Composers
Mark Fax
1911 - 1974About
Mark Fax (1911- 1974) studied music as a child, and was influenced by his high school teacher, W. Llewellyn Wilson. He received his bachelors of music from Syracuse University, and studied at the Eastman School of Music (M. Mus., 1945) and at New York University. Among his best-known works are Three Piano Pieces and Toccatina, and the opera A Christmas Miracle and Till Victory is Won. He taught at Paine College, Augusta, Georgia, from 1934-42, where he organized the first curriculum in music, and at Howard University in Washington, D.C., from 1947-73, where he served as Director of the School of the School of Music from 1972 until his death. During his career as a composer, Fax won the Julius Rosenwald Fellowship.
Related Information
Brass Music of Black Composers: A Bibliography, http://bmrcsurvey.uchicago.edu/collections/2571-1
Works by Mark Fax
| Title | Collection | Voice Type | Range | Poet |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Advice to a Child | Five Black Songs | Voice | E4 - G5 | Jo Ann Harris |
| All People of the Earth | Three Tenor Songs for the Worship Service | Tenor | C4 - D5 | ? |
| Cassandra's Lullaby from A Christmas Miracle | Voice | D4 - A5 | Owen Dodson | |
| Dear Master In Whose Life | Three Tenor Songs for the Worship Service | Tenor | F4 - G5 | John Hunter |
| Deep River | Soprano | C#4 - G#5 | Biblical | |
| Dreams | Voice | Eb4 - E5 | Mary Leo | |
| Great Day! | Soprano | Eb4 - Eb5 | Biblical | |
| If He Only Walked in Gardens | Voice | D4 - G5 | Grace O'Dethed | |
| Impulse | Soprano | D4 - G5 | Mary Leo | |
| Inspiration | Tenor | C#4-F#5 | ? | |
| Longing | Voice | B3 - E5 | Matthew Arnold | |
| Love | Five Black Songs | Voice | D4 - F5 | Jo Ann Harris |
| May Day Song | Voice | E4 - G5 | ? | |
| Night Truths | Soprano | C4 - Gb5 | Mary Leo | |
| Only Dreams | Five Black Songs | Voice | E4 - F5 | Jo Ann Harris |
| Rain Song | Voice | E4 - A5 | Bessie Mayle | |
| Rondel | Tenor | D#2 - G4 | Frank Yerby | |
| Selfishness | Five Black Songs | Voice | C4 - Eb4 | Jo Ann Harris |
| Sunset | Voice | D4 - G#5 | J. Reddie | |
| The Refused | Five Black Songs | Voice | E4 - F#5 | Jo Ann Harris |
| Wedding Song, Entreat Me Not To Leave Thee | Soprano | C#4 - A5 | Biblical |
| Composer | Title | Work | Instrumentation | Level | Number of Movements | Accompanied | Size | Duration Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mark Fax | Chorale Prelude on St. Anne | Organ | 1 | No | Solo | |||
| Mark Fax | Chorale Prelude on Wer nur den lieben Gott lässt walten | Organ | 1 | No | Solo | |||
| Mark Fax | Prelude in E Minor | Organ | 1 | No | Solo | |||
| Mark Fax | Prelude on St. Martin's | Organ | 1 | No | Solo | |||
| Mark Fax | The Quiet Church | Organ | 1 | No | Solo | |||
| Mark Fax | Toccata | Organ | 1 | No | Solo | |||
| Mark Fax | Trio for Piano, Violin, and Violincello | Piano, Violin, Cello | 1 | No | Trio |