(January 24, 2009)
Started at First Baptist Church on the Square in LaGrange, Georgia (while in between students) on my forty-ninth birthday and
finished five days later at home. I
first performed it the Sunday after it was written as an offertory at Franklin
United Methodist Church, at the funeral service for Robert Johnson, and at a
meeting of an Atlanta piano club. In fact, this was the first piece I performed at a meeting of that club. This
one rapidly became a favorite, and is dedicated to George Mann, an Atlanta-area pianist who frequently played my Arietta in recitals.
The title is taken from a song by Claude Debussy. It was written as an example of the French Impressionistic style, and was influenced by the work of Maurice Ravel. His Sonatine is a favorite work of mine and has been "under my fingers" for years. Ravel had a particular fondness for the upper half of the keyboard, and often asks for the pianist to play with both hands in very close proximity, if not literally on top of each other. There are passages of that type in this piece.
Some of my listener-friends also are reminded of the Van Gogh painting "The Starry Night". I'll take that thought, but the piece really came about through what I imagined from the title. It certainly doesn't sound like the Debussy song. It has become one of my "favorite children", and one I love to play often myself.
It is one of the few of my pieces (thus far) to be recorded by an adult professional or amateur pianist other than myself. Utah attorney, patron of the arts, and gifted amateur pianist Chase Kimball recorded it for a privately-issued CD he made as a gift for friends, "Stolen Moments". Here is a blog post about that CD, from my other blog, "Under the Piano Stool", currently on hiatus.
The video below was made shortly after the piece was written, and I am in fact playing from an earlier version of the score. Although it sounds the same, I altered the meter from the first version to make the phrasing more apparent. The first version was originally in 2/2 time with quarter notes throughout - not really an inspiring view for the performer. I changed it to 4/4 with eighth notes.
It is one of the few of my pieces (thus far) to be recorded by an adult professional or amateur pianist other than myself. Utah attorney, patron of the arts, and gifted amateur pianist Chase Kimball recorded it for a privately-issued CD he made as a gift for friends, "Stolen Moments". Here is a blog post about that CD, from my other blog, "Under the Piano Stool", currently on hiatus.
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| There I am, between Leos Janacek and Harold Arlen. Wow. |
The video below was made shortly after the piece was written, and I am in fact playing from an earlier version of the score. Although it sounds the same, I altered the meter from the first version to make the phrasing more apparent. The first version was originally in 2/2 time with quarter notes throughout - not really an inspiring view for the performer. I changed it to 4/4 with eighth notes.
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