Cabell-inspired musical works: Recordings by Michael Keith

About this collection
Michael Keith performed and recorded three musical works inspired by the work of James Branch Cabell: Deems Taylor’s Jurgen: Symphonic Poem for Orchestra, Op. 17; Taylor's Jurgen: Arrangement for Four-Hand Piano; and Louis Cheslock’s Overture to The Jewel Merchants. Opera in One Act. Keith is a mathematician and software designer with a long-time interest in James Branch Cabell. His study and performance of Deem's Taylor's Jurgen was awarded The Cabell Prize in 1999.

These recordings were produced in 1999 using Roland and Kurzweil synthesizers (standing in for an orchestra) and a Kurzweil digital piano. They are the first recordings of both the Taylor and Cheslock compositions; neither piece has ever appeared on a commercial LP or CD.

These items are presented as part of the James Branch Cabell: Literary Life and Legacy project.

Learn more about Deems Taylor’s Jurgen: Symphonic Poem for Orchestra, Op. 17 here, Michael Keith's performance here, and the Cheslock opera here.

Copyright
These sound recordings and liner notes are protected by copyright, and copyright is owned by Michael Keith. You are permitted to use this material in any way that is permitted by copyright. In addition, this material is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International license (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).

Credits
VCU Libraries created this collection in 2022. Erin White, head of Digital Engagement, supervised the project. Digital Outreach and Special Projects Librarian Alice Campbell provided historical research, including information on this landing page. Michael Keith contributed additional information. Metadata Librarian Mary Anne Dyer created the metadata for this digital collection.