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Scherzo, by Undine Smith Moore Post author

Smith Moore

Scherzo is a three-page piano piece written by Undine Smith Moore in 1976. It is appropriate for an advanced student. Marked as “Very Fast,” with the quarter note equal to 120 or 126, and having an interesting combined time signature 3/4, 4/4, 5/4, this piece will definitely keep its performers on their toes. Atonal in general, the piece is full of scale runs, octaves, and jumps.  Time signatures are constantly switching, often without being marked. Since this work has a lot of hand crossing and moves rapidly around the keyboard, it is best performed by an individual with a strong kinesthetic feeling.

Undine Smith Moore (1904-1989) was an accomplished African-American composer, teacher, and arranger. Often referred to as the “Dean of Black Women Composers”, Moore left a legacy of more than 100 compositions in a variety of forms. She was best known for her choral works and arrangements of spirituals. Born in Jarratt, Virginia, Moore obtained her musical education at Fisk University and Columbia University. After finishing her graduate degree at Columbia University, Moore joined the music faculty at Virginia State College, where she taught piano, organ, and music theory until her retirement in 1972. Moore’s musical and teaching career was so diverse and renowned that she received honorary doctorates from Indiana University and Virginia State College. Probably Moore’s most ambitious work, a cantata written in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr., “Scenes From the Life of a Martyr,” was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. Moore felt strongly about the inclusion of African-American music in high school and college programs but wanted to avoid stereotypes around it. She once said, “Black music is a house of many mansions. Blacks have many musics and some of them relate in an extremely universal way to the human condition.” She believed that the term “black music” should only mean music written by a black person. 

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