Posted by Gary Press on September 11, 2003 at 11:29:59:
In Reply to: Re: Greatest Conductor posted by js on September 11, 2003 at 08:49:29:
There was a string quartet that was originally attruibuted to Ben Franklin. Oddly enough, it was to be played completely scordatura (played only on open strings). Unfortunately, new light has been shed upon this work:
"The string quartet to which you refer was definitely not by Benjamin
Franklin. This misattribution stems from a manuscript (not an autograph) in
the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris (discovered in 1945 by the
French musicologist Guillaume de Van) which mistakenly lists Franklin as
the composer. This work, scored for three violins and cello, all
employing scordatura, is to be performed on open strings only.
W. Thomas Marrocco, professor emeritus of musicology at UCLA,
investigated this piece thoroughly and published the article,
"The String Quartet Attributed to Benjamin Franklin," in Proceedings of
the American Philosophical Society, CXVI/6 (December 1972), pp. 477-485.
Marrocco's evidence led him to the conclusion that Giovanni Fer(r)andini
(c. 1710-1791), a Venetian-born composer active in Munich, was the composer.
Marrocco later wrote (in his entry on Benjamin Franklin in the
1980 New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians) that other manuscript
copies of this quartet have been discovered in Prague bearing Ignace Pleyel's
name as the composer, in Vienna listing Ferandini as composer, in Zittau with
Joseph Haydn as composer, and in Goettweig with no composer named. These
latter manuscripts contain a companion quartet which is not in the
Parisian library, scored for the same instrumentation, also involving
scordatura and playing only on open strings.
A recording of the quartet mistakenly attributed to Franklin by the
Kohon Quartet is available on a two-CD set, "The Early String Quartet in
the USA." (Vox 2VBX 5057)
Before it was known that this quartet was not by Franklin,
Marrocco's UCLA colleague John Vincent (1902-77) used this as the basis
of a composition which he called Benjamin Franklin Suite. Vincent
transposed this work from F to G major, eliminated the scordatura and
open strings feature, added expression marks, and composed an obbligato
part playable by any treble instrument. Vincent conducted this work
often after its 1962 premiere in Los Angeles, and included it on
his 1964 U. S. State Department sponsored tour of Central and South
America. Others who conducted this work include Anshel Brusilow, who
later became conductor of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and Victor
Alessandro, conductor of the San Antonio Symphony. Vincent's 7
1/2-minute-long work was published by Mills Music in 1962.
While Benjamin Franklin was definitely one of the most
multi-talented politicians in American history, he definitely was not a
composer. Given the Germanic origins of this rather simple piece, the
frequent citations by critics of "Americanisms" is quite curious.
For instance, "Gerald Ashford wrote in the March 5, 1963 San Antonio Express:
"The fact that Franklin's varied talents included those of a composer
will be new to most people, but the piece (in five parts) is a pleasant
one to hear. Obviously indebted to Mozart and Haydn, it also shows more
than a touch of early Americanisms, having some of the lilt of such songs
of the period as 'Oh, Miss Bailey' and 'The Hunters of Kentucky.'"
Whatever prompted Ferandini (or whoever the real composer was) to
write two string quartets for this unusual instrumental combination,
using unusual tunings, and open strings is unknown. Perhaps it was to
provide string music which would be readily playable by non-string
players. Perhaps it was a compositional exercise in which the composer
tried to write a work which did not exceed certain pre-set parameters
(such as Johannes Ockeghem did with his Missa cuisvuis toni [Mass in Any
Mode], or as many twentieth-century composers have). Many other composers of
the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, most notably Heinrich von Biber,
wrote string music exploring unusual tuning systems At any rate,
this quartet is one of very limited musical value and interest,
particularly since it is not by Franklin. " -- Dr. Craig Parker - Kansas State University
Oh well...sorry Ben!