ST. MAUR MUSIC
An imprint specialising in the
music of Charles McCreery
MAIN MUSICAL WORKS PUBLISHED
(reference numbers for ordering purposes are given after each
work)
Songs:
13 Tolkien Songs for
Children's Voices (MMV1) Price:
£12.95/$22
(Solo, Duet and Chorus; pf accompaniment)
[Settings of words from The Hobbitt, The Lord of the Rings and The
Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien; suitable for school choirs]
Contents:
1. The
Fall of Gil-Galad
2.
Beren’s Song of Parting
3. The
Riddle Song
4.
Bilbo’s Song
5. Elven
Hymn to Elbereth Gilthoniel
6.
Bilbo’s Song in The Hobbit
7.
Gandalf’s Song of Lorien
8. Sam’s
Song in the Orc-Tower
9. The
Ent and the Ent-wife
10. The Ents’ Marching Song
11. Bregalad’s Lament for the Rowans
12. Galadriel’s Song of Eldamar
13. The Old Walking Song
Format: soft cover, A4,
59 pages, illustrated with an original watercolour
Vocal score (voices,
with piano accompaniment)
Description:
This sequence of settings from The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and the Silmarillion has a number of thematic links between the songs, and can be regarded as a cycle, although each song could be performed alone. The style is tuneful and straightforward, which is well suited to the ballad-like style of many of Tolkien’s poems. However, there are also a number of striking effects, like the simple canon in No. 7, Gandalf’s Song of Lorien, and an ‘offstage’ beginning to No. 5, the Elves’ song from The Fellowship of the Ring, which closely mirrors the description of the Elves approaching from a distance, singing, as described in the book. There is also considerable variety of texture within and between songs, with passages for a single solo voice, two soloists, or chorus sometimes alternating, sometimes accompanying each other.
Charles McCreery has a curious gift for making major keys sound plangent (only two of the songs have minor key signatures), and a number of the songs have a wistful air, which befits the often nostalgic tone of Tolkien’s writings. However, there is also a rousing setting of the Ent’s marching song from The Two Towers, and Sam’s song in the orc tower has an elated introduction and coda. The soothing final song, The Old Walking Song (‘The road goes ever on and on’), makes a highly appropriate ending, given its reference to ‘evening-rest and sleep’.
Two of the songs go up to high A, and one to B natural, and these might therefore be more suitable for older children, but the majority remain well within the stave, and would be suitable for younger children as well.
Chamber music:
Andante and Minuet for
String Quintet (MMC1) Price:
£3.95/$6.50
(2 Violins, 2 Violas and Cello)
6 + 3 mins
Prelude and Fugue in G
for String Quartet (MMC2) Price:
£3.95/$6.50
(the fugue on a subject by J.S. Bach)
6 + 4 mins
Elegy in F for Violin
and Piano (MMC3) Price:
£2.95/$5
(also available in an arrangement for Piano Trio)
4 mins
Piano pieces:
Impromptu in A minor (MMP1) Price: £2.95/$5
4 mins
Fugue in E flat (MMP2) Price:
£2.95/$5
8 mins
50 Variations on an
Original Ground Bass in F (MMP3) Price:
£3.95/$6.50
20 mins
Orchestral works:
Overture, Intermezzo
and Envoi from King Eldred, an Opera for Children (MMO1)
(Str., double woodwind, 4 hns, 3 tpts, 3 tbns, timp, harp, tubular bells)
6 + 7 + 3 mins Price:
£3.95/$6.50
Lullaby and Children's
Dance from King Eldred (MMO2)
(Str., double woodwind, 2 hns, timp)
5.5 mins Price:
£2.95/$5
How to contact us:
St. Maur Music
60
Tel: 020 8536 1698, fax: 020 8925 3564
e-mail: maurmusic@eidosnet.co.uk
From the United Kingdom: by cheque or postal order made payable to St.
Maur Music
From outside the
Please add
10% to the prices above for postage and packing
ABOUT CHARLES McCREERY:
Charles McCreery was
educated at
From 1988 to 1991 he
held a Perrott Warrick Studentship from
McCreery is a resolute
defender of tonality in music, and his own music is tuneful and accessible. A
number of his pieces are suitable for children, being largely free of technical
difficulties.
In 1996 his Elegy for violin and piano was
shortlisted for the Match Composition Prize.
Relevant Link:
http://www.britishacademy.com/members/mccreery.htm