Eusebia Hunkins - Rhapsody for Cello and Piano (First Edition)

Born in Troy, Ohio, Eusebia Simpson Hunkins (1902-1980) studied piano and theory in Dayton before receiving a fellowship from the Juilliard Foundation for graduate study in New York. At Juilliard, her teachers included James Friskin in piano, Rubin Goldmark in theory and composition, and Albert Stoessel in conducting. Hunkins became known especially as a composer of American folk opera. Her husband, Maurel Hunkins, served as Dean of Students at Ohio University.

The 7-minute Rhapsody, composed in 1949, is a one-movement work in five sections. The outer sections are recitative-like, built from open and extended harmonies. The second section is a lilting sicilienne with a touch of Irish character, written in a diatonic style with the theme appearing in both A major and D major. The third section is a playful scherzo in B Dorian. The serene fourth section is in D major and moves between meters over an undulating piano accompaniment.

We would like to thank Arthur Hunkins and Sarah Taylor for kindly granting permission to publish the Rhapsody, as well as the archives at Ohio University and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro for providing the sources for this first edition. The surviving sources for the Rhapsody include an autograph piano score and cello part.

ASTA level: 2.5 to 3