"Promenade" is a 3-minute piece by Zenobia Powell Perry. It has an ABA structure. The A and B sections have very different characters. Section A sounds like a joyful and upbeat march with two paired phrases. At the end of the second phrase, the transition material leads the music into section B. Section B does not have dotted rhythms as section A does. It has a straighter tempo instead. The octaves, big jumps, dynamic markings, and chromatics make it sound more mysterious and intense. Some of the chromatic phrases sound quite like Prokofiev.
This piece is categorized into early advance category because of some technical challenges in the B section, such as octaves jumps and duple vs triple rhythm. With section A, the student could learn to experiment with dynamics and character since there are not a lot of dynamic markings in this section. It is a fun piece to learn and play.
Zenobia Powell Perry (1908-2004) was an African American composer, professor and civil rights activist. She taught in some historically black colleges and universities. Her musical style is described as “music with clear, classic melodies.” She studied piano and violin in her childhood. Her most powerful musical experience was hearing Hazel Harrison (African-American pianist) in a concert.