SKU: HL.14023265

ISBN 9788759810866. Danish.

From the preface:

The aim of the publication of these four-handed piano compositions is to fill a void within the sphere of sight-reading
(and almost sight-reading) at the beginner and intermediate level. These three volumes together contain 36 Nordic folk songs from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and the
Faroe Islands. The selection is based first and foremost on their being well suited to the instrumental expressive
possibilities of the piano, and being good representatives of the rich and atmospheric Nordic musical heritage.
When one practises sight-reading on one’s own it is tempting to stop as onegoes along, because the desire to play
the correct notes is often given priority at the expense of the rhythm and expression.
Music without an organic pulse will leave the player with an unsatisfactory feeling of stress and failure, and the
stream of thought will not form part of a natural flow. Good sight-reading training is therefore ensemble playing,
where the teacher supports the pulse and rhythm.
In many other publications of four-handed duets the secundo part is written in two bass clefs, and the primo part in two
treble clefs. Reading this untrained combination of clefs, along with the stressful fact that the music has never been
seen nor heard before, can confuse the pupil.
In volumes 1 and 2 the secundo part, which is intended for the pupil, is therefore notated in a treble clef and bass
clef, as piano music for two hands is usually notated. In volume 3 the degree of difficulty is more varied, but in most
of the pieces improvisation is an interposed element in the primo part, being therefore a good challenge for the pupil.
In the improvisatory sections a chord or a scale is notated. These can form the tonal starting point, but here too the
pupil is encouraged to experiment with, for example, the shift between major and minor thirds, and between the high and
low sixth and seventh.

SKU: HL.14041529

ISBN 9781849388214.

Lord Berners (1883-1950) was one of the most idiosyncratic and fascinating personalities in British music.

He became a pioneer in the avant-garde when he wrote his first music whilst living in Rome as adiplomat during World War 1; Balanchine choreographed his first two ballets and Ashton the next three; in 1931 he had the first exhibition of his paintings; in 1934 he published the first volume of his autobiography, FirstChildhood, and two years later his first novel, The Camel -- and three more novels came out in 1941.

On top of all this during the 1930s, known as 'the versatile peer', he increasingly gained a reputation as an eccentric,which he realised was good for publicity.

A wry humour pervades everything, as in these three sets of piano duets. Berners' songs and piano music, too, are as full of whimsical references as those of Erik Satie -- he hasbeen called the English Satie and the Ronald Firbank of music.

Berners was not prolific but whatever he did was stamped with his own fastidious accomplishment. He may not have been the last eccentric but his music, writingand painting combine to make him one of the most rewarding.

SKU: HL.285230

UPC: 888680908737. 9.0x12.0x0.264 inches.

'Flee the storms.' Reynaldo Hahn (1874-1947) put this motto of classical artists at the heart of his music for piano four hands, preferring the balance of proportions to the roar of passions, the eclecticism of good taste, charm and delicacy. Berceuses falls within the French tradition of children's music such as illustrated by Faure's Dolly and Ravel's Ma mere lOye. These seven pieces evoke with refinement the happiness of a cloudless day, the effervescence that reigns on Christmas Eve, or the gentle syncopated rocking of a young Creole, Selfiana. The Variations pueriles sur une melodie de Carl Reinecke manifest a free, whimsical vein, whereas the Trois preludes sur des airs irlandais drink at the pure sources of folk music, borrowing their thematic material from the famous collection Songs of Old Ireland which Stanford had brought out in 1882. Published for the first time from ahandwritten score, the Variations sur un theme de Charles Levade end with a wild quadrille that takes the heroes of the celebration to the nearest inn. The Piece en forme daria et Bergerie from 1896, finely polished, takes up with the ambiance of the pastorale, popular in the 17th century.