Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Sheet Music for 'No Matter What You Do' of William Grant Still on eBay


[No Matter What You Do, A Characteristic Fox Trot; Words by Mrs. Wm. G. Still; Music by Wm. G. Still; As Featured by Handy's Society Orchestra; Published by Pace & Handy Music Co., Memphis, Tenn.]

A listing on eBay offers sheet music for a work of William Grant Still (1895-1978) which was later withdrawn by the composer, No Matter What You Do, “A Characteristic Fox Trot”:

“From the collection of music historian Mike Montgomery, this is perhaps the rarest of all William Grant Still sheets -- And, at this writing, there is no copy existing in the collection of the William Grant Still estate. 'No Matter What You Do,' (A Characteristic Fox trot), by William Grant Still, with words by Mrs William Grant Still, published by Pace and Handy, Memphis, Tennessee, 1916. Original music is in excellent condition with a small '1916' written in ink at the extreme bottom of the cover, some very minor surface smudging and a store stamp on the inside cover sheet. The back page has a small corner crease. Music is complete, spine intact.”

The Works List for William Grant Still was compiled by Prof. Dominique-René de Lerma of Lawrence University Conservatory and is featured at AfriClassical.com. Here is the entry for No Matter What You Do:

No matter what you do, for medium voice & piano (1916). New York: Handy Brothers. Text: Grace Bundy. Withdrawn.”





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