Sounds like: Keith Jarrett, Bill Evans, Vince Guaraldi, Liz Story's "The Gift", George Winston's "December", early Windham Hill solo piano artists, and "A Winter's Solstice" compilations.


Transcribed by: David Shenton ( https://www.shentonmusic.com/ ) verbatim to the sound recording

Contents:
1. Bring A Torch (Bring A Torch, Jeanette, Isabella)
2. Children Go Where I Send Thee / The Holly & The Ivy
3. Star Of Wonder (We Three Kings of Orient Are)
4. Silent (Silent Night, Holy Night)
5. Midnight (It Came Upon the Midnight Clear)
6. What Child Is This?
7. Greensleeves (homage to Liz Story)
8. Three Ships (I Saw Three Ships, Come Sailing In)
9. The Coventry Carol (Lully, Lulla, Lullay)
10. Sing We Now Of Christmas (No�l Nouvelet)
11. Carol Of The Bells

Album & Songbook review by: Kathy Parsons (MainlyPiano.com):

I have discovered a real wealth of great solo piano Christmas CDs this year! Isadar?s In Search For the Meaning of Christmas definitely falls into this category! Thoughtful, introspective, and a bit moody, Isadar?s arrangements are true to the carols (with some small melody changes in ?Bring a Torch? and ?Carol of the Bells? that bother me just a little) and still seem very personal. ?Bring a Torch?, ?The Holly and the Ivy?, and ?I Saw Three Ships? are given a lighthearted, joyful treatment. ?Star of Wonder (We Three Kings)?, ?What Child Is This??, ?The Coventry Carol?, and ?Sing We Now of Christmas? are all minor, somber, reverent pieces, and all four are given loving arrangements that keep the dark, mysterious nature of the songs and reflect Isadar?s own sensibilities. ?Carol of the Bells? and Isadar's take on Liz Story?s arrangement of ?Greensleeves? are energetic without losing all abandon. ?Silent Night? and ?It Came Upon a Midnight Clear? present us with a very cold, deep solitude - both feel like late night with moonlight reflecting off the snow. Both are moody, but very beautifully so. George Winston?s ?December? is one of my all-time favorite holiday albums, and I feel In Search For the Meaning of Christmas holds up exceptionally well next to it. This is an excellent collection of Christmas music, and I highly recommend it!

In Search For the Meaning of Christmas is the companion songbook to Isadar?s 1999 solo piano release by the same name. Meticulously transcribed note-for-note by David Shenton of New York Music Publishing, the music is faithful to the recording in every way (except for the pianist - YOU!). The scores are clear, concise, and easy to read, and also include chord indications for improvisation or the use of instruments other than or in addition to the piano. Isadar?s arrangements cover a whole range of emotions, from very dark and somber to joyful and buoyant. All of the pieces from the CD are here, including Isadar?s homage to Liz Story and her beautiful version of ?Greensleeves.? My personal favorites of the eleven songs in this book are the bright and cheerful ?Bring A Torch,? ?What Child Is This??, ?Greensleeves,? the darkly gorgeous ?The Coventry Carol,? and ?Sing We Now of Christmas.? Other titles that I really like are ?Children Go Where I Send Thee/The Holly and the Ivy,? ?Star of Wonder (We Three Kings)," ?Carol of the Bells,? and the effervescent ?Three Ships.? ?Silent? (Silent Night) and ?Midnight? (It Came Upon a Midnight Clear) are a bit too dark for my own holiday tastes, but are interesting and very personal arrangements. This book will make a great addition to your holiday sheet music collection and is available from isadar.com and amazon.com.

Isadar is an artist on both Enlightened Piano Radio & Whisperings Solo Piano Radio, the latter featuring some of today's biggest names in solo piano music, including Ludovico Einaudi, David Nevue, Brian Crain, Kevin Kern, Robin Spielberg, Michele McLaughlin, Philip Wesley and over 300 more...

Also available as sheet music in physical songbooks, digital downloads, as well as software for Yamaha Disklavier player-pianos.

For more information, visit his website at: http://www.isadar.com

Song List: A Balm in Gilead All Hail, King Jesus (Dave Moody) As the Deer (Marty Nystrom) Awesome God/I Exalt Thee (Richard Mullins/Pete Sanchez, Jr.) Emmanuel (Bob Mcgee) Gesu Bambino (Pietro A Yon) Glorify Thy Name (Donna Adkins) God So Loved the World (John Stainer) Grace Greater Than Our Sin (Daniel B Towner) Halle, Halle, Halle Have Thy Own Way, Lord (George C Stebbins) He Has Made Me Glad (Leona Von Brethorst) He Is Exalted (Twila Paris) His Is Lord Here I Am, Lord (Dan Schutte) Holy Ground (Geron Davis) How Excellent Is Thy Name (Dick & Melody Tunney, Paul Smith) Hymn of Promise (Natalie Sleeth) I Exalt Thee/Awesome God (Pete Sanchez, Jr./Richard Mullins) I Surrender All (Winfield S. Weeden) I Walked Today Where Jesus Walked (Geoffrey O'hara) I Will Call Upon the Lord (Michael O'shields) I Wonder As I Wander (John Jacob Niles) I'll Fly Away (Albert E Brumley) In the Garden (C. Austin Miles) Jesus, Name Above All Names (Naida Hearn) Just As I Am (William B Bradbury) Lord, Be Glorified/Sanctuary (Bob Kilpatrick/John Thompson & Randy Scruggs) Morning has Broken Old Friends (William J Gaither & J D Miller) On Eagle's Wings (Michael Joncas) Open Our Eyes, Lord (Bob Cull) Our God Reigns ( Leonard E Smith, Jr.) Pass It On (Kurt Kaiser) Praise the Name of Jesus (Roy Hicks, Jr.) Sanctuary/Lord, Be Glorified (John Thompson & Randy Scruggs/Bob Kilpatrick) Shine, Jesus, Shine (Graham Kendrick) Sing Hallelujah to the Lord (Linda Stassen) This Is the Day (Les Garrett) Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus (Helen Lemmel) Victory in Jesus (Eugene M Bartlett, Sr) We Bring the Sacrifice of Praise (Kirk Dearman) We Gather Together What A Mighty God We Serve When the Roll Is Called Up Yonder (James M Black) Wonderful Grace of Jesus (Haldor Lillenas) Be Thou My Vision LORD'S PRAYER, THE (ALBERT HAY MALLOTTE) LOVE OF GOD, THE (FREDERICK H LEHMAN) MAJESTY AND GLORY OF YOUR NAME, THE (TOM FETTKE)

Contains Le Roi Lear: Pr�lude,Premi�re Fanfare, and La Mort de Cord�lia,Toomai des �l�phants, Rodrigue et Chim�ne: Pr�lude � l?acte 1p. Le Martyre de Saint S�bastien: La Passion , and No-ja-li ou Le Palais du Silence

From Robert Orledge's notes:

My interest in the wonderful music of Claude Debussy began in the 1980s when I researched and published a book with Cambridge University Press entitled Debussy and the Theatre. During the course of my studies in Paris, I was amazed to discover that Debussy planned over 50 theatrical works but only finished two of these entirely by himself (the opera Pell�as et M�lisande in 1893?1902 and the ballet Jeux for Diaghilev?s Ballets Russes in 1912?13). Of the rest, many were never started musically (like Siddartha and Orph�e-roi with the Oriental scholar Victor Segalen, 1907); some had a few tantalising sketches (like the Edgar Allan Poe opera Le Diable dans le beffroi, 1902?03); some were half-finished (like his other Poe opera La Chute de la Maison Usher, 1908?17); while others were musically complete but had their orchestrations completed by other composers (like Khamma, by Charles Koechlin, 1912?13; or Le Martyre de Saint S�bastien and La Bo�te � joujoux by his ?angel of corrections? [?l?ange des Corrections?] Andr� Caplet in 1911 and 1919 respectively).

For it has to be admitted that what some scholars call Debussy?s ?compulsive achievement? could equally well be viewed as laziness, especially as far as the minute detail required for calligraphing his orchestral scores was concerned. It was as if creating the music itself was of greater importance than controlling its final sound, even if Debussy was an imaginative orchestrator when he found the time and energy to do it. It also seems true that Debussy also preferred inventing ideas to turning them into complete pieces. However, despite the lack of detail in many of his sketches (missing clefs, key signatures, dynamics, phrasing, etc.) the notes themselves are surprisingly accurate, whether or not they can be compared with a later draft. Thus, a large number of sketches exist for his Chinese ballet No-ja-li ou Le Palais du Silence and it is not too difficult to see which parts of Georges de Feure?s 1913 scenario (see below) inspired which ideas. But Debussy hardly made any attempt to join them together after the first few bars.

It was usually up to his publisher, Jacques Durand, to find solutions when Debussy risked a breach of contract. Debussy was supposed to supervise the orchestrations completed by others, but this supervision was usually very light and restricted to quiet, sensitive moments in which problems were easier to spot. Far from jealously guarding every one of his created notes, as Ravel did, Debussy once even went as far as to ask Koechlin to ?write a ballet for him that he would sign? on 26 March 1914 when he was hard-pressed to fulfil his lucrative contract for No-ja-li with Andr� Charlot at the Alhambra Theatre in London. In the end, Debussy (through Durand) sent Charlot the symphonic suite Printemps instead, whose orchestration had been completed by Henri Busser in the Spring of 1912.

So, when I was offered early retirement as Professor of Music at Liverpool University in 2004, I seized the opportunity it would give me to spend time trying to reconstruct some of Debussy?s lost potential masterpieces from his existing sketches and drafts?then orchestrating them in Debussy?s style when this was appropriate. I had begun this mission in 2001 with the most promising project, the missing parts of Scene 2 of La Chute de la Maison Usher and the sheer joy it gave me at every stage persuaded me to tackle other projects, especially when Debussy experts were unable to identify exactly where I took over from Debussy (and vice versa) in Usher.

Contains A Night in the House of Usher Un Jour affreux avec Le Diable dans le beffroi, Les accords de septi�me regrettent!!!, Petite Valse,F�tes galantes, and Pr�lude � ?L?Histoire de Tristan?

From Robert Orledge's notes:

My interest in the wonderful music of Claude Debussy began in the 1980s when I researched and published a book with Cambridge University Press entitled Debussy and the Theatre. During the course of my studies in Paris, I was amazed to discover that Debussy planned over 50 theatrical works but only finished two of these entirely by himself (the opera Pell�as et M�lisande in 1893?1902 and the ballet Jeux for Diaghilev?s Ballets Russes in 1912?13). Of the rest, many were never started musically (like Siddartha and Orph�e-roi with the Oriental scholar Victor Segalen, 1907); some had a few tantalising sketches (like the Edgar Allan Poe opera Le Diable dans le beffroi, 1902?03); some were half-finished (like his other Poe opera La Chute de la Maison Usher, 1908?17); while others were musically complete but had their orchestrations completed by other composers (like Khamma, by Charles Koechlin, 1912?13; or Le Martyre de Saint S�bastien and La Bo�te � joujoux by his ?angel of corrections? [?l?ange des Corrections?] Andr� Caplet in 1911 and 1919 respectively).

For it has to be admitted that what some scholars call Debussy?s ?compulsive achievement? could equally well be viewed as laziness, especially as far as the minute detail required for calligraphing his orchestral scores was concerned. It was as if creating the music itself was of greater importance than controlling its final sound, even if Debussy was an imaginative orchestrator when he found the time and energy to do it. It also seems true that Debussy also preferred inventing ideas to turning them into complete pieces. However, despite the lack of detail in many of his sketches (missing clefs, key signatures, dynamics, phrasing, etc.) the notes themselves are surprisingly accurate, whether or not they can be compared with a later draft. Thus, a large number of sketches exist for his Chinese ballet No-ja-li ou Le Palais du Silence and it is not too difficult to see which parts of Georges de Feure?s 1913 scenario (see below) inspired which ideas. But Debussy hardly made any attempt to join them together after the first few bars.

It was usually up to his publisher, Jacques Durand, to find solutions when Debussy risked a breach of contract. Debussy was supposed to supervise the orchestrations completed by others, but this supervision was usually very light and restricted to quiet, sensitive moments in which problems were easier to spot. Far from jealously guarding every one of his created notes, as Ravel did, Debussy once even went as far as to ask Koechlin to ?write a ballet for him that he would sign? on 26 March 1914 when he was hard-pressed to fulfil his lucrative contract for No-ja-li with Andr� Charlot at the Alhambra Theatre in London. In the end, Debussy (through Durand) sent Charlot the symphonic suite Printemps instead, whose orchestration had been completed by Henri Busser in the Spring of 1912.

So, when I was offered early retirement as Professor of Music at Liverpool University in 2004, I seized the opportunity it would give me to spend time trying to reconstruct some of Debussy?s lost potential masterpieces from his existing sketches and drafts?then orchestrating them in Debussy?s style when this was appropriate. I had begun this mission in 2001 with the most promising project, the missing parts of Scene 2 of La Chute de la Maison Usher and the sheer joy it gave me at every stage persuaded me to tackle other projects, especially when Debussy experts were unable to identify exactly where I took over from Debussy (and vice versa) in Usher.

Here's how to play "Say You Won't Let Go" by James Arthur on piano!

With this piano sheet music, you get an accurate arrangement of the full song which is not too hard to play, and sounds fantastic!
The full melody is included in the piano part, so it makes for a great instrumental (piano solo) version!

"Say You Won't Let Go" is the lead single from James Arthur's second studio album, "Back from the Edge".
It became one of his most successful songs, and has been streamed over 1 billion times on Spotify!

Here are the full lyrics to James Arthur's "Say You Won't Let Go":

I met you in the dark, you lit me up
You made me feel as though I was enough
We danced the night away, we drank too much
I held your hair back when
You were throwing up
Then you smiled over your shoulder
For a minute, I was stone-cold sober
I pulled you closer to my chest
And you asked me to stay over
I said, I already told ya
I think that you should get some rest
I knew I loved you then
But you'd never know
'Cause I played it cool when I was scared of letting go
I know I needed you
But I never showed
But I wanna stay with you until we're grey and old
Just say you won't let go
Just say you won't let go
I'll wake you up with some breakfast in bed
I'll bring you coffee with a kiss on your head
And I'll take the kids to school
Wave them goodbye
And I'll thank my lucky stars for that night
When you looked over your shoulder
For a minute, I forget that I'm older
I wanna dance with you right now
Oh, and you look as beautiful as ever
And I swear that everyday'll get better
You make me feel this way somehow
I'm so in love with you
And I hope you know
Darling your love is more than worth its weight in gold
We've come so far my dear
Look how we've grown
And I wanna stay with you until we're grey and old
Just say you won't let go
Just say you won't let go
I wanna live with you
Even when we're ghosts
'Cause you were always there for me when I needed you most
I'm gonna love you till
My lungs give out
I promise till death we part like in our vows
So I wrote this song for you, now everybody knows
Finally it's just you and me till we're grey and old
Just say you won't let go
Just say you won't let go

Recorded by Nicolas Horvath on Grand Piano records (GP822)

Debussy?s friendship with the versatile poet and playwright Gabriel Mourey began in 1899, and in July 1907 Mourey offered Debussy a libretto based on Le roman de Tristan - Joseph B�dier?s adaptation of a twelfth-century Breton romance by the Anglo-Norman poet known as Thomas - which had recently been published in Paris. Debussy enthusiastically outlined the four-act plot to Victor Segalen that October, and the main differences from Wagner?s Tristan und Isolde are that none of the action takes place in Cornwall and that ?Isolde of the White Hands? is found guilty of cuckolding King Marc with Tristan, who has to rescue her from the leper colony in which she is abandoned in Act 1. She also betrays him when he goes mad at the end.

The idea of a Tristan that restored its ?legendary character? and had no connections with Wagner, appealed to Debussy, who was extremely moved by the circumstances of Tristan?s death. Even if he thought that Mourey?s poetry was ?not very lyrical and many passages do not exactly ?invite? music?, he did work on the libretto and the music that summer and sent his publisher, Jacques Durand, ?one of the 363 themes for the ?Roman de Tristan?? in a letter sent from Pourville on 23 August, 1907. The present prelude grows from this theme, together with the poignant Breton folksong ?Le Faucon?. After a short atmospheric introduction, Debussy?s dance-like theme (which is definitely not a leitmotif) gradually gains momentum and after it reaches its ecstatic climax, representing the transient happiness of the lovers, it dissolves into an expressive coda and an elegiac close (all growing from Debussy?s opening, off-stage trumpet calls), leaving us with the ultimate tragedy of their ill-fated affair.

Unfortunately, Mourey?s actual libretto has been lost and the project eventually foundered because B�dier?s cousin, Louis Artus, wanted Debussy to use the scenario he had prepared and copyrighted for the stage, and would not allow him to proceed with Mourey?s version. Debussy, it need hardly be said, would never have dreamed of collaborating with the author of the vaudeville hit La culotte (The pants)!

Robert Orledge

Let It Be is one of my favourite songs from the Beatles. John Lennon and Paul McCartney are credited as the singer/songwriters of this beautiful ballad.

I watched the movie "Yesterday" featuring so many of the Beatles iconic songs and had this song running through my head for days afterwards. Sitting down at the piano, this arrangement came to me in a few hours. I scribbled madly to get it all down and then was discouraged when I found out that the Beatles' collection of music was NOT in our catalog of arrangeable songs! (Normally I check before I write!)

I contacted SMP Press to ask if it would be difficult to try to obtain the copyrights from Sir Paul! I was excited to see his music included in our catalog a few months later! I put the video up as a piano cover on YouTube and got a few requests for the sheet music. So glad to be able to make it available now.

This year, I've been arranging songs that I consider to be important. The popular ballad's longevity is a testament to it's importance in songwriting history.

My arrangement is written in 4/4 time, with left hand that provides the accompaniment. This is an expressive piano solo, and is a challenge to intermediate and early advanced players. The arrangement has four-note chords, some octave work, and an area where there are bass leaps in the left hand. Legato pedalling should be used throughout, with attention to careful fingering to ensure that the melody is played smoothly and expressively. The piano solo can be used as a recital piece, a solo in many different arenas or for your own private enjoyment.

If you like this arrangement, please check out my other piano solos on my publisher page. You can also check out my YouTube channel "the-piano-studio.com", or my website at www.the-piano-studio.com.

With this sheet music, you can play ?Baby, It?s Cold Outside? on piano!

The full melody is included in the piano part, so it makes for a perfect instrumental (piano solo) cover.

The famous duet "Baby, It's Cold Outside" was written in 1944 by Frank Loesser, who regularly performed the song at celebrity parties with his wife, Lynn Garland.

In 1949, the song appeared in the film "Neptune's Daughter", and won an Academy Award for Best Original Song!

The song is clearly winter-themed (talking about the blizzard outside!), but it doesn?t mention anything holiday-related. Anyway, the song is generally considered a Christmas song.

Of course, the song has been covered by countless artists since the 40s.

Some of the most memorable recordings include such fantastic duos as Louis Armstrong and Velma Middleton, Ray Charles and Betty Carter, Rod Stewart and Dolly Parton, Idina Menzel and Michael Bubl�, Cee Lo Green and Christina Aguilera, Lady Gaga and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth MacFarlane and Sara Bareilles!

?Baby, It?s Cold Outside? also appeared in an episode of Glee (?A Very Glee Christmas?, Season 2, Episode 10), where it is performed by members of the Glee Cast (Blaine Anderson/Darren Criss and Kurt Hummel/Chris Colfer).

Time for you to play it!


Here are the full lyrics to ?Baby, It?s Cold Outside?:

[VERSE 1]

I really can't stay (but baby, it's cold outside)

I've got to go away (but baby, it's cold outside)

This evening has been (been hoping that you'd drop in)

So very nice (i'll hold your hands, they're just like ice)

My mother will start to worry (beautiful what's your hurry?)

My father will be pacing the floor (listen to the fireplace roar)

So really I'd better scurry (beautiful please don't hurry)

But maybe just a half a drink more (put some records on while I pour)

The neighbors might think (baby, it's bad out there)

Say what's in this drink? (no cabs to be had out there)

I wish I knew how (your eyes are like starlight now)

To break this spell (i'll take your hat, your hair looks swell)

I ought to say, no, no, no sir (mind if I move in closer?)

At least I'm gonna say that I tried (what's the sense in hurtin' my pride?)

I really can't stay (oh baby don't hold out)

But baby, it's cold outside

[VERSE 2]

I simply must go (but baby, it's cold outside)

The answer is no (but baby, it's cold outside)

Your welcome has been(how lucky that you dropped in)

So nice and warm (look out the window at this dawn)

My sister will be suspicious (gosh your lips look delicious)

My brother will be there at the door (waves upon the tropical shore)

My maiden aunts mind is vicious (gosh your lips are delicious)

But maybe just a cigarette more (never such a blizzard before)

I've gotta get home(but baby, you'd freeze out there)

Say lend me a coat(it's up to your knees out there)

You've really been grand (i thrill when you touch my hand)

But don't you see? (how can you do this thing to me?)

There's bound to be talk tomorrow (think of my lifelong sorrow)

At least there will be plenty implied (if you got pnuemonia and died)

I really can't stay (get over that old out)

Baby, it's cold outside

Drill & Excel On the Piano Book 3 is a 145-page book for the early intermediate student. This includes everything a student will need for their lesson and learning the skill and concepts of playing the piano. It starts with 2 assignment pages for the week?s assignments. Followed by note pages for the student or the instructor to make. The first chapter starts with a recap for books 1 and 2, so no important foundational steps are missed if the intermediate student starts with this book. Then starting with chapter 2, Drill & Excel On the Piano Book 3 introduces new rhythms, the 16th notes and rests, and triplets. The exercises get more challenging for the intermediate student, with lots of special exercises for skills needed. Special exercises include dynamic training, finger independence, finger pedaling, and more. For the scales, playing them in multiple octaves are introduced, along with the 2 new scales, A and F. What?s new in Drill & Excel On the Piano book 3 is TONS of new theory! Diatonic intervals were introduced in the 3rd chapter of book 2, so chromatic (altered) intervals are introduced in the 2nd chapter, along with triads and triad numbers in the 3rd chapter. It doesn?t stop there; it also includes plenty of assignment worksheets, so the student has a repetitive written assignment for deeper learning! And the best part, 60 original songs beautifully written to teach what is taught in each chapter. Songs are melodic and fun to play, introducing a new style of music with each song. The author gives commentary for each song. Most method books merely offer songs with little information, but the ?Drill & Excel On the Piano? book series offers not only plenty of songs, but everything the student needs for all concepts, information, and skill needed to take the early intermediate student to the next level.