Par VAUGHAN WILLIAMS RALPH. On his return to civilian life after five years Army service in the First World War, Vaughan Williams revised some pre-war works, such as The Lark Ascending and his opera Hugh the Drover , and embarked on new compositions - the Pastoral Symphony , the one-act Bunyan episode The Shepherds of the Delectable Mountains and the Mass in G minor - all of which have outwardly in common a serene tranquillity. But beneath the surface, especially of the symphony, is a requiem-like mood, a legacy of the war. This ambiguity can also be sensed in the three songs -or rondels - for voice and string trio which he called Merciless Beauty. The texts are attributed to Chaucer./ Répertoire / Chant et Piano

The  Really Easy Piano: Christmas  songbook features 24 festive classics arranged for easy Piano also including song lyrics and chord symbols.  The cream of Christmas tunes are included in this book with all of those classic pop songs that herald Christmas in November and December. These are the serenades toeveryone's favourite season written by such giants of music as Elvis Presley John Lennon Paul McCartney and Elton John. Arranged for easy Piano now these yuletide hits can be played andenjoyed by beginners as well as more seasoned players. Songs like Last Christmas Fairytale of New York and Merry Xmas Everybody will lead the singalongs after Christmas dinner and IWish It Could Be Christmas Everyday will bring everyone together with a common desire. Thearrangements in this songbook will be suitable for a beginners of all ages as they are all simplified from the original. The book would also be ideal for more advanced beginners and intermediate players to use as sight-reading

?Sing your country sing your land!? Such was the advice of Déodat de Séverac to the young Joseph Canteloube de Malaret (1879-1957) when the latter shared his dismay at the petty squabbles taking over the Parisian music scene in the Belle-Epoque. Although Canteloube had started collecting folk songs from his native Cantal in 1895 he only began the harmonisation of Baïlero in 1923 thus inaugurating the first of the five Chants d?Auvergne series that would bring him fame. Renowned baritone François Le Roux chose to begin his anthology with a famous shepherd song recorded near Vic-sur-Cère(in the Haute Auvergne) in which the baïles (shepherds in pasture commons) call to each other from hilltops soaring their vocals across rivers valleys and hills. Singers who wish to immerse themselves in one of the ten melodies that compose this tender picturesque musical landscape can use the Piano accompaniment audio file accessible through a download card. Contents: Baïlèro (Shepherd Songs from the Cantal) ? Bourrées: N?aï pas iéu de mîo (Loved by no woman) and Lo Calhé (The Quail) ? L?Antouèno (The Antoine) ? Lou Boussu (The Hunchback) ? Lo Fiolaire (The Spinner) ? Là-haut sur le rocher ? Uno jionto Postouro (The Pretty Shepherdess) ? Pour l?enfant (Lullaby from Auvergne)

The solo cantatas of Handel (most of them written in Italy during the years 1707-09) are commonly regarded as works of apprenticeship in which he forged a musical technique that would stand him in good stead as a composer of Italian operas.Available here is the first volume of solo Cantatas for Soprano with Basso Continuo. This highly authoritative edition has been edited and prepared by Andrew V. Jones.