, Peter Schickele, Louis Calabro, Ronald Caltabiano and Thelonious Monk^{[citation needed]}. He also taught composition to conductor James DePreist at the Philadelphia Conservatory.

Life

Persichetti was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1915, and remained a resident of that city throughout his life. Though neither of his parents were musicians, his musical education nonetheless began early. Persichetti enrolled in the Combs College of Music at the age of five, where he studied piano, organ, double bass, and later music theory and composition with Russel King Miller, whom he considered a great influence. By the time he reached his teens, he was paying for his own education by accompanying and performing; he continued to do so throughout high school, adding church organist, orchestral player, and radio staff pianist to his experience. His first public performance of his own original works came at the age of 14. In addition to his musical talents, the young Persichetti attended art school, and remained an avid sculptor until his death. He attended Combs for his undergraduate education as well, where upon receiving his bachelor's degree in 1936, he was immediately offered a teaching position.

By the age of 20, Persichetti was simultaneously head of the theory and composition department at Combs, a conducting major with Fritz Reiner at the Curtis Institute, and a student of piano (with Olga Samaroff) and composition at the Philadelphia Conservatory; He earned a master's degree in 1941 and a doctorate in 1945 from Philadelphia, as well as a conducting diploma from Curtis. In 1941, while still a student, Persichetti headed the theory and composition department as well as the department of postgraduate study at Philadelphia. In 1947, William Schuman extended an offer of professorship at Juilliard, where his students included Einojuhani Rautavaara, Leonardo Balada, Peter Schickele (P.D.Q. Bach), Michael Jeffrey Shapiro, Larry Thomas Bell, Claire Polin, Toshi Ichiyanagi and Philip Glass. He became Editorial Director of the Elkan-Vogel publishing house in 1952.

Music

Persichetti is one of the major figures in American music of the 20th century, both as a teacher and a composer. Notably, his Hymns and Responses for the Church Year has become a standard setting for church choirs, and high school and college students' introductions to contemporary music are often made by way of his numerous compositions for wind ensemble. His early style was marked by the influences of Stravinsky, Bartók, Hindemith, and Copland before developing into his own distinct voice in the 1950s.

Persichetti's music draws on a wide variety of thought in 20th century composition as well as Big Band music while remaining in his own distinct voice. His own style is marked by use of two elements he refers to as "graceful" and "gritty": the former being more lyrical and melodic, the latter being sharp and intensely rhythmic. He frequently uses polytonality and pandiatonicism in his writing, and his style is marked by sharp rhythmic interjections, but his embracing of diverse strands of musical thought makes characterizing his body of work difficult. This trend continued throughout his compositional career; his music is not marked by sharp changes in style over time. (Persichetti once proclaimed in an interview in Musical Quarterly that his music was "not like a woman, that is, it does not have periods!").^{[cite this quote]} He frequently composed in his car, sometimes taping staff paper to the steering wheel.

His piano music forms the bulk of his creative output, with a concerto, a concertino, twelve sonatas, and a variety of other pieces written for the instrument, virtuosic pieces as well as pedagogical and amateur-level compositions; Persichetti was an accomplished pianist. Unlike many composers who restrict the mature output to heavier compositions, Persichetti wrote many pieces suitable for less mature performers, considering them too to have serious artistic merit. Persichetti is also one of the major composers for the concert wind band repertoire, with his 14 works for the ensemble; the Symphony No. 6 for band is of particular note as a standard larger work. He wrote one opera, entitled The Sibyl, which was a flop; the music was noted for its color, but the dramatic and vocal aspects of the work were found lacking. He wrote nine symphonies, of which the first two were withdrawn(as where the first two symphonies by other two other American Greats of the late thirties and early forties, William Schuman and Peter Mennin), and four string quartets. Many of his other works are organized into series. One of these, a collection of primarily instrumental works entitled Parables, contains 25 works, many for unaccompanied wind instruments (complete listing below), and his 15 Serenades include such unconventional combinations as a trio for trombone, viola, and cello as well as selections for orchestra, for band, and for duo piano.

In addition to his frequent appearances as lecturer on college campuses, in which he was noted for his witty and engaging manner, he wrote the music theory textbook Twentieth Century Harmony: Creative Aspects and Practice as well as coauthoring a monograph, with Flora Rheta Schreiber, on William Schuman.

Works

Selected works

• Celebrations, for Chorus and Wind Ensemble, Op. 103
• Chorale Prelude: So Pure the Star, Op. 91
• Chorale Prelude: Turn Not Thy Face, Op. 105
• Divertimento For Band, Op. 42
• Masquerade for Band, Op. 102
• Masques for violin and piano Op. 99
• Mass for a capella mixed chorus, Op. 84
• Pageant, Op. 59
• Parable IX for Band, Op. 121
• Pastorale for Wind Quintet, Op. 151
• Psalm for Band, Op. 53
• Symphony No. 6 For Band
• The Hollow Men, for trumpet and string orchestra, Op. 25
• The Sibyl: A Parable of Chicken Little (Parable XX): An Opera in One Act, Op. 135
• Winter Cantata, Op. 97 for Women’s Chorus, Flute, and Marimba

Complete listing of Parables

Poems for piano

• Volume 1, Op. 4:

1. Unroll the flicker's rousing drum (Louis Untermeyer First Words Before Spring)
2. Soft is the collied night (James Elroy Flecker Fountains)
3. Gather for festival bright weed and purple shell (William Watson Songs from Cyprus)
4. Wake subtler dreams, and touch me nigh to tears (William Watson The Frontier)
5. Ravished lute, sing to her virgin ears (Robert Fitzgerald Song after Campion)
6. Whose thin fraud I wink at privily (William Watson The Mock Self)

• Volume 2, Op. 5:

1. And warms winds spilled fragrance into her solitudes (Edmond Kowalewski Change)
2. To whose more clear than crystal voice the frost had joined a crystal spell (Léonie Adams Home Coming)
3. Sleep, weary mind; dream, heart's desire (Edna St. Vincent Millay There are no islands any more)
4. Dust in sunlight, and memory in corners (T. S. Eliot A Song for Simeon)
5. Make me drunken with deep red torrents of joy (John Gould Fletcher Autumnal Clouds)

• Volume 3, Op. 14:

1. Rear its frondings sighing in aetherial folds (Hart Crane Royal Palm)
2. Listen! Can you hear the antic melody of fear those two anxious feet are playing? (Walter Prude)
3. Puffed out and marching upon a blue sky (Amy Lowell Lilacs)
4. And hunged like those top jewels of the night (Léonie Adams Twilit Revelation)
5. Each gay dunce shall lend a hand (John Trumbull The Country Clown)

Piano sonatas

List of Complete Works

Concertino for Piano, op.16, 1941 Symphony no.1, op.18, 1942 Symphony no.2, op.19, 1942 Dance Overture, op.20, 1942 Fables , op.23, 1943 The Hollow Men , op.25, 1944 Symphony no.3, op.30, 1946 Serenade no.5, op.43, 1950 Fairy Tale, op.48, 195 Symphony no.4, op.51, 1951 Symphony for Strings (Sym. no.5) , op.61, 1953 Symphony no.7 ‘Liturgical’, op.80, 1958 Piano Concerto, op.90, 1962 Introit, op.96, 1964 Symphony no.8, op.106, 1967 Symphony no.9 ‘Sinfonia janiculum’, op.113, 1970 Night Dances, op.114, 1970 A Lincoln Address, op.124, 1972 Concerto for English Horn and Strings, op.137, 1977

Band: Divertimento, op.42, 1950 Psalm, op.53, 1952 Pageant, op.59, 1953 Symphony for Band (Sym. no.6), op.69, 1956 Serenade no.11, op.85, 1960 Bagatelles, op.87, 1961 So Pure the Star, chorale prelude, op.91, 1962 Masquerade, op.102, 1965 Turn not thy Face, chorale prelude, op.105, 1966 O Cool is the Valley (Poem for Band), op.118, 1971 Parable IX, op.121, 1972 A Lincoln Address, op.124a, nar, band, 1973 O God Unseen, chorale prelude, op.160, 1984

Vocal Choral: Mag and Nunc, op.8, SATB, pf, 1940 Canons, op.31, SSAA/TTBB/SATB, 1947 2 Cummings Choruses (e.e. cummings), op.33, 2vv, pf, 1948 Proverb, op.34, SATB, 1948 2 Cummings Choruses, op.46, SSAA, 1950 Hymns and Responses for the Church Year (W.H. Auden and others), op.68, 1955 Seek the Highest (F. Adler), op.78, SAB, pf, 1957 Song of Peace (anon.), op.82, TTBB/SATB, pf, 1959 Mass, op.84, SATB, 1960 Spring Cantata (Cummings), op.94, SSAA, pf, 1963 Stabat mater, op.92, SATB, orch, 1963 Te Deum, op.93, SATB, orch, 1963 4 Cummings Choruses, op.98, 2vv, pf, 1964 Winter Cantata (11 Haiku), op.97, SSAA, fl, mar, 1964 Celebrations (cant., W. Whitman), op.103, SATB, wind ens, 1966 The Pleiades (cant., Whitman), op.107, SATB, tpt, str, 1967 The Creation (Persichetti), op.111, S, A, T, Bar, SATB, orch, 1969; Love (Bible: Corinthians), op.116, SSAA, 1971 Glad and Very (Cummings), op.129, 2vv, 1974 Flower Songs (Cant. no.6) (Cummings), op.157, SATB, str, 1983 Hymns and Responses for the Church Year, vol. 2, op.166, 1987

Solo: 2 Chinese Songs, op.29, 1945 e.e. cummings Songs, op.26, 1945, unpubd 3 English Songs (17th century), op.49, 1951, unpubd Harmonium (W. Stevens), song cycle, op.50, S, pf, 1951 Carl Sandburg Songs, op.73, 1957, unpubd Emily Dickinson Songs, op.77, 1957 Hilaire Belloc Songs, op.75, 1957 James Joyce Songs, op.74, 1957 Robert Frost Songs, op.76, 1957, unpubd Sara Teasdale Songs, op.72, 1957, unpubd A Net of Fireflies (Jap., trans. H. Steward), song cycle, op.115, 1970

Chamber and Solo Instrumental 3 or more instruments: Serenade no.1, op.1, 10 wind, 1929 Str Qt no.1, op.7, 1939 Concertato, op.12, piano quintet, 1940 Serenade no.3, op.17, violin, cello, piano, 1941 Pastoral, op.21, woodwind quintet, 1943 String Quartet no.2, op.24, 1944 King Lear, op.35, woodwind quintet, timpani, piano, 1948 Serenade no.6, op.44, trombone, viola, cello, 1950 Piano Quintet, op.66, 1954 String Quartet no.3, op.81, 1959 Parable II, op.108, brass quintet, 1968 String Quartet no.4 (Parable X), op.122, 1972 Parable XXIII, op.150, violin, cello, piano, 1981

1–2 insts: Sonata, op.10, violin, 1940 Suite, op.9, violin, cello, 1940, unpubd Fantasy, op.15, violin, piano, 1941, unpubd Serenade no.4, op.28, violin, piano, 1945 Vocalise, op.27, cello, piano, 1945 Sonata, op.54, cello, 1952 Little Recorder Book, op.70, 1956 Serenade no.9, op.71, 2 recorder, 1956 Serenade no.10, op.79, flute, harp, 1957 Infanta marina, op.83, viola, piano, 1960 Serenade no.12, op.88, tuba, 1961 Serenade no.13, op.95, 2 clarinets, 1963 Masques, op.99, violin, piano, 1965 Parable [I], op.100, flute, 1965 Parable III, op.109, oboe, 1968 Parable IV, op.110, bassoon, 1969 Parable VII, op.119, harp, 1971 Parable VIII, op.120, horn, 1972 Parable XI, op.123, alto sax, 1972 Parable XII, op.125, piccolo, 1973 Parable XIII, op.126, clarinet, 1973 Parable XIV, op.127, trumpet, 1973 Parable XV, op.128, english horn, 1973 Parable XVI, op.130, viola, 1974 Parable XVII, op.131, double bass, 1974 Parable XVIII, op.133, trombone, 1975 Parable XXI, op.140, guitar, 1978 Parable XXII, op.147, tuba, 1981 Serenade no.14, op.159, oboe, 1984 Parable XXV, op.164, 2 trumpet, 1986

Keyboard Piano: Serenade no.2, op.2, 1929 Poems, vols.1–2, opp.4–5, 1939 Sonata no.1, op.3, 1939 Sonata no.2, op.6, 1939 Sonata, op.13, 2 pianos, 1940 Poems, vol. 3, op.14, 1941 Sonata no.3, op.22, 1943 Variations for an Album, op.32, 1947 Sonata no.4, op.36, 1949 Sonata no.5, op.37, 1949 Sonata no.6, op.39, 1950 Sonata no.7, op.40, 1950 Sonata no.8, op.41, 1950 Sonatina no.1, op.38, 1950 Sonatina no.2, op.45, 1950 Sonatina no.3, op.47, 1950 Concerto, op.56, 4 hands, 1952 Parades, op.57, 1952 Serenade no.7, op.55, 1952 Sonata no.9, op.58, 1952; Little Piano Book, op.60, 1953 Serenade no.8, op.62, 4 hands, 1954 Sonatina no.4, op.63, 1954 Sonatina no.5, op.64, 1954 Sonatina no.6, op.65, 1954 Sonata no.10, op.67, 1955 Sonata no.11, op.101, 1965 Parable XIX, op.134, 1975 4 Arabesques, op.141, 1978 Little Mirror Book, op.139, 1978 Reflective Studies, op.138, 1978 Mirror Etudes, op.143, 1979 3 Toccatinas, op.142, 1979 Sonata no.12, op.145, 1980 Winter Solstice, op.165, 1986

Other: Sonatine, op.11, organ pedals, 1940 Harpsichord Sonata no.1, op.52, 1951 Organ Sonata, op.86, 1960 Shimah b'koli, op.89, organ, 1962 Drop, Drop Slow Tears, chorale prelude, op.104, organ, 1966 Parable V, op.112, carillon, 1969 Parable VI, op.117, organ, 1971 Do Not Go Gentle, op.132, organ pedals, 1974 Auden Variations, op.136, organ, 1977 Dryden Liturgical Suite, op.144, organ, 1980 Harpsichord Sonata no.2, op.146, 1981 Harpsichord Sonata no.3, op.149, 1981 Song of David, op.148, org, 1981 Harpsichord Sonata no.4, op.151, 1982 Harpsichord Sonata no.5, op.152, 1982 Harpsichord Sonata no.6, op.154, 1982 Parable XXIV, op.153, harpsichord, 1982 Harpsichord Sonata no.7, op.156, 1983 Little Hpd Book, op.155, 1983 Harpsichord Sonata no.8, op.158, 1984 Serenade no.15, op.161, harpsichord, 1984 Give Peace, O God, chorale prelude, op.162, organ, 1985 Harpsichord Sonata no.9, op.163, 1985

Awards and honors

• In honor of Persichetti's vast influence on American music, on May 19, 1984 he was awarded the prestigious University of Pennsylvania Glee Club Award of Merit^[1]. Beginning in 1964, this award "established to bring a declaration of appreciation to an individual each year that has made a significant contribution to the world of music and helped to create a climate in which our talents may find valid expression."

Further reading

• Persichetti, Vincent (1961). Twentieth-century Harmony: Creative Aspects and Practice. New York: W. W. Norton. ISBN 0-393-09539-8. OCLC 398434. 

References

• Walter G. Simmons: "Vincent Persichetti". Grove Music Online, ed. L. Macy, (subscription access) accessed 22 April 2005.
• Donald L. and Janet L. Patterson: "Vincent Persichetti: A Bio-Biography". Westport, Conn. Greenwood Press, 1988.
• James P. Cassaro: "Vincent Persichetti". Grove Music Online (OperaBase), ed. L. Macy (subscription access), accessed 22 April 2005.
• Larry Bell, review of Vincent Persichetti: The Louisville Orchestra for Sequenza21.com [1]

Media

External links

• Vincent Persichetti Papers, 1901-1996, the composer's manuscripts and personal papers at the Music Division of The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.
• Vincent Persichetti Collection, the composer's personal collection of recordings, at the Rodgers and Hammerstein Archives of Recorded Sound in The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
• UNSUNG SONGS discussion of Emily Dickinson Songs, Opus 77, by Vincent Persichetti (1915-1987)
• Bandroom.com Persichetti information and trivia
• List of works from ArkivMusic
• Vincent Persichetti Society

Listening

• Art of the States: Vincent Persichetti Night Dances, op. 114 (1970)