The Frolic

Sheet music for a simplified arrangement of The Frolic by African-American composer Harry T. Burleigh. Harry Burleigh was a baritone singer, composer, and arranger of folk music and spirituals. His efforts at creating a distinctly American musical style impressed Antonin Dvorak, to the extent that the Czech composer was inspired to write his New World Symphony and American String Quartet. Burleigh's career made him one of the early 20th Century's most influential American composers.

Presented here is the second of six "piano sketches" in his collection From the Southland. Inspired by black spirituals and strongly evocative of the American south, the piece starts with a jaunty dance with lively syncopations. A somewhat slower B section explores variations on the A section's theme. After a central, expressive slow episode in D minor, we return to the opening two sections, then off to a coda. Intermediate-level version by Aron Bernstein. 2 pages.