The Palm and May is prefixed with the fifth line from Spring, the Sweet Spring, a poem from Thomas Nashe’s poem cycle Summer’s Last Will and Testament:
“The Palm and May make country houses gay.”
This piece, in contrast to the preceding one, is full of mirth and gaiety. The fast tempo markings (Con moto; dotted crotchet = 63-66) and 6/8 time signature conjure up an image of a country dance or jig. The left hand paints most of the colour in the opening section with constant falling and rising arpeggios, while the right hand introduces the first theme.
The E major start soon transposes into a section in Ab major, where both hands bounce around with a dotted melody which is the second theme. This section turns slightly slower and less jolly with scales up and down in the right hand which rise and get quicker before a brillante slide down the keys leads neatly into a recapitulation of the first theme. The gaiety continues on into a final flourish at the end.
The piece carries a dedication to Harriet Cohen.
Read more about this topic: Greenways (Ireland)
Famous quotes containing the word palm:
“When John Henry was a little fellow,
You could hold him in the palm of your hand,
He said to his pa, “When I grow up
I’m gonna be a steel-driving man.
Gonna be a steel-driving man.””
—Unknown. John Henry (l. 1–5)