Will Marion Cook
Encyclopedia
William Mercer Cook better known as Will Marion Cook, was an African American
composer and violinist from the United States. Cook was a student of Antonín Dvořák
and performed for King George V
among others. He is probably best known for his popular songs and Broadway musicals, such as Clorindy and In Dahomey
.
, and his wife, Isabel. When his father died of tuberculosis in 1879, Cook's mother eventually had to send all her three children away: following a violent altercation with a teacher during a strapping
, the 10-year-old Will went to live with his maternal grandparents (ex-slaves who had bought their freedom) in Chattanooga, where he first experienced "real Negro melodies" during what he would later call his "soul period".
Cook's musical talent was apparent at an early age. At fifteen, he was sent to the Oberlin Conservatory to study violin
. With help from members of the African American
community, his benefit recitals were sponsored to help him afford to study abroad. From 1887 to 1889, he studies at the Berlin Hochschule fur Musik working with Joseph Joachim
's former student, violinist Heinrich Jacobson; Jacobson served as Chairman of the Orchestral Instruments Department. Although it is often stated that Cook studied abroad for nine years, there is no evidence of this.
Cook married the young singer Abbie Mitchell
in 1898. They had daughter, Marion Abigail Cook, in 1900, and a son, Will Mercer Cook, in 1903. Their daughter, raised by family members as had been Mitchell herself, married dancer Louis Douglas
. Their son became a professor at Howard University
and United States Ambassador to Niger
and Senegal
.
In the years of 1894 and 1895, Cook studied with Dvořák and John White
at the National Conservatory of Music
. Cook had performed professionally as a student and made his debut in 1889 in Washington, DC. His performance career as a soloist was short lived, however.
In 1890, he became director of a chamber orchestra touring the East Coast. He prepared Scenes from the Opera of Uncle Tom's Cabin for performance. The performance, which was to take place at the Chicago World's Fair
in 1893, was canceled. Clorindy; or, The Origin of the Cakewalk—a musical sketch comedy in collaboration with Paul Laurence Dunbar
— was the next piece he composed, 1898. It was the first all-black show
to play in a prestigious Broadway
house, Casino Theatre's Roof Garden. After this period, he was composer-in-chief and musical director for the George Walker-Bert Williams Company. As he continued to write, he produced many successful musicals.
Best known for his songs, Cook used folk elements in an original and distinct manner. Many of these songs first appeared in his musicals. The songs were written for choral groups or for solo singers. Some were published in A Collection of Negro Songs (1912). Later in his career, Cook was an active choral and orchestral conductor. He produced several concerts and organized many choral societies in both New York and in Washington, D.C. The New York Syncopated Orchestra—he had created—toured the United States in 1918 and then went to England in 1919 for a command performance for King George V
. Among his company were assistant director Will Tyers, jazz clarinetist Sidney Bechet
, and Cook's wife, Abbie Mitchell.
One of his last shows was Swing Along (1929), written with Will Vodery
.
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
composer and violinist from the United States. Cook was a student of Antonín Dvořák
Antonín Dvorák
Antonín Leopold Dvořák was a Czech composer of late Romantic music, who employed the idioms of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia. Dvořák’s own style is sometimes called "romantic-classicist synthesis". His works include symphonic, choral and chamber music, concerti, operas and many...
and performed for King George V
George V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
among others. He is probably best known for his popular songs and Broadway musicals, such as Clorindy and In Dahomey
In Dahomey
In Dahomey was a landmark American musical comedy, in that it was "the first full-length musical written and played by blacks to be performed at a major Broadway house." It featured music by Will Marion Cook, book by Jesse A. Shipp, and lyrics by Paul Laurence Dunbar...
.
Biography
Will Marion Cook (né William Mercer Cook) was born in Washington, D.C. to John Hartwell Cook, dean of the liberal Law School at Howard UniversityHoward University
Howard University is a federally chartered, non-profit, private, coeducational, nonsectarian, historically black university located in Washington, D.C., United States...
, and his wife, Isabel. When his father died of tuberculosis in 1879, Cook's mother eventually had to send all her three children away: following a violent altercation with a teacher during a strapping
Corporal punishment
Corporal punishment is a form of physical punishment that involves the deliberate infliction of pain as retribution for an offence, or for the purpose of disciplining or reforming a wrongdoer, or to deter attitudes or behaviour deemed unacceptable...
, the 10-year-old Will went to live with his maternal grandparents (ex-slaves who had bought their freedom) in Chattanooga, where he first experienced "real Negro melodies" during what he would later call his "soul period".
Cook's musical talent was apparent at an early age. At fifteen, he was sent to the Oberlin Conservatory to study violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
. With help from members of the African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
community, his benefit recitals were sponsored to help him afford to study abroad. From 1887 to 1889, he studies at the Berlin Hochschule fur Musik working with Joseph Joachim
Joseph Joachim
Joseph Joachim was a Hungarian violinist, conductor, composer and teacher. A close collaborator of Johannes Brahms, he is widely regarded as one of the most significant violinists of the 19th century.-Origins:...
's former student, violinist Heinrich Jacobson; Jacobson served as Chairman of the Orchestral Instruments Department. Although it is often stated that Cook studied abroad for nine years, there is no evidence of this.
Cook married the young singer Abbie Mitchell
Abbie Mitchell
Abriea "Abbie" Mitchell , also billed as Abbey Mitchell, was an American soprano opera singer who sang the role of "Clara" in the premier production of George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess in 1935....
in 1898. They had daughter, Marion Abigail Cook, in 1900, and a son, Will Mercer Cook, in 1903. Their daughter, raised by family members as had been Mitchell herself, married dancer Louis Douglas
Louis Douglas
Louis Winston Douglas, sometimes misspelled Douglass was an American dancer, choreographer, and music businessman....
. Their son became a professor at Howard University
Howard University
Howard University is a federally chartered, non-profit, private, coeducational, nonsectarian, historically black university located in Washington, D.C., United States...
and United States Ambassador to Niger
Niger
Niger , officially named the Republic of Niger, is a landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. It borders Nigeria and Benin to the south, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, Algeria and Libya to the north and Chad to the east...
and Senegal
Senegal
Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
.
In the years of 1894 and 1895, Cook studied with Dvořák and John White
John White
-Musicians:* John White , English musician* John White , American country music singer, writer on the genre of western music* John Simon White , American vocal coach and opera director-Politicians:...
at the National Conservatory of Music
National Conservatory of Music
National Conservatory of Music may refer to:* CNSM de Lyon, in Lyon, France* National Conservatory of Music * National Conservatory of Music of America, a school founded by Jeannette Thurber in New York City in 1885...
. Cook had performed professionally as a student and made his debut in 1889 in Washington, DC. His performance career as a soloist was short lived, however.
In 1890, he became director of a chamber orchestra touring the East Coast. He prepared Scenes from the Opera of Uncle Tom's Cabin for performance. The performance, which was to take place at the Chicago World's Fair
World's Columbian Exposition
The World's Columbian Exposition was a World's Fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. Chicago bested New York City; Washington, D.C.; and St...
in 1893, was canceled. Clorindy; or, The Origin of the Cakewalk—a musical sketch comedy in collaboration with Paul Laurence Dunbar
Paul Laurence Dunbar
Paul Laurence Dunbar was a seminal African American poet of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Dunbar gained national recognition for his 1896 "Ode to Ethiopia", one poem in the collection Lyrics of Lowly Life....
— was the next piece he composed, 1898. It was the first all-black show
African American Musical Theater
-Early History:Before the late 1890s, the image portrayed of African-Americans on Broadway was a "secondhand vision of black life created by European-American performers." Stereotyped "coon songs" were popular, and blackface was common....
to play in a prestigious 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...
house, Casino Theatre's Roof Garden. After this period, he was composer-in-chief and musical director for the George Walker-Bert Williams Company. As he continued to write, he produced many successful musicals.
Best known for his songs, Cook used folk elements in an original and distinct manner. Many of these songs first appeared in his musicals. The songs were written for choral groups or for solo singers. Some were published in A Collection of Negro Songs (1912). Later in his career, Cook was an active choral and orchestral conductor. He produced several concerts and organized many choral societies in both New York and in Washington, D.C. The New York Syncopated Orchestra—he had created—toured the United States in 1918 and then went to England in 1919 for a command performance for King George V
George V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
. Among his company were assistant director Will Tyers, jazz clarinetist Sidney Bechet
Sidney Bechet
Sidney Bechet was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer.He was one of the first important soloists in jazz , and was perhaps the first notable jazz saxophonist...
, and Cook's wife, Abbie Mitchell.
One of his last shows was Swing Along (1929), written with Will Vodery
Will Vodery
Will Vodery was an African-American composer, conductor, orchestrator, and arranger, and one of the few black Americans of his time to make a name for himself as a composer on Broadway, working largely for Florenz Ziegfeld....
.
Notable works
- The Policy Players (1900)
- Uncle Eph's Christmas (1901), a BroadwayBroadway theatreBroadway 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...
musical - The Cannibal King (1901), with Will Accooe
- In DahomeyIn DahomeyIn Dahomey was a landmark American musical comedy, in that it was "the first full-length musical written and played by blacks to be performed at a major Broadway house." It featured music by Will Marion Cook, book by Jesse A. Shipp, and lyrics by Paul Laurence Dunbar...
(1903) - The Southerners (1904), a Broadway musical
- The Ghost Ship (1907)
- The Traitor (1913)
- In Darkeydom (1914), with James Reese EuropeJames Reese EuropeJames Reese Europe was an American ragtime and early jazz bandleader, arranger, and composer. He was the leading figure on the African American music scene of New York City in the 1910s.-Biography:...
- The Cannibal King (1914)
- Swing Along (1929), Will VoderyWill VoderyWill Vodery was an African-American composer, conductor, orchestrator, and arranger, and one of the few black Americans of his time to make a name for himself as a composer on Broadway, working largely for Florenz Ziegfeld....
- Rain Song: Exhoration—A Negro Sermon (1912)
See also
- African-American music
- African American musical theaterAfrican American Musical Theater-Early History:Before the late 1890s, the image portrayed of African-Americans on Broadway was a "secondhand vision of black life created by European-American performers." Stereotyped "coon songs" were popular, and blackface was common....
- Will Marion Cook HouseWill Marion Cook HouseThe Will Marion Cook House is where Will Marion Cook lived from 1918 to 1944. Called the "master of all masters of our people" by Duke Ellington, he was a leading black composer and musician. The house, located at 221 West 138th Street, Manhattan, New York City, is part of the area known as...
External links
- Biography of Will Marion Cook at the electronic Performing Arts Encyclopedia of the Library of CongressLibrary of CongressThe Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
(Cruel Papa!)