Arietta (From Three Short Pieces for Organ, No. 3)

Arietta dates from 1898, the same year as Coleridge-Taylor's Opus 33 Ballade for Orchestra and his Opus 30 cantata Song of Hiawatha, which is based on American Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's epic poem and remains his most-performed work. While certainly typical of the late 19th Century, many of his creations display inspiration by African musical elements much like dances from Hungary had inspired Brahms and Native American melodies and Negro Spirituals inspired Dvorák's New World Symphony.