Mazeppa

MAZEPPA

This is one of the better known of Morley’s ‘difficult’ solos, and it seems possible that the title, as with ‘Elfaletha’, was also the name of a racehorse.   In fact, Ivan Stepanovitch Mazeppa was a Polish nobleman, born about 1645.   He was punished for a serious misdemeanour by being tied to the back of a wild horse, and the story of his near-fatal ride was told by Voltaire, and made into a Symphonic Poem by Liszt.    It seems that Morley, or some close friend knew the story, and thought it a suitable title for this solo.   It was originally printed in the March 1926 issue of ‘Keynotes’, and has been a goal for many amateur fingerstyle banjoists since.    The main technical requirement is a rapid and accurate alternation of the right hand first finger and thumb, for which Morley was famous.   Players who may have a copy of the original music will see that the penultimate bar is silent, which could result in an audience beginning to applaud before the final chord.   The piano part shows the preceding notes are tied over that bar, so that method has been adopted in this publication.

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