“Hop House Hop”, for Banjo, Guitar, Accordion/Trombone, Tuba, by Sarah Houle, 2021.
I wanted to create a Balkan style, up-beat piece that was tied to some of the traditional charts our group, Cabaret La Ruse, has been putting together. One of those was “Willie the Weeper”. Willie the Weeper went to a hop house on a Saturday night, but his experience there didn’t end so well. His dreams were bright and fast, a whirlwind of worldly travel and meeting interesting individuals.
With a low, dark underlying rhythmic motive, the opening sets the tone before a different, modal motive enters with the banjo. The tune progresses to a stable almost march-like feel in the B section carried by the relatively simple banjo melody. This builds to the more lively C hook section where the instruments engage in more syncopated activity. The ups and downs of this piece make for interesting variety.
The “Hop House Hop” could very well be one of those dreams he had.
Euphonious Music 