Spring Song

Sunday (March 20th) was the first day of Spring! I was wondering if anybody would play a spring piece...

I hadn't planned to, but I found this, and threw it together. Not as easy as I thought, and not my best, but at least it's a spring piece. I finished it at 4 minutes to midnight, so, I DID do it on THE day!

The score is attached, as well as a photo of Harry Rowe Shelley.

And, as I look out of my window, it's snowing... ;-)

Harry Rowe Shelley (June 8, 1858 – September 12, 1947) was an American composer, organist (church and concert), and professor of music. Born in New Haven, Connecticut, Shelley studied with Gustave J. Stoeckel at Yale College, Dudley Buck, Max (Wilhelm Carl) Vogrich, and Antonín Dvořák in New York, and completed his musical education in London and Paris.

He attended Hopkins Grammar School in New Haven, Connecticut and at fourteen played the organ at Center Church on the Green in New Haven. Although he entered Yale, he did not complete his freshman year. Shelley was organist at the Church of the Pilgrims during the ministry of Henry Ward Beecher and played at his funeral. Shelley died at age 89 in Short Beach, Connecticut.

Positions held
1878–1881 — Organist, Church of the Pilgrims, Brooklyn
1881–1887 — Organist, Plymouth Church (same)
1887–1899 — Organist, Church of the Pilgrims
1899–1914 — Organist, Fifth Avenue Baptist Church, New York, which later became Park Avenue Baptist and eventually Riverside Church
1915–1936 — Organist, Central Congregational Church, Brooklyn
Faculty member, American Institute of Applied Music

In 1898 he was elected to membership in the National Institute of Arts and Letters, and was a VERY important musical figure in his day.

If you're looking for an "unknown" tour d'force to play at a recital, take a look at Shelley's "Fanfare." Virgil Fox played it. In fact, I believe for one "concert season" it was his recital opener.

Sorry for the sloppies, but HAPPY SPRING to ALL! :-)