Bernard Barnes 1892 -1947 was born in Worcester and moved to the USA is his youth settling in Seattle where he worked as a cinema organist becoming an Show More...
Bernard Barnes 1892 -1947 was born in Worcester and moved to the USA is his youth settling in Seattle where he worked as a cinema organist becoming an American citizen in 1922. He is associated with a mode of music making familiarly referred to as “photoplay” that is music intended to be played for silent movies. Dainty Miss described as a Novelette dates from 1924. Whist a piano novelty solo played in a swing style there are recordings available where the music is arranged for Palm Court Orchestra. The music needs to be played with a lightness in the hands and the melodic ideas need to be articulated clearly. It is quite a charming character piece that does not need to be played too quickly. The triplet pattern features continually despite the ambiguity of the notation. Crossing of hands (left over right hand feature in the second section of music which has the repeat. After the 16 bar trio section there is a two bar link leading to a reprise of the first section with a slightly different final cadence. The voice leading in bar 44 warrants some careful attention and possibly quite a bit of disagreement amongst piano players? A tempo of between 55-60 half note or minim beats to the minute is suggested. While use of the sustaining pedal is recommended its use is not indicated in the music score. The realisation plays back at 60 half note or minim beats to the minute. Close
Dainty Doll, by Bernard Barnes is a novelty piano solo, published in 1934. A movement full of charm it needs to be played in a swing style with a ligh Show More...
Dainty Doll, by Bernard Barnes is a novelty piano solo, published in 1934. A movement full of charm it needs to be played in a swing style with a light keyboard touch. The realisation plays back at 120 quarter note beats (crotchet) to the minute. The same tempo is used in each of the sections in the realisation apart from bars the two bar link (bars 43 & 44) where the tempo has been deliberately slowed before the return of the A section. Dainty Doll described as a Novelette dates from 1934. As a piano novelty solo played in a swing style some obvious ambiguities arise in terms of understanding the notation of the music. The music needs to be played with a lightness in the hands and the melodic ideas need to be articulated clearly. The triplet pattern features continually despite the ambiguity of the notation. While use of the sustaining pedal is recommended its use is not indicated in the music score. Formally the music can be described as A B C A with the key plan being D G C D. 16 bar phrases are evident in the structure in each of the sections Whilst there is a clear reference to the American march this is presented in an abridged form more suited to the performance of novelty piano music. Barney Barnes is also fond of using a two bar link just before the return of the A section preparing the return to the home key of D. The compositional style demonstrates many of the popular music cliches and formulas contemporary to the period of its writing. The 2 bar unit is very much the building block in novelty pieces of music with each building block being part of a conversation very much like the question and answer phrase structure that is frequently described in classical music A display of contrasting textures in each of the sections also tends to be evident. From the technical point of view novelty pieces certainly on the piano need to be understood as being advanced pieces and tempo instructions invariably should be interpreted as “play as fast as possible.” Harmonically many seventh chords are in evidence and the cycle of fifths often with the addition of chromatic notes provides the framework. Musicians will sense that this piece as is the case with much novelty music is suitable to be arranged for other instrument combinations because there are some evident accompaniment motives and the texture and pianistic writing suggests arrangement possibilities. It is a pity that there isn’t more Bernard Barnes sheet music available because his compositional style has great charm and appeal. As in much novelty piano music the interval of a fourth features in the melody line. Novelty music is very much a chordal based often with a strong chromatic element. The realisation plays back at 120 quarter note beats (crotchet) to the minute. Repetition features strongly in the piece and the spread chords in the left hand are necessary enabling pianists to manage stretches. Subtle changes of tempo do not feature in the realisation and generally music in this style needs to be played consistently with possibly some slowing down at the end of sections Bernard Barnes 1892 -1947 was born in Worcester (modern day West Midlands) in the UK and moved to the USA is his youth settling in Seattle where he worked as a cinema organist becoming an American citizen in 1922. He is associated with a mode of music making familiarly referred to as “photoplay” that is music intended to be played for silent movies. His day job was playing largely improvised organ music to accompany silent movies. In the video score some of the graphic score detail is hidden simply because it behaves inconsistently in this format. The pianos of the novelty era tended to have lighter touches that those of modern instruments which partly explains tempos from archive recordings. Certainly as a composer Barney Barnes is deserving of more attention and his popular piano novelties need to heard more often. The early radio and recording years were wonderful times for piano playing with the majority of well trained classical musicians having to decide on whether to pursue a career on traditional paths or embrace the new idioms of radio, cinema and related popular music idioms. Close
