Rags, Blues and Parodies
Peter Dickinson (piano), Meriel Dickinson (mezzo-soprano)
There is nothing quite like the British composer Peter Dickinson's witty musical parody, with its humor at various levels. Who else would make a rag and a set of blues out of hymn tunes? Or turn the main themes of his Piano Concerto (TROY160) into a rag, which is actually played during the course of that work on an upright piano at the back of the orchestra? Or make a blues setting of Byron's "So we'll go no more a-roving" using a chord progression from Ravel and turn the whole thing into an Organ Concerto (TROY160)? Or have an offstage pianist piecing together fragments of a piano rag during his String Quartet No. 2 ? Or make a blues version of Edward MacDowell's salon classic, To a Wild Rose, calling it Blue Rose and consequently climaxing on Scriabin's mystic chord? And following this with a Wild Rose Rag? This CD is a collection to be enjoyed: five piano rags, five blues, three reworkings of Satie, two blues songs and two sets of songs, all presented as a complete program in the immediately attractive manner of all Dickinson's recitals, broadcasts and other recordings.
Track Listing
Title | Composer | Performer |
---|---|---|
Stevie's Tunes | Peter Dickinson | Peter Dickinson, piano, Meriel Dickinson, mezzo |
Concerto Rag | Peter Dickinson | Peter Dickinson, piano |
Quartet Rag | Peter Dickinson | Peter Dickinson, piano |
Blue Rose | Peter Dickinson | Peter Dickinson, piano |
Wild Rose Rag | Peter Dickinson | Peter Dickinson, piano |
Three Satie Transformations | Peter Dickinson | Peter Dickinson, piano |
A Red, Red, Rose | Peter Dickinson | Peter Dickinson, piano, Meriel Dickinson, mezzo |
Hymn-Tune Rag | Peter Dickinson | Peter Dickinson, piano |
So we'll go no more a-roving | Peter Dickinson | Peter Dickinson, piano |
Patriotic Rag | Peter Dickinson | Peter Dickinson, piano |
Four Blues | Peter Dickinson | Peter Dickinson, piano |
Extravaganzas | Peter Dickinson | Peter Dickinson, piano, Meriel Dickinson, mezzo |
Reviews
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"Dickinson's fascination with jazz, the blues, and, especially, ragtime lead to music that's charming... all the music here is very attractive and perfectly performed."
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