Wintter Watts (Cincinnati, Ohio

Cincinnati, Ohio

Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...

, March 14, 1884 – Brooklyn, New York, November 1, 1962) was an American composer

Composer

A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...

 of art songs.

Life and musical career

Watts was born in Cincinnati, Ohio

Cincinnati, Ohio

Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...

, and his early studies were in painting, architecture

Architecture

Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...

, voice, and organ. He later studied at The Academy of Musical Art in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 and in Florence, Italy. He won the Morris Loeb Prize in 1919 for his symphony Young Blood and the Prix de Rome

Prix de Rome

The Prix de Rome was a scholarship for arts students, principally of painting, sculpture, and architecture. It was created, initially for painters and sculptors, in 1663 in France during the reign of Louis XIV. It was an annual bursary for promising artists having proved their talents by...

 in 1923. He returned to Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 a few years later and stayed until 1931, when he returned to the United States. After 1931 he fell into obscurity.

Musical works

Watts composed around 70 songs for voice and piano in the years between 1906 and 1924. Most were published individually by Oliver Ditson

Oliver Ditson

Oliver Ditson was an American businessman and founder of Oliver Ditson and Company, one of the major music publishing houses of the late 19th century. Ditson began his business with Samuel H...

 or G. Schirmer

G. Schirmer

G. Schirmer Inc. is an American classical music publishing company based in New York City, founded in 1861. It publishes sheet music for sale and rental, and represents some well-known European music publishers in North America, such as the Italian Ricordi, Music Sales Affiliates ChesterNovello,...

. The songs were highly esteemed in their day, and Upton praised them for their distinctly 'American' sound. His most important song cycle

Song cycle

A song cycle is a group of songs designed to be performed in a sequence as a single entity. As a rule, all of the songs are by the same composer and often use words from the same poet or lyricist. Unification can be achieved by a narrative or a persona common to the songs, or even, as in Schumann's...

 are his Vignettes of Italy, nine songs from 1919, settings of poems by Sara Teasdale

Sara Teasdale

Sara Teasdale , was an American lyrical poet. She was born Sara Trevor Teasdale in St. Louis, Missouri, and after her marriage in 1914 she went by the name Sara Teasdale Filsinger.-Biography:...

 reflecting on various Italian locations and their associated emotional recollections. Many important singers performed his songs in concert, most notably
Kirsten Flagstad

Kirsten Flagstad

Kirsten Målfrid Flagstad was a Norwegian opera singer and a highly regarded Wagnerian soprano...

 and John McCormack, to whom Watts dedicated several songs. None of his other music was ever published.

Published songs

• Three Songs, John Church Co., 1906
• 1. Love’s Life (R. B. Butler)
• 2. A Drop o’ Dew (H. Canfield)
• 3. The Joy of Man (Wanting) (unknown author)

• Three Songs, John Church Co., 1906
• 1. Clover (W. Bynner)
• 2. Admonition—Roses and Thorns (R. W. Gilder)
• 3. The Song of the Wind (N. E. Barnhart)

• The Joy of Man, Op. 2, no. 1 (M. Pancoast), John Church Co., 1908

• Two Poems by A. Symons, Op. 4 (A. Symons), G. Schirmer, 1908
• 1. Dreams
• 2. During Music

• Four Songs, Op. 3. G. Schirmer, 1908
• 1. A Hope (W. Watts)
• 2. My World (Richard Watson Gilder)
• 3. The Stairway (Richard Watson Gilder)
• 4. The Difficulty (after Heine)

• Another Day, (unknown author), John Church Co., 1909
• Dinna Ask Me (Dunlop), G. Schirmer, 1909
• Locations (Tom Hall), John Church Co., 1909
• The Ocean Tramp (L. Hope), G. Schirmer, 1909

• Five Songs, G. Schirmer, 1910
• 1. Alone (words from the Spanish)
• 2. Home (D. Greenwell)
• 3. It isn’t the Thing You Do, Dear (unknown author)
• 4. Oh, Call it by some Better Name (T. More)
• 5. Surf Song (L. Hope)

• Blue are Her Eyes (Mary MacMillan), Oliver Ditson, 1913
• The Boat of My Lover (D. M. M. Craik), Oliver Ditson, 1913
• Green Branches (F. Macleod), Oliver Ditson, 1913
• Hushing Song (F. Macleod), Oliver Ditson, 1913
• Only Once, Love (R. W. Gilder), Oliver Ditson, 1913
• Wood Song (Eugene Lee-Hamilton), Oliver Ditson, 1913, T.I.S. Reprint, 1998
• When I Wake (Anonymous), Oliver Ditson, 1916, T.I.S. Reprint, 1998

• Two Songs, G. Schirmer, 1918
• 1. Like Music on the Waters (Lord Byron)
• 2. Barcarole (Pai Ta-shun)

• Love Me (Sara Teasdale
  Sara Teasdale
  Sara Teasdale , was an American lyrical poet. She was born Sara Trevor Teasdale in St. Louis, Missouri, and after her marriage in 1914 she went by the name Sara Teasdale Filsinger.-Biography:...
  
  ), unknown publisher, 1919
• Pierrot (Sara Teasdale
  Sara Teasdale
  Sara Teasdale , was an American lyrical poet. She was born Sara Trevor Teasdale in St. Louis, Missouri, and after her marriage in 1914 she went by the name Sara Teasdale Filsinger.-Biography:...
  
  ), unknown publisher, 1919
• The Poet Sings (Richard LeGallienne), Oliver Ditson, 1919 (dedicated to John McCormack)
• When Beauty Grows (unknown author), unknown publisher, c. 1919

• Vignettes of Italy (Sara Teasdale
  Sara Teasdale
  Sara Teasdale , was an American lyrical poet. She was born Sara Trevor Teasdale in St. Louis, Missouri, and after her marriage in 1914 she went by the name Sara Teasdale Filsinger.-Biography:...
  
  ), Oliver Ditson, 1919
• 1. Addio
• 2. Naples
• 3. Capri
• 4. Night song at Amalfi
• 5. Ruins of Paestum
• 6. From a Roman Hill
• 7. Ponte Vecchio, Florence
• 8. Villa Serbelloni, Bellaggio
• 9. Stresa

• Five Songs, G. Schirmer, 1919
• 1. Beloved, it is Morn (E. H. Hickey)
• 2. The Mother’s Song (C. R. Robertson)
• 3. Golden Rose (Grace Hazard Conkling)
• 4. Utopia (Frances Turner Palgrave)
• 5. Magic (Harriet Morgan)

• Falmouth Town (Dramatic Ballad for Baritone) (William Ernest Henley), G. Schirmer, 1921
• Tryste Noël (Louise Imogen Guiney), unknown publisher, 1921
• Wings of Night (Sara Teasdale
  Sara Teasdale
  Sara Teasdale , was an American lyrical poet. She was born Sara Trevor Teasdale in St. Louis, Missouri, and after her marriage in 1914 she went by the name Sara Teasdale Filsinger.-Biography:...
  
  ), G. Schirmer, 1921

• Joy (Sara Teasdale
  Sara Teasdale
  Sara Teasdale , was an American lyrical poet. She was born Sara Trevor Teasdale in St. Louis, Missouri, and after her marriage in 1914 she went by the name Sara Teasdale Filsinger.-Biography:...
  
  ), G. Schirmer, 1922 (dedicated to John McCormack)

• Three Lyric Poems, G. Schirmer, 1922
• 1. With the tide (Edward J. O'Brien)
• 2. Transformation (Jessie B. Rittenhouse)
• 3. The nightingale and the rose (William Ernest Henley)

• A Little Page’s Song (13th c., William Alexander Percy’s Reliques), Ricordi, 1922
• The Little Shepherd’s Song (13th c., William Alexander Percy's Reliques), unknown publisher, 1922
• Bring Her Again to Me (Williams Ernest Henley), G. Schirmer, 1923

• Intreat Me not to Leave Thee (Sacred, Book of Ruth), G. Schirmer, 1923
• Two Songs by Sara Teasdale
  Sara Teasdale
  Sara Teasdale , was an American lyrical poet. She was born Sara Trevor Teasdale in St. Louis, Missouri, and after her marriage in 1914 she went by the name Sara Teasdale Filsinger.-Biography:...
  
  , G. Schirmer, 1923
• 1. Only A Cry (Sara Teasdale
  Sara Teasdale
  Sara Teasdale , was an American lyrical poet. She was born Sara Trevor Teasdale in St. Louis, Missouri, and after her marriage in 1914 she went by the name Sara Teasdale Filsinger.-Biography:...
  
  )
• 2. Let it be Forgotten (Sara Teasdale
  Sara Teasdale
  Sara Teasdale , was an American lyrical poet. She was born Sara Trevor Teasdale in St. Louis, Missouri, and after her marriage in 1914 she went by the name Sara Teasdale Filsinger.-Biography:...
  
  )

• Only and Forever (William Ernest Henley), G. Schirmer, 1923
• A White Rose (John Boyle O’Reilly), G. Schimer, 1923
• Wild Tears (Louise Imogen Guiney), G. Schirmer, 1923

• Three Songs for low voice, G. Schirmer, 1924
• 1. Song is so old (H. Hagedorn)
• 2. Miniver Cheevy (Edward Arlington Robinson)
• 3. Dark Hills (Edward Arlington Robinson)

• Circles, song cycle (texts by Watts?), 1932, arr. string quartet, 1936
• Exile (Unknown Author), Galaxy Music, 1936
• That Little Word No (Unknown Author), Galaxy Music, 1938

Other songs

• Birdeen (Unknown Author), Unpublished, 1948
• Dreams (unknown author), G. Schirmer
• During Music (unknown author), G. Schirmer
• In Silhouette (words and music by Watts), unknown publisher and date
• Isle of Beauty (unknown author), Oliver Ditson
• Oh, Call it by some Better Name (unknown author), G. Schirmer

Larger musical works

• Incidental music for The Double Life (M. R. Rinehart), 1906
• Young Blood, symphony/tone-pageant, 1919
• Alice in Wonderland, opera (R. B. Butler, after Lewis Carroll
  Lewis Carroll
  Charles Lutwidge Dodgson , better known by the pseudonym Lewis Carroll , was an English author, mathematician, logician, Anglican deacon and photographer. His most famous writings are Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass, as well as the poems "The Hunting of the...
  
  ), 1920
• Two Etchings for Orchestra, 1922
• Bridal Overture
• Pied Piper, opera
• The Piper, symphonic poem, 1927

External links

• http://www.recmusic.org/lieder/w/watts.html Texts of some songs by Wintter Watts