Although he never really carried through with this novel and ambitious, yet also curiously parochial, plan, it nonetheless reveals much of his attitude toward and dissatisfaction with the existing musical literature and aesthetics and points the way toward some of the fundamentals of his mature style and technique.
By the end of his residence abroad, Harris had completed one symphony, American Portrait 1929, had evidently planned a second, and was working on a quartet when he suffered a fall on the steps of his dwelling, sustaining a serious back injury. Following a period of hospitalization in Paris, he was sent home to the United States, accompanied at least by Irene (she and the mother having come over following the accident). At Mercy Hospital in New York he underwent the Albi operation, which involved a spinal graft. Immobilized during his recuperation, Harris learned to compose away from the piano, an accomplishment that he acknowledged as a watershed in his development, for it required him to refine his concepts of melody, harmony, and texture.
Following his convalescence, the composer returned to California, apparently living for a time in the Elysian Park area (some sources give Baldwin Park), where Hilda joined him, the couple later moving to nearby Glendora. In deference to Elmer, who evidently entertained thoughts of his son's becoming a professional pianist, Harris worked for a time as a salesman for the local Steinway company. This proved unsuccessful, however, and he returned to the academic fold for a brief period (1930/31) by means of a teaching position at Mills College (then a girls school) in Oakland. During this period he also obtained, through Farwell, a Creative Fellowship of the Pasadena Music and Arts Association, which he held for 1931/32. The Fellowship imposed no specific obligations, but he made good use of it by writing some orchestral and chamber works, lecturing, and engaging in a period of intensive research in the field of early music at the Library of Congress.
