21st Century Americana: Intermediate Piano Solos.(Book Review)

by Elisabeth L. Lomax. Mel Bay Publications, Inc. (P.O. Box 66, Pacific, MO 63069), 2002. 70 pp., $17.95. Intermediate.

Elisabeth L. Lomax has compiled an interesting and varied set of ten American folk songs for inclusion in her collection, 21st Century Americana. Some of the tunes are traditional favorites such as "Down in the Valley" and "All the Pretty Little Horses." Others, such as "Bold Jack Donahue" and "The Housewife's Lament," are less familiar to us today. Each tune has been set in a particular style usually suited to its expressive content and its text. Styles include waltz variations, boogie, blues, fandango and new age, among others. Included with each folk song is a simple presentation of the unaccompanied tune with its full text, historical information about the tune, its circumstances, a brief sound recording bibliography, practice suggestions for the student, a secondo piano part and a general MIDI accompaniment in CD format. Additionally, there are interesting study questions sometimes provided to generate thought and discussion about the more provocative folk texts.

The songs Lomax selected are high-quality and enduring American folk songs, quite sing-able, each with unique expressive features. The solo piano arrangements are authentically and appealingly set in the selected style. For each arrangement and within the selected style, Lomax has provided significant textural variety for multiple verses. Melodies are cleverly designed to appear in several locations within the texture and require substantial skill on the ...