Sonata for Violin and Piano
I. Allegro Cantabile
II. Andante con sentimento
III. Vivace
Irene Britton Smith’s Sonata for violin and piano continues the HMP series Music by African American Women, edited by Helen Walker-Hill and inaugurated in 1995 with Five Interludes for Piano by Rachel Eubanks.
The Sonata, in three movements, is conservative and neo-classical in style. Serenely flowing contrapuntal lyricism alternates with lively, mischievous playfulness. The work is technically moderately difficult and requires interpretive sensitivity.