Description
In 1933, Florence Price (1887-1953) was the first African-American woman to have her music performed by a major symphony orchestra. She was a prolific composer of symphonies and concertos, as well as much choral and instrumental music. Florence’s music brings together the European classical tradition and the distinctive melodic and rhythmic features of African-American spirituals and folk tunes.
Adoration, one of Price’s most beloved works, is an organ piece intended for church use. It was composed in 1951, two years before her death, and was published in The Organ Portfolio vol. 15, no. 86. Rooted in the spiritual music of the South, Adoration has an elegant but penetrating simplicity which is filled with tender emotion and enveloped by lush, romantic harmonies.
This piece has been arranged for bassoon and piano by the bassoonist, Lisa Portus. It’s not too difficult but does require good breath control and musical phrasing to bring out the piece’s beautiful, flowing lines. Listen out for tuning too, especially in the top register. High F#s can often be quite sharp – so perhaps ask your teacher for a special fingering to allow you to play this note with good tone and intonation.
Printed sheet music and PDF options available, as is an mp3 bundle of the whole piece for bassoon and piano, and the piano accompaniment only (i.e. 2 mp3s included).
