By 1961, the Soviet Union had sent the first satellite, first dog (RIP Laika), and first human into space.As the United States raced to catch up in the space race, the country seemed poised for a great, big, beautiful tomorrow, filled with space-age optimism, technological wonders, and the civic will to build a foundation for “THE FUTURE!”
In upstate New York, that future depended largely on the brand new Robert Moses Niagara hydroelectric plant. The Moses power plant was built to replace the rock-slide-damaged Schoellkopf Power Station, which had been in operation below Niagara Falls since 1853. And to help usher in the future of power in Upstate New York, the New York Power Authority commissioned a man known for highlighting the natural beauty of America, composer Ferde Grofé.
Grofé, now near 70, had spent most of his career chronicling America’s beauty and history through music, and this wasn't his first work-for-hire gig. The result? A four-movement suite tracing the natural wonder and power of Niagara Falls.
The first movement, “Thunder of the Waters,” drops the listener right into the drama of the roiling waters of the falls, with rolling timpani and crashing cymbals evoking the experience of witnessing Niagara up close. Here, too, Grofé leans on the exoticism seen quite often in his music as he acknowledges the history and importance of Niagara Falls to Native America.
The suite takes a darker turn from the grandeur of its opening in the next movement, “Devil’s Hole Massacre,” which depicts a 1763 attack on a British wagon train by Seneca warriors during Pontiac’s Rebellion.
By the time Grofé was writing the Niagara falls suite, the area had been a honeymoon destination for nearly a century. That reputation flavors the third movement of the suite, “Honeymooners,” complete with wedding bells.
We return to the power of water in the final movement, “Power of Niagara,” but this time that power is captured, controlled, and propelled forward in Grofé’s hands to showcase the strength of hydroelectric power, and, I suppose, the might of the newly built Robert Moses plant.
If his Grand Canyon Suite was a response to the nostalgia of America’s lost frontier, Grofé’s Niagara Suite was a celebration steeped in a culture of futurism. That his music can paint so beautifully such varied points of America’s transition through the first half of the 20th century speaks volumes, not just about his musical talent, but his feelings about what really makes America grand. From the natural beauty of a Grand Canyon sunrise, to the civic pride of harnessing the mighty Niagara, one element ties his music together: Grofé’s sense of awe.
