Piano Music Inspired by Women in His Life

ABRSM Grades 7-8 . This special collection of intermediate to advanced piano repertoire has been lovingly curated by internationally renowned pianist, Isata Kanneh-Mason. Inspired by her musical journey from childhood prodigy to accomplished performer, and drawing on her championship of female composers and composers of colour, Isata has handpicked a wonderfully diverse melange of music for players to explore. Alongside classical masterpieces such as Clara Schumann?s Notturno, players will find repertoire by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, George Gershwin and Alexander Desplat as well as a stunning new work by Errollyn Wallen. Carefully edited and fingered, Piano Inspiration 2 is ideal both for recreational playing and those seeking own-choice repertoire for ABRSM Performance Grades (Grades 7 ). ? 12 pieces for intermediate to advanced players, each holding special significance to Isata ? A wonderful array of styles, composers and traditions that span four centuries of piano music ? An original work by Errollyn Wallen, specially composed for this collection ? Ideal for own-choice repertoire selection in ABRSM Performance Grades (Grades 7 ) Pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason is in great demand in the UK and internationally as a soloist and chamber musician. She offers eclectic and interesting repertoire and has performed at many of the world?s finest concert venues, including the Royal Albert Hall for her BBC Proms solo debut in 2023. As a Decca recording artist, she entered the UK classical charts at No. 1 with her 2019 album Romance, and has since released Summertime, featuring twentieth-century American repertoire; Muse, a duo album with her brother Sheku; and Childhood Tales, which showcases music inspired by a nostalgia for youth. Isata is recipient of the coveted Leonard Bernstein Award and the Opus Klassik Award for best young artist.

By Women Composers. This Anthology is a result of the #CallToWomenComposers worldwide search for talented but not yet published women composers and includes piano works by twenty-two women composers inspired by Chopin?s Nocturnes.

Instrumentation: piano Edition: score Publisher: Eberhard Mayer OEuvres pour piano/Klaviermusik/Piano Music Edition en 10 recueils/Edition in 10 Bänden/Edition in 10 volumes Volume 1: Femmes de Légende Editor: Eberhard Mayer Item no.: fue 4180 Difficulty: medium ISMN: 979-0-50012-918-9 Contents: Mélisande, Desdémona, Ophelie, Viviane, Phœbé, Omphale und Salomé The pieces for piano represent a great stylistic variety. One gets the impression that Mel Bonis may have intended to give a summary of musical development, not quoting historic styles but adapting the past through her personal tone and to translate it into contemporary musical language. The first volume includes an original series of musical portraits dedicated to legendary women, where Mel Bonis explores the enigmatic feminine universe. „Femmes de légende“ A collection we have called “Femmes de légende” contains seven piano pieces by Mel Bonis named after women whose fates have become legendary. They have not always been arranged in this way. The first piece, “Mélisande”, was published separately by Alphonse Leduc in 1898. In 1909, a collection called “Trois pièces pour piano” (Three pieces for the piano), dedicated to the composer Paul Locard and which included “Phœbé”, “Viviane” and “Salomé”, was published by Leduc. In 1913, “Mélisande” was added to the four last pieces for a final collection called “Cinq pièces”. “Omphale” appeared in a Berlin edition “Signale für die musikalische Welt” in 1910. As to “Ophélie”, it was never published in Mel Bonis’ lifetime and we discovered a manu-script in 1997 without any indication at all of when it was writ-ten. “Ophélie” was first published by the publishing house Ar-miane in Versailles in 1998. Mélisande (1898) Written before Debussy’s famous opera, Mel Bonis’ piano piece “Mélisande” was also inspired by the poet Maeterlinck (Mélisande, 1893). These short pages of magical harmonies, of radi-ant impressionist colours use music to describe Mélisande’s hair as described by Pelleas: “your hair and its beautiful light... It escapes everywhere, it shivers, it shakes, it trembles in my hand like a golden bird.” This piece enjoyed quite a success in Mel Bonis’ lifetime. She noted of it “my favourite” in the margin of her hand-written catalogue. Desdémona (1913) The female heroine in Shakespeare’s “Othello” inspired Mel Bonis to write a nostalgic piece with a fairly easy, rather classical beginning, a kind of romance without words, of great elegance and of a deep and melancholic beauty. Ophélie Ophelia, the lover of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, is a deeply melan-cholic character who goes mad and drowns in mysterious cir-cumstances. Ophelia inspired the poet Rimbaud and the painter Millais – each of them created a masterpiece. Mel Bonis too evokes images of water, sadness and death in music for a third work of art. With its delicate and chilling beauty and also with its moments of passion, this impressionist piece - the work which owes most to Debussy - calls for great intelligence when performed. Viviane (1909) The figure of the fairy of the lake is musically described here in a well-structured, many-facetted piece; first of all, the initial dancing theme has an air of the “salon” about it, typical of its time, evoking the fairy’s charm, her smile. Then follow succes-sions of majestic chords and fluent harmonies which represent the underwater castle and the fairy’s power. This piece is easily approachable. Phœbé (1909) The sister of Phoebus, the sun, symbolises the moon, the night, chastity. The piece creates an impression of night. Steeped in twilight, languor and a sense of immense space, the atmosphere is one of unreality. This feeling of alienation is reinforced by the incoherence of rhythm between the two hands. Salomé (1909) Inspired by the Orient, Mel Bonis creates a very original musical illustration of the biblical character of Salome. She is characterised by shifting moods in which slow syncopes follow light glissandos, and urgent, mysterious psalmodies accompany sensual melopeias, where surprising tempo varia-tions lead to outbreaks of violence. With its relatively difficult beginning, this piece is especially interesting from the viewpoint of research into interpretation. Omphale (1910) The queen of Lydia is a female character from the violent depths of Greek mythology. This powerful female is described here with glittering sensuality and Oriental subtlety. The impressive work shows a complex structure both in harmony and rhythm, it is a lively and rich work which calls for much thought and great virtuosity on the performer’s part. “Omphale” was awarded a prize for composition by the Berlin magazine “Signale für die musikalische Welt” in 1910.

Sara Teasdale (1884-1933)-A lovely poem by Sara Teasdale inspired this new composition by Thomas Juneau. Perfect for young women's choirs at the middle school and high school levels the work features a nice melody with accessible part-writing and a simple Piano accompaniment. Your young singers will enjoy this love song.

This inspiring collection of seasonal music tells the tale of the men and women who braved a rough ocean crossing to come to America from Northern Ireland full of hope and strength. Includes a wide range of music from spirited jigs to touching melodies arranged for flute and piano with a separate pull-out section for the flautist.

Par CATTLEY SARAH. Written for baritone Roderick Williams and pianist Susie Allan to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the birth of Ralph Vaughan Williams, the five Frances Cornford settings of A Square and Candle-Lighted Boat further enhance Sarah Cattley’s reputation as an exciting young composer acutely sensitive to the nuances of English poetry. In addition to familiar sources ranging from ‘anon’ to George Mackay Brown, she has found inspiration in the work of women writers including Charlotte Brontë, Fredegond Shove, Moyra Tourlamain and Ursula Vaughan Williams. The finely tuned voice of Cambridge poet Frances Cornford (1886–1960) appealed especially for the touching immediacy of its insights, its probing of emotions from a woman’s viewpoint, and its wide human sympathy. In creative antithesis to the Vaughan Williams Songs of Travel, for which it is intended as a companion piece, a love of home is the theme of the cycle, its domestic interiors and country views illuminated in the warm tones and vivid portrayals of Cattley’s music. Performances at Thaxted and Paxton preceded a London premiere on 12 October 2022, marking the occasion of Vaughan Williams’s birth 150 years ago to the day. / Date parution : 2023-03-11/ Répertoire / Baryton et Piano

A major work for a mature larger women's choir the concept of this piece is inspired by the composer's never-forgotten visit to the Yad Vashem Centre in Israel. The combined text is from Genesis original text by the composer and names of children of the Holocaust. Both dramatic and intimate this work would be an important experience for your choir and the audience alike. Instrumental accompaniment (score and parts) available separately (harp piano viola handbells or chimes crotales). Duration: ca. 7:20.

This composition was inspired by a poem that incorporates various bird sounds with melodies based on the actual songs. A charming and playful piano part supports the motif of this song - just right for spring concerts! For high school women and beyond.

Three Songs on Poems by African-American Women-This beautiful art-song collection is names after Phillis Wheatley Americas first female African-American poet whose poems were an inspiration to George Washington and the other Founding Fathers. The seeds of her work in the 18th Century have nowstarted to grow and bloom today in a new way. Renowned African-American composer Rosephanye Powell has married her music to the poetry of other historical African-American women Frances Ellen Watkins Harper Angelina Weld Grimké Georgia DouglasJohnson for solo voice and piano. This collection makes a first and commanding statement both artistically and historically. For solo voices from high school and older.