The Quarter Note Tales (review)

Arthur Wenk, probably best known to the music community for his work on Debussy and for his indexes to the analytical literature, published in MLA's Index and Bibliography Series, has turned his attention to fiction, particularly the genre of mystery. The Quarter Note Tales, consisting of three novellas that progress chronologically, introduce us to protagonist Axel Crochet, a musicologist and organist. In his author's notes, Wenk suggests that Axel Crochet "represents a nod to Debussy's Monsieur Crochet [sic]."

The first two novellas are set in academia, while the third is set in a church. The root causes behind the crimes—plagiarism in the first two, and financial fraud in the third—could be considered unforgivable in their settings.

The first novella, "An Unfaltering Trust," finds Axel in his first year of a tenure-track appointment at Chihuahua State University, part of the California State University system. Chihuahua State's vision of itself, however, differed from that of a regional campus. "The 'Founding Fathers,' as they like to call themselves, had quite a different vision. Inspired by their own education at the University of Chicago and dissatisfied with the run-of-the-mill offerings at neighboring state colleges, they came to Chihuahua with the intention of creating the "Swarthmore of the West" (alternately, the "Dartmouth of the West," p. 2).

An English professor, Grant Jarman, has died as the result of what appears to be suicide, soon discovered to be murder. Jarman had been having an affair with a student, Deirdre O'Donahue, who goes to great length to keep Jarman's memory fresh in the minds of the campus. The editor of the student newspaper, Jerome Chowning, also aids in this effort.

As Axel finds himself involved in investigating the murder he enters into a relationship with Jarman's widow, Melissa. Throughout the novella, we find vignettes of department and college life. The chair of the three-member music department is a composer who talks of spending six months writing a quartet. We learn that the dean is insisting that the department appoint an official committee to nominate a new chair, even though they all agree that the current chair should continue. We read about Axel's near alienation of the choir when he insists on intense, two-hour rehearsals and that when he tries shorter rehearsals with less intensity, the group responds. We also hear pointed comments on the California Legislature's interference in campus funding, teaching loads, and enrollment.

As Axel comes closer to uncovering the murderer, we learn of professional jealousy and plagiarism. Axel's reputation, both on and off campus, has been tarnished by a series of anonymous notes, and he learns that his contract will not be renewed for the following year. Axel puts himself in physical danger to expose the murderer, and although his reputation has been cleared, decides to leave California and return to the Boston area, where he did his graduate work.

The second novella, "Murder in the Music Department," finds Axel in an east-coast music department, Brooks University. The department chair, Edgar Frost, has been murdered by being hit on the head with a bust of Brahms that he kept in his office, and the voice teacher, Viola Mordent, is accused of the crime. Mordent does not want to hire a detective to clear her, and the university president's wife and long-time friend of Mordent's, Maureen Chesterton, asks Axel to investigate for a week. Although Axel does not feel up to the task, "An untenured assistant professor would be crazy to claim that a murder investigation wasn't in his job description" (p. 117).

Lewis Mack, a member of the department and apparent intellectual lightweight, is appointed to chair the department ("Mack was well known in the city for his radio program, 'In Your Ear,' in which he perpetuated anecdotal misinformation about the composers whose works he played." [p. 118]). Again, the student newspaper has a role, in this...