Paine, John Knowles

Paine, John Knowles – Poseidon and Amphitrite: An Ocean Fantasy in A Major (Symphonic Poem) , opus 44

(b. Portland, Maine; 9. Januar 1839 – d. Cambridge, Massachusetts, 25. April 1906 )

(1888)

Preface
Historians of American music have identified two New England Schools of music, though this terminology refers to historical movements, not formal arrangements. John Knowles Paine (1839-1906) is considered the main figure of the Second New England School.

The First New England School flourished from about 1770 to 1810 in colonial and early Federal New England. The First School focused on sacred music such as psalm tunes, hymns, anthems, and especially “fuguing tunes” (simple imitative sections entered by different voices). The First School’s main figure was William Billings (1746–1800) whose The New-England Psalm-Singer (1770) was an important example of their music. The First School’s music survived in the shape-note tradition, especially The Sacred Harp (1844), which is still sung worldwide.

The Second New England School (sometimes called the Boston Classicists or “the Boston Six”) developed in the late 19th century and flourished from approximately1870 to 1920. Unlike the “unprofessional” and mostly self-taught First School, the Second School was centered on Boston’s professional music scene and allied institutions, such as Harvard University. These composers closely followed the European classical music tradition. The main figure in the Second New England School was John Knowles Paine, both because of his music and his pivotal role as an educator. Others associated with the school were George Whitefield Chadwick (1854–1931), Horatio Parker (1863-1919), Arthur Foote (1853–1937), Amy Beach (1867-1944), and Edward MacDowell (1860–1908). MacDowell later worked in New York but is grouped stylistically with this school. Paine’s entire education, even in the United States, was European. His most important instructor during his boyhood years in Portland, Maine was a German immigrant, and he later studied in Germany. …

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