Your audiences will love these popular classics! These beloved melodies have been arranged in progressive key order so that the book can be played as a continuous set of background music at a gig. However, individual tunes may be selected as separate musical renditions and selections omitted as desired. These arrangements strive to capture the "flavor" of the original source works and yet retain a strong melodic component. The selections are derived from orchestral, opera, operetta and art song compositions. Attempting to transfer them to the harp is a challenge due to the unique characteristics of the instrument. Some liberties had to be taken in order to avoid unusual key modulations or chromaticism of the original works. In some instances, a separate pedal and lever harp arrangement are provided for a more satisfactory performance.
Contents:
Porgi, Amor (Le Nozze di Figaro), Jupiter Theme (The Planets), Musetta?s Waltz (La Bohème), Egyptian March (Aida), La Donna è Mobile (Rigoletto), Va Pensiero (Nabucco), Waltz and Cradle Song (Brahms), Toreador Song (Carmen), On Wings of Song (Mendelssohn), Surprise Symphony Theme, Moderato Cantabile (Fantasia Impromptu), Song to the Moon (Rusalka), Minuetto (Don Giovanni), The Swan (Carnival of the Animals), Mio Babbino Caro (Gianni Schicchi), Polovtsian Dance Theme (Prince Igor), Barcarolle (Tales of Hoffman), Meditation (Thaïs), Largo (New World Symphony), The Merry Widow Waltz.

An arrangement for solo piano of the much loved song from the 1971 film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. A performance can be viewed at youtube.com/c/rupertaustin/videos.

The song is first presented in a gentle jazz ballad style (bars 1-24). The tempo then picks up for a swing exploration, at a relaxed tempo, of the song in bars 25-74. During bars 70-74 the tempo slows and the mood changes in preparation for a very different dream-like presentation of the song, where the melody is mostly played by the left hand with the right hand providing a rippling accompaniment that gently splashes across a wide range of the keyboard. In this section the accent marks in the score do not indicate strong accents, but indicate where moderate emphasis is required to bring out the melody above the surrounding accompaniment. In bars 99-115 the arrangement returns to the style of the opening. From bar 116 a coda takes the opening three notes of the melody and wistfully explores them in a chromatic and richly harmonized descent towards a peaceful close.

Performance duration is about 6 minutes, but shorter versions of the arrangement are possible such that the swing section or the dream section (or both) can be omitted, with directions for this marked in the score in bars 25 and 74.

Fingering suggestions are provided in many places, but these will not suit all hands and alternative effective fingerings are possible.