Price: Bluebell for SSA Trio or SSA Chorus and Piano

Florence Price returned to Mary Rolofson Gamble's collection Hearts of Gold (1923) repeatedly between 1930 and 1953, ultimately composing two solo songs and five ensemble settings. Bluebell, scored for either SSA vocal trio or treble choir with piano, belongs to the latter. Its subject is a reminiscence of childhood sweethearts' searches for bluebells and the relief that recollection brings to the weight of adulthood -- and the emotional richness of that subject inspires Price's lyrical gifts as well as her genius for using rich chromaticism tinged with dissonance in emotionally intense moments. The result is a quintessentially Priceian celebration of making the ordinary extraordinary and using music to give voice to the magic of things seemingly small.

Bluebell for SSA Trio or SSA Chorus and Piano by Florence B. Price

Text by Mary Rolofson Gamble (1848-1937)

Edited by John Michael Cooper

First Publication

ClarNan Editions, Catalog No. C153

Format: 9 x 12, 20 pages