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George Frederick Root

 
Music Encyclopedia: George Frederick Root
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(b Sheffield, ma, 30 Aug 1820; d Bailey's Island, me, 6 Aug 1985). American composer and music educator. He led choirs in New York before studying in Paris. His compositions include cantatas, parlor songs and, during the Civil War, many popular war songs. All were composed with the public market in mind. When he became involved with the publishers Root & Cady (co-founded by his brother), he selected works for publication that were as accessible to all as his own were.


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Columbia Encyclopedia: George Frederick Root
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Root, George Frederick, 1820-95, American composer, b. Sheffield, Mass. He taught at schools in Boston and New York City. He wrote gospel songs and composed sentimental ballads to Fanny Crosby's lyrics, but most famous were his Civil War songs "The Battle Cry of Freedom," "Tramp, Tramp, Tramp," and "Just before the Battle, Mother."
Artist: George Frederick Root
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  • Period: Romantic (1820-1869)
  • Country: USA
  • Born: August 30, 1820 in Sheffield, MA
  • Died: August 06, 1895 in Bailey Island, ME

Biography

More prolific than and a serious rival to Stephen Foster, George F. Root is remembered today merely as the composer of "Battle Cry of Freedom" and a few other Civil War songs rallying people to the Northern cause. He owed his success to self-imposed restrictions, keeping his melodies within the narrow ranges of amateurs, and favoring strong rhythms.

Root, who grew up on a farm, had no music lessons until he was 18 and moved to Boston. From that point, though, he pursued a particular interest in singing, soon assisting Lowell Mason in his vocal classes. Root became an independent vocal teacher in his early twenties, moving in 1844 to New York, where he also directed a church choir, formed a vocal quartet, and published the first of several choral collections.

After a year-long visit to Paris in 1850 for further vocal study, Root returned home and in 1853 helped Mason organize the first Normal Musical Institute in New York for teacher training. In preparation for this, Root composed The Flower Queen, which is thought to be the first secular cantata by an American. This was the first of several such works; one of its successors, The Haymakers, is occasionally revived during bouts of American musical patriotism.

It was during this period that Root also began publishing parlor songs under the pseudonym G. Friedrich Wurzel, the German translation of his name. His earliest hits included "There's Music in the Air" and "Rosalie, the Prairie Flower." The onset of the Civil War turned Root toward patriotic subjects. Only three days after Fort Sumter was attacked, he brought out "The First Gun Is Fired! May God Protect the Right!" Another 30 or so war songs followed, notably "The Battle Cry of Freedom" and "Tramp! Tramp! Tramp!" Still popular among his hymns is "The Shifting Shore."

Root became involved in the Chicago publishing firm Root and Cady with his brother and a partner in 1858, but bailed out after the Chicago fire of 1871. During this period, he wrote articles and songs for the company's periodical, and through the remainder of his career he continued to write music journalism and organize music collections for practical use in home, church, and school. ~ James Reel, All Music Guide
Wikipedia: George Frederick Root
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George F. Root

George Frederick Root (30 August 1820 – 6 August 1895) was an American songwriter, who found particular fame during the American Civil War.

He was born at Sheffield, Massachusetts, and was named after the German-born British composer George Frideric Handel. Root left his farming community for Boston at 18, flute in hand, intending to join an orchestra. He worked for a while as a church organist in Boston, and in 1844 as a music teacher at a girl's school in New York. In 1850 he managed to make a music study tour of Europe, staying in Vienna, Paris, and London.[1] He returned to teach music in Boston, Massachusetts and later Bangor, Maine, where he was director of the Penobscot Musical Association and presided over their convention at Norumbega Hall in 1856.[2]

On his return from Europe Root began composing and publishing sentimental popular songs, a number of which achieved fame as sheet-music. Hazel Dell, Rosalie the Prairie Flower, There's Music in the Air and others were, according to his New York Times obituary, known throughout the country in the antebellum period. Root was not yet a household name, however, as he chose to publish his early songs under a pseudonym. [3]

Cover to "The Battle-Cry of Freedom" by George F. Root

Building on his talent for song-writing, Root moved to Chicago, Illinois in 1859 to work for his brother's music publishing house of Root & Cady. He became particularly successful during the American Civil War, as the composer of martial songs such as Tramp! Tramp! Tramp! (The Prisoner's Hope), Just before the Battle, Mother, and The Battle Cry of Freedom. He wrote the first song concerning the war, The First Gun is Fired, only two days after the conflict began with the bombardment of Fort Sumter. He ultimately had at least 35 war-time "hits", ranging in tone from the bellicose to the ethereal.[4] His songs were played and sung at both the home front and the real front. Tramp, Tramp, Tramp became popular on troop marches, and Battle Cry of Freedom became well-known even in England.[5]

Root was awarded the degree of Musical Doctor by the first University of Chicago in 1872. He died at his summer home in Bailey Island, Maine, at the age of 75.

Root was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970.

Tramp, Tramp, Tramp the Boys are Marching provided the tune for the later (and ultimately better-known) Jesus Loves the Little Children, with lyrics by C. Herbert Woolston.

Contents

Media
The Battle Cry Of Freedom
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See also

References

  1. ^ Obituary, New York Times, August 8, 1895, p. 2
  2. ^ George Thornton Edwards, Music and Musicians of Maine, p. 95
  3. ^ Obit, NYT
  4. ^ Ibid
  5. ^ Ibid

External links

This article incorporates text from the public domain 1907 edition of The Nuttall Encyclopædia.


This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
 

 

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Music Encyclopedia. The Concise Grove Dictionary of Music. Copyright © 1994 by Oxford University Press, Inc.. All rights reserved.  Read more
Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/.  Read more
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