Gaynor Blake and Levy, "An Afternoon at the Fair" for viola and piano DIGITAL DOWNLOAD
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Take a trip back to a gentler time, when traveling fairs brightened the summer days of children (and adults) with rides, food, and sideshows! The six pieces in this suite can each stand alone as recital pieces, or the whole suite can be played in 5 minutes! Keys are G major, D major, F major, C major, and A major, and the whole suite is playable in first position (viola part includes some 4th finger extensions to F on the A string). Each piece focuses on a certain element of a fair: the excitement of arriving; the merry-go-round; popcorn; a rainshower; a rainbow; and the satisfied journey home. A poem introduces each piece. Full video below!
Dorothy Gaynor Blake was a pianist, singer, composer, and music educator from Missouri. She published over 800 works, mostly pedagogical, in her lifetime. Blake was the Education Director for the St. Louis Symphony, where she likely met violinist Ellis Levy. Levy studied with Emil Sauret and Eugene Ysaÿe, and would become an assistant concertmaster in the St. Louis Symphony. He later left Missouri for Hollywood, where he conducted studio orchestras for radio and movies.