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Alley Cat Love Song
Published by Santa Barbara Music Press
 as
part of the Sharon Hansen Choral SeriesCatalog # SBMP737
SSA/piano
Secular text in English
Difficulty rating (1-5): 2.5 This piece was commissioned by Jim Yarbrough, director of the Naperville North High School choral program, and one my earliest supporters. Since Jim has a jazz background (and he also was bass section leader under Margaret Hillis at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Chorus!) I decided to write him something jazzy and bluesy. I found this wonderfully sly text by Dana Gioia and set about having some fun with it. Musically the piece goes back and forth between a lyrical, “night music” quasi- Debussy stereotypical impressionist feel (hopefully pianists will smile a bit when they notice an actual Debussy quote in the piano intro) and the jazz/blues sections. The ending plays around with different ways of saying the boy cat’s name, “Fred”, including purring/rolling the r sound. I even had an excuse to include one of my favorite Ravel chords in this piece (a pretty pungent V chord with a flat 9 and a sharp 11). It’s a chord Ravel uses in pieces like the Piano Concerto and his other jazz influenced music. TEXT
Come into the garden, Fred,
For the neighborhood tabby is gone. Come into the garden, Fred. I have nothing but my flea collar on, And the scent of catnip has gone to my head . I'll wait by the screen door till dawn.
The fireflies court in the
sweetgum tree. I hear the frogs in the
muddy lake |
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| PAUL CAREY
composer / conductor All materials and information on this site © 2008 Paul Carey and respective music publishers No part of this site or its contents may be reproduced without written consent. 
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