Parade of the Pied Piper has a playback tempo of 70 half note (minim) beats to the minute but it can be played faster. The notated music needs to be p Show More...
Parade of the Pied Piper has a playback tempo of 70 half note (minim) beats to the minute but it can be played faster. The notated music needs to be played in a swing style that is the rhythmic shapes need to be played with a triplet feel. Novelty style features figuration, much repetition whilst the full range of the keyboard is explored. There is generally not too much score detail in novelty piano scores though the music unfolds with plenty of figuration and twists and turns. The novelty pianist/composers had an excellent knowledge of chords, harmony and all the musical colouring that could be achieved with adjustments to chord voicing. The chromatic el;ement is often quite strong. Raie Da Costa (1905 – 1934) is very much identified with the novelty piano era in England alongside with other contemporary greats including Billy Mayerl (1902 – 1959) Like Mayerl she was versaltile both as a working musician and in her composing approach although as a young pianist her focus was very much on performing. performing She was born in Cape Town, South Africa of Portugese heritage arriving in England when she was 19. As a classically trained pianist she aspired to be a concert pianist but proved adaptable adopting to the stylistic popular music idioms of the day. It would be interesting to know what prevented her from becoming a concert pianist in her day – because it was certainly not talent. She was a versatile artist and also worked in variety. A brilliant talent and pianist equally at home playing or composing whether in the classical or popular idiom. She also worked with orchestras. Sadly because as a young performing pianist and artist her focus was on playing the piano where an income could be enjoyed so sadly composing was not a priority. Thankfully she recorded much music from 1928 with HMV and Parlophone that provides evidence of her exceptional talents and gifts especially with regard to her left hand technique Parade of the Pied Piper, a novelty piano piece, was published by Keith Prowse & Co. Ltd, in 1929. The 1920’s were a great time for piano players with both jazz and novelty piano emerging as popular styles after the ragtime era. Novelty piano is characterised by (some would say impossibly) fast tempos, a use of American march form and tripletised rhythmic shapes and patterns. Commentators of the time suggest that Raie Da Costa was versatile, charming, a great embellisher of the melodic line and at the same time in possession a great left hand piano technique who also was known to sing! Obviously so much that is written about her is conjecture but there is the sheet music and recordings to evidence her great gifts. Close
Raie Da Costa’s “At the Court of Old King Cole” arranged for clarinet in B flat with piano accompaniment. Have fun playing this arrangement eith Show More...
Raie Da Costa’s “At the Court of Old King Cole” arranged for clarinet in B flat with piano accompaniment. Have fun playing this arrangement either in a seasonal context or perhaps as a concert encore. The music originates is a piano solo from the 1930’s There are recordings available on streaming media including a piano and orchestra arrangement. Piano accompaniments are in place playing at 68, 70, 72,74 and 76 half note (minim) beats to the minute. The melody line played by the clarinet for much of the time has a very straightforward part to play but no doubt this can expanded and embellished in the hands of a competent clarinettist. Commentaries suggest that Raie Da Costa was a fine embellisher of the melody line and this is an option that can and possibly should be taken on board. Loco is a term meaning play at the written octave after playing possibly at the octave in the section before. Raie Da Costa was a classical trained musician well versed in the rules of counterpoint and harmony. Her music is simply a delight to arrange with its challenges of trying to manage exceptional musicality and technical challenges in the most musical and practical way as possible. The melody has its origins in the nursery rhyme Old King Cole. In the poem the merry king calls for his pipe, bowl and musicians. This shape dotted eighth note (quaver) followed by a sixteenth note (semiquaver) is played in a triplet swing pattern. The swing element is certainly and aspect of playing this score but does not dominate as in many of Raie Da Costa’s piano novelty pieces. To make this playable even for two people there has to be a thinning out of notes and some changes to the texture and voicing of the tenths found in the left hand part of the piano score. At the Court of Old King Cole has a playback tempo of 72 half note (minim) beats to the minute but it can be played faster. There is generally not too much score detail in novelty piano scores though the music unfolds with plenty of figuration and twists and turns. The novelty pianist/composers had an excellent knowledge of chords, harmony and all the musical colouring that could be achieved with adjustments to the chord voicing. Raie Da Costa (1905 – 1934) is very much identified with the novelty piano era in England alongside with other contemporary greats including Billy Mayerl (1902 – 1959) Like Mayerl she was versatile both as a working musician and in her composing approach although as a young pianist her focus was very much on performing. When giving concerts she would play novelty music together with popular classics from the repertoire. She was born in Cape Town, South Africa of Portugese heritage arriving in England when she was 19 to study at the Tobias Matthay School with the intention of becoming a concert pianist. A brilliant talent and pianist equally at home playing or composing whether in the classical or popular idiom. She also worked with orchestras. Sadly because as a young performing pianist and artist her focus was on playing the piano where an income could be enjoyed so sadly composing was not a priority. Thankfully she recorded much music from 1928 first with Parlophone and then later with HMV that provides evidence of her exceptional talents and gifts especially with regard to her left hand technique. Columbia had signed Billy Mayerl so there was healthy competition in the market. Da Costa was known and billed to as “The Parlophone Girl – Dance Pianiste Supreme”and in the 1930’s as “The World’s Greatest Syncopated Pianist.” At the Court of Old King Cole was published by Keith Prowse & Co. Ltd. in 1934. The 1920’s were a great time for piano players with both jazz and novelty piano emerging as popular styles after the ragtime era. Commentators of the time suggest that Raie Da Costa was versatile, charming and popular, a great embellisher of the melodic line and at the same time in possession a great left hand piano technique who also was known to sing! Obviously so much that is written about her is conjecture but there is sheet music and recordings to evidence her great gifts. Close
