Retired Southwestern music professor donates library, musical documents
Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary accepted a gift from former, long-time professor Claude Bass as he donated his extensive library of books and musical works to the Bowld Music Library in Cowden Hall.
Bass said music librarian Fang Lan Hsieh had come to his home to look at his library of books but showed interest in his filing cabinets filled with scores, sketches, and published and unpublished works he had composed over the years. As he approaches his 90th birthday, Bass said it was a relief to find a home for his works where they could be archived and maybe provide inspiration to students.
“It’s special to me because it’s a place that I have loved,” Bass said. “And to know that they’re in a safe place. … That’s really a blessing for me, too.”
Joe Crider, dean of the School of Church Music and Worship, expressed his gratitude to Bass for the donation of his works, but especially for the influence he had on the school and its students during his years at Southwestern.
“We all feel like we stand on shoulders of people like you, and we’re very, very grateful for that,” Crider told Bass. “So, thank you for all that you’ve done and all that you continue to do. And to have your works collected here and to be used here and to be archived here is a very special thing for us.”
Bass was born in Gainesville, Texas, in 1935, attending Oklahoma Baptist University (OBU) and the University of Oklahoma for undergraduate and master’s degrees and receiving his PhD in Music Theory from the University of North Texas in 1972. He spent time teaching in Kansas and Texas before returning to teach at OBU, his alma mater and what he believed was his dream position.
“I’ve always loved teaching, I felt it was my calling,” Bass said, adding that although he occasionally served in church music ministries, he never felt called to that area of service.
But Bass said he began to have a desire to teach a greater range of students, especially more advanced ones in doctoral programs. James McKinney, the dean of the music school at Southwestern at that time, personally invited Bass to come teach at Southwestern.
“I was just going back and forth,” Bass said of that time of indecision. “‘Lord, I’ve come to the place where I thought was my dream job, and now You’re putting in front of me this other opportunity.’”
But another invitation from a friend of his who was a professor at Southwestern confirmed it for Bass, his wife, and three young children, and he joined the Southwestern faculty in 1977 as chairman of music theory and composition.
Bass said he enjoyed spending time with the students even outside the classroom setting and said the faculty at the time had a strong bond and a light-hearted culture that he often did not find at other institutions.
“Dr. Bass is a legendary figure who has trained numerous composers and church musicians at Southwestern,” Hsieh said. “We are honored to preserve his manuscripts and published scores in the Bowld Music Library. Students, composers and musicologists interested in studying his works and understanding his creative process will now have access to invaluable firsthand materials.”
The Bowld Music Library also received for display some of the manuscripts and published scores of one of Bass’s students, Donna Butler Douglas, who completed her Master of Music degree at Southwestern and is now nationally recognized for her choral music compositions, including the official college hymn for William Jewell College and the centennial anniversary anthem for Oklahoma Baptist University.
Bass retired in 2001 after 24 years of teaching at Southwestern but remained active in the arts of singing and composing, saying he just recently completed an arrangement for friends who play piano and trumpet.
Bass said he hopes seeing his own works will give current and future students an example of the hard work and decision-making that goes into composing music, and maybe serve as an inspiration.
“Maybe they’ll be inspired to themselves write something,” Bass said.
The Bowld Music Library now houses 536 of Bass’s manuscripts, 77 published works, and a significant collection of choral music and related sound recordings. The display features such songs such as “Jesus, Thou Joy of Loving Hearts,” “God’s Command to Joshua,” and “Word of God, Across the Ages,” which was written for the dedication of the Roberts Library in 1982.
The synopsis, score, and recording of his opera The Promises and his volume Five Practical Lessons in Music Reading are also displayed in the music library.
“Preserving the manuscripts of church music composers like Dr. Bass and Donna helps maintain and celebrate our Baptist musical heritage and identity for generations to come,” Hsieh said.
Bass and his wife Charlene have been married for 64 years and have three children, two grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. They continue to live in the Fort Worth area.
