Music 486-546: All sorts

The last posting of music was on July 14^th. That doesn’t mean I haven’t been composing (or decomposing). The problem is that I have written so much music since then that I’m going to post it all at once in a big block! That way I do not expect anyone to listen to it. But it will serve as part of a fulsome catalogue which this blog partly exists for.

The link will take any clicker to another page that had copious links to both the written music and the audio. For example if you want the written music to play on a clarinet then it’s there – although really you should learn to play the clarinet first.

The list of links includes:

Piano Sonata No. 7 in 3 movements for piano
6 Little Dances for piano
4 Humoresques for piano
3 Badineries for piano
24 Miniatures (one in every major and minor key) for piano
4 trios for 2 clarinets and piano
5 Rustic Dances
A couple of Christmas Carols arranged for piano

Click HERE to get to the page of links.

Music 485: Piano Sonata No. 6

Here is a piano sonata in 3 movements. It is “serial music” – a 20th century style – so it might not be to everyone’s taste! I’ve just finished it and wanted to post it to be “complete” for the postings finish in 9 or 10 days or so when the stories get to Number 2500.

1st Movement – audio HERE; sheet music HERE
2nd Movement – audio HERE; sheet music HERE
3rd Movement – audio HERE; sheet music HERE

Music 482-484: Three Caprices for piano

Good morning! Here are three caprices for the piano.

A caprice is just what it is – whatever that is. Have a nice day! I’m going now to try to think up a story for tomorrow…

Caprice 1 – audio HERE; sheet music HERE
Caprice 2 – audio HERE; sheet music HERE
Caprice 3 – audio HERE; sheet music HERE

Music 480-481: Two Mazurkas

This is the final music posting – at least for a while. I have managed to catch up on the music postings and equilibrium is restored in my life! Hopefully the stories will return tomorrow if I can think of one!

Here are a couple of mazurkas. A mazurka is a Polish dance in triple meter, fairly lively, with the accent on the second or third beat.

The most famous mazurkas are Chopin’s – at least until now!

Mazurka 1 – audio HERE; sheet music HERE
Mazurka 2 – audio HERE; sheet music HERE

Music 479: Piano Sonata 5

Here is a piano sonata in 3 movements. It is “serial music” – a 20th century style – so it might not be to everyone’s taste! After today there’s only one more music posting – tomorrow – at least for now.

1st Movement – audio HERE; sheet music HERE
2nd Movement – audio HERE; sheet music HERE
3rd Movement – audio HERE; sheet music HERE

Music 475-478: Four little almost waltzes

There will be music postings for today and the two days that follow, and then we will be back to normal!

Here are four waltzes (almost) for piano. A couple of them have been posted here before in a different context, e.g. “His first waltz” was part of “Little Suite 2 with fifteen sketches”.

They’re “almost” waltzes because the third one would require two and a half legs to dance to.

Here then are “Four little almost waltzes”:

1. The night’s still young – audio HERE; sheet music HERE
2. His first waltz – audio HERE; sheet music HERE
3. Almost a waltz – audio HERE; sheet music HERE
 4. The wallflower – audio HERE; sheet music HERE

Music 474: Rondo adagio

We continue the streak of no-stories today while we catch up with some music postings.

Today’s music is called Rondo adagio. For those who don’t know and have wondered all their life what a Rondo is, it’s when the original tune (Section A) keeps coming back. So the form of a Rondo is something like: Tune A, Tune B, Tune A, Tune C, Tune A.

Here then is Rondo adagio. Click HERE for the audio, and HERE for the sheet music.

Music 466-473: A Little Night Music

8 Nocturnes for piano

Once again there is no story today, as we catch up on posting music.

Here are 8 Nocturnes for piano. Appropriately, tomorrow is the Winter Solstice, so a little night music from the Southern Hemisphere is not out of place.

                Nocturne 1 – audio HERE; sheet music HERE
                Nocturne 2 – audio HERE; sheet music HERE
                Nocturne 3 – audio HERE; sheet music HERE
                Nocturne 4 – audio HERE; sheet music HERE
                Nocturne 5 – audio HERE; sheet music HERE
                Nocturne 6 – audio HERE; sheet music HERE
                Nocturne 7 – audio HERE; sheet music HERE
                Nocturne 8 – audio HERE; sheet music HERE

               

Music 455-461: Te Popo Variations

Here are seven duets for four hands with two pianos. They are called “Te Popo Variations” because they are variations on tunes and Te Popo is the name of the rural area in which I live.

“Te Popo” means Dark Night – and in fact at night even with the light shining through a window you can’t see the sides of the house. I’ve never seen anything like the darkness before. It is pitch-black. The only way to walk around the house outside at night is to walk around patting the walls. It’s not scary but it’s a bit different and perhaps explains the traditional name of the place. All that has nothing to do with the music – the pieces are called “Te Popo Variations” simply because I live there.

The variations are duet arrangements of old hymns. I found in a second hand book shop’s reject bin an old hymnal called “Hymns Ancient and Modern”. It cost all of fifty cents. Inside is written “A token of affection from the Scholars of S. Barnabas Sunday School. 21 June 1917”. The arrangements are a little irreverent perhaps at times. I simply took a hymn or two at random and recomposed them with a bit more oomph! Incidentally the hymn book is still used today but is much updated.

Here then are seven duets for two pianos –Te Popo Variations.

1. Te Popo Variations 1: Audio HERE, sheet music HERE.
2. Te Popo Variations 2: Audio HERE, sheet music HERE.
3. Te Popo Variations 3: Audio HERE, sheet music HERE.
4. Te Popo Variations 4: Audio HERE, sheet music HERE.
5. Te Popo Variations 5: Audio HERE, sheet music HERE.
6. Te Popo Variations 6: Audio HERE, sheet music HERE.
7. Te Popo Variations 7: Audio HERE, sheet music HERE.

Music 446-454: Hours of the Day

These nine pieces for the piano are based on Anglican psalm chants. I have an Anglican Psalter with 242 chants – goodness knows where I got it from! – and each of these piano pieces is based on one or two chants from the psalter chosen at random. I hope I don’t get sent to hell for wrecking the chants! I can’t remember which chant I used for what as I’m totally disorganized and and have long abandoned any semblance of organization.

At first, since they were based on something religious, I called them after the monastic Liturgy of the Hours: Matins, Lauds, Vespers, Compline, etc. There were eight traditional prayer times, and then I wrote another piece and there were 9 pieces and only 8 liturgical prayer Hours! So I thought what the heck and named them after the hours of the day. The pieces really having nothing to do with the hours of the day and nothing to do with the Liturgy of the Hours, but things have to have some order!

I was pretty familiar with the Anglican chants as when I was a “monk” and everything changed from Latin to English we didn’t have much in the way of music to sing the Liturgy of the Hours (aka Divine Office) in English so we “pinched” the music from the Anglicans! Anyway, all I know now is that these 9 piano pieces have absolutely nothing to do with the hours of the day, nothing to do with the monastic Liturgy of the Hours, and nothing to do with the Anglican psalmody except I started out by stealing the psalmodies’ harmonies!

Here they are!

1. 4 am: Audio HERE, sheet music HERE.
2. 6 am: Audio HERE, sheet music HERE.
3. 8 am: Audio HERE, sheet music HERE.
4. 10 am: Audio HERE, sheet music HERE.
5. 12 noon: Audio HERE, sheet music HERE.
6. 2 pm: Audio HERE, sheet music HERE.
7. 4 pm: Audio HERE, sheet music HERE.
8. 6 pm: Audio HERE, sheet music HERE.
9. 8 pm: Audio HERE, sheet music HERE.