Night Song

Description

Night Song is a romantic style piece for the intermediate player. It requires a good legato bow stroke and a developing vibrato. The opening melody is followed by a short cadenza-like section and a pizzicato passage which accompanies the melody in the piano. The opening melody returns with some variation and Night Song concludes with a gently rising figure. The range is limited to D above middle C apart from some G harmonics at the end.

Everett Gates was a viola player, conductor, composer and educationalist. He lived for much of his life in Rochester, New York, where he was a member of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra (1937-1948). From 1948-1958 he was principal violist and assistant conductor of the Oklahoma City Symphony Orchestra and in 1958 he returned to Rochester to teach in the department of music education at the Eastman School of Music, later becoming chair of the department. He died in 2006. Everett Gates had a number of compositions published by Boosey & Hawkes who have kindly agreed to this reprint of Night Song.

Night Song is dedicated to Oscar Zimmerman (1910-1987) who played the double bass with the Rochester Philharmonic for 36 years and was professor emeritus of double bass at Eastman School of Music. He has former students are in orchestras all over the world.

Night Song makes a very effective GCSE solo piece.

ISMN: 979-0-708191-26-1