ETUDE
November 1939
volume LVII
number 11
page 750-751

William Foden

By George C. Krick

DURING THE PAST FEW YEARS the guitar world has been dazzled by the playing of Andres Segovia, Martinez Oyanguren, Sainz de la Maza and other Spanish virtuosos of the instrument. A great portion of the younger generation of players is unaware of the fact that we still have amongst us an American born guitarist and composer who ranks with the best of them, the great master William Foden.

Born in St. Louis, Missouri, March 23rd, 1860, young Foden, at the age of seven, began his musical studies on the violin, and at sixteen he organized his own orchestra, which became quite a favorite in his native city. Having by this time acquired a thorough knowledge of harmony and composition he used mostly his own arrangements of music of the higher type.

About this time he became acquainted with the guitar in the hands of one of his friends, and at once he felt that this was the instrument of his choice. Foden is practically self-taught, although he had some instruction from one Jeremiah McGrath and again with William O. Bateman, the latter being a highly cultured gentleman and a fervent lover of the guitar. The writer still has in his possession a volume of compositions and arrangements by Bateman containing also a unique treatise on harmony in connection with the guitar. Close application to and concentration on the best guitar literature by Ferdinand Sor, J. K. Mertz, Luigi Legnani, Zani di Ferranti and Mauro Giuliani resulted in rapid progress, and, while still a young man Foden was hailed as the foremost guitar virtuoso this country had produced. While at this time the instrument did not enjoy its present universal popularity the concerts and recitals in which Mr. Foden appeared astonished the critics and delighted his audiences. The concert given under the auspices of the American Guild, in Philadelphia in the spring of 1911, in which Foden appeared as guitar soloist, proved a turning point in his career. With Giuseppe Pettine, mandolinist, and Fred Bacon, banjoist, Foden formed a trio which toured the entire country with great success, and after the conclusion of this concert tour he settled in New York, where until a short while ago he has been active teaching and writing for guitar and the other fretted instruments.

Marvelous Technic

AS IT OFTEN HAPPENS in the lives of artists, there comes a time when they feel the urge to return to the place of their early triumphs, and William Foden recently returned to his native St. Louis, where he expects to continue his successful career. His numerous friends and pupils in the East wish him many years of successful activity.

The writer who, since his boyhood, has been intimately acquainted with Mr. Foden and, who, for a number of years, received instruction from him on mandolin and later on the guitar, recalls his first impression of the marvelous technic displayed by this artist on the guitar. Perfection is the only word to describe his rendition of the “Grande Sonata,” by Ferdinand Sor or an operatic “Fantasie” by J. K. Mertz. A right and left hand that seem to have been especially made for the guitar, enabling him to overcome the greatest difficulties with an ease and nonchalance, and these combined with instinctive musical insight and unfailing memory, have helped him to reach the top rung of the ladder to fame as virtuoso. His favorite classic composers have been Sor, Mertz, Legnani and Ferranti; and we have yet to meet a guitarist to surpass him in playing some of the difficult “Fantasies” of J. K. Mertz.

Foden’s early compositions and arrangements for guitar show somewhat the influence of Mertz; in them we find frequent use of arpeggio movements and florid cadenzas of which the Fantasie on themes from “Der Freischütz” and the Sextette from “Lucia” are good examples. Many original compositions for guitar came from the pen of this prolific writer and aside from the numerous small pieces for teaching purposes there are quite a few that should be included in the repertoire of every player. Ballerina Valse (solo or duet), Esperanza Mexican Dance, Grand Valse Caprice, Gavotte, Chevalier March and Minuet in F are of medium difficulty, quite melodious and thoroughly guitaristic. The most popular of Foden’s works are perhaps his transcriptions of the old songs, such as Alice, Where Art Thou?, Annie Laurie, Old Black Joe, My Old Kentucky Home, and others. The list of these comprises several dozen and they are of similar construction – Introduction, theme, a number of variations and finale. In these transcriptions Foden shows great inventive genius, and they require an accomplished technic for their performance. Julio Martinez Oyanguren has included some of these in his recent radio broadcasts and letters on their reception have been highly complimentary.

Foden was one of the first guitarists to include in his programs his own arrangements of some of the lighter classics which show his thorough musical knowledge and also his intimate acquaintance with all the resources of the instrument. Of these the Spring Song by Mendelssohn, The Minuet by Boccherini, Pizzicati from “Sylvia” by Delibes and the Serenade by Moszkowski, were published by the composer and have been for many years popular with guitarists.

In the Foden transcriptions we find that he makes frequent use of the right hand tremolo, reiterating the melody note with first, second and third finger in groups of thirty-second notes, the thumb playing the accompaniment simultaneously, and in the performance of this style of composition Foden even today has few equals.

A Valuable Work

HIS MOST IMPORTANT WORK for guitar is the “Foden Method” published in two volumes. These books of more than two hundred pages contain the most scholarly and complete treatise on the technic of the instrument, leading the student from the beginning, step by step, to the advanced art of guitar playing. Not since the advent of the celebrated “Method” of Carcassi, more than one hundred years ago, have we had such an exhaustive and thorough method; and it has been hailed with delight by all guitar teachers and students. Mr. Foden may be said to have the distinction of being also one of the American pioneers on the mandolin, on which he became quite proficient upon its introduction into this country in the latter part of the nineteenth century; and the Foden Mandolin Quintette, quite a novelty during those days of mandolin popularity, had for many years a very successful career.

Aside from his compositions and transcriptions for guitar, Mr. Foden has been contributing original music to the literature for mandolin, mandolin orchestra, tenor banjo and Hawaiian guitar, and his name is known throughout the fretted instrument world. During a recent conversation we had with this many sided artist he told us that he had completed a book on harmony in connection with the guitar, also there were more than one hundred transcriptions for guitar in manuscript, waiting for some enterprising publisher to put them in reach of guitarists. In spite of all the honors that have come to him during his long and industrious life as virtuoso and composer, Mr. Foden has at all times maintained a most unassuming and modest disposition.