John Foulds

UNDER CONSTRUCTION
UNDER CONSTRUCTION

John Foulds

John Foulds (1880-1939) was an English composer and Theosophist.

James Cousins described him as "John Foulds of England who has raised the requiem from the grave and made it once more the voice of praise for those who found the dying way to life.'"

Musician career

Foulds wrote music for the play Fires Divine by Rosaline Rossomer, presented on September 15-18, 1925, at the Scala Theatre in London.

He also taught "Musical Composition" at the School of the Mysteries in London: "Mode, Counterpoint, Harmony, Instrumentation, &c., in the light of the mystery tradition."

Involvement with Theosophy

Theosophical historian and composer Kurt Leland wrote of Foulds:

A lesser known British composer of Theosophical bent is John Herbert Foulds (1880-1939). Long fascinated by Theosophy's "light from the East," Foulds met Theosophist and fellow musician Maud MacCarthy in 1915. She had been a traveling companion of Annie Besant in India and was one of the first Western authorities on Indian classical music. Under MacCarthy's influence, Foulds experimented with developing musical clairaudience through fasting, meditation, and trance states. He hoped to take dictation from the musical devas Cyril Scott had written about.

Together, Foulds and MacCarthy collaborated on the magnificent World Requiem, first performed in 1923. The piece was intended to honor those who died in the First World War. The text was drawn from Latin and English masses for the dead, Psalms, Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, and even the poetry of Kabir, a Sufi mystic. One section brought together the Eastern Om (Aum) and the Western Amen—a musical first.

For many years, Foulds planned to compose an opera called Avatara, based on the life of Sri Krishna, an incarnation (avatar) of the Indian god Vishnu. He only completed three orchestral preludes, one for each act of the opera. These preludes are now performed under the title Three Mantras.

Foulds was fascinated with the concept in Indian music that certain musical scales called ragas could create heightened states of consciousness. Sanskrit phrases recited outwardly or inwardly as mantras ("words of power") during meditation have a similar effect—as in kirtan singing.

In Three Mantras, Foulds combined these ideas, using Indian scales and short repeated melodic fragments to create potent musical pictures of three states of consciousness. The first movement, "Mantra of Activity," depicts the state of consciousness Theosophists call manas (mind). The second movement, "Mantra of Bliss," depicts the state called buddhi, and the third, "Mantra of the Will," the state called atma (spirit).

The second movement, with its wordless chorus, is especially effective as a musical depiction of buddhi. It resembles the mysterious "Neptune" movement from The Planets by Gustav Holst (1874-1934). The third, representing atma, surprises with its apocalyptic fury, reminding us that one function of the godhead is unmaking the old to bring in the new.

Writings

• Gandharva Music. Sheet music. London: Theosophical Publishing House, 1928.

Additional resources

Articles

The Union Index of Theosophical Periodicals lists three articles by or about Foulds.

Video

• Dynamic Triptych Piano Concerto. Performed by Peter Donohoe with City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sakari Oramo. Posted on YouTube on May 21, 2023 by Sergio Cánovas.
• Cello Concerto in G major, Op. 17. Performed by Raphael Wallfisch with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra conducted by Martin Yates. Posted on YouTube on April 30, 2023 by André Cupone Gatti.
• A World Requiem. Performed by Crouch End Festival Choir, Philharmonia Chorus, BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Chorus, and Trinity Boys Choir conducted by Leon Botstein. Posted on YouTube on June 1, 2019 by Sergio Cánovas.
• April - England. Performed by the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Sir Neville Marriner conducting. Posted on YouTube on Feb 5, 2021 by AntPDC.
• A Keltic Lament for Cello and Piano, Op. 29, No. 2. Performed by Christine Thomas Tsen-cello, Keane Southard-piano. Posted on YouTube on May 31, 2020 by Keane Southard.