Le Bananier (Gottschalk)
Le Bananier (The Banana Tree) in C minor, Op. 5, is a composition for piano by American composer Louis Moreau Gottschalk. Dedicated to the famous pianist Alexandre Goria,[1] it was written in France around 1846 as one of the four "Louisiana Creole pieces" that Gottschalk composed between 1844 and 1846. Based on the Creole folk melody En avan' Grenadie (contraction of Grenadiers),[2] it was alternatively published with the subtitle Chanson nègre,[3] and was widely popular in Paris at the time of its release.
Musical analysis
The composition is an irregular sentence of 128
Market impact
According to expert Robert Offergeld, after more than 2.000 copies sold in Paris alone,[1][4] the publishing company, which held the rights to the piece, earned 250,000 Francs in sales before deciding to sell it to another for more 25,000 francs in profits. And since unlicensed copies abounded in Leipzig, London, Berlin, Brussels and Milan,[4] this amount was just a partial estimative of the impact that it aroused on the musical scene of the time.[n 1] The last allotment received by Gottschalk from the publisher 'Escudiers' for Le Bananier was so large that he came to think about pushing all his pupils, with the exception of the best ones, over to other teachers at the conservatoire on his return to Paris from Switzerland.[5] The demand for the bulk of his music by the Swiss retailers was surprisingly large enough that his publishing company in Paris could not supply it.[5]
Notes
- OCLC 1590031.
References
- ^ ISBN 0252068769.
- ^ a b Nicholas, Jeremy. "Le bananier 'Chanson nègre', RO21 Op 5". Hyperion Records. Retrieved 5 July 2012.
- ISBN 0252062752.
bamboula gottschalk.
- ^ OCLC 1590031.
- ^ ISBN 080710373X.
- ^ a b Offergeld, Robert. "The Gottschalk Legend - Grand Fantasy for a Great Many Pianos". Thompsonian.info. Retrieved 5 July 2012.