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Robert Owens: Expatriate American Composer
by Philip J. Rogers, D.M.A.
During the summer of 1994, in search of possible doctoral recital baritone vocal solo scores by African descent composers, I travelled to the Center for Black Music Research library in Chicago, Illinois. At my request the librarian had pulled stacks of vocal compositions. Among them were those by one composer whose works were notably different. With vocal melodies carefully integrated into the texture of the accompaniment, one song cycle after another revealed a consistent yet distinctive composition style. These works attracted more than a casual musical curiosity.
The composer, Robert Owens, an expatriate born in Dennison, Texas in 1925 and raised in Berkeley, California relocated to Europe in the 1950’s to freely pursue his composition and piano performance music career. A child prodigy composer and pianist, he went on to create scores that were uniquely different, yet familiar. Familiar in the sense that his works possess the influence of the German song cycle tradition of Franz Schubert, Hugo Wolf, Robert Schumann and Johannes Brahms, yet brilliantly crafted with elements of American and African American musical traditions and communication styles.
While in Europe, Mr. Owens was recruited in 1955 to teach music courses at Albany State College in Georgia. While back in America he performed a concert of his works in his hometown of Berkeley, California in 1956 where a woman from the audience approached him and said that he must meet Langston Hughes in order to set some of his poetry to music. She then gave him a letter of introduction to Mr. Hughes and Owens on his way back to Georgia made the journey to New York. He met Hughes, gave him the letter, and recounted to him what the woman had said about musically setting some of his poetry. After briefly conversing Mr. Hughes graciously gifted Robert with a copy of his collection, Fields of Wonder, (1947) and autographed it. Mr. Owens thanked Mr. Hughes and returned to Georgia.
Reading through the Hughes poems Owens noticed what he described as “marvelous, lyrical thoughts” and how wonderfully they could be to set to music, which he did with two poetry groups. A year later Owens returned to New York to perform the song cycles for Mr. Hughes who provided a singer capable of performing them. Following the performance Mr. Owens recounts that Mr. Hughes replied, “Oh my God, they sound so marvelous to music.” With that encouragement Owens returned to Georgia, resigned his position at Albany State due to the prevailing racial tensions and returned to Europe to study, compose and perform. In addition to the Langston Hughes poetry Mr. Owens set the texts of Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Emily Bronte, Herman Hesse, Countee Cullen, and others while residing in Munich, Germany until his death in 2017.
One final note. Upon my discovery and study of the Robert Owens song cycles I decided that he and his works were to be my dissertation focus. In 1999 I flew to Munich to interview and be coached by him on the works that I was to perform for one of two doctoral recitals. Those works are reflected in the title of my dissertation, Robert Owens Sets Langston Hughes: Three Song Cycles for Baritone and Collaborative Piano, (2000).
In an Atlanta recital I performed Six Negro Spirituals – A Cycle arranged by Robert Owens. That performance is attached here for your enjoyment.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njuvUKv7E0k
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February Second Hour Offering
book, “A Twenty-First Century History of the 1847 Kentucky Raid.” The book is available on Amazon, and it takes little more than one hour to read. Whether or not you read the book, you’re welcome to attend the presentation and participate in the discussion.
Circle Dinners Return
