Lang Lang At The Movies is an album of music from the movies, played by the pianist Lang Lang. There are some wonderful arrangements for piano, with plenty of guest artists and other instrumentalists. more...
Quietude is Alistair Penman's latest album, and it is all about peace and relaxation. Featuring a mix of classical arrangements and original works, it is beautifully recorded on Penman's substantial range of Saxophone and Clarinet instruments. More....
Hollywood Soundstage is an album full of music from the Golden Age of Cinema. John Wilson conducts the "Sinfonia of London" in this grand collection of music from the great film music composers, including Erich Wolfgang Korngold, David Raksin, Max Steiner, Franz Waxman, Alfred Newman and more...
Much has happened on Doctor Who recently including plenty of music-related news and events. We've had a concert covering 60 years of music, special releases on BBC iPlayer, classic score album releases, a charity single from the Christmas Special, even a Doctor and companion singing! Our main Doctor Who Music article has been updated with all these and More....
Patrick Doyle: Music from the Movies was a recent concert of music by Patrick Doyle. The concert was held in both Edinburgh and Glasgow, special guests including members of the composer's family, friends and fellow musicians. The event had a wonderfully intimate feel celebrating the music of this Scottish composer. More....
Telemann's set of 12 Fantasias for Viola da Gamba Solo were thought lost until 2015 when they and other works by the composer were uncovered. Even in Telemann's day the Viola da Gamba had been largely replaced by modern string instruments. Now the Violist Michał Bryła has transcribed and recorded these works on a modern Viola. More...
"Fem Får Fire Geder" ("Five Sheep Four Goats") is a traditional folk melody from Denmark, first published in the 18th century. The original manuscript (part of a collection of fiddle tunes) is now held in the Danish Royal Library. It has been recorded and performed by various artists, including the Danish String Quartet. We have added 4 versions to the mfiles library:
Bach composed several stand-alone fugues for Organ, and this one in G minor (sometimes called the "Little" Gm Fugue) is the most famous. Here we present 4 versions of the fugue, all with sheet music, parts, video and audio files:
Jon Burlingame is an expert on film & TV music and his latest book Music for Prime Time looks at the origins and evolution of the small screen art form, subtitled "A History of American Television Themes and Scoring". John Caps reviews the book, with a focus on the new and ever-changing dynamics affecting TV Music. More...
Domenico Scarlatti was a contemporary of Bach and Handel and an excellent harpsichordist. He is famous as the composer of 555 sonatas, mostly for keyboard, and here is a small selection of sonatas and arrangements - with sheet music, videos and audio files:
Christian Petzold was a contemporary of Bach, and like him was an organist and composer. A linked pair of Minuets from the composer's Harpsichord Suite found their way into the famous "Bach Notebook". Here is the sheet music, with video and audio files:
In his latest article Women Film Composers John Caps provides a short history of the topic starting with the eccentric Elisabeth Lutyens, who eschewed her previous 12-tone serial style for something more melodic in her film music. He continues with many fine composers through to acclaimed Icelandic cellist and composer Hildur Guðnadóttir. More....
We have added some additional items to our folk music collection. Representing the "Sea Shanty" we have the traditional "Drunken Sailor" and the popular "Wellerman". We have also added two different versions of the traditional Scottish song "Loch Lomond". As always we include relevant sheet music and audio files:
Lamya's Poem is an animated movie about a 12-year-old girl forced to flee war-torn Syria but finding a strange solace in a book of poetry. The music score by Christopher Willis is a perfectly judged mix of sound design, small chamber groups, full orchestra and the Persian ney. More....
Claude Debussy's Children's Corner is a suite for piano dedicated to his daughter. The final movement Cakewalk is already on mfiles and here we present the first "Doctor Gradus ad Parnassum". We include the original for piano solo, and two arrangements for a variety of instruments with piano accompaniment, all with sheet music (score/parts), video and audio files:
Soar is a classical album featuring the talents of saxophonist Alastair Penman and pianist Jonathan Pease. The album brings together an interesting collection of music, and includes some dazzling displays of virtuoso sax playing. More....
Composer Segun Akinola has accompanied the 13th Doctor through all her travels, and he bows out as Doctor Who composer with scores for the Series 13 The Specials broadcast in 2022 leading up to Jodie Whittaker's regeneration. More...
"Hitchcock's Frenzy" is a soundtrack album with a difference. It has two alternative scores to the Hitchcock classic: the movie's final score by Ron Goodwin & the rejected score by Henry Mancini. John Caps presents the story behind the Two Frenzy Scores and how they came to be. More...
In total Brahms composed 4 Symphonies, and the theme from the 3rd movement of his Symphony No.3 in F has captured the imagination of other composers and songwriters. Here are 3 arrangements of that theme, with sheet music (score & parts), video and audio files: