Collected
below are each of the musical compositions and
arrangements by Cy Walter of which his family
is aware, whether published or unpublished. Prefacing
some of these arrangements will be found a narrative
description of the song's genesis and history,
generously provided by Frank Behrens, a New Hampshire
based writer who often lectures on American popular
music.
Cy can be heard performing many of these songs and
piano solos on the various recordings he made, whether
for commercially‑released records or on surviving
private records the Walter family and others have
been making available from radio broadcasts or other
occasions.
The
breadth and complexity of Cy's music is readily
apparent from these compositions, as is Cy's
sophistication in scoring his own sheet music. The
handwritten pieces reflect Cy's skill and ability
in musical notation; particularly given the
intricacies of Cy's compositions, the detailed
sheet music he wrote was essentially "publisher‑ready",
so well‑written that it need only be
transferred to printing format.
Three
particular notes of deep gratitude are appropriate
here. First, to Michael Feinstein, who
some years ago sagely suggested to Cy's widow,
Cam, that these pieces of sheet music would be
better off filed with the Library of Congress,
rather than residing only with Cy's family. Cam
did not immediately act on Michael's suggestion. However,
she retained the collection intact, and then,
a couple of years ago, presented it to her son
Mark, mentioning Michael's recommendation. Mark
then followed up by contacting Michael, who could
not have been more gracious or supportive in
assisting Mark in meeting this goal. And,
in fact, the goal has been realized, as in 2005
Mark filed, in songbook form, all of these compositions
with the Library of Congress (under call number
M32.8.W23 C9 2005). Indeed, from
this seed planted and nutured by Michael Feinstein
came a birthing not only of the Walter family's
sharing of these compositions, but also of all
of the memorabilia presented on this website
(as Cam has now also made her carefully‑retained
cache of Cy's collection available).
Second,
we are indebted also to Mark Eden Horowitz, Senior
Music Specialist in the Music Division of the
Library of Congress. When Mark Walter
reached out to Mark Horowitz (at the helpful
suggestion of musical historian/author Ken Bloom),
and advised him of the Walter family's desire
to ensure that its collection of Cy Walter's
music was available to researchers and enthusiasts,
Mr. Horowitz was delighted to help. (Mark,
himself a pianist, knew of and played Cy's music.) Mark
Horowitz' personal support in this project, and
his professional role in seeing that these materials
were properly received and catalogued, is keenly
appreciated. Perhaps most critical, however,
was Mark's researching ‑‑ at
his own initiative ‑‑ Cy
Walter's copyright filings with the Library of
Congress. Thus, through Mark Horowitz'
direct efforts, were rediscovered many original
compositions of Cy's that would otherwise effectively
be lost.
Finally
(and certainly not least), grateful thanks are
due to Alex Hassan, Virginia pianist and sheet
music collector extraordinaire, for his assistance
in this endeavour. Long a Cy Walter enthusiast,
Alex has been one of the creative forces who
has been playing Cy's music, and thus introducing
new fans to Cy's music as the years go by.
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