Fand IncWessex Press

Fand presents a selection of choral pieces as its latest batch of releases – all by composers new to the Fand catalogue. The new publications are available for purchase immediately.

First of all, we are delighted to welcome J. Alex Whyte to the catalogue. A man of multiple talents, and already the author of a number of humorous books (try reading his biography for a taste of his writing style), his first Fand publication is a cantata, set to his own text, called For Unbelievers. The composer has even used his graphical talents to create the cover illustration.

For Unbelievers is a highly attractive and uplifting work. The text is non-specific and open to multiple interpretations; although not overtly religious, it nevertheless conveys a sense of the value of faith and a broad hope for peace. In the composer’s words, “It was written as an invitation to think things over. And perhaps come to a decision.”

The cantata is for SATB choir with a soloist of each voice part, and has been published in two new editions: the intended original scoring with chamber orchestra and an alternative version with piano accompaniment. The two versions are ‘compatible’ in that the choir & piano score serves both as a performable work in its own right and as the choir and soloists’ part for the version with orchestral accompaniment. So, in situations where an orchestra is not available, a satisfactory performance can still be staged.

The work has already been performed on several occasions, but with an earlier orchestral scoring. For its Fand publication, the piece has been revised by a former pupil of the composer, Julian Cole, who has improved the orchestration and written the new piano accompaniment (with the composer’s full approval).

Although intended as a serious work, we feel that this piece, given its highly tuneful and attractive nature, very straightforward musical material and positive sentiments, would make an ideal work for performance by youngsters, within schools or youth choirs etc.

Easter may seem an unusual time to publish a Christmas carol, but never mind; it’s in plenty of time for the next festive season!

With Christmas Bells, Fand Music Press is delighted to welcome Philip Mead to its list of published composers. Philip is known primarily as a concert pianist who specialises in modern repertoire, and is a longstanding ‘Friend of Fand’, having performed many of Peter Thompson’s piano pieces over the years. Indeed, near the end of 2015 Philip gave a piano recital featuring the music of Bax and Thompson, most of it published by Fand, and even more recently his chamber choir premièred Peter’s arrangement of The Keys of Heaven.

However, Philip is now making his Fand debut as a composer, and presents us with not just the music of Christmas Bells but also an audio recording of a recent performance of the piece, given by the chamber choir that he conducts. This highly attractive new carol, featuring a memorable melody, is written for four-part SATB choir (with divisi) and a choice of piano, organ or (ideally) brass ensemble accompaniment. The style of the accompaniment (especially when played by the brass ensemble of two trumpets and two trombones) evokes, as suggested by the title, the sound of chiming and later pealing bells.

Last November, Fand Music Press published John Mitchell’s piano arrangement of Sir Arnold Bax’s Dance in the Sun, the second movement of the unpublished Four Orchestral Pieces of 1912–13.

This is now being followed up by a companion piece, Pensive Twilight: a new arrangement of the first movement of the Four Orchestral Pieces. The Four Orchestral Pieces were first performed in their original version in March 1914, so this piano arrangement appears on the 102nd anniversary, to the month, of that event. Bax subsequently revised the work in 1928, omitting the last movement and renaming the others while revising them; thus, Pensive Twilight later became Evening Piece.

John Mitchell’s arrangement is of the original version and hence bears its original title. As with Dance in the Sun, the arrangement attempts to present Bax’s music faithfully in a pianistic way, and is aimed at advanced pianists.

Fand’s final release of 2015 is an exciting and important one: the first edition of Sir Arnold Bax’s Scherzo for piano, edited and typeset by leading Bax authority Graham Parlett. A work of significant length and considerable technical demands, it represents a stimulating challenge to advanced pianists.

The precise origins of the Scherzo are unknown: completed in 1913, it was clearly marked as being the second movement of an otherwise unknown Piano Sonata; it may possibly be part of Bax’s lost Sonata in D minor. Bax orchestrated the score in 1917, in which form it received a couple of performances, and he also created a truncated arrangement for pianola roll, released in 1921, in which form the piece apparently enjoyed significant popularity. Some time later, in 1933, Bax produced a revised orchestral version under the title Symphonic Scherzo, and this version of the work was recorded by Chandos in 1986.

As for this original piano version of the piece, the first known performance – from the manuscript – took the form of a recording made by Malcolm Binns for a Pavilion Records LP in 1981. The score itself has never previously been published, and Fand is delighted to finally bring it to light.

The latest issue from Fand Music Press is Gary Higginson’s newly-written Inventions on a Theme of Carey Blyton for piano: a delightful tribute to Carey Blyton which, though skilfully simply written, nevertheless offers great scope for variety of expression, ranging from the wistful, through dancing gracefulness, bird calls and Blyton-esque humour, to the darker shades at the end – all unified by Carey Blyton’s original folk-like melody. This charming work should suit pianists of intermediate ability; Grade 6 and up. Gary Higginson was a pupil, friend and champion of the works of Carey Blyton, and there is a further personal connection between the two in terms of the theme on which the Inventions are based.

Fand Music Press is delighted to publish another new piano piece by Peter Thompson: his just-completed Toccata for Piano. This fast, exciting and flamboyant piece with intricate dance overtones should be highly rewarding material for competent pianists (Grade 8 and above).

The latest composition by Peter Thompson to be published by Fand Music Press is his newly written Soliloquy for Piano. This sonorously discursive piece for the competent pianist (Grade 8 and above) has already received a rave review by Murray McLachlan in the May/June 2015 issue of International Piano. As the reviewer notes, the music is sufficiently rich that it conveys an orchestral impression:

His four-page ‘Soliloquy’ for solo piano is intriguingly crafted, with strikingly original harmonic and contrapuntal movement that takes your fingers, if not your ears, by surprise. The colours and textures are orchestrally charged – yet the effects are achieved without bombast or excess. Beautiful, wistful music which makes considerable use of motivic variation techniques in only 112 bars. The music sounds like an orchestral transcription…

…yet this does not come at the cost of excessive technical difficulty:

…it is in fact a pleasure to play through, especially at the sustained chordal climaxes towards the end. Post-Grade 8 players in search of something different but not outlandish could really enjoy this. A quietly original piece that will give tactile as well as aural pleasure. I look forward to becoming familiar with more music from this underrated composer.

Regular visitors to this site may like to note the new Friends of Fand feature, now visible on this opening news page. An extension of our News system, we intend to use this new feature to draw attention to items that are tangentially related to Fand or, at least, of interest to Fand and its visitors.

So, please keep an eye on this page regularly for interesting updates, and if you know of anything that we should be aware of for the Friends of Fand section, do please get in touch with us!

Incidentally, just like our other news items, the Friends of Fand entries will be archived permanently in the News Archive, so they’ll remain available even when they’re too old to appear on the opening page.

We have also strengthened the connection with our new YouTube channel by embedding appropriate YouTube videos on all the relevant pages of the site (example CD page; example music page).

Fand Music Press is rounding off 2014 by publishing a suitably seasonal string quartet. Although Peter Thompson’s recent String Quartet no 6 has no overall title, it does feature a conspicuously wintery theme, with its four movements bearing the titles Day in November, Children’s Games, December Sunlight and Chase. An energetic and engaging work, the movements alternate between impressionistic sound-pictures of winter months and more acrobatic representations of youthful exuberance.

Fand is excited to announce the publication of two new books of poetry by two authors new to the Fand catalogue: Humanities by Julian Farmer and The Year by P. F. Owen.

Both books were released on 1st September and are available to buy now.