Harvest Waltz: A Song History
"Harvest Waltz" appears in Ellen Pratt's Ensemble Arrangements For The Mountain Dulcimer, Volume 7, a book published by Pratt herself and sold by DulcimerDownloads as a licensed download; the listing names five parts for it, four in DAD tuning (the third for standard or bass dulcimer, the fourth a chord backup) and a fifth for baritone dulcimer in ADA.[1] The contents page shown on the same listing puts the waltz in 3/4 time on pages 33 to 40 and counts four parts, one of them for baritone, so the two descriptions of the arrangement differ slightly.[1] The listing says the volume mixes traditional and classical material with some original melodies, but it names no composer for this piece, so the sources consulted here do not show whether it is Pratt's own.[1] Pratt began writing her own dulcimer music in 2004 and took up ensemble writing and arranging after joining a dulcimer orchestra in northeastern Connecticut.[2]
George Inness, Harvest Time, oil on canvas, 1864. Shown for its subject; it has no connection to the tune.
Earlier pieces share the title: the Library of Congress holds a "Harvest waltz" published by the Chicago Music Co. in 1883 and credited to Everett H. Rexford, and another, published by W. F. Shaw in 1884, credited to Chas. D. Tuttle.[3][4] Nothing in the sources consulted here links either of those pieces to Pratt's waltz.[1][3][4]
Sources
- Ellen Pratt: "Ensemble Arrangements For The Mountain Dulcimer, Volume 7".
- DulcimerDownloads: "Ellen Pratt".
- Library of Congress, Music for the Nation: "Harvest waltz" (Everett H. Rexford, 1883).
- Library of Congress, Music for the Nation: "Harvest waltz" (Chas. D. Tuttle, 1884).
- Image: George Inness, Harvest Time, oil on canvas, 1864. The Cleveland Museum of Art.