“2. Mysteriously,” from Moods for Piano, by Lettie Beckon Alston
The Four Moods for Piano were composed in 1993. The second piece features repeated notes on the low end of the piano. It is dissonant and has impressionistic elements like repeated notes used for texture. Rhythm is central to this piece, and the repetition sometimes drives it forwards and other times creates eerie moments of suspense.
This piece requires mutes on the string, so a student would learn extended techniques from it. They would have to mute and unmute their string, which would be good practice for other newer pieces that require it. There are frequent meter changes and expressive markings like “accelerando” and “subito slow,” which leave more tempo liberty to the performer than the usual “a tempo.” Alston marks tempo changes almost as freely as one would mark dynamic changes in this piece. There is also other text, in English, which directs pedaling and touch. One of the challenges in this carefully marked piece would be to follow all of Alston’s instructions, some of which are not used all of the time in classical piano, and also to interpret them to create a musical, mysterious effect.
Lettie Beckon Alston was born in Detroit in 1953. She received her doctorate in composition from the University of Michigan. She composes for orchestra, piano, voice, strings, and other instruments as well as synthesizers and electronically produced sounds.
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