For Amateurs



    Piano
         
    Choir
         
    Ensemble
    
    Opera
         
    Improvisation    
     
    Recorders

     

Piano

Boogie Books

Four books of jazz / pop teaching pieces: BOOGIE FOR BEGINNERS: easy to medium; PLAY BOOGIE: medium to a bit hard; BOOGIE DUETS FOR BEGINNERS: easy to medium; PLAY BOOGIE DUETS: medium to a bit hard. No impro. Pub: Faber Music

Sonatina

Solo piano piece ca 15 minutes. Three movements in a gently jazz-influenced style. Standard: easy-medium. No impro. Pub: Dazzle Music


     

Choir

World upon World

Large-scale work for symphony orchestra (non-improvising) children's choir (non-improvising) pre-recorded voices and 6 solo improvisers. Length 35 minutes. Standard, medium. Pub: Dazzle Music.

Two Antiphons

SATB settings of latin Advent texts. Length 10 minutes. Standard, difficult. Pub: Dazzle Music.

LOBY

Short piece for children's choir and consort of 6 adult voices. Length 10 minutes. Standard, children medium, adults difficult. No impro. Pub: Dazzle Music.

Mouth Symphony

also called Symphony for Voices

For large vocal ensemble (either a choir or non-singers) minimum performers 30, pref. 80+ (rec. THE HUMOURS OF DARYL RUNSWICK: see CDs). Texts: Daryl Runswick. Length 15 minutes. Standard: challenging but managable. Some impro. Pub: Faber Music Ltd.

Four Nocturnes

Choir and small instrumental ensemble. Texts, Byron. Length 30 minutes. Standard, quite difficult. No impro. Pub: Faber Music Ltd.

Five English Folksongs

SATB unaccompanied: Dance to thy Daddy; She Moved through the Fair; The Frog and the Crow; Scarborough Fair; Bobby Shaftoe. Length 15 minutes. Standard: good amateur. No impro. Pub: Faber Music Ltd.

Five American Folksongs

SATB unaccompanied: Yankee Doodle; Shenandoah; Shortnin' Bread / Pick a Bail o' Cotton; Streets of Laredo; Frog Went A'Courtin'. Length 15 minutes. Standard: good amateur. No impro. Pub: Faber Music Ltd.

A Gospel Christmas

SATB or SSA with piano: The Virgin Mary Had a Baby Boy; Children Go where I Send Thee; Steal Away / Poor Little Jesus; Pretty Home; Go Tell it on the Mountain. Length 15 minutes. Standard: normal amateur. No impro. Pub: Faber Music Ltd.

One Perfect Rose

SSA with piano. Text Dorothy Parker. Length 3 minutes. Standard: normal amateur. No impro. Pub: Dazzle Music.

Two Christian Settings

SATB, SSATBB unaccompanied: Xmas Day (Chesterton); Lord, Thou Art Fulness (Rossetti). Length 5 minutes. Standard: good amateur. No impro. Pub: Dazzle Music.

Arrangements for The King's Singers

available in SATB / piano versions:

A Little Christmas Music
Brightly Dawns Our Wedding Day (Gilbert / Sullivan)
King John's Christmas (Milne / Runswick)
Blackbird (Lennon / McCartney) Pub: Hinshaw Music Inc.



     

Ensemble

a few notes...

One-page impro piece for any number of performers. Length not fixed. Standard, any. Pub: Dazzle Music.

skreemin

4clarinets (4th opt bass). Length 5 minutes. Standard, easy with extended techniques. No impro. Pub: Dazzle Music.

Weightless

Double Bass and piano. Length 4 minutes. Standard, medium. No impro. Pub: Recital Music, PO Box 151, Aldershot GU12 6YQ, UK.

World upon World

Large-scale work for symphony orchestra (non-improvising) children's choir (non-improvising) pre-recorded voices and 6 solo improvisers. Length 35 minutes. Standard, medium. Pub: Dazzle Music.

Blueprint for Orchestra

Windows piece for symphony orchestra. Overall shape provided: the players compose the texture during rehearsals. Four movements: length 20 minutes. Standard: amateur. Pub: Dazzle Music.

Six Episodes forming a Threnody

For string orchestra with backing. Length 10 minutes. Standard: easy. Part improvised. Pub: Dazzle Music.

Penumbra

for Wind Band and Backing.Length 8 minutes. Standard: easy. No impro (some aleatoric). Pub: Dazzle Music.

Follow, Follow

Easy piece for violin, 2nd violin or viola, cello, bass and piano. Length 5 minutes. Standard: grade 3 or lower. No impro. Pub: Dazzle Music.


     

Opera

Taking The Air

Youth rock opera in one act on the subjecy of a songwriting contest.
Company piece with 16 short solos. Accomp. ensemble rock group and/or pre-recorded backing. Libretto Maureen Thomas. Length 1 hour. Standard: youth choir. No impro. Pub: Faber Music Ltd.

The Wizard

Children's write-your-own opera in 8 scenes. The story is the quest for a birthday cake for the children's music teacher, who turns out to be The Wizard.
Opening and closing scenes by DR exist, and storylines for the rest. The children create the 6 intervening scenes themselves.
1 adult singer (male or female) and 6 groups of children (10 plus in each group). Piano accompaniment. Libretto of existing sections Daryl Runswick. Length anything from 45 minutes upwards. Standard: easy. Pub: Faber Music Ltd.


    


    
    

The following improvisation pieces, not written specifically for amateurs, would also be suitable: have a look.

Figure and Ground

Electronic backing (treated cello samples) for free improvisation. Length 15 minutes. Standard, any. Pub: Dazzle Music.

flutz

Canon for 4 flutes. Pitches fixed, all other parameters improvised. Length 10 minutes. Standard, medium-hard. Pub: Dazzle Music.

Not Farewell

Aleatoric/improvised piece for reciters (any number) instrumentalists (any number) pianists (up to 2) and pre-recorded backing. Length 12 minutes. Standard, easy-medium. Pub: Dazzle Music.

Sarabande

Consort of 6 solo voices. Written for I Fagiolini. Length 10 minutes. Standard: medium. Pub: Dazzle Music.

Dicing with De'Ath

Improvised piece for four performers (rec. OVERLAYS: see CDs). Length 26 minutes. Standard: any. Completely improvised. Pub: Dazzle Music.

Chinese Whispers

For any small group of performers (4 plus) with backing. Length about 15 minutes. Standard: any. Improvised from modes. Pub: Dazzle Music.

Set of 5

For any small group of performers (pref. 3-5). Five pieces performable separately, complete or in any combination. Length from 5 minutes to over an hour. Standard: any. Improvised from modes, instructions and notations. Pub: Dazzle Music.



    

see also Music for Recorders