Frederic Woodman Root Explained

Frederic Woodman Root (13 June 1846, Boston^[1]  - 8 November 1916, Chicago) was an American composer,^{[2] [3]} choir conductor,^[4] organist, adjudicator^[5] and music teacher.^[6]

Early life and education

Root was the son of George Frederick Root,^[7] who was known for composing Civil War songs,^[8] and the brother of the composer Grace W. Root.^[9] He studied music under BC Blodgett, William Mason, James Flint and Robert Goldbeck, and studied singing in New York City with Carlo Bassini and Luigi Vannuccini from Florence. From 1869 to 1870 he undertook a study tour of Europe.

Career

Root composed songs, cantatas, an operetta,^[10] and other works, including many for use in singing and piano lessons. He wrote articles and essays for a number of music related publications. Root was the editor of the periodical Song Messenger for several years.^[11]

Root became a singing teacher,^{[12] [13]} and published several textbooks for singing lessons, including The Pacific Glee Book with James R. Murray,^[14] The School of Singing,^[15] and Root's New Course in Voice Culture and Singing.

Root gave lectures to promote his teaching methods and opinions about music in general.^[16] In one of his speeches he characterized African American gospel songs as "developed from the formless and untutored sounds of savage people... being hardly developed to the point at which they might be called music".^{[17] [18]}

External links

• PD Music: The Music of Frederic Woodman Root (Short biography, works and writings)
• Virtual American Biographies - George Frederick Root
• Frederic Woodman Root at WorldCat

Notes and References

1. Book: The Voice. 1887. Edgar S. Werner. 149–.
2. Book: Jessica C. E. Gienow-Hecht. Sound Diplomacy: Music and Emotions in Transatlantic Relations, 1850-1920. 5 June 2009. University of Chicago Press. 978-0-226-29217-5. 54–.
3. Book: Dennis McNally. On Highway 61: Music, Race, and the Evolution of Cultural Freedom. 22 September 2014. Counterpoint Press. 978-1-61902-412-0. 79–.
4. Book: Harry Prescott Hanaford. Dixie Hines. Who's who in Music and Drama: An Encyclopedia of Biography of Notable Men and Women in Music and the Drama. 1914. H.P. Hanaford.
5. https://www.newspapers.com/image/76820436/?terms=%22Frederick%2BW.%2BRoot%22 “The Hutchison Jubilee”
6. https://www.newspapers.com/image/28652373/?terms=%22Frederick%2BW.%2BRoot%22 “Notes and News”
7. https://www.newspapers.com/image/33835029/?terms=%22Frederick%2BW.%2BRoot%22 “War Songs Inspire the People to Much Enthusiasm”
8. https://www.newspapers.com/image/34604052/ "Our Birthdays"
9. Book: Musical Courier: A Weekly Journal Devoted to Music and the Music Trades . 1895 . Musical Courier Company . en.
10. https://www.loc.gov/collections/american-sheet-music-1870-to-1885/articles-and-essays/music-published-in-america-1870-1885/vocal-music-for-concert-performance/ "Vocal Music for Concert Performance"
11. Book: William Smythe Babcock Mathews. A Hundred Years of Music in America: An Account of Musical Effort in America : During the Past Century .... . 1889. G.L. Howe. 580–.
12. Book: James Stark. Bel Canto: A History of Vocal Pedagogy. 28 March 2003. University of Toronto Press. 978-1-4426-9092-9. 89–.
13. http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000087/18940811/020/0004 "August Marginer"
14. Book: Irwin Silber. Songs of the Great American West. 1967. Courier Corporation. 978-0-486-28704-1. 324–.
15. Book: William Osborne. Music in Ohio. 1 January 2004. Kent State University Press. 978-0-87338-775-0. 514–.
16. https://www.newspapers.com/image/76229124/?terms=%22Frederick%2BW.%2BRoot%22 “A Rainmaker to be Depended Upon”
17. Book: Jeffrey H. Jackson. Stanley C. Pelkey. Music and History: Bridging the Disciplines. 2005. Univ. Press of Mississippi. 978-1-57806-762-6. 11–.
18. Book: Lawrence W LEVINE. Lawrence W Levine. Highbrow/Lowbrow: The Emergence of Cultural Hierarchy in America. 30 June 2009. Harvard University Press. 978-0-674-04013-7. 144–.