Four Seasonal Sketches: I. Spring Intermezzo

(Movement I. is 0:00-2:30)

Program Note: "We can hear vocal influences in her Four Seasonal Sketches (1955), such as the flowery lyricism of the opening “Spring Intermezzo,” the the warm harmonic colourings of “Summer Interlude,” the melodic catchiness and singability of “Autumn Dance,” and the close harmonies and crisp dissonances of “Winter Holiday.” 

Little has been documented about the performance history of this work, but one striking detail is that she dedicates Four Seasonal Sketches to her Chicago colleague and friend Geneva Handy Southall. Dr. Southall was a pianist and pioneer in Black music scholarship. This dedication therefore demonstrates the collegiality and reverence that defined the dynamics between the women of the Black Renaissance." - Helen Walker Hill

Movements Featured:
I. Spring Intermezzo
III. Autumn Dance