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Possum Lullaby - (2011)
for tuba and piano
for Perrin and Davis Whitfield-Cargile
This light-hearted twist on the head motive of Brahms' beloved Lullaby came to mind, while working on the roof of a backyard shed. The new neighbors on James Island had just moved into the neighborhood, and their black Labrador mix came bounding over to say hello followed by his mistress, Perrin. Her husband is an attorney who had studied music in school as well, and plays trombone and tuba as his hobby. Perrin was pregnant, and I amusingly proposed a lullaby for their new baby. Asking if they'd picked a name, Davis answered in his homespun manner, "for now, we just call him possum." Bingo, a title erupted in the hot and humid weather of South Carolina's coastal island, and thereafter the idea for this bit of musical fun.
A lazy 12/8 accompanies a variation on the well-known lullaby's first lines, with a bridge as an additional variation, the whole in a simple AABA song form.
The score is available as a free PDF download, though any major commercial performance or recording of the work is prohibited without prior arrangement with the composer. Click on the graphic below for this score.
