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Collection Martha Graham at the Library of Congress

F

From "Figure of a Saint" to "From Heloise to Abelard" (10 works)

Figure of a Saint
1929

Graham performed Figure of a Saint to music by George Frederick Handel on January 24, 1929, in a solo recital at the Bennett School, Millbrook, New York, that also included Maid with the Flaxen Hair and La Canción.

Five Poems
1926

Performed to music by Alexander Scriabin, Five Poems was divided into five sections: Fragilité, Lugubre, Poeme ailé, Danse Languide, and Désir (first performed in 1926). Each of the five sections appears in various programs as individual solos. The work premiered on October 16, 1927, at New York's Little Theatre.

Flammes Sombres
1927

Performed to music by Alexander Scriabin, Flammes Sombres premiered on February 27, 1927, at New York's Guild Theatre. The solo work was performed by Martha Graham The work is listed as "new" on the February 27, 1927, program; however, Graham had previously used Scriabin's music and it is possible that this was a reworked choreography. A March 5, 1927, commentary on the costumes in Musical America noted that Graham's costumes "were for the most part bizarre in the extreme, but then as is fitting in such a program Miss Graham chose to portray the fantastic rather than the commonplace."

The Flute of Krishna
1926

Performed to music by Cyril Scott, with sets and costumes by Norman Edwards, the cast included Thelma Biracree, Constance Finkel, Betty Macdonald (Three Dancing Girls), Robert Ross (Krishna), and Evelyn Sabin (Rhada). Susanne Vivanti also was identified as a performer in a February 1926 review. The Flute of Krishna was performed at the Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester on May 9, 1926.

Martha Graham provided the choreography for students from the Eastman School of Music for this color film that was made by Eastman Kodak and directed by Rouben Mamoulian. At the time, Mamoulian was associated with the Eastman School of Drama; he later became a noted Hollywood film director.

In an interview with Lydia Barton for Stage & Screen (February 1926), Graham talked about her vision for the film. "[The groupings, and the sense of movement, are being done with the knowledge that the camera is before us. I am relying upon this to carry over the thing I want to say, and there must be no sudden movement of any kind--nothing remotely resembling ballet, because it is a story, first of all, and as all life is danced and because all life is rhythm, it is so shown."

Formal dance
1935

Performed to music by David Diamond, Formal Dance premiered on November 10, 1935, at New York's Guild Theatre. The work was later called Praeludium No. 2. The solo work was danced by Martha Graham. The New York Times (November 11, 1935) noted of the premiere, "It builds on clearly defined choreographic themes, and, though a substantial composition, is fairly transparent at first seeing." Billboard (November 30, 1935) noted that the work "was recostumed, and emerged with values of abstract symmetry that went unnoticed at the previous performance."

Four Casual Developments
1934

Performed to music by Henry Cowell, Four Casual Developments premiered on February 18, 1934, at New York's Guild Theatre. The cast included Dorothy Bird, Sophie Maslow, and Anna Sokolow. The New York Times (March 5, 1937) wrote that the work was a "sly little trio… This diminutive suite is living proof of how far we have come as a dance audience in recent seasons for when it was first presented not so many years ago, anyone who had the temerity to laugh at its gentle foolishness ran the risk of being hushed by indignant neighbors. Last night the entire house joined in a steady round of laughter, and few if any points were missed."

Fragments
1928

Performed to music by Louis Horst, the two sections of Fragments were titled "Tragedy" and "Comedy." The work premiered on April 22, 1928, at New York's Little Theatre. The solo work was performed by Martha Graham.The New York Times (April 23, 1928) commented, "The 'Tragedy' and 'Comedy' group is extraordinarily well built and requires a virtuosity of execution which Miss Graham met with ease. Dance Magazine (July 1928) noted, "her tragedy and comedy were like joy eclipsing the [C]alvary of life."

Frenetic Rhythms
1933

Danced to music by Wallingford Riegger, Frenetic Rhythms premiered on November 19, 1933, at New York's Guild Theatre. The work also was called Frenetic Rhythms: Three Dances of Possession; Frenetic Rhythms No. 3, and Frenetic Rhythm (Number 3). The solo work was danced by Martha Graham. Dance Observer (February 1936) noted that by 1936, three years after its premier, the work was "no longer startling in its space concept," but added that the dance "continues to hold its enormous popularity with audiences."

From a XII Century Tapestry
1926

Performed to music by Serge Rachmaninoff, with costumes by Erle Franke, From a XII Century Tapestry premiered on April 18, 1926, at New York's 48th Street Theater, Graham's first independent concert. The solo was performed by Graham. Retitled A Florentine Madonna in May 1926, the work was also known as Part 1 of Renaissance and as Madonna in 1927. The Democrat (Rochester, NY) noted on May 29, 1926, that the work showed, "the dignity of spiritual feeling, of sacred symbolic meaning…in its way, the most remarkable thing on the program because it is so different from one's idea of what dancing can be made to express."

From Heloise to Abelard
1926

Performed to music based on old French airs, From Heloise to Abelard, premiered on November 28, 1926, at New York's Klaw Theatre. The solo dance was performed by Martha Graham.