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About
Born in Denison, Texas, on September 19th, 1925, Robert Owens grew up in Berkeley, California, and spent significant time around the piano as a child. His father was a businessman and his mother was a fine pianist who played at bars in the evenings. She began giving him lessons at age 4. His first piano teacher was his mother. By the age of 15, Owens had already composed a piano concerto and premiered the work with the Berkeley Young People’s Symphony Orchestra.
Owens served in the military and followed his service with studies and performances throughout Europe. Originally placed in Mississippi in a training camp for airmen, Owens would be transferred to Arkansas and, due to his qualifications in reading and typing, began working in the front office doing administration for a commanding officer whom he served until the end of the war. During this time, Owens managed to learn German from some German prisoners of war being held nearby. When the war concluded, Owens used the GI Bill to travel to France and attempt to study at the Paris Conservatoire. While he was ultimately unsuccessful, he did manage to find a teacher there who saw potential in him. Thus he began studying piano performance with Jules Gentil and pianist Alfred Cortot at the École de Musique where he would receive the Diplome de Perfection in piano. He made his concert debut in Copenhagen in 1952.
He returned to the United States in 1957 to accept a position at Albany State College in Georgia. This year also marks the beginning of his serious compositional output. During his time in Georgia, Owens began to really feel the effects of racial segregation in the American south for the first time. Before he even arrived, the school where he intended to teach was burned down. Owens even had to delay teaching music to his students because the education for Blacks was so poor that he deemed it more important to begin by teaching them basic English. After two years, with racial tensions climbing ever higher, Owens left Georgia.
Owens was introduced to Langston Hughes in 1958. Hughes gave Owens a copy of Fields of Wonder and invited him to “see what you can do with it.” Silver Rain was debuted by John Caldwell (chair of the music department at Albany State College) later that year and Owens would go on to devote himself to setting Hughes’ poetry to music, with more than 45 settings of Hughes in Owens’ oeuvre today. Although the two men did not have significant contact throughout the rest of their lives, their artistic connection was profound. Upon hearing his own words in Owens’ setting, Hughes said “My God, they just sound so much more beautiful with music.”
Owens moved to Germany in 1959 where he would live for the rest of his life. Many of his songs, especially his Langston Hughes settings, became popular among American singers there. He continued to compose and also developed a notable ability for acting in German theater.
–Christie Finn & Jonathan Taccolini
Sources:
– Liner Notes to Darryl Taylor’s recording “Fields of Wonder: Songs and Spirituals of Robert Owens” (Albany Records)
– Reimer, Jamie. “Fields of Wonder: Exploring the Langston Hughes Song Cycles of Robert Owens (an Introductory Analysis and Performance Guide): ‘Tearless’, Op. 9, ‘Silver Rain’, Op. 11, ‘Desire’, Op. 13, ‘Heart on the Wall’, Op. 14, ‘Border Line’, Op. 24, ‘Mortal Storm’, Op. 29.” University of Nebraska – Lincoln, 2008. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1012&context=musicstudent
– Rogers, Philip J. “Robert Owens Biography,” February 17, 2020. http://afrovoices.com/robert-owens-biography/.
Related Information
Songs
3 Lieder für Bariton und Klavier Op. 20
Song CollectionRobert Owens
3 Lieder für Mezzosopran mit Klavier, Op. 19
Song CollectionRobert Owens
Border Line, Op. 24
Song CollectionRobert Owens
Langston Hughes
Desire, Op. 13
Song CollectionRobert Owens
Langston Hughes
Die Nacht
Robert Owens
Song Collection: 3 Lieder für Mezzosopran mit Klavier, Op. 19
Faithful One
Robert Owens
Langston Hughes
Four Motivations for Baritone, op. 21
Song CollectionRobert Owens
Emily Dickinson
From the Dark Tower
Robert Owens
Countee Cullen
Song Collection: Three Countee Cullen Songs, Op. 27
Genius Child
Robert Owens
Langston Hughes
Heart on the Wall
Song CollectionRobert Owens
Langston Hughes
If We Must Die
Robert Owens
Claude McKay
Song Collection: 3 Songs, Op.41 (Song Cycle for Baritone and Piano)
Mortal Storm
Robert Owens
Langston Hughes
Three Countee Cullen Songs, Op. 27
Song CollectionRobert Owens
Countee Cullen
The Lynching
Robert Owens
Claude McKay
Song Collection: 3 Songs, Op.41 (Song Cycle for Baritone and Piano)
3 Songs, Op.41 (Song Cycle for Baritone and Piano)
Robert Owens
Claude McKay
To the White Fiends
Robert Owens
Claude McKay
Song Collection: 3 Songs, Op.41 (Song Cycle for Baritone and Piano)
Two Songs for Mezzo-Soprano and Cello
Song CollectionRobert Owens
Silver Rain, Op. 11
Song CollectionRobert Owens
Langston Hughes
Videos
Recordings
Rising
(Jasmine Barnes, Margaret Bonds, Jeremiah Evans, Shawn E. Okpebholo, Robert Owens, Brandon J Spencer and Damien Sneed)
2023
Fires of Justice
(David N. Baker, B. E. Boykin, Adolphus C. Hailstork, Andre Myers, Shawn E. Okpebholo, Robert Owens and Dave Ragland)
2022
View recording
"Singing Justice" Seminar Recital
(Margaret Bonds, Henry T. Burleigh, Maud Cuney Hare, Adolphus C. Hailstork, Lori Hicks, Hall Johnson, John Rosamond Johnson, Undine Smith Moore, Robert L. Morris, Robert Owens, Rosephanye Powell, Florence Price, Brandon J Spencer and Spiritual)
2022
View recording
Dreams of a New Day: Songs by Black Composers
(H. Leslie Adams, Margaret Bonds, Henry T. Burleigh, Thomas H. Kerr, Shawn E. Okpebholo, Robert Owens and Damien Sneed)
2021
The Reaction
(Marques L. A. Garrett, Jacqueline Hairston, Eugene Hancock, Lena J. McLin, Robert Owens, Carlos Simon, Howard Swanson and George Walker)
2018
Heart on the Wall
(Robert L. Morris, Nkeiru Okoye and Robert Owens)
2011
With a Song in My Heart
(H. Leslie Adams, Henry T. Burleigh, Margaret Bonds, Robert Owens and Cecil Cohen)
2008
Fields of Wonder: Songs of Robert Owens
(Robert Owens)
2006
Dreamer - A Portrait of Langston Hughes
(Margaret Bonds, William Grant Still, Kurt Weill, Henry T. Burleigh, Robert Owens, John Musto, Ricky Ian Gordon, Howard Swanson, Jean Berger, Erik Santos and Florence Price)
2001
African-American Composers of 20th Century
(Henry T. Burleigh, Robert Owens and William Grant Still)
2000
The Negro Speaks of Rivers
(H. Leslie Adams, Margaret Bonds, Charles Samuel Brown, Undine Smith Moore, Robert Owens, George Walker, Howard Swanson, Florence Price, Henry Clay Work and Cecil Cohen)
1998
Sheet Music
An Anthology of African and African Diaspora Songs - 60 Songs
Composer(s): H. Leslie Adams, David N. Baker, Margaret Bonds, Charles Brown, H. T. Burleigh, Valerie Capers, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Arthur Cunningham, Harriette Davison Watkins, William Dawson, Mark Fax, Bruce Forsythe, Antônio Carlos Gomes, Adolphus Hailstork, Jacqueline Hairston, Maud Cuney Hare, Jeraldine Herbison, Jonathan Holland, Sylvia Hollifield, Langston Hughes, J. Rosamond Johnson, Thomas Kerr, Lena McLin, Undine Smith Moore, Andre Myers, Camille Nickerson, Fred Onovwerosuoke, Eurydice Osterman, Robert Owens, Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson, Zenobia Powell Perry, Rosephanye Powell, Florence Price, Dave Ragland, Nadine Shanti, Carlos Simon, Hale Smith, Irene Britton Smith, Brandon Spencer, Hilbert Stewart, Howard Swanson, George Walker, Aurelia Young
Song(s): Amazing Grace (H. Leslie Adams)
Christmas Lullaby (H. Leslie Adams)
Sence You Went Away (H. Leslie Adams)
The Heart of a Woman (H. Leslie Adams)
The Alarm Clock (David N. Baker)
The Negro Speaks of Rivers (Margaret Bonds)
Caring (Charles Brown)
Desire (Charles Brown)
Your Eyes So Deep (H. T. Burleigh)
Your Lips Are Wine (H. T. Burleigh)
Autumn (Valerie Capers)
Elëanore (Samuel Coleridge-Taylor)
The Willow Song (Samuel Coleridge-Taylor)
Minakesh (Arthur Cunningham)
Stars (Harriette Davison Watkins)
Out in the Fields (William Dawson)
The Refused (Mark Fax)
With Rue My Heart Is Laden (Bruce Forsythe)
Suspiro d’alma (Antônio Carlos Gomes)
If I Can Stop One Heart from Breaking (Adolphus Hailstork)
Longing (Adolphus Hailstork)
Loveliest of Trees (Adolphus Hailstork)
Dormi, Jesu (Jacqueline Hairston)
Gardé Piti Mulet Là (Maud Cuney Hare)
I’ll Not Forget (Jeraldine Herbison)
Little Elegy (Jonathan Holland)
In Time of Silver Rain (Sylvia Hollifield)
The Founding Fathers (Langston Hughes)
This is My Land (Langston Hughes)
L’il Gal (J. Rosamond Johnson)
Soliloquy (Thomas Kerr)
Amazing Grace (Lena McLin)
The Year’s at the Spring (Lena McLin)
I Am in Doubt (Undine Smith Moore)
I Want to Die While You Love Me (Undine Smith Moore)
For a Poet (Andre Myers)
Chere, Mo Lemmé Toi (Camille Nickerson)
Gué, Gué, Solingaie (Camille Nickerson)
Mshila (Fred Onovwerosuoke)
Entreaty (I Am the Rose of Sharon) (Eurydice Osterman)
Could I but Ride Indefinite (Robert Owens)
Die Nacht (Robert Owens)
From the Dark Tower (Robert Owens)
The Lynching (Robert Owens)
The Secret (Robert Owens)
Madrigal (Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson)
O Children of Men (Zenobia Powell Perry)
I Want to Die While You Love Me (Rosephanye Powell)
Spring (Florence Price)
The Sum (Florence Price)
Martin Luther King, Jr. (Dave Ragland)
Mangez, Boulez (Eat, Drink, Be Merry) (Nadine Shanti)
Prayer (Carlos Simon)
Troubled Woman (Hale Smith)
Why Fades a Dream? (Irene Britton Smith)
Dream Variations (Brandon Spencer)
Spring Song (Hilbert Stewart)
One Day (Howard Swanson)
I Went to Heaven (George Walker)
Norris Swamp (Aurelia Young)
Voice Type: 36 Songs are for High Voice - Medium to High Voice
24 Songs are for Medium - Medium to Low Voice
Anthology of Art Songs by Black American Composers, Compiled by Willis C. Patterson
Composer(s): H. Leslie Adams, David Baker, Margaret Bonds, Charles Brown, Cecil Cohen, Noel de Costa, Mark Fax, Adolphus C. Hailstork, Eugene Hancock, Thomas Kerr, Jr., Charles Lloyd, Jr., Wendell Logan, Maurice McCall, Dorothy Rudd Moore, Undine Smith Moore, Robert Owens, Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson, Florence Price, Hale Smith, William Grant Still, Howard Swanson, George Walker, Olly Wilson, John Work, Jr.
Song(s): For You There is No Song (H. Leslie Adams)
Early in the Mornin' (David Baker)
A Good Assassination Should Be Quiet (David Baker)
Status Symbol (David Baker)
Three Dream Portraits: Minstrel Man; Dream Variations; I, Too (Margaret Bonds)
The Barrier (Charles Brown)
Song Without Words (Charles Brown)
Death of an Old Seaman (Cecil Cohen)
Two Songs for Julie Ju (Noel da Costa)
Cassandra's Lullaby (Mark Fax)
Love (Mark Fax)
A Charm at Parting (Adolphus C. Hailstork)
I Loved You (Adolphus C. Hailstork)
Absalom (Eugene Hancock)
Nunc Dimittis (Eugene Hancock)
Riding to Town (Thomas Kerr, Jr.)
Compensation (Charles Lloyd, Jr.)
If There Be Sorrow (Wendell Logan)
Marrow of My Bone (Wendell Logan)
Chanson Triste (Maurice McCall)
Sweet Sorrow (Maurice McCall)
Weary Blues (Dorothy Rudd Moore)
Love Let the Wind Cry...How I Adore Thee (Undine Moore)
Faithful One (Robert Owens)
Genius Child (Robert Owens)
A Child's Grace (Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson)
Melancholy (Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson)
Night (Florence Price)
Song to the Dark Virgin (Florence Price)
Velvet Shoes (Hale Smith)
Grief (William Grant Still)
A Death Song (Howard Swanson)
I Will Lie Down in Autumn (Howard Swanson)
The Negro Speaks of Rivers (Howard Swanson)
Lament (George Walker)
A Red, Red Rose (George Walker)
Wry Fragments (Olly Wilson)
Dancing in the Sun (John Work, Jr.)
Soliloquy (John Work, Jr.)
Three Countee Cullen Songs, Op. 27
Composer(s): Robert Owens
Voice Type: High
Buy via Classical Vocal ReprintsTwo Songs for Mezzo-Soprano and Cello
Composer(s): Robert Owens
Song(s): 1. I am Part of the Load 2. Drum sound rises on the air
Voice Type: Mezzo-Soprano
Buy via Classical Vocal Reprints3 Lieder für Mezzosopran mit Klavier Op. 19
Composer(s): Robert Owens
Voice Type: Mezzo-Soprano
Buy via Classical Vocal Reprints3 Lieder für Bariton und Klavier Op. 20
Composer(s): Robert Owens
Voice Type: Baritone
Buy via Classical Vocal ReprintsMortal Storm for Baritone and Piano Op.29
Composer(s): Robert Owens
Voice Type: Baritone
Buy via Classical Vocal Reprints3 songs for Baritone and Piano, Op. 41
Composer(s): Robert Owens
Song(s): The Lynching, If We Must Die, To the White Fiends
Voice Type: Baritone
Buy via Classical Vocal Reprints