SKU: HL.14018850

ISBN 9780711986008. 9.0x12.0x0.295 inches.

The Prelude, Hymn And Toccata 1987 is dedicated to, and was commissioned by the Nettle-Markham Piano Duo. It was the second work to have been written for them by the composer, the first being the Sonata For Piano Duet Op.92. This twenty minute work begins with Leighton's typical preludial double-dotted rhythms and contrapuntal textures; it develops into dark, passionate music and erupts into single and double cadenzas. The gentle Hymn is ushered in quietly and unfolds in long, rhapsodic sections, building up to more climactic cadenzas before dissolving gradually to an ethereal conclusion. The Toccata finale shows Leighton's masterly piano writing and contrasts biting, rhythmic motifs with sweeping, yearning elegiac phrases.

SKU: HL.14042937

Monsoon Toccata by Anthony Gilbert. 3'33; for solo piano. In memoriam Janet Owen Thomas (1961-2002). In 1988, Janet Owen Thomas met up with me in Sydney at the end of a short organ-recital tour - possibly her last before devoting herself entirely to composing. We returned to England together, doing a rapid circular tour of Northern India on the way. Alighting from the plane at Delhi we were hit by the whirling wind and torrential rain of the seasonal monsoon, and early the following morning there was also a minor earthquake. This experience determined the spirit of the music, and Northern Indian Raga determines the purely technical approach, with thequasi-improvisatory toccatalike textures acting as decoration to a slow-moving, widely-spaced modal top line which almost loses control of the overall shape at the mid-point - a reflection of the impact of those natural phenomena. A.G. Monsoon Toccata by Anthony Gilbert. 3'33'; for solo piano. In memoriam Janet Owen Thomas (1961-2002).

'In 1988, Janet Owen Thomas met up with me in Sydney at the end of a short organ-recital tour - possibly her last before devoting herself entirely to composing. We returned to England together, doing a rapid circular tour of Northern India on the way. Alighting from the plane at Delhi we were hit by the whirling wind and torrential rain of the seasonal monsoon, and early the following morning there was also a minor earthquake.

This experience determined the spirit of the music, and Northern Indian Raga determines the purely technical approach, withthe quasi-improvisatory toccatalike textures acting as decoration to a slow-moving, widely-spaced modal top line which almost loses control of the overall shape at the mid-point - a reflection of the impact of those natural phenomena.'

A.G.

SKU: HL.49013092

ISBN 9790001136969. 9.0x12.0x0.18 inches.

In a number of works for musical theatre * The Rat-catcher (The Pied Piper) based on a libretto by Michael Ende, the opera Eduard auf dem Seil (Edward on the Tightrope) on a story by Morike and Der Schimmelreiter (The Ghost Rider) based on the well-known novella by Theodor Storm * Wilfried Hiller has used the organ to illustrate exceptional dramatic scenarios. The addition of further works has now resulted in a collection of Toccatas, some of them playful, some meditative, which may be performed individually or as a cycle, either in concert or for tuition purposes.