Vernon Perdue Davis Chronological Review
 
The 1990s
 
 
Sonata for Violin and Piano, No. 8
The Sonata no. 8 for Violin and Piano was written in 1991, forty-two years after he wrote his first violin sonata. The combination of violin and piano came to be one of Dr. Davis's favorites. He composed three violin sonatas in the 1970s, two in the 1980s, and three during the 1990s prior to his death in 1995. Dr. Davis explored the full range of the violin's capabilities in a conservative and controlled way. Vernon Perdue Davis, as a composer, could be called a melodist. The solo part never loses centrality or importance.
Walch's Tidings
This four-part (SATB) choral work titled Hymn-Anthem on Walch's Tidings was set in 1993. Farther in the work there is a descant written above the soprano line; this construct is frequently found in pieces of this kind in Dr. Davis' collection. His dated hymn-anthems appear as early as 1953, forty years prior to his setting of Hymn-Anthem on Walch's Tidings.
A Bagatelle for Girard Lawrey, Jr., Esq.
This solo piano work titled Bagatelle (Peace and Joy), is one of a set called "Last Bagatelles" which contains sixteen pieces for solo piano that are dedicated to different people. This work, written in 1994, was dedicated to Girard Lowrey, Esq., a classmate of Dr. Davis' when he attended the University of Virginia. Though battling ill health, Vernon Perdue Davis composed thirteen pieces in 1994. At approximately seventy-five years of age, his hand was still impeccable.
 

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