G. Schirmer, Inc. continues to expand our catalog of music by the great American composers Julius Eastman and Florence Price. To coincide with Black History Month, we have published new editions of Eastman’s Stay On It and Price’s Five Folksongs in Counterpoint, in which the two composers celebrate and ruminate on their identity and heritage.
These editions are now available for purchase exclusively through Classical On Demand:
• GSP57872SET - Eastman Stay On It - any combination of instruments
• GSP58898SET - Price Five Folksongs - string quartet
Stay On It emblemizes Eastman’s “organic“ compositions from the 1970s, marked by its open instrumentation and the agency given to its performers. Its spirit and groove reveal the composer’s love of popular music, and the score features an epigraph by Eastman which speaks to his optimism in the face of adversity as a gay black man living in the 20th century.
In the instrumental string quartet Five Folksongs in Counterpoint, Price draws upon centuries of American folk music and spirituals. Some of the songs come out of the African diaspora (“Calvary,“ “Swing Low Sweet Chariot“), and other songs include the well-known “Clementine,“ and “Drink To Me Only With Thine Eyes,“ which was sung by East Coast settlers as early as 1770.
Movements I-IV
On the process of preparing these editions, G. Schirmer’s Director of Production Peter Stanley Martin writes: “While the musical aesthetics of Florence Price and Julius Eastman are quite different, the challenge and obligation fundamentally remains the same for any given composition: What are the composer’s final intentions and how can we best represent that for future performances? With all the benefits of being a serious composer also come the pitfalls and human elements. Ms. Price may have left numerous viable sources and drafts of a specific title, while Mr. Eastman may have no known materials for a given composition. Neither of these talents received the benefit of having a longstanding relationship with a publisher and, specifically, an editor while they were alive. Our new editions of Eastman’s Stay On It and Price’s Five Folksongs in Counterpoint take into account all extant sketches, drafts, revisions, and recordings of the pieces, and it is with great pride that we welcome these editions into our catalog.“
Virtual Performance Spotlight
Philadelphia Orchestra Performs Florence Price, streaming February 18-25, 2021
In 2020, G. Schirmer published our historic edition of the original Piano Concerto in One Movement by Price. This weekend, Yannick Nézet-Séguin leads the Philadelphia Orchestra in the first American performance of the edition, featuring noted Price interpreter Michelle Cann at the keyboard.
For more information, please contact your local Wise Music Promotion Team. See Contact Us.
