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Farewell Alma Mater, by Mable E. Harding

Mable E. Harding

“Farewell Alma Mater”, published in 1907 by A. Ross and R. G. Jackson, is a piano piece that won first prize at the Inter-State Literary Society of Kansas and the West, held at St. Joseph, Missouri, in December, 1906. The piece is written in С minor and structured in a ternary form with coda. It presents an enchanting waltz with melancholic feeling. The song-like melodies amaze with their lyricism. This piece requires a possession of great rubato skills as there are a lot of expressive markings left by a composer. There are also numerous technical challenges, such as chords (sometimes quite dense or rolled), octaves, layering, hand crossing, usage of a full range of keys, changing clefs, and very acrobatic two-sixteenth-note grace notes. 

Unfortunately, there is barely any information about this composer on the public database. However, it’s known that Mable E. Harding was a member of the Harmony Class and Choral Society at Western University, Quindaro, Kansas, and was under the direction of Professor Robert G. Jackson in 1906. The cover of her piano piece available to the public, “Farewell Alma Mater,” contains photographs of Mable E. Harding as well as pictures of Ward Hall, Trades' Hall, and Stanley Hall of the Western University. Western University is considered one of the earliest African American schools established west of the Mississippi River. During the 1900s through 1920s, it was also recognized as the best black musical training center in the Midwest.

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