Heartland Preludes – piano or harpsichord suite

Heartland Preludes (2011) four movements for piano – 9’30”.  This work was composed honoring the place where I grew up.  For most residents in that part of the state, the name came to signify an attitude toward life.  These were hard-working, middle class citizens who believed in being honest and helping one’s neighbors.  This work follows the life of one of these people, working hard to support his family.  There are three movements.  “Morning Play” begins with rising and falling figures that “breathe in” the new day.  A middle section recognizes the duties of the day with steady eighth-notes rhythms, symmetrical phrases and frequent sequences.   The second movement, “Mid-Afternoon,” opens with the repetition of a single pitch embellished by a triplet followed by falling chords.  It represents the tedium of hard work.  A steady, eighth-note melody helps break up the insistence on a repeated, embellished pitch, and the section ends in a kind of reverie.  The second section is lighter and uses the triplet figure in a playful manner.   The third section uses a melody in fifths and fourths against irregular, rhythmic chords.  Its regularity suggests factory work – repetitious and steady.  The last movement, “Night Games” represents nagging worries about whether one’s efforts will be enough to sustain the family.  It uses polyphony based on a melody with frequent sevenths.  The overlapping melodies highlight a difficulty getting to rest with the quieter sections as the link between wakefulness and sleep.

Moderate Difficulty

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To listen to the suite, click here.