American Folk Traditions in Piano Concert Music

Abstract

This paper describes concert music for the piano that is heavily influenced by or entirely based on folk music traditions from the Americas. First, the term folk music and problems arising from its use are explained. The three main groups of people from which most of the folk music of the Americas originated are also briefly described. The main music covered will be by the composers Samuel Barber (United States), Juan Morel Campos (Puerto Rico), Heitor Villa-Lobos (Brazil), and Louis Moreau Gottschalk (United States). Each composer is represented by one or two pieces. Each piece is analyzed in terms of form and the folk tradition that influenced it. The histories and characteristics of blues, boogie-woogie, cowboy ballads, plena, and banjo music are all considered and related to the pieces discussed.