From the Black Belt

SKU: CF.SC89

ISBN 9781491158852. UPC: 680160917570.

Scoring: Bass Clarinet in Bb, Bassoon, Clarinet 1 in Bb, Clarinet 2 in Bb, Contrabass, Flute 1, Flute 2, Harp, Horn 1 in F, Horn 2 in F, Horn 3 in F, Oboe, Percussion, Timpani, Trumpet 1 in Bb, Trumpet 2 in Bb, Trumpet 3 in Bb, Viola, Violin 1, Violin 2 and more.

William Grant Stillas catalog of works comprises over 200 pieces, including five symphonies, nine operas, four ballets and numerous works for chamber ensembles. He initially found employment as an oboist in pit orchestras in New York City, later as an arranger of popular music for various ensembles, including those by William C. Handy, James P. Johnson and Paul Whiteman. His career as a composer was launched with a performance in 1931 of his Symphony No. 1 aAfro-Americana by the Rochester Philharmonic, conducted by Howard Hanson, who would remain a life-long champion of Stillas orchestral works. By the 1950s the symphony had been performed in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and various European capitals. This notoriety earned Still a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1934, after which he moved to Los Angeles. He is credited as the first African-American to conduct a major orchestra (the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra), the first to have an opera performed by a major company (Troubled Island by the New York City Opera in 1949), and one of the first composers to write for radio, films and television. So numerous were his awards and accolades, including three Guggenheim Fellowships and a variety of honorary doctorates, that he was designated as the aDean of Afro-American Composers.a The aBlack belta refers to a region in the southern United States that was distinguished by the color of its fertile soil. It was an area whose rich economy was based on cotton and tobacco plantations that were controlled by rich white people and worked by poor black laborers. Stillas piece From the Black Belt from 1926 is presumably a musical representation of these laborers. He described its seven parts in the following ways:   William Grant Stillas catalog of works comprises over 200 pieces, including five symphonies, nine operas, four ballets and numerous works for chamber ensembles. He initially found employment as an oboist in pit orchestras in New York City, later as an arranger of popular music for various ensembles, including those by William C. Handy, James P. Johnson and Paul Whiteman. His career as a composer was launched with a performance in 1931 of his Symphony No. 1 aAfro-Americana by the Rochester Philharmonic, conducted by Howard Hanson, who would remain a life-long champion of Stillas orchestral works. By the 1950s the symphony had been performed in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and various European capitals. This notoriety earned Still a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1934, after which he moved to Los Angeles. He is credited as the first African-American to conduct a major orchestra (the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra), the first to have an opera performed by a major company (Troubled Island by the New York City Opera in 1949), and one of the first composers to write for radio, films and television. So numerous were his awards and accolades, including three Guggenheim Fellowships and a variety of honorary doctorates, that he was designated as the aDean of Afro-American Composers.a The aBlack belta refers to a region in the southern United States that was distinguished by the color of its fertile soil. It was an area whose rich economy was based on cotton and tobacco plantations that were controlled by rich white people and worked by poor black laborers. Stillas piece From the Black Belt from 1926 is presumably a musical representation of these laborers. He described its seven parts in the following ways: Lial Scamp If one were to base his judgment on the volume of sound, he would think this little fellow, who delights in playing childish pranks, a big scamp. But the aptness of the title is determined by the brevity of the piece rather than by the volume of sound. Honeysuckle A musical suggestion of the saccharine odor of the honeysuckle. Dance This title is self-explanatory. Brown Girl A tone picture of a lovely girl. Mah Bones Is Creakina An old man, afflicted with rheumatism, complains loudly. Blue The lament of a weary soul. Clap Yoa Hanas The participants in a game for children form a circle and clap their hands at intervals.