Solo Piano Works by 20th Century Women Composers

Paula Ennis-Dwyer - Solo Piano Works by 20th Century Women Composers

Of Shadows Numberless (1966) composed by Miriam Gideon

Each movement is headed by a line from Keats' "Ode to a Nightingale" which reflects the awakening of a young person to the joys of nature. The opening section becomes a kind of ritornelle which is heard three times - as a beginning, as a contrasting episode between two lively movements, and as the closing epilogue. Quotations from the poem which head each movement suggest its character.

Allegretto: ..."magic casements opening on seas of perilous foam"
Animato: ..."the blushful Hippocrene"
Ritornelle: ..."magic casements opening"
Presto: ..."the murmurous haunt of flies on summer eves"
Tranquillamente: ..."white hawthorne and the pastoral eglantine"
Moderato: ..."Adieu! thy plaintive anthem fades past the near meadows"

Second Sonata for Piano (1983) composed by Nancy Van De Vate

The Second Sonata for Piano employs a traditional fast-slow-fast format. The first movement is motoric, percussive, and predominantly rhythmic. The second movement is partly lyric and elegiac, and partly appassionato, using the extreme outer registers of the piano and very rich sonorities. The third movement is driving and toccata-like in character. Although the Sonata uses some special effects inside the piano (glissandi on the strings and damping the strings with one hand while playing on the keyboard with the other), it is quite traditional, relying for its musical effect on rhythmic drive, dynamic contrast, and pianistic pyrotechnics.

Hyperbolae (1976) composed by Shulamit Ran

Hyperbolae for piano suggests the double meaning behind the word "hyperbola" - it refers to a geometric design, and is also derived from the Greek word meaning extravagant. The piece's first few bars supply the material for the entire composition, with each event being an aspect of an integrated whole, relating to all other points in a specifically prescribed manner. At the same time, it is also expressive of a fancifully extravagant sentiment.

7 Macabre Songs for Piano (1979) composed by Tina Davidson

7 Macabre Songs for Piano combines traditional pianistic writing with a variety of beautiful well-integrated effects. Included are forearm rolls, palm slaps, clusters, harmonics, as well as the plucking and strumming of the strings inside the piano. The composition was inspired by poetry of Howard Nemerov:

1. The ground swayed like a sea
2. The officer wore a thin smile/Over his dental plate.
3. Roses were planted and grew again/Out of my pain.
4. Under the pie crust. . . . I must
5. It is forbidden to go further/Darkness stands in the wall
6. My husband Bluebeard has a blue beard
7. My death with a nail in his foot

(from the liner notes)

Tracklisting:

Side 1

1. Of Shadows Numberless {10:52}

2. Second Sonata for Piano: Fast {3:05}

3. Second Sonata for Piano: Very Slowly {5:30}

4. Second Sonata for Piano: Fast {2:57}

Side 2

1. Hyperbolae {7:42}

2. 7 Macabre Songs for Piano {13:03}

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