The Selected Writings of John Duke: 1917–1984 (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: The Selected Writings of John Duke: 1917–1984 Stephanie Bonjack The Selected Writings of John Duke: 1917–1984. Edited by Ruth C. Friedberg and Robin Fisher. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press,2007. [xii, 262 p. ISBN-10 0-8108-5867-3; ISBN-13 978-0-8108-5867-1. $45.] Bibliography, index, song catalog, appendix. John Duke (1899–1984) has taken the unfortunate back seat in the twentieth-century American canon, a situation both Ruth C. Friedberg and Robin Fisher have sought to rectify throughout their careers. Fisher recently completed her Ph.D. dissertation on Duke's songs ("The Writings and Art Songs of John Duke, 1917–1945" [University of Texas at Austin, 2001]). Fried berg's interest in the composer has spanned multiple decades, from her master's thesis on his songs ("The Songs of John Duke" [University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 1962]), to her inclusion of Duke's work in American Art Song and American Poetry (Lan ham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 1984). This volume is the first to present unpublished material by the composer, including excerpts from journals, drafts, sketches, and letters. Duke's materials were transferred to the Smith College Archives in 1984, and all of the texts included, save his letters to Friedberg, are drawn from that collection. The writings are arranged mostly in chronological order, separated into seven main parts: a brief biography, excerpts from diaries and scrapbooks, essays, newspaper writings, drafts for a class at Smith College on the arts, presentations and publications, and oral history and letters. The diversity of texts and Duke's interesting and charming style are definitely the strength of the collection. For those unacquainted with John Duke, this book will provide a multifaceted look at the composer and his inner workings as a thinker and philosopher. Very little is given by way of biography, however, and the reader will learn more from the biographical timeline in the appendix than the "Life and Times" chapter. Friedberg and Fisher clearly shaped the tome around an agenda: to promote John Duke "the philosopher, critic, seeker after aesthetic verities, and musical arbiter of his time" (p. [ix]). Nowhere is this process more clear than in the diary and scrapbook entries. Those who have enjoyed the rigors of music school will appreciate the young man's details about hours spent in cold practice rooms and the labor of sonata composition. One might appreciate it more if the editors had not felt the need to introduce the reader to every piece of information presented. Not only is an introduction given to each chapter, but material is also summarized throughout as well as footnoted. Little room is given to the reader for interpretation, and the exclusion of material weighed heavily upon this reviewer. It [End Page 751] seems as if all selections are made to demonstrate Duke's development toward a certain philosophical mind; a modernist process for a modernist composer. One can only wonder what was excised to make his progress so apparent. Regardless of the context, there are riches to be found in this collection. The drafts for "The Arts and the Intellect," a course Duke collaborated on with Oliver Larkin, an art history professor at Smith College, exhibit a wide range of philosophical musings. Also, the composer's letters to Ruth Friedberg, spanning some twenty years, reveal not just details about his catalog of songs, but a bright and inquisitive individual, pursuing his art right up until the very end of his life. The editors draw special attention to Duke's dislike of "intellectual" music, a theme voiced throughout his career, even during the height of the movement's popularity. What we learn from his sketches on art and God perhaps shows us why: "The whole point of art, its greatest significance, lies in putting us in direct contact with the mystery of creation" (p. 57). Clearly, further investigation of this composer is needed to bring his work and ideas into the discussion of twentieth-century music. Stephanie Bonjack University of Southern California Copyright © 2008 Music Library Association, Inc.