Nola by Felix Arndt in an arrangement for piano duet by John Zamecnik. Nola is frequently referred to as the first novelty piano piece, a musical idiom emerging from the ragtime era. Light and breezy in character this is a style of music very much intended to lift the mood and spirit. Piano accompaniments are in place allowing duo players to participate in play-a-long ensemble activities as part of music practice routines. The accompaniment tracks play back at 58, 60, 62, 64 & 66 & 68 half note (minim) beats per minute. There is a two bar count in /click track at the beginning of the accompaniment tracks The primo part is on one side of the stereo channel and the secondo part on the other. John Zamecnik was a gifted Ameican composer, conductor and arranger of Czech extraction who studied at the Prague Conservatory of Music with Dvorak,. He is mainly known for his silent movie scores often composed using pseudonyms and published by Samuel Fox. He lived in Cleveland. The 2/2 time signature indicates that Nola needs to be played with a sense of two beats in the bar Both referencing and understanding the swing style this music needs to played with a clrear understanding meaning that the triplet figuration prevails. Arndt was a New York based composer and pianist who tragically died during the Spanish Flu epidemic in 1919. Sections need to be played at the same tempo and there is little opportunity for slowing down at the end of phrases and sections. Some of the score detail, particularly phrase markings have been hidden in the #sheetmusic video score simply because the associated graphics behave inconsistently in this format. This is music that moves along quickly but also needs to played in a completely relaxed manner. Tension in the fingers, hands and arms is something to be avoided and this can be partly achieved by keeping a lightness in the hands and arms and secure fingering. Fingers need to be close to the keys. Nola is brimming with musical ideas and inventiveness and is a very “modern” sounding work for 1915. As a musical snapshot of its time it references the ragtime era of its near past and points to the future in its swing jazz style triplet rhythms. The left hand playing style of the bass and chords owes its origins to the ragtime era. Contrasting and repeating sections are in evidence whilst the formal pattern of the music is A B A C D C A with an 8 bar coda at the end. The composer does not make use of repeat signs. The key plan can be summarised as I – i – I – IV - I The novelty era has a strong connection with ragtime particularly in its formal patterns and musical shapes. Whilst the repetitive element is strong the composer does not make use of repeat signs. The music editor’s observation is that Felix Arndt was a hugely talented, imaginative and inventive composer and it is a tragedy that he did not live longer to compose music that similarly anticipated future trends. He left the music world with the potential to achieve so much. Born in 1889 if he had lived his entitled three score years and ten he could have lived until 1959 and would have been a contemporary with so many other greats. It is also ironic because 1959 is the year that a version of Nola achieved success in the pop charts. What is so evident is that he had a wonderful understanding of harmonic colour and the relevance of chords in the popular music idiom. He can be truly described as a musical forerunner. Apart from the abundance of musical ideas it is understanding of the harmonic framework which makes his music so appealing. There are also several dance step references in the music The triplet swing pattern additionally imbues this music.
