OK. Who is Walter Carroll? Up to a couple weeks ago I had never heard anything about him. I did not even know the name. So when another musician suggested that I check out his music, I figured he would be some New Age composer, or someone who composes for method books, someone living.
1. The Isle of Palms
Now Morn, her rosy steps in eastern clime
Advancing, sowed the earth with orient pearl.
– Milton
2. By Dimpled Pool
Gay children leap and laugh and run,
Browned by the salt air and the sun.
– Cranch
3. Spraymist
Behind, through the soft and fragrant air,
The blue, haze-cradled mountains spread away.
– Arnold
4. From Ship to Shore
What joy it was to roam among the rocks,
And startle, unaware, the mild sea flocks.
– Marston
5. The Reef
The great rock in the ocean stands,
And battles with the waves forever.
– Blood
6. Flakes of Foam
With dash and dip and sidelong swerve,
You try each dainty trick of flight.
– Dowden
7. A Stormy Coast
Wild waves, be hushed, as moan into your rest,
Soon will all earth be sleeping, why not ye?
– Webster
8. Night’s Shining Peace
O! It was sweet in the clear moonlight,
To meet the thousand eyes of night.
– Drake
9. Samoan’s Dance
His kirtle, made of forest green, reached scantly to his knee;
And, at his belt, of arrows keen a furbished sheaf bore he.
– Scott
Walter Carroll was born in 1869, and although he lived until 1955 he was a contemporary of Debussy, Rachmaninov, Ravel and many others. Because his music is clearly in the style of the Romantic composers, he was a throwback. Some people have compared him to Norman Rockwell in that his music was written for the tastes of average people rather than for critics.
What is quite amazing is that his music works for students. It’s not full of impossible demands, so it’s quite playable, but as with all good music I believe it is difficult in the sense that you really have to have a lot of mastery to bring out the charm and nuances.
I was sitting down and listening to all of these songs, and they’re all really great, but I was reading something while listening and when “From Ship to Shore” started I got really startled and thought I clicked on something else. I like all of these songs a lot though, they feel like they would all work well in some old fashion Disney Fantasia sequences.
Listening for the first time. First impressions, pretty nice. The songs had that type of repeating rhythm that intrigues the listener. For most I can imagine something, or get a vague mental construction in my head as I hear the music.
Hey, I *like* Norman Rockwell! It wasn’t just the style, it was the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it little detail. The way each picture told a complete story on it’s own, no narration required. If this is what I’m hearing here, deal me in! I like it!
I love that you did the whole set. There’s so much of interest here. Really enjoyed it!
Count me in as one of the average people for whom this music was written. I liked the variety in sounds, dark heavy chords and light playful ones.
First impressions besides “I like this”. I am reminded of something that I like on some Debussy music: that you go from scene to scene, mood to mood. It’s like being on a tour and coming upon different scenes, and being in the middle of them.
As a student, it can take me a longer time to get a handle on something, so when a piece is like “a bunch of little pieces” that nonetheless hang together, that makes practising more enjoyable.