The Cherry Tree is prefixed with the last stanza from The Loveliest of Trees, the second poem in the famous A Shropshire Lad volume written by A.E. Housman:
“And since to look at things in bloom
Fifty springs are little room,
About the woodlands I will go
To see the cherry hung with snow.”
The piece is very rich in colour and tone and is in a very resonant D major all the way through, except for the central section that is not key-signatured. The tempo marking is quaver = c.120, though it is common practice to slow this down to 104-108, allowing a more comfortable ride but losing none of the richness.
The notes lie comfortably under the hands (a common characteristic with much of Ireland’s piano works - for example, his Piano Concerto in Eb Major is an ideal work for the gifted pianist with smaller hands) once one becomes used to the colourful harmonies.
This is a popular piece amongst pianists due to the opportunities to show a personal response to the music. Good legato fingering and confident flutter pedalling is required to bring out the tones, and a good balance between the voices must be adhered to.
The piece carries a dedication to Herbert S. Brown and appeared in the 1999-2000 Associated Board Grade 8 syllabus for the piano.
Read more about this topic: Greenways (Ireland)
Famous quotes containing the words cherry and/or tree:
“Lay down, lay down the bigly bier,
Lat me the dead look on;
Wi’ cherry cheeks and ruby lips
She lay an’ smil’d on him.
O ae sheave o’ your bread, true-love,
An’ ae glass o’ your wine,
For I hae fasted for your sake
These fully day [is] nine.”
—Anna Gordon Brown (1747–1810)
“The great pines stand at a considerable distance from each other. Each tree grows alone, murmurs alone, thinks alone. They do not intrude upon each other. The Navajos are not much in the habit of giving or of asking help. Their language is not a communicative one, and they never attempt an interchange of personality in speech. Over their forests there is the same inexorable reserve. Each tree has its exalted power to bear.”
—Willa Cather (1873–1947)