Though steeped in the comparatively conservative milieu of the English musical renaissance at the turn of last century, John Foulds possessed a physical, intellectual, spiritual, and creative wanderlust.
Foulds moved to India in 1935. There, he collected native folk tunes. He became director of European music for All-India Radio in Delhi, created an orchestra from scratch, and labored tirelessly to fulfill his vision of a synthesis between Eastern and Western music. He also composed works for traditional Indian instruments. His efforts on behalf of the radio were so successful that he was asked to open a satellite branch in Calcutta. Unfortunately, he contracted cholera and died within a week of his arrival, at the age of 58.
Because of the remote location and the fact that a number of the pieces of his maturity have been lost, or the manuscripts extensively compromised, Foulds’ slight reputation has rested for the most part on his “light music.” But Foulds was definitely ahead of his time, as the gradual rediscovery of his works has revealed, with the composer’s fascination for quarter-tones and, occasionally, a tendency toward an almost proto-minimalism.
So diverse were Foulds’ output and enthusiasms that it is difficult, if not impossible, to encapsulate the scope of his achievements within a single hour. Nevertheless, this Sunday night on “The Lost Chord,” we will endeavor to do our best, by sharing his light concert overture “April – England,” “Three Mantras” from the abandoned Sanskrit opera, “Avatara,” and selections from “A World Requiem.”
It’s a Foulds paradise! Join me for “April Foulds,” this Sunday at 10 p.m. EDT, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.
PHOTO: Foulds (right), sitting in on an Indian jam session
