Piano Solo - Easy-Intermediate

SKU: FP.FBS03

Composed by Sarah Baker. Sheet Music and Books. Nine pieces on a day time theme for solo piano, by Sarah Baker. Suggested grade 4-5. Classical. Collection. Forsyths Publications #FBS03. Published by Forsyths Publications (FP.FBS03).

ISBN 9790570500192.

Sarah Baker is Vocal Composer in Residence at Education Music Services, an ABRSM examiner and a well known composer of songs and musicals for primary schools and massed-choral events.

All this experience has come together in the creation of this album of piano pieces, inspired by growing up in the Chiltern Hills. Suitable for players of around grade 4-5 standard, her evocative sound pieces describe a crash-landing hot air balloon, garden invading cows and a even a snake in a pond!

Air Balloon!: One vivid memory I have as a child is of the day that a hot air balloon passed over our house and made an emergency landing on the road in front! The sound of the gas being blown into the balloon to try to keep it high enough to pass the house sounded so loud and intimidating, and then there was the bustle of the neighbours as we all went out into the street to watch. It was both terrifying and exhilarating to watch the balloon float past and then land so near by.

Buzzards Circling: There is something so calming and restful about watching birds of prey circling in the thermal currents of a summer sky. Growing up in the Chilterns gave me plenty of opportunity to watch buzzards and red kites. This piano solo captures the beauty of their flight as they glide so effortlessly through the air.

There’s A Cow In The Garden Eating The Flowers: Inspired by the memory of seeing an unexpected cow in the garden! This surreal image is captured in a quirky waltz, as I portray both the absurdity of the moment and the sense of wonder I felt as a child, looking out of the window and seeing the cow walking round and eating the flowers. The final phrase articulates my longing: ‘I wish it would come again’.

Watching The World Go By: A short, reflective piece, remembering what it was like to have time to just sit and watch the world go by from my bedroom window.

Autumn Skies: A miniature about the beauty of Autumn skies and the poignant sense of loss for a summer gone. Friends I was fortunate to have several children of my own age living close by. We seemed to be forever making dens, playing out in the street and generally enjoying each other’s company. This piece reflects that sense of well-being.

Snake In The Pond: One hot summer I was astonished and scared to see a grass snake cooling off in our garden pond! I watched, both horrified and fascinated, as it rose up from the depths and then disappeared again. Here I portray the sense of the hazy summer afternoon as I peacefully watched the tiny movements of fish in the pond, contrasted with the fear and excitement of seeing the snake appear.

Morning Commute: I recollect many mornings stuck in traffic as my Dad took me to school on his way to work. There is one main road out of the village where I grew up, and that got more and more congested the closer we got to the town. We may not have chatted a lot, but it was always good to be together with my Dad, lost in our own thoughts.

The Witch’s Cottage: My siblings and I had a fascination with a small cottage nearby. It was set back from the road in a dark part of the woods and we called it 'the witch's cottage’. Every time we passed, I imagined I heard the distant cackle of the witch and wished I could catch a glimpse of her.

These pieces are written to complement my other collection, Night Time Impressions, which also draw on childhood recollections, particularly of the woods behind the house where I grew up. - Sarah Baker 2023.

Composed by Helen Marlais with Timothy Brown. For piano. The FJH Pianist's Curriculum. Method book. Published by The FJH Music Company Inc

Piano - easy to intermediate

SKU: HL.49045014

For Piano. Composed by Nicholas Lens. This edition: Saddle stitching. Sheet music. Piano. Classical, Etude. Softcover. 86 pages. Duration 75'. Schott Music #ED 22049. Published by Schott Music (HL.49045014).

ISBN 9790001202114. 9.0x12.0 inches.

The Belgian composer Nicholas Lens presents extremely varied etudes, exercises and simple phrases with wonderfully telling titles from poetry and everyday world for children and adults. For the most part the studies are tonal and simple and have no constructed line. They are not based on any educational concept but leave the musical dramatization to the pupils and teachers: 'Notes and rhythms are just notes and rhythms, they do not have that many rules, they do not have any pretension, they are just tools for you to use to express what you want to share'.

Arranged by Robert Schultz. Songbook for easy solo piano. 224 pages. Published by Alfred Publishing.

Piano Solo. Composed by Various. Ashley Publications. Sacred. 124 pages. Ashley Mark Publishing Company #AS10422. Published by Ashley Mark Publishing Company

By Martha Mier. For Piano. Piano Solo; Sheet; Solo. Signature Series. Early Intermediate. 4 pages. Published by Alfred Music Publishing

Piano

SKU: FG.55011-630-6

Composed by Erkki Melartin. Fennica Gehrman #55011-630-6. Published by Fennica Gehrman (FG.55011-630-6).

ISBN 9790550116306.

Erkki Melartin's six-movement Per speculum in enigmatae suite op. 93 for piano is published for the first time. The Latin title of the suite means Through a glass, darkly. Melartin probably compiled it from non-related pieces composed at different times. The biblical heading maybe has a spiritual rather than a religious connotation, though some of the movements - and the title - are programmatic. The first movement, Katedralen (The Cathedral), was possibly inspired by the architecture of Bruges (Brugge). The second movement, Die andere Seite (The Other Side) has expressionistic features, and possibly reflects the influence of Scriabin. In the third movement, Dunkle Traume (Dark Dreams), the chorale-like motifs in the left hand strive upwards, but always fall back again. Movement four, Schwester Namenlos (Sister Nameless is a short cameo in 5/4 time. Erinnerung is a Late-Romantic mood piece with unconventional phrasings. Melartin later expanded the early version of late 1913 with the closing Weihnachtsglocken (Christmas Bells).

Piano / Vocal Score. Composed by Elaine Hagenberg. Hagenberg. Music Education. 54 pages. GIA Publications #EH1011. Published by GIA Publications