Woolson Morse
Encyclopedia
Henry Woolson Morse usually credited as Woolson Morse, was an American composer of musical theatre
. Often working with librettist J. Cheever Goodwin, he produced several scores for Broadway
productions in the 1890s.
. His parents were Charles R. Morse of Vermont (a relative of Samuel Morse) and Mary Ann Judkins of Charlestown, Massachusetts. He attended secondary school at the Noble School
and studied harmony at Boston Conservatory
. He attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
, then went to Paris, France to study art. After a few years he gave that up, returned to America and took up musical composition in earnest.
at School, Morse borrowed scenery and convinced a group of amateurs to produce the show at Springfield, Massachusetts
. Cinderella at School was produced March 5, 1881. The son of Augustin Daly
related how his father became producer of the show:
In the 1880s, Morse and another Bostonian, J. Cheever Goodwin, were small part actors in various benefits for notables at Boston theaters. Moving to New York in 1887, they began to write musicals together, with Goodwin writing the librettos, producing several on Broadway
in the 1890s. Their first Broadway success was Wang
in 1891. According to The New York Times
, "Trained in musical composition in Germany, he was one of the first wholly capable American comic-opera composers. Morse's talent so impressed W. S. Gilbert
that he asked the American composer to become his collaborator after the [1890] split between Gilbert and Sullivan
. Morse refused, however, and continued to compose pieces for New York production ... with the aid of harmonium
, at which he always wrote his music".
Having suffered from stomach hemorrhages for the previous 6 years, Morse died on May 3, 1897, at his home, age 38. His death certificate listed the cause of death as gastric hemorrhage and cirrhoses of the liver. He is buried at Green-Wood Cemetery
in Brooklyn, New York. His widow retired from the stage after an appearance in a 1904 revival of Wang. She married a surgeon, Edward Stockbridge Gushee, in 1907, and died on February 14, 1960.
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
. Often working with librettist J. Cheever Goodwin, he produced several scores for Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
productions in the 1890s.
Biography
Morse was born in Charlestown, MassachusettsCharlestown, Massachusetts
Charlestown is a neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States, and is located on a peninsula north of downtown Boston. Charlestown was originally a separate town and the first capital of the Massachusetts Bay Colony; it became a city in 1847 and was annexed by Boston on January 5, 1874...
. His parents were Charles R. Morse of Vermont (a relative of Samuel Morse) and Mary Ann Judkins of Charlestown, Massachusetts. He attended secondary school at the Noble School
Noble and Greenough School
The Noble and Greenough School, commonly known as Nobles, is a coeducational, nonsectarian day and boarding school for students in grades seven through twelve. It is located on a campus in Dedham, Massachusetts. The current enrollment of 550 students includes a balance of boys and girls, of whom...
and studied harmony at Boston Conservatory
Boston Conservatory
The Boston Conservatory is a performing arts conservatory located in the Fenway-Kenmore region of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It grants undergraduate and graduate degrees in music, dance and musical theater...
. He attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
, then went to Paris, France to study art. After a few years he gave that up, returned to America and took up musical composition in earnest.
Career
For his first major work, CinderellaCinderella
"Cinderella; or, The Little Glass Slipper" is a folk tale embodying a myth-element of unjust oppression/triumphant reward. Thousands of variants are known throughout the world. The title character is a young woman living in unfortunate circumstances that are suddenly changed to remarkable fortune...
at School, Morse borrowed scenery and convinced a group of amateurs to produce the show at Springfield, Massachusetts
Springfield, Massachusetts
Springfield is the most populous city in Western New England, and the seat of Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers; the western Westfield River, the eastern Chicopee River, and the eastern...
. Cinderella at School was produced March 5, 1881. The son of Augustin Daly
Augustin Daly
John Augustin Daly was an American theatrical manager and playwright active in both the US and UK.-Biography:Daly was born in Plymouth, North Carolina and educated at Norfolk, Va...
related how his father became producer of the show:
Mr. Woolson Morse came to Daly with the manuscript of a musical play suggested by Thomas William RobertsonThomas William RobertsonThomas William Robertson , usually known professionally as T. W. Robertson, was an Anglo-Irish dramatist and innovative stage director best known for a series of realistic or naturalistic plays produced in London in the 1860s that broke new ground and inspired playwrights such as W.S...
's School which, in turn, had been taken from the German. Morse was without musical education, but carried in his head a number of pretty tunes. Mollenhauer, the leader of the orchestra, put the composer's idea into form and did the harmonizing and orchestrating.
In the 1880s, Morse and another Bostonian, J. Cheever Goodwin, were small part actors in various benefits for notables at Boston theaters. Moving to New York in 1887, they began to write musicals together, with Goodwin writing the librettos, producing several on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
in the 1890s. Their first Broadway success was Wang
Wang (musical)
Wang is a musical with music by Woolson Morse and book and lyrics by J. Cheever Goodwin. It was first produced in New York in 1891 by DeWolf Hopper and his company and featured Della Fox....
in 1891. According to The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, "Trained in musical composition in Germany, he was one of the first wholly capable American comic-opera composers. Morse's talent so impressed W. S. Gilbert
W. S. Gilbert
Sir William Schwenck Gilbert was an English dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator best known for his fourteen comic operas produced in collaboration with the composer Sir Arthur Sullivan, of which the most famous include H.M.S...
that he asked the American composer to become his collaborator after the [1890] split between Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the librettist W. S. Gilbert and the composer Arthur Sullivan . The two men collaborated on fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which H.M.S...
. Morse refused, however, and continued to compose pieces for New York production ... with the aid of harmonium
Harmonium
A harmonium is a free-standing keyboard instrument similar to a reed organ. Sound is produced by air being blown through sets of free reeds, resulting in a sound similar to that of an accordion...
, at which he always wrote his music".
Family
On September 20, 1893, Morse married actress Agnes Cecilia Riley, born about 1874 in Rhode Island, daughter of Patrick Riley and Mary Ann Agnes Cunningham. She had been the youngest cast member of Wang that reopened on May 4, 1891. They shared a home at 30 West 24th Street, in Manhattan, New York.Having suffered from stomach hemorrhages for the previous 6 years, Morse died on May 3, 1897, at his home, age 38. His death certificate listed the cause of death as gastric hemorrhage and cirrhoses of the liver. He is buried at Green-Wood Cemetery
Green-Wood Cemetery
Green-Wood Cemetery was founded in 1838 as a rural cemetery in Brooklyn, Kings County , New York. It was granted National Historic Landmark status in 2006 by the U.S. Department of the Interior.-History:...
in Brooklyn, New York. His widow retired from the stage after an appearance in a 1904 revival of Wang. She married a surgeon, Edward Stockbridge Gushee, in 1907, and died on February 14, 1960.
Works
- School, or The Charity Pupil, a musical comedyMusical theatreMusical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
. Libretto by Morse based on Thomas William RobertsonThomas William RobertsonThomas William Robertson , usually known professionally as T. W. Robertson, was an Anglo-Irish dramatist and innovative stage director best known for a series of realistic or naturalistic plays produced in London in the 1860s that broke new ground and inspired playwrights such as W.S...
's School. 1880. - CinderellaCinderella"Cinderella; or, The Little Glass Slipper" is a folk tale embodying a myth-element of unjust oppression/triumphant reward. Thousands of variants are known throughout the world. The title character is a young woman living in unfortunate circumstances that are suddenly changed to remarkable fortune...
at School, a musical paraphrase. Libretto by the composer. 1881. (later revised as Dr. Syntax, 1895) - Madame Piper, a musical melange. Libretto: J. Cheever Goodwin. 1884.
- The Merry Monarch (adaptation of L'etoileL'étoileL'étoile is an opéra bouffe in three acts by Emmanuel Chabrier with a libretto by Eugène Leterrier and Albert Vanloo.Chabrier met his librettists at the home of a mutual friend, the painter Gaston Hirsh, in 1875...
by Emanuel Chabrier). Libretto: J. Cheever Goodwin. 1890. - WangWang (musical)Wang is a musical with music by Woolson Morse and book and lyrics by J. Cheever Goodwin. It was first produced in New York in 1891 by DeWolf Hopper and his company and featured Della Fox....
. Libretto: J. Cheever Goodwin. 1891. - PanjandrumPanjandrum (musical)Panjandrum is a musical with music by Woolson Morse, words by J. Cheever Goodwin, written for and produced by De Wolf Hopper and his Opera Company. It opened on May 1, 1893 at the Broadway Theater in New York and closed at the end of September 1893.Described as an "olla podrida" in two acts,...
. Libretto: J. Cheever Goodwin. 1893. - Dr. Syntax. Libretto: J. Cheever Goodwin. 1895 (revised version of Cinderella at School).
- Lost, Strayed or StolenLost, Strayed or StolenLost, Strayed or Stolen is a musical comedy in four acts with music by Woolson Morse and words by J. Cheever Goodwin, adapted from the French farce Le baptême du petit Oscar by Eugene Grangé and Victor Bernard. It was produced at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City on September 16, 1896, and...
. Libretto: J. Cheever Goodwin. 1896. - The Oolah (undated; mentioned in typescript)
- The Lion Tamer (undated; mentioned in typescript)