WORLD PREMIERE OF ORGAN TRANSCRIPTION OF
DELIUS' "AMERICAN RHAPSODY"

Cameron Carpenter
"The Maverick Organist"
Jacoby Symphony Hall
Sunday, March 18, 2007, 3:00pm
Tickets: $25 adults, $5 students
Order by phone at 389-6222 or online at www.riversidefinearts.org
Group ticket sales are available
 
"The Maverick Organist" Cameron Carpenter is a unique force in music. Living
and recording in New York City, he is one of the organ's important links to
broader culture, embracing various musical genres and popular culture in his
improvisations while calling for drastic changes in theatre organ playing.
Adamantly outspoken about the organ's lack of exposure, he acts on his views
by performing at high schools near his concert venues. He is probably the
only organist who consistently attracts enthusiastic crowds of teenagers to
his concerts.
 
Mr. Carpenter will be presenting the world-premier transcription of
Frederick Delius¹s American Rhapsody for pipe organ commissioned by the
Riverside Fine Arts Association.
 
The American premier of American Rhapsody was performed as part of the
Delius Festival in 2004 at Jacoby Symphony Hall in Jacksonville, Florida;
the very same hall this premier will take place.
 
 
American Rhapsody       composed by Frederick Delius
 
Written just before his return to Florida, American Rhapsody has many
reminiscences of the music he heard in Florida and Virginia:
African-American songs, 19th century American popular music, band music
heard on the streets of Jacksonville, and the harmonies of the black vocal
groups so often encountered in Florida.
 
The main theme is a striking pentatonic melody on which Delius develops
several short variations. This leads to a sudden appearance of Dixie, which
is soon followed by Yankee Doodle presented in a manner suggestive of
American marching bands. In this respect, it might be said that American
Rhapsody looks forward to Charles Ives. Although not nearly as striking or
sophisticated as its later revision, the work has an immediate appeal, shows
some characteristics of his mature style, and gives a hint at Delius¹s
vision of 19th century America.

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