Customer Reviews

Piano Music: "Prole Do Bebe" Vol. 1, "DanCas Caracteristicas Africanas" and Other Works

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A prole de bebe 1--"The Baby's Family"--is a wonderful suite with each part devoted to a specific doll. These pieces are not for children, however. They are a look back on the things that bring joy to youth. Brazilian folk song quotations are heard throughout the entire suite, and it is fun to hear how these tunes influence the development of each doll. The dolls include a porcelian white doll, which is only played with on special occasions. One can hear this in the majestic opening, and this piece includes one of the more obvious uses of folk song. My personal favorite is the "brunette doll". The joy of playing with this well-loved doll is apparent throughout the piece. Some other gems include the rhythmic "Little black doll", the slow, poignantly beautiful and sad "Poor little rag doll", and the mysterious "Little witch doll". The most famous doll, however, is "The Punch Doll", a rapid toccata-like movement made famous by Artur Rubenstein, who often performed this piece as an encore. I highly recommend these fun pieces to any able pianist. They are wonderful to put on a recital, as much fun to hear as they are to play. As proof, try listening to the Marc-Andre Hamelin recording of both Baby's Family suites.

Dover Publications must have run out of ink when printing this - the music was pale grey, and almost impossible to read. I returned it along with another Dover music score, impossible to read for another reason: Iberia and Espana by Albeniz, where 20 pages were overprinted with music staves running UP the page. Amazon gave a refund of course, so full marks to them, and none to Dover.