— Transcript —

Well, here we are. We’ve reached the final episode of Season One. When I started this podcast 10 months ago, I wasn’t entirely sure where it would lead.
But over the course of more than 40 episodes, we’ve explored music from living composers around the world. We’ve discovered some wonderful teaching pieces, and hopefully added a few new titles to our teaching and recital repertoire along the way.
The first week of each month has been dedicated to a selection from Chris Caine’s A Year in Twelve Keys, and today’s episode marks the halfway point in this journey.
We’ll hear his piece for the month of June, which is a challenging, contemporary mini-fugue. And since I’ll be taking a little break until August, I’m going to play the piece from that collection for July as well. It couldn’t be more different.
A trance-like ode to that most treasured of summertime activities. The lazy afternoon summer nap.
So before we officially close the lid on Season 1 and head off for a little summer adventure, let’s spend a few minutes with two very different musical visions of the season.
One full of momentum, the other content to drift wherever the warm afternoon breeze might take it. Both are coming up next on the Piano Pedagogy Playlist. Greetings and welcome.
I hope your day is going well. My name is Luke Bartolomeo. I’m a pianist, a teacher, and also a developer of music education apps, including Flashnote Derby and Rhythm Swing.
Each Monday on the Piano Pedagogy Playlist, we shine a spotlight on piano teaching repertoire that’s fresh, engaging, and written by composers of our own time.
2:16
Juneʼs Fughetta
In my opinion, the month of June is still kind of connected to the academic calendar. There are final exams, recitals, graduations, all the activity that comes with wrapping up another school year.
You don’t just flip the calendar to June and instantly feel all that busyness melt away. The title Fughetta gives us an important clue as to what we’re going to hear in our piece for the month of June. Fughetta means a small fugue.
And just to review, a fugue is a musical form built around one single idea called the subject. And that subject appears and reappears in different voices throughout the piece.
Rather than focusing on a melody accompanied by a harmony, a fugue is more like a conversation among several independent musical lines.
As listeners, we’re invited to follow those lines as they weave around one another, sometimes cooperating with each other, sometimes competing for our attention.
Now, this piece also embraces a more contemporary harmonic language, with occasional dissonances that create tension and energy. It isn’t necessarily a piece that tries to charm us with a memorable tune.
Instead, its appeal comes from the interaction of the voices and the building sense of forward motion that develops as the piece unfolds. It’s a work that rewards active listening, attentive listening.
And as you listen, see if you can notice the recurring subject as it reappears in different forms. Listen for the independent musical lines and the way they interact with one another.
And maybe most importantly, notice how the rhythmic energy keeps the music moving forward from beginning to end. Here is June’s contribution to A Year in Twelve Keys by Chris Caine, titled Fughetta.
6:12
Julyʼs Summer Nap
So as I see it, June, as depicted in that piece, feels like the final push before summer finally fully takes hold. But by the time July arrives, it can feel like you’re inhabiting a different planet.
All that busyness, all those stresses have hopefully faded into the distance, and the pace of life slows considerably.
If the Fughetta for June asks us to pay close attention, July’s contribution, Dozing on a Hot Summer’s Day, invites us to let go completely. The composer writes that this movement is intended to convey the feeling of timelessness in sleep.
Throughout the piece, a repeating ostinato pattern provides a gentle foundation, while subtle harmonic colors drift across the surface. The piece captures that peculiar state between wakefulness and sleep.
Perhaps you’re stretched out in a hammock on a warm afternoon, or dozing in a lawn chair in the shade. You’re not fully asleep, yet you’re not really awake either.
Sounds from the outside world drift in and out of your awareness, and time seems to lose its usual meaning. You’ll also hear distant thunder and lightning represented within the texture of the music.
Yet these moments never feel threatening or disruptive. They simply become part of the landscape, passing events observed from a place of complete calm. As you listen, notice the repeating ostinato as it passes between the hands.
Listen for the gentle syncopations of chords and how they fit into that ostinato. See if you can hear those distant flashes of thunder and lightning. Here’s July’s movement from A Year in Twelve Keys, Dozing on a Hot Summer’s Day.
11:16
Pieces Contrasted
It’s really fascinating that these two movements sit side by side in the calendar year, but couldn’t be more different. June is all momentum, activity, and purpose. July feels suspended in time.
One pushes forward with direction, and the other just drifts. Both of them capture something true about summer.
Chris Caine’s collection, entitled A Year in Twelve Keys, is available for digital download from Trinity College London Press, either in its entirety or as individual pieces, purchased by the month, so to speak.
Links to purchasing this sheet music can be found in the episode description or by visiting our website, pianopedagogyplaylist.com.
While you’re there, if you’d like to hear my performances of the pieces for January through May from this same collection, just type A Year in Twelve Keys into the search box on the website.
12:23
Summer Break
And just like that, it’s time to close the lid on this inaugural season of the Piano Pedagogy Playlist.
I want to thank all of you who have listened, shared episodes with colleagues, sent encouraging messages, and joined me in exploring the incredible variety of music being written today for piano students by living composers.
As I mentioned, I’ll be taking a short summer break during the remainder of June and through July. My family and I will be doing some traveling and just enjoying time together.
There’s still certainly going to be a lot of music involved one way or another. So, if you’d like to keep up to date with our adventures, follow Piano Pedagogy Playlist on Facebook. I’ll try to post there from time to time over the coming weeks.
And in the meantime, if you’ve joined the podcast recently, summer would be a wonderful opportunity to explore the archives.
There are now more than 40 episodes featuring plenty of repertoire and teaching ideas that can give you a jump start on your autumn planning.
And I will certainly look forward to seeing you again in August when we’ll continue exploring more of what’s good in the world of the contemporary piano teacher’s repertoire. Until then, keep nurturing the music, and happy summer!