“Dialogue,” by Mable Bailey

“Dialogue” is a 12 page piece at the Advanced level. It is not too fast or technically challenging, but I marked it Advanced because it is very long. The indication at the top is “Dramatic,” which is fitting for the structure and character, yet also unusual. The conversation is clearly between the left and right hands, both of which have their own lines. These two voices persist throughout the entire piece, and they are interwoven so that their shapes and rhythms overlap in different ways. Slurs indicate where the gestures begin and end, and they are extremely varied in length, as in conversation. Hairpins also indicate separate shapes for each hand. This writing creates a contrapuntal effect, although the piece is dissonant overall and the voices don’t align harmonically. This piece would be great for developing melodic playing in both hands, as the left hand here never serves as accompaniment, but always has its own melodic voice. The lines are entirely unharmonized, except for two times when the upper voice is harmonized with sixths (these parts are both marked “espressivo”). Sometimes both hands break out into octaves, always in the forte dynamic, indicating an aggressive turn in the conversation. The piece is structured so that these dynamic climaxes get slightly bigger and more dramatic each time they recur. It first reaches fortissimo on the sixth page, with legato, tenuto octaves. On page seven, there is another fortissimo, this time the notes are accented and the hands are off from each other by an eighth note which makes the exchange sound quick and violent. Nearing the end (pages ten to twelve), there are four more climaxes, escalating in length and intensity until the last one reaches fff and in the last two bars there is a sforzando on every note. There is a unique pedagogical value in this piece because the structure is very obviously related to the title, “Dialogue,” and that word is central to the interpretation, rather than an image that is evoked or some vague expression. This could help with interpreting music that is dissonant, because the title and structure provide tools to find the meaning when one does not rely on traditional harmonic patterns and catchy melodies.

Note: a newer score shared by the composer in November 2020 include seven Dialogues, written in 1986 and 1991. They seem to use the same type of language and techniques outlined above - very abstract contrapuntal and imitative writing.

Mable Bailey was born in 1939 in Mississippi. She grew up in California and got undergraduate degrees in music and education, and then began composing as a graduate student, studying composition at  the College of Holy Names in Oakland, Metropolitan State College of Denver, and the University of Denver. She teaches music in the Denver public schools. She is a pianist and vocalist and is known for her art songs.

Source

• Hildegard Publishing Company. Music by Women Composers.
• Photo shared by the composer