Comment by TONY BRYAN on April 26, 2025 at 16:10

A great performance, Ethan, not forgetting Emma! Your clarity is a wonder and an achievement we should all be striving for. 

Nuts and Wine is a favo(u)rite of mine but I don't have your patience with the constant rallentandos - as usual, I like to just gallop through from start to finish. (Never mind the quality, how's that for speed?)

Anyone any idea why the title?  I had heard an opinion that N&W was the name of a horse, but no-one could produce any evidence.  A horse that was constantly slowing down?  I must admit, I have known a few like that. 

Regards.

Tony

Comment by Ethan Schwartz on April 26, 2025 at 17:13

Thanks, Tony! Peabody's thesis on Morley doesn't identify Nuts and Wine as one of the several compositions named after specific horses. But it is most definitely racing-themed, given how it quotes Camptown Races. Perhaps nuts and wine is what spectators would consume (like how one might consume beer and mixed nuts at a sporting event today)?  

Comment by Richard William Ineson on April 27, 2025 at 11:37

Nuts and wine were a traditional Christmas thing some time ago, but I cannot detect any Yuletide undertones in this composition. Perhaps Morley composed it/sold it around Christmas time and bought some nuts and wine with the money he received from the publisher?

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