Instrumentation
Piano
Collections
Musical Terms (2)
- North American Ballads enFour piano pieces composed 1978-1979 by Frederic Rzewski, each an extended fantasy-paraphrase on an American folk or labor song. The four songs are: 'Shady Grove' (basis of Dreadful Memories), 'Which Side Are You On?' (Kentucky miners' union song, 1931), 'Down by the Riverside' (African American spiritual), and 'Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues' (South Carolina work song). Each ballad is a large-scale single-movement work of approximately 12-18 minutes, combining Rzewski's characteristic mix of populist melody, political clarity, and post-tonal harmonic language.The folk or popular tune must remain recognisable as a presence throughout each ballad even when most deeply submerged in elaboration. Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues in particular depends on the performer maintaining a relentless, physically demanding rhythmic motor that evokes the machinery of the mill. These are large-scale concert pieces, not salon miniatures; they demand full technical commitment.
- North American Ballads enFour piano pieces composed 1978-1979 by Frederic Rzewski, each an extended fantasy-paraphrase on an American folk or labor song. The four songs are: 'Shady Grove' (basis of Dreadful Memories), 'Which Side Are You On?' (Kentucky miners' union song, 1931), 'Down by the Riverside' (African American spiritual), and 'Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues' (South Carolina work song). Each ballad is a large-scale single-movement work of approximately 12-18 minutes, combining Rzewski's characteristic mix of populist melody, political clarity, and post-tonal harmonic language.The folk or popular tune must remain recognisable as a presence throughout each ballad even when most deeply submerged in elaboration. Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues in particular depends on the performer maintaining a relentless, physically demanding rhythmic motor that evokes the machinery of the mill. These are large-scale concert pieces, not salon miniatures; they demand full technical commitment.