A Tale of My Native Land No. 1

Over the last few years, I have written four substantial pieces for piano that I call
Tales of My Native Land. This title is borrowed from one of my favorite authors, Nathaniel Hawthorne, who used it for his first collection—now lost—of stories.
My Tales are large-scaled, single-movement, multi-sectional pieces that are
technically and artistically demanding. I subtitled the first “Ballade after
Hawthorne” and the others also pay tribute to writers who are dear to me; Herman Melville, Willa Cather, and N. Scott Momaday. The designation “ballade”
(familiar from Chopin’s four supreme examples) implies poetic narrative, but my works also celebrate the regional landscapes that inspired the authors—
landscapes that urge me to make a similar music.
-Charles Shadle