Homage, from Piano Potpourri. By Zenobia Powell Perry
Homage is a movement in the set Piano Potpourri. Composed in 1990,听it employs a wide variety of different textures and techniques, including octaves, dense chords, and chromaticism. Homage is dedicated to black composer William Dawson, and is based on the spiritual 鈥淚鈥檝e Been Buked and I鈥檝e Been Scorned鈥, which is played unaccompanied at the beginning of the piece. It would be a good fit for a student at the advanced level due to the jumps in the left hand and complex pedaling, and the student would have to be a strong reader to notice the subtle changes between similar motives.
Homage is published in the anthology听Black Women Composers: A Century of Piano Music (1893-1990) edited by Helen Walker Hill and published by .
Zenobia Powell Perry (1908-2004) was an African American composer, professor and civil rights activist. She taught in some historically black colleges and universities. Her musical style is described as 鈥渕usic with clear, classic melodies.鈥 She studied piano and violin in her childhood. Her most powerful musical experience was hearing Hazel Harrison (African-American pianist) in a concert.
Sources
- Image source:听
Homage, from Piano Potpourri. By Zenobia Powell Perry. Performed by Elizabeth Smith.