Dudley Buck

Dudley Buck (March 10, 1839 – October 6, 1909) was an American composer, organist, and writer on music. He published several books, most notably the Dictionary of Musical Terms and Influence of the Organ in History, which was published in New York City in 1882.

He is best known today for his organ composition, Concert Variations on The Star-Spangled Banner, Op. 23, which was later arranged into an orchestral version.

Life and career Born in Hartford, Connecticut, Buck was the son of a merchant who gave him every opportunity to cultivate his musical talents. After attending Trinity College (Connecticut) from 1855–1858, he studied in Leipzig at the Leipzig Conservatory where his teachers included: Ernst Richter and Moritz Hauptmann, composition and harmony; Ignaz Moscheles and Louis Plaidy, piano; Julius Rietz, orchestration; and Johann Gottlob Schneider, organ. He then pursued further studies in Dresden (again with Schneider) and Paris. On returning to America he held positions of organist in Hartford's North Congregational Church and Chicago's St. James' Episcopal Church (1869). In Albany for a recital in 1871, he got news the Great Chicago Fire destroyed his church, home, and all his possessions, so returned to Chicago and quickly moved his family to Boston. There, Buck accepted the position of organist for the Music Hall Association,

The U.S. Centennial commissioned a cantata from Buck and Sidney Lanier; it was performed at the exposition's opening day on May 10, 1876. In 1898 Buck was elected to the National Institute of Arts and Letters.

Several memorials were held after his death, including one led by E. H. Joyce in October 1910 at Bridgeport's First Presbyterian Church, and one led by John Hyatt Brewer (who had replaced Buck as conductor of the Apollo Club in 1903

Three Songs for Mezzo-Soprano (Where are the Swallows Fled?, Down by the Mill, The Sunset's Smile has Left the Sky) Five Songs for alto or baritone (Morning Land, Spring Song, Expectancy, Sunset (based on Sidney Lanier poem), "Storm and Sunshine") Five Songs for tenor or soprano (Thou art Mine!, Shadow Land, I Love Thee, The Silent World is Sleeping, Creole Lover's Song) Five Songs for Baritone (Where the Lindens Bloom, Bedouin Love Song, The Capture of Bacchus, The Gypsies, When Life Hath Sorrow Found) Five Songs for mezzo-soprano or baritone (In June, Love's Remorse, Alone!, Spring's Awakening, Crossing the Bar) "Evening Song", Op. 76 "Twilight" "Boots and Saddles (A Soldier's Farewell)" "Falstaff's Song" "There's a Merry Brown Thrush" "The Tempest" (dramatic poem) "Where Did You Come From, Baby Dear?" "Why Love Is King"

Operas:

Deseret, or A Saint's Affliction comic opera (1880); survives only in fragments, selections published Serâpis, opera (1889); manuscript

Orchestral:

Marmion, symphonic overture (1878) Festival Overture on the American National Air, "The Star-Spangled Banner," (1879)

Organ :

Grand Sonata in E-flat, Op. 22 (1866) Concert Variations on "The Star-Spangled Banner," Op. 23 (1868) Triumphal March, Op. 26 (1868) Impromptu Pastorale, Op. 27 (1868) Eighteen Studies in Pedal Phrasing, Op. 28 (1868) Variations for Organ on "Home, Sweet Home," Op. 30 (1868) Rondo-Caprice, Op. 35 (1868) Wedding March, Op. 44 (1871) 6 Short Choral Preludes, Op. 49 (1871) Variations on a Scotch Air (Annie Laurie), Op. 51 (1871) At Evening, Op. 52 (1871) "The Last Rose of Summer" varied for the Organ, Op. 59 (1877) Organ Sonata No. 2 in G Minor, Op. 77 (1877) Variations on "Old Folks at Home" (1888) 4 Tone Pictures (1891) Festival Prelude (c. 1896)