Search - L. Viola Kinney, Valerie Capers, Dorothy Rudd Moore :: Soulscapes: Piano Music by African American Women

Piano Music by African American Women

J Scott Morrison | Middlebury VT, USA | 09/10/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The preparation by pianist Maria Corley for this CD must have taken months of hard work. The music played here is by African American women composers who are virtually forgotten today and surely scores for some of these pieces would be hard to come by. So, a fair degree of musicological research was required. Corley has put together an altogether charming collection of works that span the twentieth century, from L. Viola Kinney's sentimental 'A Mother's Sacrifice' of 1909 to Zenobia Powell Perry's 1990 'Homage (to William Levi Dawson)'. (Dawson was an important African American composer whose 'Negro Folk Symphony' is still occasionally heard.) Along the way we also hear music by Valerie Capers, Dorothy Rudd Moore, Undine Smith Moore, Florence Price and Margaret Bonds.



Kinney's 'A Mother's Sacrifice' is her only extant composition. It is naively charming and more than a little sentimental. There are some awkward passages -- she gets caught up in a circle of fifths that threatens to go off the rails -- but this is counterbalanced by lovely melodies and some rhythmic interest. Dorothy Rudd Moore was a student of Nadia Boulanger; her 'A Little Whimsy' is a lightweight piece that she says she wrote in response to complaints that her music was 'too serious.' Undine Smith Moore's 'Before I'd Be a Slave', commissioned by a dance troupe, is marked by angry dissonances and ultimate triumph. Perry's 'Homage (to William Levi Dawson)', written for that composer's 90th birthday, is based on one of his favorite spirituals, 'I Been 'Buked.' Images of the Alvin Ailey's choreography to the same melody come flooding into one's mind at this music. Bonds's 'Trouble Water' is also based on a melody used to great effect by the Ailey Dance Theater: 'Wading in the Water.' Her treatment is basically a jazz-tinged set of variations and is possibly the most virtuosic of the pieces here.



For me the two pieces that stand out most are Florence Price's 'Sonata in E Minor' (1932) and Capers's 'Portraits in Jazz.' The former is a three-movement work that has reminiscences of Edward MacDowell wedded to early jazz inflections. Capers's suite contains twelve characteristic pieces written expertly (and in some cases with tongue in cheek) in various jazz styles (e.g., Ella Fitzgerald scatting, Miles Davis, Jelly Roll Morton [one of the best imitations of that master I've ever heard], Louis Armstrong, Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane). Capers, blind since age six, and a piano graduate of Juilliard had a long and distinguished career as a professor of music, but she was also a performing pianist who composed extensively. Of the composers heard here she is the one I'd like most to hear more from.



Pianist Maria Corley has fine technique, a lovely touch and a musicality that makes the best possible case for these works. In truth, none of these pieces is a deathless masterpiece but they do demonstrate that African American women have been composing right along and doing right well at it.



Scott Morrison"

Brava!

AfroAmericanHeritage | Wisconsin | 02/03/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Soulscapes is a valuable and enjoyable contribution to the ever-growing body of recorded music of African American composers. Pianist Maria Corley presents a range of musical styles, including L. Viola Kinney's prize-winning, charmingly sentimental "Mother's Sacrifice" (her only extant composition), Valerie Capers' tribute "Portraits in Jazz," and Florence Price's wonderful "Sonata in E Minor" which won First Prize in the 1932 Rodman Wanamaker music contest.



My personal favorite is Margaret Bonds' "Troubled Water," which I feel is one of the best examples of a spirtual-inspired concert piece out there. It captures and enhances the meaning of the spiritual without gilding it beyond recognition, as too often happens. I compared Corley's subtle interpretation with Helen Walker-Hill's more dynamic performance on "Kaleidoscope: Music by African-American Women" (Leonarda Productions, 1995) and decided: I enjoy them both for different reasons. But mostly I'm delighted to know we've reached a point where works by African American composers are receiving more than one "take." Brava!"

Passion Abounds!

Tallbaritone | Cincinnati, OH | 02/07/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I stumbled upon Ms. Corley's, Soulscapes, while searching for works by Margaret Bonds and have been mesmerized by her sensitive and passionate interpretations for nearly an hour now. Thanks for feeding my soul!"