Little can be added to Andrew Farach-Colton’s detailed article in the November 2021 issue about the the life and art of Florence Price (1887-1953), whose prolific creative output is undergoing an unprecedented renaissance, with dozens of musicians riding the wave. Or, if you want to be cynical, jumping on the bandwagon. There’s no question, however, that Josh Tatsuo Cullen’s taking on the short and charming piano pieces gathered for this release is an act of the utmost sincerity and a true labour of love. He believes in this music and plays it with finesse, flair and conviction.

In the title triumvirate, Cullen brings genuine gusto to the syncopations of ‘The Huckster’ and conveys the scampering aura of ‘Children at Play’ without trivialising the music’s disarming tunefulness. Thumbnail Sketches of a Day in the Life of a Washerwoman receives a serious and noble reading; here Cullen revels in the tolling, Gershwinesque chords and gentle trills of ‘Morning’, heartfully sings out ‘Evening Shadows’ and plays ‘A Gay Moment’ much faster and more forcefully than Kirsten Johnson’s recording (just released on Guild).

Cullen infuses the impressionistic Clouds with the same concern for nuance and tonal application that a pianist such as Ivan Moravec brought to Debussy. Conversely, he serves up Cotton Dance like the hard-hitting cakewalk it is. He also plays the cycle of five Preludes with all the eloquence and simplicity they require. A more intense, headlong reading of the fifth prelude might underscore the music’s Schumannesque urgency, but that’s nitpicking. Fine annotations and sound.