This page is for works recently completed, or to which I would like to draw particular attention

 

Blorsta on Broadway (200104)
Sop, S, S, A, A, T, T, B, B, B, GtB, CtB

This overture owes a lot to Gershwin and Bernstein and was written for a Blockflöten Orchester Sankt Augustin to play in a competition. Hence the strange name Blorsta Read more ...

Blorsta on Broadway



This is a computer-generated sound file -
it is not the same as an actual performance,
so why not find a performance, or better still,
buy the music and get a few friends together to play it !!!


This overture owes a lot to Gershwin and Bernstein and was written for a Blockflöten Orchester Sankt Augustin to play in a competition.

Hence the strange name Blorsta on Broadway.

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Concerti for Orchestra

 

Battenberg Concerto (191201)
Sop, S, S, A, A, T, T, B, B, GtB, CtB

The odd title will not need explaining to British folks but I should explain that if a Brit says Battenberg they are thinking not of a small town Read more ...

Battenberg Concerto



This is a computer-generated sound file -
it is not the same as an actual performance,
so why not find a performance, or better still,
buy the music and get a few friends together to play it !!!


The odd title will not need explaining to British folks but I should explain that if a Brit says Battenberg they are thinking not of a small town in Germany or even a ‘noble’ family but simply of CAKE - see here for a fuller explanation.

As ever any similarity to J S Bach's third Brandenburg concerto is totally intentional! I do hope you enjoy it and don’t find the Christmas element of the last movement (I have incorporated the melody of Oh Du Fröliche) an obstacle to playing it at other times of year.

There are a lot of semiquavers but there are no Ab minor scales ANYWHERE!

 

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Concerto for Clarinet and Recorder Orchestra (191102)
Sop, S, S, A, A, T, T, B, B, B, GtB, CtB

This is not easy for the clarinet and is actually intended for a clarinet in C rather than the commoner B flat instrument. It lies much more easily under the fingers. If Read more ...
1 - Intrada

Concerto for Clarinet and Recorder Orchestra

1 - Intrada

This is a computer-generated sound file -
it is not the same as an actual performance,
so why not find a performance, or better still,
buy the music and get a few friends together to play it !!!


2 - Pastorale

Concerto for Clarinet and Recorder Orchestra

2 - Pastorale

This is a computer-generated sound file -
it is not the same as an actual performance,
so why not find a performance, or better still,
buy the music and get a few friends together to play it !!!


3 - Rondo Finale

Concerto for Clarinet and Recorder Orchestra

3 - Rondo Finale

This is a computer-generated sound file -
it is not the same as an actual performance,
so why not find a performance, or better still,
buy the music and get a few friends together to play it !!!


This is not easy for the clarinet and is actually intended for a clarinet in C rather than the commoner B flat instrument. It lies much more easily under the fingers.
If anyone is really desperate for a B♭ version do get in touch although one or two of the high notes may be very difficult.

1 An opening movement which has hints of a processional but laced with false relations to remind us of the early music connections of the recorder.

2 A second movement which is a set of variations on a simple little melody. Has challenges for the recorders as well as the clarinet.

3 A finale in rondo form which both in form and texture makes a nod to the concerti of Weber for clarinet.

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Concerto for Horn and Recorder Orchestra (191101)
Sop, S, S, A, A, T, T, B, B, B, GtB, CtB, SubCtB

This concerto is challenge for horn players. It is rare for even the best of horn players to get a chance to play a concerto and I hope that the piece will give them the Read more ...
1 - Allegro

Concerto for Horn and Recorder Orchestra

1 - Allegro

This is a computer-generated sound file -
it is not the same as an actual performance,
so why not find a performance, or better still,
buy the music and get a few friends together to play it !!!


2 - Andante

Concerto for Horn and Recorder Orchestra

2 - Andante

This is a computer-generated sound file -
it is not the same as an actual performance,
so why not find a performance, or better still,
buy the music and get a few friends together to play it !!!


3 - Allegro

Concerto for Horn and Recorder Orchestra

3 - Allegro

This is a computer-generated sound file -
it is not the same as an actual performance,
so why not find a performance, or better still,
buy the music and get a few friends together to play it !!!


This concerto is challenge for horn players. It is rare for even the best of horn players to get a chance to play a concerto and I hope that the piece will give them the chance.

Recorder orchestras are such versatile ensembles and I think they will enjoy the experience of playing with a horn.

The horn part lies somewhere in difficulty between Strauss First and second concerto with a nod to Franz Strauss his father in the second movement.

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Ballet Suite (191103)
S, A, T, B

This little quartet is in the same series as Circus Suite and Three Improbable Marches. Good fun and fairly easy -  each movement inspired by a simple dance Read more ...

Ballet Suite



This is a computer-generated sound file -
it is not the same as an actual performance,
so why not find a performance, or better still,
buy the music and get a few friends together to play it !!!


This little quartet is in the same series as Circus Suite and Three Improbable Marches. Good fun and fairly easy -  each movement inspired by a simple dance style. 

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Symphony No 10 in D minor (180810)
Sop, S, S, A, A, T, T, B, B, GtB, CtB

The genealogy of one side of my family is tied to the soil for a very long time back through history and in the Read more ...
1 - Andante - Allegretto

Symphony No 10 in D minor

1 - Andante - Allegretto

This is a computer-generated sound file -
it is not the same as an actual performance,
so why not find a performance, or better still,
buy the music and get a few friends together to play it !!!


2 - Andante Cantabile

Symphony No 10 in D minor

2 - Andante Cantabile

This is a computer-generated sound file -
it is not the same as an actual performance,
so why not find a performance, or better still,
buy the music and get a few friends together to play it !!!


3 - March

Symphony No 10 in D minor

3 - March

This is a computer-generated sound file -
it is not the same as an actual performance,
so why not find a performance, or better still,
buy the music and get a few friends together to play it !!!


4 - Andante Pastorale - Allegretto

Symphony No 10 in D minor

4 - Andante Pastorale - Allegretto

This is a computer-generated sound file -
it is not the same as an actual performance,
so why not find a performance, or better still,
buy the music and get a few friends together to play it !!!


The genealogy of one side of my family is tied to the soil for a very long time back through history and in the piece I re enter in some ways my own history. Musically it is the world of. Vaughan Williams. Modal folk song type themes are modified to allow symphonic development. So this is a symphony of the ordinary country worker. This piece is dedicated to Pamela Smith as a thanks for her encouragement. And it is Pam who is conducting the piece on the performance tab.

There is a recording of a performance of this symphony - please click here

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Overture: Eduardo e Carmella (181201)
Sop, S, S, A, A, T, T, B, B, GtB, CtB

As well as thinking about concerti, I started to think about one-movement overtures., possibly to operas that had never been written. Read more ...

Overture: Eduardo e Carmella



This is a computer-generated sound file -
it is not the same as an actual performance,
so why not find a performance, or better still,
buy the music and get a few friends together to play it !!!


As well as thinking about concerti, I started to think about one-movement overtures., possibly to operas that had never been written.

My wife and I have recently started to share our life with two retired racing greyhounds called Ted and Toffee. Their simple enthusiastic zest for life and total transparency of character reminded me so much of the Music of Rossini that I could not resist writing this overture, Eduardo e Carmella.

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Piano Concerto No 1 (181202)
Sop, S, S, A, A, T, T, B, B, GtB, CtB

After finishing the symphony project I was looking for new directions and I realised that not only was the recorder orchestra capable of carrying Read more ...
1 - Allegro

Piano Concerto No 1

1 - Allegro

This is a computer-generated sound file -
it is not the same as an actual performance,
so why not find a performance, or better still,
buy the music and get a few friends together to play it !!!


2 - Andante

Piano Concerto No 1

2 - Andante

This is a computer-generated sound file -
it is not the same as an actual performance,
so why not find a performance, or better still,
buy the music and get a few friends together to play it !!!


3 - Allegro

Piano Concerto No 1

3 - Allegro

This is a computer-generated sound file -
it is not the same as an actual performance,
so why not find a performance, or better still,
buy the music and get a few friends together to play it !!!


After finishing the symphony project I was looking for new directions and I realised that not only was the recorder orchestra capable of carrying the symphonic argument in the manner of a big romantic symphony but  could also be used to accompany a soloist in the manner of the big romantic concerti.
 
This is the first piece in this series. This concerto owes much to the influence of Rachmaninov but the solo part while difficult is not as demanding as one of his concerti.
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Lazy bass (190101)
B, Harpsichord, Plucked Double Bass

I am intrigued with the idea of using harpischord and a plucked string bass instrument, almost like a continuo to accompany the recorder in cool Read more ...

Lazy bass



This is a computer-generated sound file -
it is not the same as an actual performance,
so why not find a performance, or better still,
buy the music and get a few friends together to play it !!!


I am intrigued with the idea of using harpischord and a plucked string bass instrument, almost like a continuo to accompany the recorder in cool jazz style pieces. I hope one day to perform them with some friends but until I get an invitation here is one of them with synthesised harpsichord.
 
This piece for Bass Recorder was inspired by the scoring of Nelson Riddle on an LP he made with Oscar Peterson in the 1960s - hands up who else remembers that record!
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Strood Blues (190102)
A, Harpsichord, Percussion

Another piece using harpischord but this time with percussison. This piece is an arrangement of a movement Read more ...

Strood Blues



This is a computer-generated sound file -
it is not the same as an actual performance,
so why not find a performance, or better still,
buy the music and get a few friends together to play it !!!


Another piece using harpischord but this time with percussison.

This piece is an arrangement of a movement from one of my quartets but it works really nicely as a solo piece. (The Strood is the cause way that attaches my island home to the mainland ... sometimes!)

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Overture: Anna Karenina (190103)
Sop, S, S, A, A, T, T, B, B, GtB, CtB

The second in my series of overtures to operas that were never written. Although other composers set Anna Karenina as an opera Verdi did not. And Read more ...

Overture: Anna Karenina



This is a computer-generated sound file -
it is not the same as an actual performance,
so why not find a performance, or better still,
buy the music and get a few friends together to play it !!!


The second in my series of overtures to operas that were never written. Although other composers set Anna Karenina as an opera Verdi did not. And in the same spirit as the symphonies i wondered what the overture or such an opera may have sounded like.

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