| This CD of English songs contains a pot-pourri of excellence in a genre that has gone slightly out of fashion | ||
| —Brian Bannatyne-Scott, Edinburgh Music Review |
Click the quotation text to discover what it refers to!
| This CD of English songs contains a pot-pourri of excellence in a genre that has gone slightly out of fashion | ||
| —Brian Bannatyne-Scott, Edinburgh Music Review |
Click the quotation text to discover what it refers to!
John Mitchell was born in West Byfleet, Surrey, and, after spending the first twelve years of his life in Southeast London, has lived mainly in Kent. Studying pharmacy at Portsmouth, he qualified as a pharmacist in 1968, and has worked in community pharmacy ever since. His interest in music began in his teenage years, and he was initially largely self taught as a composer. However, in 1974 he embarked on a period of private study with Carey Blyton which continued until 1980. During that time he successfully took the AMus diploma from Trinity College, London in 1977.
Apart from composition itself, arranging music has been another activity to which John Mitchell has devoted some time – partly in transcribing other composers’ music, but also in numerous arrangements for handbells (he was Musical Director of the Martello Ringers from 1983 to 1999). More recently he has been involved in accompanying, and he is currently the principal rehearsal pianist for the Canterbury Operatic Society. For several summers he has joined the Marley Players as pianist in a Victorian Music Hall production as part of the Broadstairs Dickens Festival.
In addition to the works published by Fand Music Press, listed below, his music is also published by Modus Music.
In 2020, John Mitchell expended a good deal of time and effort recording a significant number of the piano pieces that have been published by Fand but not yet recorded. These new recordings have been published on the pages about the individual pieces, and some of them have also formed the basis of new YouTube videos on the Fand channel. However, to make John’s recordings easy to find, they have all been collected here on this page. Fand Music Press would like to express its thanks and appreciation to John for his efforts in making these excellent recordings.
| Peter Warlock (arr. Mitchell): Songs Without the Words | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vol. 1 | The Bachelor | |||
| Late Summer | ||||
| The Night | ||||
| Adam lay ybounden | ||||
| The Lover Mourns for the Loss of Love | ||||
| Sweet Content | ||||
| A Sad Song | ||||
| Lullaby | ||||
| Captain Stratton’s Fancy | ||||
| Vol. 2 | The Birds | |||
| Thou Gav’st Me Leave to Kiss | ||||
| Piggesnie | ||||
| The Fox | ||||
| Sweet-and-Twenty | ||||
| Sleep | ||||
| Rest, Sweet Nymphs | ||||
| Mourn No Moe | ||||
| Fill the Cup, Philip | ||||
| E. J. Moeran (arr. Mitchell): Songs Without the Words | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| In Youth is Pleasure | |||
| The Bean Flower | |||
| Willow Song | |||
| The Sweet o’ the Year | |||
| The Constant Lover | |||
| Loveliest of Trees | |||
| ’Tis time, I think, by Wenlock town | |||
| The Pleasant Valley | |||
| The Lover and his Lass | |||
| John Mitchell original compositions | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| In Oxford City… | |||
| Joss Sticks | |||
| December Spring | |||
| The Rambling Sailor | |||
| Clodhopper! | |||
| To Wheelbarrow Town | |||
| Barcarolle Blanche | |||
| Pieces by Frank Bayford | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Invention no 3 | |||
| Theydon Bois (left hand only) | |||
| Roger Eno: Ten Venerable Dilemmas | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| I | |||
| II | |||
| III | |||
| IV | |||
| V | |||
| VI | |||
| VII | |||
| VIII | |||
| IX | |||
| X | |||
| Carey Blyton (arr. Mitchell): Mood Music Medley | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Valse Musette | |||
| Minuet for Octet | |||
| Pan and Echo | |||
| Table for Two | |||
| Music Hall Memories | |||
| Other arrangements by John Mitchell | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Constant Lambert: Aubade Héroïque | |||
| Composer | Work | Grade | Vocal range | Duration | Published | Price | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | John Mitchell | Barcarolle Blanche for Piano | 6 | 3 mins | 27th July 2024 | £5.45 | ||||
| Forces: Piano | ||||||||||
 | John Mitchell | Beauty’s Hour Four John Drinkwater Songs for voice and piano | C to E(G)' | 5¼ mins | 26th February 2023 | £9.95 | ||||
| Words: John Drinkwater Forces: Voice, Piano | ||||||||||
 | John Mitchell | Bright Clouds Four Edward Thomas Songs for voice and piano | C to E' | 6¼ mins | 21st July 2023 | £9.95 | ||||
| Words: Edward Thomas Forces: Voice, Piano | ||||||||||
 | John Mitchell | Dance Cameos for two violins | 5 to 7 | 11 mins | 3rd June 2021 | £10.50 | ||||
| Forces: Two Violins | ||||||||||
 | John Mitchell | December Spring for Piano | 5 to 6 | 3¾ mins | 23rd February 2019 | £7.95 | ||||
| Forces: Piano | ||||||||||
 | John Mitchell | Eynsford Days Two Piano Pieces in the Spirit of Peter Warlock and E. J. Moeran | 6 to 7 | 5¼ mins | 1st January 2025 | £8.45 | ||||
| Forces: Piano | ||||||||||
 | John Mitchell | Hogarth’s Delight for Harpsichord (or Piano) | 6 | 3 mins | 1st September 2025 | £7.95 | ||||
| Forces: Harpsichord, Piano | ||||||||||
 | John Mitchell | In Oxford City… for piano | 2¾ mins | 2003 | £5.00 | |||||
| Forces: Piano | ||||||||||
 | John Mitchell | Morningtide Three Housman Songs for voice and piano | 4½ mins | 3rd September 2022 | £10.45 | |||||
| Words: A. E. Housman Forces: Voice, Piano | ||||||||||
 | John Mitchell | Pagodas for piano duet | 1½ mins | 2004 | £6.00 | |||||
| Forces: Piano duet | ||||||||||
 | John Mitchell | Pale Shadows Three Clifford Bax Songs for voice and piano | D♭ to E' | 5½ mins | 24th February 2023 | £9.50 | ||||
| Words: Clifford Bax Forces: Voice, Piano | ||||||||||
 | John Mitchell | Perambulation Un petit morceau de ‘Franglais’ musicale for piano duet | 1¾ mins | 2007 | £7.50 | |||||
| Forces: Piano duet | ||||||||||
 | John Mitchell | Secret Joys Five Mary Webb Songs for voice and piano | C♯ to F♯' | 7½ mins | 12th November 2023 | £11.25 | ||||
| Words: Mary Webb Forces: Voice, Piano | ||||||||||
 | John Mitchell | Soft Smiling Time Songs for Three Seasons for voice and piano | C to E' | 4½ mins | 24th February 2023 | £9.95 | ||||
| Words: A. E. Coppard Forces: Voice, Piano | ||||||||||
 | John Mitchell | Summer’s Hue Four Edward Shanks Songs for voice and piano | C♯ to G' | 6¼ mins | 27th July 2024 | £9.95 | ||||
| Words: Edward Shanks Forces: Voice, Piano | ||||||||||
 | John Mitchell | The Fand Grade 5 Piano Album A selection of pieces to Grade 5 standard | 5 | 2008 | £9.95 | |||||
| Forces: Piano | ||||||||||
 | John Mitchell | The Fand Left-Hand Piano Album Contemporary Pieces for the Left Hand alone | 2004 | £11.45 | ||||||
| Forces: Piano (left hand) | ||||||||||
 | John Mitchell | The Heart of Man Five A. E. Housman Songs for voice and piano | C♯ to E' | 6½ mins | 1st September 2025 | £9.95 | ||||
| Words: A. E. Housman Forces: Voice, Piano | ||||||||||
 | John Mitchell | The Rambling Sailor for Piano Solo | 7 | 3 mins | 20th July 2020 | £6.50 | ||||
| Forces: Piano | ||||||||||
 | John Mitchell | Thomphoonery! A Romp for The Thomp for piano | 6 to 7 | 2 mins | 8th August 2017 | £4.95 | ||||
| Forces: Piano | ||||||||||
 | John Mitchell | To Wheelbarrow Town for piano | 6 | 5½ mins | 26th July 2021 | £7.50 | ||||
| Forces: Piano | ||||||||||
| Attribution | Work | Grade | Vocal range | Duration | Published | Price | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | arr. John Mitchell, Constant Lambert | Aubade Héroïque for piano | 6 to 7 | 7 mins | 28th February 2022 | £8.95 | ||||
| Forces: Piano | ||||||||||
 | arr. John Mitchell, Sir Arnold Bax | Dance in the Sun arranged for solo piano | 8 to Advanced (post-Grade 8) | 6½ mins | 7th November 2015 | £9.50 | ||||
| Forces: Piano | ||||||||||
 | arr. John Mitchell arr. Peter Thompson, Carey Blyton | Girl Friday Piano arrangement for easy piano | 4 to 5 | 2½ mins | 2nd April 2024 | £5.50 | ||||
| Forces: Piano | ||||||||||
 | arr. John Mitchell, Walter Leigh | Jolly Roger Overture for piano duet | 7 | 4 mins | 24th December 2021 | £9.50 | ||||
| Forces: Piano duet | ||||||||||
 | arr. John Mitchell, E. J. Moeran | Lonely Waters arranged for solo piano with optional voice part | 8 to Advanced (post-Grade 8) | C♯ to D♯' | 9½ mins | 1st July 2012 | £9.95 | |||
| Forces: Voice, Piano | ||||||||||
 | arr. John Mitchell, Carey Blyton | Mood Music Medley for solo piano | 6 to 8 | 10 mins | 3rd June 2024 | £10.95 | ||||
| Forces: Piano | ||||||||||
 | arr. John Mitchell, Kenneth J. Alford | On the Quarterdeck for piano duet | 3 mins | 1st September 2025 | £9.50 | |||||
| Forces: Piano duet | ||||||||||
 | arr. John Mitchell, Hubert Bath | Out of the Blue for piano duet | 4¼ mins | 26th April 2022 | £9.50 | |||||
| Forces: Piano duet | ||||||||||
 | arr. John Mitchell, Sir Arnold Bax | Pensive Twilight arranged for solo piano | 8 | 6 mins | 4th March 2016 | £8.50 | ||||
| Forces: Piano | ||||||||||
 | arr. John Mitchell, Peter Warlock | Six English Tunes Originally for String Quintet arranged for piano duet | 7 | 20th July 2020 | £12.50 | |||||
| Forces: Piano duet, String Quintet | ||||||||||
 | arr. John Mitchell, Peter Warlock | Songs Without the Words Volume 1 for solo piano | 5 to 8 | 13 mins | 31st December 2019 | £11.50 | ||||
| Forces: Piano | ||||||||||
 | arr. John Mitchell, Peter Warlock | Songs Without the Words Volume 2 for solo piano | 5 to 8 | 13 mins | 31st December 2019 | £11.50 | ||||
| Forces: Piano | ||||||||||
 | arr. John Mitchell, E. J. Moeran | Songs Without the Words for solo piano | 5 to 8 | 15 mins | 10th March 2021 | £13.50 | ||||
| Forces: Piano | ||||||||||
 | arr. John Mitchell, E. J. Moeran | Whythorne’s Shadow arranged for solo piano | 8 | 6½ mins | 14th December 2020 | £11.95 | ||||
| Forces: Piano | ||||||||||