It’s International Women’s Day and we just celebrated Black History Month. The perfect time to share a very special new-to-me piece that’s already been warmly received at a student’s masterclass and a recital.
While I was viewing a YouTube performance of a Gershwin piece by violinist Randall Goosby for a student’s reference, the playlist popped up this compelling interpretation of Florence Price’s “Adoration” by Goosby with pianist Zhu Wang. I got goosebumps! (no pun intended) The arranger’s name was in the YouTube description, so it was easy to verify that this very same arrangement was available on IMSLP.org.
Composed by Florence Price (1887-1953) in the 1950’s for the organ, “Adoration” was apparently discovered in 2009 in a box of her compositions that had been previously considered lost. According to IMSLP.org, the piece “failed to meet notice or renewal requirements to secure statutory copyright with no ‘restoration’ under the GATT amendments” and therefore is in the public domain. It has been arranged for violin and piano by Elaine Fine, who has generously provided it for free download and distribution under the Creative Commons license.
Get your own copy here! The arranger has also published versions for viola or cello with piano. She notes in the IMSLP description, “This piece sounds particularly nice on the viola.”
If you liked this post, you might also want to read about other Contemporary Classical Pieces for Intermediate Violin Players.
Check out my published arrangements at SheetMusicPlus.com!
