Snow Falling (for solo piano)

I wrote this last July.

Another piano miniature.

"Eskimo kisses" - 3 miniatures for solo piano

This evening I couldn't face watching the normal rubbish TV so I write these little miniatures instead.

If you'd like a copy of the sheet music do message me.

10-Day Music Challenge: the final scores are in!

Over the past couple of weeks I've been doing a 10-Day Music Challenge - below is the final list click on each day to see what made the cut!

It's good fun. If you do decide to do one please let me know.

Day 1 - My 10 favourite albums
Day 2 - My 9 favourite songs
Day 3 - The first 8 songs to come on shuffle
Day 4 - My 7 favourite bands
Day 5 - My 6 favourite song covers
Day 6 - 5 Bands for my dream gig line-up
Day 7 - My 4 guilty pleasures (artists or songs)
Day 8 - My 3 favourite vocalists
Day 9 - My 2 favourite music videos
Day 10 - My all time favourite gig

10-Day Music Challenge: Day 10 - my all-time favourite gig

And so to the last day of my 10-Day Music Challenge - my favourite gig!

There have been many fantastic conchs I've been to including: Meat Loaf at the NEC in themid-90s; Peter Gabriel at Earl's Court around the time of his Us album, and again, in Sheffield just a few years ago, for his Up album; Hothouse Flowers at the Apollo Theatre, Oxford when they didn't seem to want to leave the stage; Squeeze at Keble College Ball back in the mid-80s (yes, I'm starting to show my age), Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells II at the Royal Albert Hall, and the world premiere of Tubular Bells III in the rain at Horse Guards Parade; Blur at the NEC...

And, of course, I've performed in many concerts, or had pieces I've composed played in concerts, and, to me at least, these were unforgettable moments. I will always cherish the performances of In Memoriam by Nottinghamshire Education at the Albert Hall, Nottingham; the concert at the British Music Information Centre in London, given by he Holywell Ensemble, to mark my 30th birthday; and the premiere of Kitty - the diary of Anne Frank at the Holywell Music Room in Oxford particularly stand out.

There is though, one concert that will always stand out for me, and I make no apology for choosing one of my own performances (at least I'm not like Elizabeth Schwarkopf who, when invited onto the BBC's Desert Island Discs, chose 7 of her own recordings plus the prelude from an opera that she was the star to keep her company for all time!) - in 2005, I conducted the Lady Manners School Orchestra for the finale of the Schools Proms at the Royal Albert Hall in London. We played music from Jurassic Park followed by Elgar's Pomp & Curcumstance March No. 1 ("Land of Hope and Glory"). I very much doubt anything will top that for me in terms of a live performance but, who knows, there's still time!

Here are both performances. Yes, there are odd mistakes but, please, don't forget, as Howard Goodall points out in the introduction to Jurassic Park, this is an 80-piece symphony orchestra from one state school.





This is the plan of my 10-Day Music Challenge - this is the 10th and final day!

Day 1 - My 10 favourite albums
Day 2 - My 9 favourite songs
Day 3 - The first 8 songs to come on shuffle
Day 4 - My 7 favourite bands
Day 5 - My 6 favourite song covers
Day 6 - 5 Bands for my dream gig line-up
Day 7 - My 4 guilty pleasures (artists or songs)
Day 8 - My 3 favourite vocalists
Day 9 - My 2 favourite music videos
Day 10 - My all time favourite gig

10-Day Music Challenge: Day 9 - my two favourite music videos

TWO?!?! Just two favourite videos?

Well, that's quite tricky! There's lots of music videos I like!

It's been 30 years since MTV hit television screens and, although some form of "promo" had been around for quite some time before that, since then many performers have put increasing amounts of effort into the video that goes with their song as the snag itself. Some video budgets have run into hundreds of thousands of dollars.

So, after much consideration, my 2 favourite videos are:

1. Take On Me - a-Ha


This is surely one of the greatest music videos of all time - and it's incredible to think it was made way back in 1985. Good sng too!

2. Stan - Eminem (featuring Dido)


I love the way the video tells the narrative of the song.

Near misses included Sledgehammer, Hit Me Baby One More Time, Confide in Me, Feels Like Teen Spirit, Every Breath You Take...

This is the plan of my 10-Day Music Challenge - I'm currently on Day 9.

Day 1 - My 10 favourite albums
Day 2 - My 9 favourite songs
Day 3 - The first 8 songs to come on shuffle
Day 4 - My 7 favourite bands
Day 5 - My 6 favourite song covers
Day 6 - 5 Bands for my dream gig line-up
Day 7 - My 4 guilty pleasures (artists or songs)
Day 8 - My 3 favourite vocalists
Day 9 - My 2 favourite music videos
Day 10 - My all time favourite gig

10-Day Music Challenge: Day 8 - my 3 favourite singers

Day 8 already!

Three singers? It's a shame it's not 3 favourite performers, thereby allowing instrumentalists too, but here goes:

1: Meat Loaf
I've twice seen Meat Loaf live. The first time, back at the time of Bat Out of Hell 2, he was amazing. (The second time was in more recent times and he was, let's put it kindly, past his best). At his best, his voice was so expressive and so powerful. A master of theatrical rock, I'd love to see him again, as lo g as he was back on his mid-90s form!


2. Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel's voice get better with age and on songs like "Intruder" he sounds really creepy! A great range of singing, from joyous to sad to contemplative... again, very theatrical and a great storyteller through music.


3. Jacques Brel
Surely the greatest chansonnier... such a fantastic voice. Truly iconic.


This is the plan of my 10-Day Music Challenge - I'm currently on Day 8!

Day 1 - My 10 favourite albums
Day 2 - My 9 favourite songs
Day 3 - The first 8 songs to come on shuffle
Day 4 - My 7 favourite bands
Day 5 - My 6 favourite song covers
Day 6 - 5 Bands for my dream gig line-up
Day 7 - My 4 guilty pleasures (artists or songs)
Day 8 - My 3 favourite vocalists
Day 9 - My 2 favourite music videos
Day 10 - My all time favourite gig

10-Day Music Challenge: Day 7 - my 4 Guilty Pleasures

Guilty pleasures? I tend to be fairly open about my musical tastes, even when some of them are a bit embarrassing!

My musical tastes are fairly broad and include classical and pop, rock and musicals, choral music, operas, brass bands, dance music.... the list could go on. There are some styles I'm not keen on and I could draw up quite a long list of songs that I wish had never been written (this would include Unchained Melody, Memory (from "Cats"), that song from The Bodyguard in which Whitney Houston breaths in all the wrong places, and THAT song from Titanic!

So, what might count as guilty pleasures? Things that someone with a music degree probably shouldn't like?

Here goes:

1. Cheesy pop
Yes, I know it can be cringeworthy but sometimes you do just want to listen to a well-crafted cheesy pop song by the likes of Steps or Kylie. Or is it just me?



I have a soft spot for Stock, Aitken & Waterman when they were at the height of the powers, In the late 80s/early 90s, and even though some of the songs were awful, they certainly knew what the public wanted - and some of the songs were actually quite good!



2. Andrew Lloyd Webber
I know, as a supposedly "serious musician" I'm meant to tut and sneer at the good Lord but... why? Yes, he's written some shows that aren't as good as others but, let's be honest, dud Stravinsky or Mozart never have an off day? Aren't SOME of their pieces not as good as some of their greater achievements?

Jesus Christ Superstar is surely one of the greatest pieces of Twentieth Century musical theatre - right up there with West Side Story and Sweeney Todd.



ALW is a magnificent tunesmith: Joseph is just a string of fantastic melodies (and the original 20-minute cantata is fantastic, a masterpiece of that genre.



I particularly like Tell Me In A Sunday, Variations (though it does sound a little dated now, a new version is needed), and his Requiem. Yes, I like Lloyd Webber's Requiem and would love to conduct it one day.



3. A Very Ally Christmas
Yes, it's getting to that time of year again when this collection of Christmas songs from Ally McBeal (the goofy female lawyer in Boston) gets added to my iPhone playlists.



I'm not sure what it is about this album: the arrangements and performances are good; it's a good selection of songs; I liked the tv series (and in one series, I forget which one, they somehow managed to make Christmas last for several months).



It doesn't do anything than countless other Christmas albums do, but what it does it does well. Definitely worth a listen during the run-in to December 25th.

4. Ludovico Einaudi
It's typically played on Classic FM, it tends to go nowhere, a sort of musical wallpaper... but it's soothing and pleasant!



Simple piano music, minimalistic... Ahhhhh!


This is the plan of my 10-Day Music Challenge - I'm currently on Day Seven:

Day 1 - My 10 favourite albums
Day 2 - My 9 favourite songs
Day 3 - The first 8 songs to come on shuffle
Day 4 - My 7 favourite bands
Day 5 - My 6 favourite song covers
Day 6 - 5 Bands for my dream gig line-up
Day 7 - My 4 guilty pleasures (artists or songs)
Day 8 - My 3 favourite vocalists
Day 9 - My 2 favourite music videos
Day 10 - My all time favourite gig

10-Day Music Challenge: Day Six - 5 Bands for my Dream Gig Line-up

This one needs a bit of thought... 5 acts for my own mini-festival...

I need a good opening act, a couple of warm-ups, a headliner and then, maybe, a final act to party on into the night. A bit of a mixture, compliment each other and, yet, contrast with each other...

I'm going to be liberal with "band" and include solo artists too... (yes, I know, but it's my list so I can adapt the rules however I want!).

1. Opening Act: Badly Drawn Boy


An understated start to the gig. Simple, perfect little songs.

2. Second Up: Tim Minchin


A musical and comedy genius!

3. Warm-Up Act: The Divine Comedy


Cynical, comedic and always beautifully orchestrated.

4. Headliners: U2


Some find them OTT and pompous, but isn't that what you want from your headline act? Something exceptional in the staging as well as the music?

5. Party into the Night: Kylie Minogue


It was a close call between Kylie and the Pet Shop Boys... But, for a party into the night, surely it's Kylie that wins through? Who can forget the closing ceremony of the Sydney Olympics?

What would you have included in your ideal gig line-up?

This is the plan of my 10-Day Music Challenge - I'm currently on Day Six:

Day 1 - My 10 favourite albums
Day 2 - My 9 favourite songs
Day 3 - The first 8 songs to come on shuffle
Day 4 - My 7 favourite bands
Day 5 - My 6 favourite song covers
Day 6 - 5 Bands for my dream gig line-up
Day 7 - My 4 guilty pleasures (artists or songs)
Day 8 - My 3 favourite vocalists
Day 9 - My 2 favourite music videos
Day 10 - My all time favourite gig

10-Day Music Challenge: Day Five - my 6 favourite song covers

1. My Way - Sid Vicious
(Original: Comme d'habitude - Claude François)


2. Nothing Compares 2U - Sinead O'Connor
(Original: The Family)


3. Don't Leave Me This Way - The Communards
(Original: Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes)


4. Handbags and Gladrags - Stereophonics
(Original: Rod Stewart)


5. Jump - Paul Anka
(Original: Van Halen)


6. Always on my Mind - Pet Shop Boys
(Original: Brenda Lee; other versions by Elvis Presley, Willie Nelson)



And, by way of contrast, 6 DREADFUL cover songs!

1. I'll be Missing You - Puff Daddy
(Original: Every Breath You Take - The Police)

2. Candle in the Wind 1997 - Elton John
(Original: Elton John)

3. American Pie - Madonna
(Original: Don MacLean)

4. Dock of the Bay - Michael Bolton
(Original: Otis Redding)

5. Smells Like Teen Spirit Spirit - Take That
(Original: Nirvana)

6. I Love Rock'n'Roll - Britney Spears
(Original: Joan Jett & the Blackhearts)

This is the plan of my 10-Day Music Challenge - I'm currently on Day Five:

Day 1 - My 10 favourite albums
Day 2 - My 9 favourite songs
Day 3 - The first 8 songs to come on shuffle
Day 4 - My 7 favourite bands
Day 5 - My 6 favourite song covers
Day 6 - 5 Bands for my dream gig line up
Day 7 - My 4 guilty pleasures (artists or songs)
Day 8 - My 3 favourite vocalists
Day 9 - My 2 favourite music videos
Day 10 - My all time favourite gig

10-Day Music Challenge: Day Four - my favourite 7 bands

Ooo a very tricky one! Trying not to double up with too many artists already listed or likely to come up in later lists is tricky....

Oh bugger it!

Here goes. My favourite 7 bands...

1. The Divine Comedy


2. Hothouse Flowers


3. Pet Shop Boys


4. Elbow


5. The Cure


6. Blur


7. Squeeze


That was definitely the hardest day so far!


What bands would you include?


This is the plan of my 10-Day Music Challenge - I'm currently on Day Four:

Day 1 - My 10 favourite albums
Day 2 - My 9 favourite songs
Day 3 - The first 8 songs to come on shuffle
Day 4 - My 7 favourite bands
Day 5 - My 6 favourite song covers
Day 6 - 5 Bands for my dream gig line up
Day 7 - My 4 guilty pleasures (artists or songs)
Day 8 - My 3 favourite vocalists
Day 9 - My 2 favourite music videos
Day 10 - My all time favourite gig

10-Day Music Challenge: Day Three - the first 8 songs to come on shuffle

Day Three of my 10-Day Music Challenge and I may have to bend the rules slightly as I have a fair bit of instrumental music on my iPhone - so, despite regularly having to correct students who refer to a symphony or an overture as a song, I'm going to do the first 8 pieces of music that come on shuffle, whether they be a song or instrumental.

Unlike Days One and Two, at least Day Three involves no thinking!

Here goes..... SHUFFLE!!

1. Up! with end credits (Michael Giacchino)


2. Secret World (live) (Peter Gabriel)


3. Amigos Para Siempre (Friends Forever)(Sarah Brightman & Jose Carreras)


4. Hand Covers Bruise (from "The Social Network") by Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross


5. In Pursuit of Happiness (The Divine Comedy)


6. Skimbleshanks, the Railway Cat (from "Cats" by Andrew Lloyd Webber)


7. The Grid (from "Koyaanisqatsi" by Philip Glass)


8. Les piqûres d'araignées (Vincent Delerm)


What comes up on your shuffle list?


This is the plan of my 10-Day Music Challenge - I'm currently on Day Three:

Day 1 - My 10 favourite albums
Day 2 - My 9 favourite songs
Day 3 - The first 8 songs to come on shuffle
Day 4 - My 7 favourite bands
Day 5 - My 6 favourite song covers
Day 6 - 5 Bands for my dream gig line up
Day 7 - My 4 guilty pleasures (artists or songs)
Day 8 - My 3 favourite vocalists
Day 9 - My 2 favourite music videos
Day 10 - My all time favourite gig

10-DAY MUSIC CHALLENGE - Day Two: my 9 favourite songs

Continuing with my 10-Day Music Challenge, here are my 9 favourite songs.

As a composer, it's nearly always the music that attracts me to a song first and the lyrics a distant second, if at all. As you'll see there's even a song in my list that I disagree with lyrics but the music is just so amazing....

Click here to hear my favourite 9 songs as a Spotify playlist (minus the Peter Gabriel which isn't available on Spotify!)

1. I Can See Clearly Now - Hothouse Flowers



Such a great song, and I particularly love the Hothouse Flowers version.

2. Leaving on a Jet Plane



A simply lovely song that takes me back to my Uni days for some reason (no, I wasn't at Uni in the '60s!)

3. Come What May (from "Moulin Rouge")



I love the power and OTT-ness of this - a tour de force, a wall of emotion.

4. Finlandia Hymn - Sibelius



Not because of any religious reasons, as is well known I'm an atheist/anti-theist, but just because it's such a magnificent melody. Along similar lines are I Vow To Thee, My Country and Jerusalem - great tunes, somewhat spoilt with religious lyrics. This version is in Finnish so it sort of nullifies the lyrics if you don't know Finnish!

5. Father, Son - Peter Gabriel



I loved the Millennium Dome for so many things but, in particular, the spectacular show that happened 3 or 4 times every day. The soundtrack was written by Peter Gabriel and this is a very touching song.

6. Somewhere (from "West Side Story") - Bernstein



The best song from the greatest musical ever written. By the time this is sing at the end of West Side Story I'm always blubbing!

7. One Day Like This - Elbow



It's overuse as inspiring background music by lazy television producers has made this a bit of a cliché, but it doesn't stop it being a tremendous song and one I'll always turn up a little!

8. Time After Time - Cyndi Lauper



I liked this song a lot, then it was used in Sliding Doors, one of my favourite movies of all time!

9. Jai Ho (from "Slumdog Millionaire") - A. R. Rahman



I never understood why Slumdog Millionaire was promoted as a "feel-good movie" with so many awful things happening in it. However, this song is a amazingly feel-good song and deservedly won the Oscar for best song. It's a shame that the Pussycat Dolls put out a version with them warbling over it and unable to pronounce the title but this version, the original is great!

That was VERY difficult! - so many songs I like - so many that just didn't quite make the final cut! I could easily have included songs by Blur, The Divine Comedy, Philip Glass, Ash, Wheatus, Bill Whelan, Dixie Chicks, Seth Lakeman..... the list could go on and on and on!

Click here to listen to my near misses as a Spotify playlist.

What have I missed? What are your favourite songs?


This is the plan of my 10-Day Music Challenge - I'm currently on Day Two:

Day 1 - My 10 favourite albums
Day 2 - My 9 favourite songs
Day 3 - The first 8 songs to come on shuffle
Day 4 - My 7 favourite bands
Day 5 - My 6 favourite song covers
Day 6 - 5 Bands for my dream gig line up
Day 7 - My 4 guilty pleasures (artists or songs)
Day 8 - My 3 favourite vocalists
Day 9 - My 2 favourite music videos
Day 10 - My all time favourite gig

10-DAY MUSIC CHALLENGE - Day One: my 10 favourite albums

This list will, I'm sure, be in a continual state of flux. At the moment these are the albums that I'd say are my 10 favourites.

1. A Short Album About Love - The Divine Comedy

The greatest album of all time? Funny, sad, catchy and brilliantly orchestrated.

Click here to listen on Spotify.










2. Different Class - Pulp

A mirror to 90s' Britain. Perfect songwriting.

Click here to listen on Spotify.











3. Bat Out of Hell - Meat Loaf

Still Mr. Loaf's greatest moment. A perfect set of songs written by Jim

Click here to listen on Spotify.











4. New Blood - Peter Gabriel

Orchestral re-imaginings of Peter Gabriel's greatest hits - simply stunning.



5. Symphony No. 3 - Gorecki

Tragic and atmospheric - slow-moving and emotional.

Click here to listen on Spotify.











6. Cosmic Thing - The B-52s

Just great fun.



7. Moulin Rouge - Original soundtrack

Surely the greatest soundtrack album ever?

Click here to listen on Spotify.











8. The Seldom Seen Kid - Elbow

A brilliantly crafted set of songs - more than just One Day Like This.

Click here to listen on Spotify.









9. Strike - The Baseballs

Great upbeat rock and roll covers of pop songs.

Click here to listen on Spotify.











10. Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends - Coldplay

Yes, yes, everyone hates Coldplay and they're really boring.... well, sorry, I quite like them and I particularly like this album.

Click here to listen on Spotify.









What do you think? What are your favourite albums?




Here's the plan for the rest of my 10-day Music Challenge

10-DAY MUSIC CHALLENGE

Inspired by someone I follow on Twitter (@xwidep) I'm going to do a 10 Day Music Challenge starting tomorrow.

I'm going to use the same plan as they did.

Day 1 - My 10 favourite albums
Day 2 - My 9 favourite songs
Day 3 - The first 8 songs to come on shuffle
Day 4 - My 7 favourite bands
Day 5 - My 6 favourite song covers
Day 6 - 5 Bands for my dream gig line up
Day 7 - My 4 guilty pleasures (artists or songs)
Day 8 - My 3 favourite vocalists
Day 9 - My 2 favourite music videos
Day 10 - My all time favourite gig

My musical tastes are very broad (from classical to punk) so it will, no doubt, throw up some interesting answers.