Description

In this timeless new collection, Hywel Davies presents nine fresh interpretations of traditional British folk-tunes together with seven complementary folk-inspired original compositions for developing pianists to learn, enjoy and perform.Ideally suited for students of grade 1-3 standard, this progressive album also contains helpful notes describing the lyrical character, content and inspiration behind each piece, equipping players to give informed, authentic and stylish performances.A superb CD of performances and separate left and right hand practice tracks is included. Hywel Davies is an award-winning composer, arranger and creative artist. His works have been performed on five continents and broadcast on three.

Contents

1. Air
2. This new composition is inspired by ‘Street Tango’ by Ástor Piazzolla (1921–1992), a leading Argentinian composer and bandoneón player who fused jazz and classical influences with traditional tango music elements to pioneer?the Tango Nuevo style. (A bandoneón is a type of concertina, comparable to the accordion.)
3. Bridgewater Fair
4. Bridgewater is a market town in Somerset, England. Originally a market for trading livestock, an annual fair has been held on St Matthew’s Green for over 750 years. The tune is primarily mixolydian (with a couple of chromatic exceptions).
5. The Ploughboy
6. Originally from a comic opera by John O’Keefe (1747–1833), this piece was later adapted by Benjamin Britten (1913–1976) in his Folksong Arrangements for voice and piano. Resident in the United States in the early 1940’s, Britten had become homesick and had started arranging traditional British folksongs to reconnect with his English roots.
7. Waltz
8. A fast waltz in 3/8 with a melody written in the G mixolydian mode, reminiscent of a revolving musical box.
9. Robin Hood and the Tanner
10. In Robin Hood and the Tanner, Robin Hood meets a stranger. They fight, and the stranger (the tanner) wins. The melody is primarily written in the natural minor scale starting on D, known as D dorian mode.
11. The Stream
12. Inspired by a summer walk in Dorset, The Stream recalls expanses of broken and bubbling water contrasted by a stretch that is as smooth and serene as a millpond. In the fast staccato sections the hands move in contrary motion but the intervals in each hand vary like the ebb and flow of the tide.
13. Song
14. Let the melody sing as it moves from one hand to the other. The tune is in the E phrygian mode.
15. The Old Mill
16. ‘The Old Mill’ is a new composition which takes its inspiration from a collection of derelict old industrial buildings surrounded by woods and a rushing stream. Formerly a bustling hive of enterprise and industry, the area is now deserted; only the sounds of nature and the flowing stream remain.