Although this piece seems very American in mood and subject, the composer, Arthur Hinton (1869-1941) was actually British: born in Beckenham, Kent, he studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London, and later with Rheinberger in Munich. His best-remembered piece is a 1905 piano concerto. He travelled extensively, and spent much time in the USA. This piece comes from a set of six, published in 1916, and was dedicated to the Scottish pianist Helen Hopekirk (1856-1945) who married an American businessman and settled in Boston. The White Mountains are in New Hampshire, and the reference in the title is to a lengthy 1868 narrative poem of that name by the once-popular American poet John Greenleaf Whittier, the action of which takes place in the area of the Bearcamp River, in the White Mountains area. The opening of the poem reads: " Along the roadside, like the flowers of gold That tawny Incas for their gardens wrought, Heavy with sunshine droops the golden-rod, And the red pennons of the cardinal-flowers Hang motionless upon their upright staves. The sky is hot and hazy, and the wind, Wing-weary with its long flight from the south,........" Stylistically this beautiful piece, written in a late romantic idiom, reminds me of Delius, another British composer who spent much time in the USA.
Classical Music | Piano Music
Arthur Hinton
Idyll "Among the Hills" (Whittier) No. 2 from 'A Summer Pilgrimage to the White Mountains' Play
Recorded on 11/07/2011, uploaded on 12/24/2011
Musician's or Publisher's Notes
Although this piece seems very American in mood and subject, the composer, Arthur Hinton (1869-1941) was actually British: born in Beckenham, Kent, he studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London, and later with Rheinberger in Munich. His best-remembered piece is a 1905 piano concerto. He travelled extensively, and spent much time in the USA. This piece comes from a set of six, published in 1916, and was dedicated to the Scottish pianist Helen Hopekirk (1856-1945) who married an American businessman and settled in Boston. The White Mountains are in New Hampshire, and the reference in the title is to a lengthy 1868 narrative poem of that name by the once-popular American poet John Greenleaf Whittier, the action of which takes place in the area of the Bearcamp River, in the White Mountains area. The opening of the poem reads:
" Along the roadside, like the flowers of gold
That tawny Incas for their gardens wrought,
Heavy with sunshine droops the golden-rod,
And the red pennons of the cardinal-flowers
Hang motionless upon their upright staves.
The sky is hot and hazy, and the wind,
Wing-weary with its long flight from the south,........"
Stylistically this beautiful piece, written in a late romantic idiom, reminds me of Delius, another British composer who spent much time in the USA.
Performances by same musician(s)
Au Soir, from 'Dans le Bois', Op 44 No. 5
Valse des Elfes, Op. 497
Grand Vals para guitarra, adapted for piano solo
Le Petit Nègre (The Little Negro)
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