{"product_id":"23368-coleridge-taylor-samuel-autograph-letter-signed-i-am-forming-a-new-orchestra","title":"Coleridge-Taylor, Samuel. (1875–1912) Autograph Letter Signed - \"I am forming a new orchestra\"","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"background-color: white;\"\u003eAutograph Letter Signed to a Mr. Williams. One page, on verso of a printed flier for Coleridge-Taylor Orchestral Concerts; folds, mount remnants on verso. \"I am forming a new orchestra to give a series of first-class concerts in Croydon during the coming season. I think I have got hold of all the best Croydon strings there are, and I am anxious to get you to belong if you can, to make my list complete. We start rehearsing next Tuesday evening. . . . Dots, do come, I am sure you'll be pleased with the people.\" 10 Upper Grove [London], circa 1903. Trimmed to 8.25 x 7.75 inches (21 x 20 cm).\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cspan style=\"background-color: white;\"\u003eDuring his short life, Coleridge-Taylor enjoyed considerable success, especially in his native country.  His cantata \u003ci\u003eHiawatha's Wedding Feast \u003c\/i\u003e(1898) was especially popular, and he held prominent positions, including Professor of Composition at the Guildhall School of Music and the Trinity College of Music.  \"Coleridge-Taylor saw it as his mission in life to help establish the dignity of African Americans.  He was greatly influenced by the poet P.L. Dunbar (some of whose poems he set to music), the Fisk Jubilee Singers, W.E.B. Du Bois, Frederick Douglass, and Booker T. Washington, among others.  After meeting Dunbar in \u003cspan class=\"date\"\u003e1897\u003c\/span\u003e, his awareness of his heritage grew rapidly, leading to such works as \u003cem\u003eAfrican Romances\u003c\/em\u003e (\u003cspan class=\"date\"\u003e1897\u003c\/span\u003e), the operatic romance \u003cem\u003eDream Lovers\u003c\/em\u003e (\u003cspan class=\"date\"\u003e1898\u003c\/span\u003e), \u003cem\u003eAfrican Suite for the Pianoforte\u003c\/em\u003e (\u003cspan class=\"date\"\u003e1898\u003c\/span\u003e) and \u003cem\u003eToussaint l’Ouverture\u003c\/em\u003e (\u003cspan class=\"date\"\u003e1901\u003c\/span\u003e), a musical illustration of the 18th-century slave who led the liberation of Haiti.\"  Stephen Banfield, revised by Jeremy Dibble and Anya Laurence, \u003ci\u003eGrove Music Online\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Schubertiade Music and Arts","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46093844021407,"sku":"23368","price":650.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0512\/4826\/7423\/files\/Coleridge-Taylor_SamuelALSneworchestra23368.jpg?v=1728673978","url":"https:\/\/www.schubertiademusic.com\/products\/23368-coleridge-taylor-samuel-autograph-letter-signed-i-am-forming-a-new-orchestra","provider":"Schubertiade Music and Arts","version":"1.0","type":"link"}