Gerald Plain

 The Harvard Dictionary of Music describes the Tarantella as “a Neapolitan dance in rapid 6/8 meter, probably named for Taranto in southern Italy, or, according to popular legend, for the tarantula spider whose poisonous bite the dance was believed to cure.”Tarantella is dedicated to the memory of Ruth T. Watanabe, head of the Sibley Library of the University of Rochester’s Eastman School of Music for thirty-seven years.  She was a special friend of the composer’s deceased wife, Marilyn.