SKU: HL.14016246

8.25x11.75x0.054 inches.

It is a surprising fact of Beethoven's life that of all the categories of pieces he composed, there are more settings of Irish songs than of any other type of music. Scottish poet Robert Burns convinced a Scottish music publisher to commission Beethoven to set his own words to Irish airs. The death of Burns in 1796 ended the project, but Beethoven went on to harmonise and arrange the songs in 1814 through 1816, mainly, and they were published, though never achieved as great a popularity as a rival set by Thomas Moore.This simplified version for easy Cello and Piano was arranged by composer Hugo Cole, an accomplished cellist who was for many years a music critic for theGuardian newspaper.

SKU: HL.48186482

Reynaldo Hahn: Works for cello and piano [AL 30 749] For quite some time, posterity remembered Reynaldo Hahn (1874-1947) for just a handful of songs and the operetta Ciboulette, overlooking the incredible diversity of a catalogue as eclectic as it is appealing. Yet his chamber music contains many little-known treasures: thus, cellist Steven Isserlis, in his preface, hastens to hail the first modern edition of these two scores, which he regularly plays in recital, so much does their beauty enchant the audience. Published in 1911, the Two Improvisations on Irish Airs for cello and piano turn out to be the transcription of his first and third Preludes for piano four hands (1894). These folk themes come from the collection Songs of Old Ireland, published 12 years earlier by Charles Villiers Stanford: gracefully and tenderly, The Little Red Lark unfurls a melancholic tune of which the regular foundation respects the breadth of phrase typical of folk songs; in The Willow-Tree, the lover begs his beloved in vain to take him in her arms one last time before he lies down, lifeless, in the shade of the tree. Beyond this sensitive exploration of the Irish soul, Hahn offers us a journey into the past: the Variations chantantes sur un air ancien develop a theme borrowed from Cavalli?s opera Xerse. In this aria (1660 version: Act IV, sc. 6), Ambassador Periarco dreams of moving away from court intrigues to be able to taste the pleasures ?to which the gods have destined him?. Reynaldo Hahn?s variations succeed in maintaining the sweet simplicity of this theme, as noble as it is refined. Let us wager that this publication will delight cellists and pianists alike: it contains some nuggets. Deux improvisations sur des airs irlandais (The Little Red Lark, The Willow-Tree) Variations chantantes sur un air ancien.

SKU: HL.14030693

8.25x11.75x0.466 inches.

In the second half of his life, Moeran greatly extended his sensibilities and his musical palate to include more energetic and vigorous rhythms, harmonic colours and tonalities. In the Sonata for ViolonCello and Piano, the listener will find grandeur in the first movement and an intricate rondo in the finale. It is a piece by a composer who has taken an expansive step beyond his immediate surroundings and first influences.E J Moeran was a 20th century British composer of Anglo-Irish background who spent his early years in Norfolk and influences of folksong and programmatic elements can be easily heard in this composer's main body of work. Moeran tended toward thesmaller ensembles in his compositions, which gave an appropriate frame for his lyric gifts.