A favorite among performing pianists of all ages, this piece was written to celebrate the birth of a daughter Carrieann to one of Seymour Bernstein’s pupils.
The piece opens with descending accented octaves which exuberantly ring out like bells. The middle section wanders darkly and mysteriously through chromatic passages. The next sections are marked contemplative and fanciful, finally ending with frenzied sffz octaves and chords.
This is the final piece in Bernstein’s multi-media work entitled American Pictures at an Exhibition, a second work of its kind in which Bernstein once again collaborated with the poet, Owen Lewis.