Sigma Alpha Iota

carter's lost years he decided to get his masters about my research. I told degree in music composition her that from my research at Harvard. After completing I had found that Carter his masters degree, and at the had written four laboratory recommendation of Walter manuals around 1940. She Piston, Elliott Carter went searched and found that to Paris to study theory and they had a photo of Carter. composition with the world They brought out a number famous Nadia Boulanger, an of archival materials from Honorary Member of Sigma the 1940-1942 years. To my Alpha Iota. His broad liberal astonishment I found that arts education at Harvard hidden away were five, not combined with his in depth four, laboratory manuals compositional studies at that Carter created as part Harvard and in Paris gave of his assignment as music him a unique perspective on director the first year he the place of the composer and was there. These were music within the liberal arts. extraordinary exercises After coming back from much more elaborate than Paris he embarked on a St. John's College Library Archives the previous 1939 single Carter's 13-string sonometer was used to instruct students. number of musical activities music laboratory exercise and various part time that someone else had The Essential Elliott employments. When he got married in 1939 the written the year before. No one at the college had Carter "Collection" at St. known these manuals existed. United States was in the grips of the Depression John's College, Annapolis and an impending World War. He needed full In addition, I found a number of other time employment. His friend, Nicolas Nabokov materials including a letter written years later in • Photo of Elliott Carter at desk had been approached by St. John's College in 1962 from Carter to Stringfellow Barr, hidden (St. John's College Library Archives) early 1940 to become the music director and like a needle in a haystack in the Barr Papers in • Carter authored five Laboratory Manuals tutor at the college. For a number of personal the Library. Stringfellow Barr was going to invite (St. John's College Library Archives) "Manual of Musical Notation" reasons, in the summer of 1940, Nabokov Carter, now a major musical figure, to accept an (1 March, 1941) declined the position but recommended his honorary degree from Rutgers, but Carter, in "Musical Intervals and Scales" friend Elliott Carter to take his place for a year Rome, was writing a piece of music and could (Laboratory Exercise 15, 1940) and then he would seriously consider coming not return to the States. The letter showed a "The Greek Diatonic Scale" in two years. Carter's education and perspective friendly relationship between former colleagues. (Laboratory Exercise 16, 1940) on music within the liberal arts was perfectly In the laboratory manuals, Carter had "The Just Scale and Its Uses" suited to St. John's College, however there was his students use 8 and 13-string sonometers (Laboratory Exercise 17, 1940) considerable uncertainty, unrest and change at when discussing intervals, scales and tuning. "The Keys in Music" St. John's College. The exercises had many questions that the (Laboratory Exercise 18, 1940) Beginning in 1937, St. John's College, under students had to answer by using the sonometers. • Carter's Sonometer the leadership of Stringfellow Barr and Scott I began to wonder if the sonometers were still (St. John's College Music Library) Buchanan, embarked on its "new" Great Books • Carter's four-part setting of "St. John's Forever" at St. John's College. I went to the laboratory (St. John's College Music Library) curriculum. From 1937 until 1941 the "old" director at St. John's College, and told him • Carter letter to Stringfellow Barr, curriculum of majors and electives was being about my research and asked him if he thought December 18, 1962 phased out and the "new" curriculum was being one of these sonometers might still be hidden (Stringfellow Barr Collection, phased in with each freshman class. The first year around somewhere among his many laboratory St. John's College Library Archives) Carter came, 1940-1941, was the last year of the apparatuses. At first he was puzzled and then "old" program and the graduating class of 1941 he said that I should follow him. He took me had "new" and "old" graduates. His second year to the St. John's College Music Library and Once I had background information about of teaching at the college, 1941-1942, was the pointed to a piece of equipment in the corner of Carter and about St. John's College I decided I first year of the entirely "new" program. It was the room. To my amazement there was Carter's had to see what the College had in its archives a period of great academic turbulence. In order 13-string sonometer, the same one he used in his about Elliott Carter. I didn't know if anything to understand that pivotal time I had to read a laboratory exercises with his students 70 years number of books in the St. John's College Library existed at all. I started by going to the St. John's before. The music librarian, in the meantime, College Library and talking to the head librarian on the history of the college. CARTER continued on page 15 sai-national.org WINTER 2013 PAN PIPES 15 winter 13 PP.indd 15 2/12/2013 2:15:12 PM

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