Arthur William Foote (March 5, 1853 - April 8, 1937) was an organist, pianist, and composer born in Salem, Massachusetts. Foote was part of the Second New England School, more commonly known as the Boston Six, along with Amy Beach, George Whitefield Chadwick, Edward MacDowell, John Knowles Paine, and Horatio Parker. Foote, unlike the others in the Boston Six, was trained entirely in America, and his main teacher was Paine. As a composer, Foote was an admirer of and advocate for Johannes Brahms and Richard Wager, and often his own compositions have musical tendencies sounding towards European Romantic work. His chamber works are largely regarded as some of his best composition, and included several works for violin and piano, including the piece we are looking at today, Melody. Composed in 1899 and published in 1900, this work is very simply, a song, only without words. The piano part is like a mixture of hymn accompaniment and a straightforward Romantic work, supporting the highly lyrical violin part. It would do well as a shorter piece on a recital, and even as an encore.

Here are some recordings of this work for you to enjoy!

Arden Trio
Kevin Lawrence