| "The Fountains of the Acqua Paolal" from the Roman Sketches Op. 7 (1915-1916) Charles Tomlinson Griffes (1884-1920) is often fancifully titled the "American Impressionist." At the age of 19, Griffes traveled to Germany to study with Engelbert Humperdinck, through which he became enamored with the compositions of R. Strauss, Wolf, and Brahms. Griffes' earliest works are indelibly Wagnerian, but he later emulated what was then modern French and Russian music, namely Debussy and Scriabin. After four years abroad, he returned to America and taught at the Hackley School of Music in New York. In less than a decade after his return, critics praised Griffes as an original voice in a rather sterile juncture of American art-music. Influenza claimed his life, however, at the age of 35. He left a small but remarkable oeuvre and one can only wonder if he would have become a major American composer had he lived longer. Quote by Michael Lewin: "The four pieces comprising the Roman Sketches, Op. 7 take the composer into an even more personal sound-world... 'The Fountains of the Acqua Paola' is harmonically the most conservative of the four, with glittering technical brilliance. It is an attractive water piece in the tradition of Ravel's 'Jeux d'eau' and Liszt's 'Les jeux d'eaux a la Villa d'Este'. Featuring a beautiful left-hand melody decorated by right-hand arpeggios and double notes, the music successfully captures the shimmer and spray of foam and fountains." |
