An Inventory of His Collection at the Harry Ransom Center
Creator:
Griffis, Elliot, 1893-1967
Title:
Elliot Griffis Collection
Dates:
1913-1968
Extent:
3 document boxes, 1 oversize box (osb) (2.26 linear feet)
Abstract:
This collection of John Elliot Griffis, an
American composer, pianist, and teacher, contains manuscript and out-of-print scores,
articles, programs, photographs, catalogs, and correspondence.
Call Number:
Manuscript Collection MS-4995
Language:
English.
Access:
Open for research. Part or all of this collection is housed off-site and may require
up to
three business days notice for access in the Ransom Center’s Reading and Viewing Room.
Please contact the Center before requesting this material: reference@hrc.utexas.edu
The American composer, pianist, and teacher John Elliot Griffis was born in Boston,
Massachusetts on January 28, 1893. His father, William Elliot Griffis, came from a
family of
ship captains and coal merchants and is remembered for his books on the Far East and
U. S.
History. His mother, Katherine L. Stanton, hailed from a family comprised of ministers
and
college professors. Griffis grew up attending public school in Ithaca, New York but
also
attended the Manlius School before spending the years from 1909-1913 in study at Ithaca
College. During childhood, Griffis studied piano with various teachers.
Griffis' compositional skills opened doors for further opportunity to him, including
studies with Horatio Parker at Yale from 1913-1915 and Mason, Redman, Pattison, and
Chadwick
at New England Conservatory from 1917-1918. A period of service in the U.S. Army interrupted
Griffis' composing beginning in 1919. Other major scholarships won by Griffis included
a
scholarship to Juilliard in 1922 and a Pulitzer Traveling Fellowship in 1931.
Throughout his teaching career, he was an active composer and recitalist, often premiering
his own works with other performers. In the 1920s, he taught at Grinnell College,
Iowa and
the Brooklyn Settlement School, and from 1935-1936 he served the Head of the Theory
Department at the St. Louis School of Music. In 1937, he was awarded a doctorate from
the
New York College of Music. After serving as the director of the Westchester Conservatory
of
Music in White Plains, New York in 1942-1943, Griffis settled down in Los Angeles.
The bulk of Griffis' output is works for piano and songs or song cycles, although
he has
also written a number of chamber and orchestral works. He is also known for his 1963
opera
The Port of Pleasure. Although Griffis was knowledgeable in modern
music, he preferred to write in a clear tonal style based on a long time study of
counterpoint and was inspired by the Romantic Period.
Griffis died June 8, 1967 in Los Angeles.
Sources
Griffis, Elliot. Letter to Harold L. Butler, 13 June, 1943.
Renton, Barbara A. "Griffis, Elliot" Grove Music Online, http://www.grovemusic.com (Accessed 6 May,
2004).
Scope and Contents
The collection of American composer Elliot Griffis contains annotated copies of manuscript
scores, out-of-print scores, articles, programs, photographs, catalogs, and correspondence
dating from 1913-1968. The papers are arranged in three series: I. Works, 1920-1964,
II.
Professional Activities, 1913-1967, and III. Other Papers, 1915-1968. The papers,
excluding
the scores which are arranged alphabetically, have been integrated by date in order
to give
a clearer picture of Griffis' work as a composer, performer, and teacher.
The works in the first series are organized into two subseries: Musical Compositions
and
Other Writings. The musical compositions in Subseries A. are arranged in alphabetical
order
and include both printed music and copies of manuscript scores. The copies of the
manuscript
scores contain autograph corrections either in the hand of Griffis or his niece, Katherine
M. Johnson, and are clearly labeled. Subseries B. contains published articles by Griffis
primarily on performance techniques as well as a large amount of draft notes for articles
on
time spent at MacDowell Colony.
The second series, Professional Activities, is also organized into two subseries:
Chronological Files and Publicity Materials. Subseries A. traces Griffis' career as
a
composer, performer, and faculty member through newspaper, magazine and journal articles,
programs, flyers, studio announcements, and other school-related documents. As one
follows
his career by date through the files, more and more programs are sent to him, indicating
the
spread of others performing his music. Subseries B. contains a publicity packet, catalogs
from sheet music and record companies, and works lists. The works lists encompass
Griffis'
own works, ASCAP works, and a partial list compiled by Katherine M. Johnson detailing
Griffis' handwritten scores housed in UCLA Library of Special Collections.
The third series is comprised of other papers. These include a large number of photographs,
passports, draft papers, memberships in musical organizations, sheet music given to
him as
gifts, and a small amount of correspondence. Of note are photographs of portraits
made by
Dayrell Korthener and Russell Iredell. Notes have been made throughout the collection
and
initialed by Griffis' niece, Katherine M. Johnson.
