The American composer Arthur Farwell (1872–1952) is best remembered as the leading member of a group of ‘Indianists’ who used Native American tribal melodies in their own compositions. In fact, Farwell’s stylistic range was much wider than is realised today, as this third album in Lisa Thomas’s pioneering survey of his piano music demonstrates. It reveals the influence of both Debussy and Scriabin, perhaps even Busoni and, in the two ‘Navajo War Dances’ here, intriguing parallels with Bartók. Farwell plainly had an imaginative mind with a sharp sense of keyboard drama, colour and atmosphere – and a sense of humour: which other composer ever wrote a Laughing Piece?

Lisa Cheryl Thomas graduated with a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in piano performance from the University of North Texas in 2010. She is herself of Native American stock, counting members of the Cherokee, Blackfoot and Sioux tribes among her ancestors, and her doctoral thesis addressed Native American Elements in Piano Repertoire by the Indianist and Present Day Native American Composers. Her concert performances, research and lecture recitals on Native American and ‘Indianist’ piano repertoire are awakening a new enthusiasm and interest in this music. Her most recent awards include a Fulbright Scholarship for January–May 2017, becoming the Fulbright Visiting Research Chair in Arts and Humanities at the University of Alberta, Edmonton.

‘these works give us a taste of Farwell’s stylistic variety – often overlooked in favor of his “Indianist” works. Thomas, herself part Cherokee, approaches this music with warmth and imagination’ – American Record Guide on Vol.2