JOHN BRAY: THE INDIAN PRINCESS

John Bray was born in England and would later move to America. He was strongly influenced by the English ballad opera as well as other conventions of his time. His The Indian Princess (1808) is perhaps better known in the field of drama than that of music because of its classification as an “operatic melo-drame.” The musical parts are rather simple in many ways, which adds to the charm of the light-hearted work. A performance of about thirty minutes recorded to CD by the Federal Music Society Opera Company under conductor John Baldon allows the modern listener to hear what may have been the first Indian play by an American and perhaps the first surviving play about Pocahontas’ romance. Other American themes such as a focus on the common man saturate the opera.

The work begins with a cheery overture (in C minor) that does not seem to modulate at all. Little bursts of flute are reminiscent of birds chirping in a Virginia forest, which emphasizes from the beginning of the opera that the subject is not like the typical European aristocracy. While one might have expected an early American work such as this to be in some type of folk style (accompanying the movement to please the common audience rather than the aristocracy), the overture seems very much like a standard classical overture. It is evenly balanced by forte and piano sections and also boasts beautifully arpeggiating strings, features not likely to be offensive to any common listener and familiar in pieces of the Classical Era.

In addition, The Indian Princess was clearly influenced by the ballad opera of the English. Bray had lived in England for twenty-three years before immigrating to America and would have been exposed to the ballad opera, which developed in England in 1728. “Och! Hubbaboo!,” one of the first arias, displays spoken text in the midst of sung text, a trait characteristic of the ballad opera. Despite the European influence, the casual language present in this aria emphasizes the language of the common man. In addition, there is a good deal of unity between songs and acts of the play, as a theme or two was snatched from one place and reinserted for the audience’s recognition later in the action, much like the recapitulation in the developing symphony would work.

Luckily, later pieces of the work become a bit more interesting than this standard overture and typical ballad style singing. Syncopations and mis-accented words create a provoking rhythmic feel to many of the songs. For example, “Without a Penny of Money” features ungainly accents on two syllable words such as “country” and “money.” These syncopations are particularly interesting when one considers the major role it will play in American music over a hundred years later in the music of composers like George Gershwin, who experimented with rhythm in many of his works. Additionally, this song stresses that theme of the common man, as the subject concerns living in poverty.

Another area of this opera that seems to focus on the common person is the fact that none of the main characters are historical characters that an audience would recognize. This might be one of the effects of the humanist movement, as the actions of even the most common people are empowered. Alice, Larry, Walter, Robin, and Katy form the main singing groups for the play. These are all common names, and they sing about ordinary events more often than the actions of Captain Smith and John Rolfe. For example, the “Dialogue Quartetto” focuses upon Robin’s attempt to steal a kiss (and “bliss”) from a married woman. In fact, love stories play a key roll in The Indian Princess, since by the final curtain there are five pairs of happy couples in the cast, reminiscent of opera buffa, which may have also influenced Bray’s writing. Captain Smith, John Rolfe, and Powhaten (the closest characters to aristocracy in the opera) never play a singing roll. In fact, even Pocahontas, the title character only has one aria, which is oddly sung in a very standard operatic style, despite the fact that she is the princess of the Indians.

Bray seemed to have focused intently on making music programmatic and took that standard a step further by publishing his complete instrumental backgrounds, which was uncommon in the period (Grove Music Online S.v. “John Bray”). From the very beginning, the audience gets an idea of the flutes representing some birds twittering about C minor melody line. Although Captain Smith never sings an aria, one is sung about him that seems to be orchestrated so as to emphasize his position and power. A good deal more timpani and trumpet is used in “Captain Smith” than in any other song, highlighting his militaristic association.

With the amount of attention that Bray gave to programmatic music, the Indian sequences are strangely lacking in exoticism. Sequences in which the Indian characters take part are no more rhythmically or melodically complex than anything in the opera. One could interpret this as putting the white and Indian characters on the same ground since a key aspect of the Romantic Movement that is developing at the time is that of the “noble savage.” This development makes it acceptable for the audience to ascribe white qualities to Native Americans, as is evident in writing and art of the period. Native Americans of the period were particularly likely to have these qualities ascribed to them since they readily learned white musical traditions when exposed, though they continued to maintain their own style separate from the white influence (Grove Music Online S.v. “Amerindian music”).

Another instance of emphasizing the nobility of Pocahontas is seen in the incidental music to Act I. In a very short section called “She Supplicated the King for his Pardon,” Bray wrote a particularly plaintive oboe duo. This section is slow, and the oboes play with unison rhythm, rising and falling. The act of Pocahontas saving Captain Smith is characteristic of the “noble savage” theme without the music, but this short (maybe a minute long) excerpt underscores the idea to a degree that is not evident in any of the other songs or orchestral sections.

In sum, The Indian Princess was a pleasant (and brief) opera that was engaging and funny. Its history as the first surviving play about Pocahontas seems to give it good reason to be in the Canon, but the music itself is not as exciting as other operas. This is probably why it does appear in the dramatic canon but not in the musical one. That said, the action of the play would not be nearly so compelling without the programmatic music that Bray wrote. It is fascinating to hear the story of Pocahontas told with her not carrying a lead singing roll. The focus on the common man is striking, as is the role of the “noble savage.” While the music for the opera sounds distinctly Classical, the beginnings of Romantic Style ideas such as this that are included make it a interesting turn of the century piece that is worth a listen.