Golliwog’s Cakewalk

[balfour-knight]

Thank you both, Carl and Charles. Bravo for “love of American Black entertainment.”

[Gretchen Cover]

I am fed up with revisionist history. Golliwogs Cakewalk is part of a suite of famous music and should be included. Put something in the preface about its origins as you stated. If someone is offended, they don’t have to perform the music. To exclude it is like book burning. Just have had it with WOKEs and the other high-minded politically correct types who want to spare me needing a safe space or security blanket yet force their views on me in the process. Your publisher should not cave in to these nitwits.

[balfour-knight]

We are absolutely in agreement, Gretchen. Thank You!

Harp Hugs,
Balfour and Carol Lynn

[Philippa mcauliffe]

Definitely try to renegotiate it back in with that explanation Carl. Otherwise I hope they they going to call this “Selections from…” as opposed to titling it as The Suite itself?

[balfour-knight]

Carl, please keep us updated about this. I would like to purchase your new harp edition, if the entire suite is included. It is one of my favorite works by Debussy. By using my piano edition, I have played these pieces over the years on harp, but it is a challenge. I look forward to seeing how you worked around all the chromatic changes! All of your editions are pure genius, of course!

Thanks, Philippa. It is good to see your post, and I hope all is well with you. I assume you also have enjoyed and performed The Children’s Corner on piano, as I have! Have you ever done them on harp?

Best wishes,
Balfour

[carl-swanson]

Well there is an update. I just got an email from the president of Carl Fischer Music. She and my editor are willing to reconsider the whole issue, and they are both distressed about the controversy on this issue. On the one hand, it just kills them to leave out the piece and publish an incomplete version of the suite. On the other, they don’t want to offend people.

My response to her was: 1) Include the piece in the edition 2) explain the whole issue in the Preface, making everyone know that they are aware of the controversy, and 3) Diplomatically tell the player that if he or she is offended by the piece, then just don’t play it. Put the decision to include it or not in a performance on the player, not the editor.

Now I have to wait for an answer!

[carl-swanson]

For some reason my first post hasn’t shown up. Let’s see if this one does.

I received a reply from the president of Carl Fischer. They are reconsidering, which is a very good thing. They will be discussing the whole issue in house and will give me a reply sometime in the future, probably a month or more away. Sonya thanked me in particular for the feedback that I received here. So if more people reading this have an opinion, please post it. It will help my case!

[balfour-knight]

Carl, I see both of your recent posts here. Thank you! My wife and I were thinking back to when we taught a great variety of students, on piano, harp, organ, and voice. If there was a selection in a method book or any book that a student or parent objected to, usually on religious grounds, they did not have to do that piece. The same is true here–they DO NOT have to do Golliwogg’s Cakewalk! On the other hand, if this piece has to be omitted from The Children’s Corner, it COMPELS EVERYONE to not be able to do it, at least from your new edition. Is this fair? I think not–we can make our own judgements and decisions as adults.

You can also tell Fischer that many people will not want to purchase an INCOMPLETE collection! Do they want to make money on this? The whole suite needs to be there!

Best wishes,
Balfour (and Carol Lynn)

[Gretchen Cover]

Sounds like a good strategy on your part. Have your agents read the controversy surround children’s author Jason Tharp. He was prevented from reading his unicorn book to students at a scheduled school event because the book, with rainbows and unicorns, was questioned about appropriateness by a parent. The fall out from other parents was far worse than cancelling the event. Same principle applies to leaving out Golliwogs Cakewalk.

[carl-swanson]

Thanks all for the posts. Please keep them coming. I’m sending them on to the powers-that-be at Carl Fischer.

[balfour-knight]

Carl, another thought…..whatever happened to “the majority rules?” If one person complains about something, why does everyone else have to suffer for it? To me, that one complaint isn’t very valid. If the majority complains, then that is certainly something that is worth checking out.

Best wishes in this endeavor,
Balfour (and Carol Lynn

[carl-swanson]

I was never told how many complaints they had gotten or where they came from. In other words, I don’t know if it was one individual or several individuals, or if it was some kind of organization that made the complaint. It is interesting that no one has voice a complaint about the piece here. All the posts have been in favor of keeping the suite complete and intact.

[balfour-knight]

Good observations, Carl. I think it has much to do with education about such an issue!

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