Henry Cowell, John Varian, and Halcyon

Abstract

Although several eccentric individuals and bohemian environments nurtured Henry Cowell's youthful iconoclastic spirit, none exerted greater influence than John Osborne Varian and Halcyon, the Theosophical colony to which Varian belonged. Varian was an amateur musician, a mystic poet, and an ardent Theosophist, prominent among the sect known as The Temple of the People. Halcyon, located on the California coast near the dunes of Pismo Beach, served as headquarters for the Temple. It still exists today as an eclectic mix of about 120 young, retired, and professional people, many of whom remain committed to Theosophy. From about 1913 to 1931 Cowell enjoyed a warm friendship with Varian, collaborating with him on various artistic projects and associating regularly with his Theosophical friends in the San Francisco area and at Halcyon. Since Cowell produced much of his most innovative music during these years, it is curious that so little attention has been directed toward his relation with Varian and Halcyon. Joscelyn Godwin, Rita Mead, and William Lichtenwanger2 treat the subject briefly, but few others mention it. The composer's widow, Sidney Robertson Cowell, has discouraged such investigation. While admitting that Cowell acquired broad humanistic thinking from Varian,3 she rejects outright the notion that he or his Theosophy influenced Cowell's music. In her view, Cowell may have joined the Temple for a short period after his mother's death, but he immediately distanced himself from its activities.4 Furthermore, she can't believe for a moment that the rather simple, often startlingly irrational and cultist members of the Tem-