Piano Solo - Level 5 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1125796 By Michael Swedberg. By Traditional Spiritual. Arranged by Terrence Niska. Christmas,Contemporary,Holiday. Score. 8 pages. Niska Music Publishing #726536. Published by Niska Music Publishing (A0.1125796). One of the more technically demanding preludes in this set, it is a definite workout for the right hand as it is nonstop triplets from beginning to end. Not only must the wrist remain loose, but the melody is contained in the right hand amidst the steady torrent of sixteenth note triplets. There is also a wonderful two measure hemiola figure where the meter seems to shift temporarily before returning to the established meter. The exuberance and excitement of the good news of Christ’s birth is the driving force behind this arrangement. Symphonic in its conception, the pianist needs to keep that in mind as they bring all the forces of the orchestra to bear. There are instances of brass chords, swirling string lines, singing woodwinds and thundering timpani, sometimes happening all at the same time. A tour de force and an excellent concert finale!

Piano Solo - Level 5 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1038540 By Michael Swedberg. By Terrence Lee Niska. 20th Century,Classical,Contemporary. Score. 4 pages. Niska Music Publishing #643505. Published by Niska Music Publishing (A0.1038540). From the first notes to the last beat this piece captures the constant activity of the bees as they gather nectar throughout the day. The right hand buzzes about in a constant stream of eighth notes, rising and falling, twisting and turning, while the left hand moves along in quarter notes to create the harmonic underpinnings that never really settle until the final chord. It is one one the shortest of the nature scenes, but requires a light touch and strong technique.

Piano Solo - Level 5 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1048634 By Michael Swedberg. By Terrence Niska. 20th Century,Classical,Contemporary. Score. 4 pages. Niska Music Publishing #653043. Published by Niska Music Publishing (A0.1048634). From the opening tremolo in the right hand, there is a sense of forlornness that permeates this prelude. The left hand stubbornly repeats the same four notes as the melody begins to weave its way above, searching for a place to rest that seems only all too elusive. The melody repeats, but is now joined by another voice which only adds to the feeling of despondency as it snakes around creating a melancholy harmony. The title refers to a house that has been forgotten to time and is slowly being covered by the encroaching forest. With no one around to witness the end of a home that once knew laughter, but now knows only sadness and decay, the piece ends with the sighing of the wind through the branches of the trees.

Piano Solo - Level 5 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1125770 By Michael Swedberg. By Traditional French Carol. Arranged by Terrence Niska. Christmas,Contemporary,Holiday. Score. 8 pages. Niska Music Publishing #726510. Published by Niska Music Publishing (A0.1125770). This song has a long history with me. I first wrote a five-part vocal to be sung by the group Five By Design (of which I was a member) back in the late 1990s or early 2000s. Unfortunately, it never found its way in to our repertoire. It sat on my computer for quite a few years before I revised it to be sung as a trio with my brother, Kurt, and his wife, Lorie. I had written a vocal arrangement of the carol for us to sing at some Christmas concerts and a few years later, when putting this album together, I returned to the first chart and adapted it for piano solo. The meter of the song moves back and forth between 3/4 and 2/4 and conveys the joy and hopefulness of the opening lyrics: “He is born, the Divine Child, Play the oboe, resound the bagpipes. He is born, the Divine Child, Let us all sing of his arrival.� It is this combination of instruments that I tried to emulate in the introduction, with the bagpipes in the left hand and the oboes in the right. When the tune proper begins, there is a definite rhythmic vitality that is maintained throughout the prelude as it celebrates the long-awaited birth of Jesus as foretold by the prophets over 4,000 years ago. From start to finish, the influence of both George Winston and Mannheim Steamroller can be heard in the music.

Piano Solo - Level 4 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1414518 By Michael Swedberg. By Terrence Niska. 21st Century,Classical,Romantic Period. Score. 8 pages. Niska Music Publishing #996293. Published by Niska Music Publishing (A0.1414518).

Piano Solo - Level 5 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1073971 By Michael Swedberg. By Terrence Niska. 20th Century,Classical,Contemporary. Score. 4 pages. Niska Music Publishing #678237. Published by Niska Music Publishing (A0.1073971). The influence of Erik Satie can be heard in this prelude as it brings to mind his famous “Gymnopedie.� The unusual meter of 7/8 gives the music a feeling of the vastness of time and space as it almost never seems to end, but continuously spins out from measure to measure. Judicious use of the pedal is necessary to maintain the crystal clarity of the music while still allowing the harmonies to transport the listener to a realm of unending serenity and calm.

Piano Solo - Level 4 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1073979 By Michael Swedberg. By Terrence Niska. 20th Century,Classical,Contemporary. Score. 4 pages. Niska Music Publishing #678245. Published by Niska Music Publishing (A0.1073979). There is a Chopinesque quality to this piece, but with a haunting, unsettled aspect more reminiscent of Scriabin as it searches for an ever-elusive rest. It is a walk through the woods at the end of Autumn, when the leaves are all but gone and the ghostly branches reach their skeletal fingers toward the moonlit sky. The clouds float across the sky, blotting out the light of the moon as you find yourself descending deeper into an almost hypnotic trance. There is the tolling of a bell off in the distance. It does not waver, hanging on to a single note as the harmonies change beneath in the left hand while the opening melody returns. There is a change in mood as the music becomes more chromatic while shifting between two chords until it finally resolves and the opening melody returns. As it comes to a close, there is no sense of resolution…rather it ends with a question.

Piano Solo - Level 4 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1077067 By Michael Swedberg. By Terrence Niska. 20th Century,Classical,Contemporary. Score. 4 pages. Niska Music Publishing #681209. Published by Niska Music Publishing (A0.1077067). A sense of foreboding fills the air as this piece begins. There is a darkness on the horizon and it can mean only one thing: the storm approaches. The simple chords of the intro present a feeling of calm that belies the impending torrent. The music takes a deep breath and then…it begins. In the left hand, a figure reminiscent of Chopin’s “Revolutionary� Etude begins (though not nearly as quick). The rains start to fall and the winds begin to blow as the storm builds in intensity. Measure by measure the music grows in strength until the climax is reached and the gales begin to subside with the last crashes of thunder. For all its fury, the storm is over. The clouds begin to recede across the horizon and in the end, a single ray of sunlight breaks through the gloom.

Piano Solo - Level 3 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1276116 By Michael Swedberg. By Johann Pachelbel. Arranged by Terrence Niska. 21st Century,Classical,New Age,Pop. Score. 8 pages. Niska Music Publishing #867876. Published by Niska Music Publishing (A0.1276116). One of the earliest CDs I bought was a CBS Great Performances disc entitled “Pachelbel’s Canon: Baroque Favorites.� I can recall listening to it over and over. Among my favorites were Handel’s “The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba,� Mouret’s “Rondeau,� Albinoni’s “Adagio for Strings and Organ in G minor (which I later discovered was actually written by Remo Giazotto in 1958), and, of course, Pachelbel’s Canon in D.The Canon has been a source of musical inspiration to a great number of artists over the years including Maroon 5’s “Memories� in 2019 and George Winston’s “Variations on the Kanon by Johann Pachelebel� from his 1982 album December.My arrangement is a series of variations starting with a simple statement of the chord progression and gradually making use of the themes as the piece progresses. In this respect, it is more of a chaconne than a true canon. (A chaconne being a type of musical composition which uses a repeated short harmonic progression as a vehicle for variations and melodic invention). It eventually works its way to a section of forte chords based on the rhythm of the second theme before gradually returning to a simpler use of the chords and bass line from the opening.

By Michael Swedberg. By Terrence Lee Niska. 20th Century, Classical, Contemporary. Score. 4 pages. Niska Music Publishing #643490. Published by Niska Music Publishing

By Michael Swedberg. By Terrence Lee Niska. 20th Century, Classical, Contemporary. Score. 4 pages. Niska Music Publishing #643516. Published by Niska Music Publishing

Piano Solo - Level 5 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1077073 By Michael Swedberg. By Terrence Niska. 20th Century,Classical,Contemporary. Score. 4 pages. Niska Music Publishing #681216. Published by Niska Music Publishing (A0.1077073). Whereas Naturszenen No.16 is the aftermath of a forest fire, this scene takes place during the height of the inferno. One cannot escape the sense of a ravenous hunger found in the incessant motion of the piece as the flames leap from tree to tree, engulfing all in their path. The air is choked with ash and a heat that cannot be withstood. The flames reach ever higher driven by winds created as a result of the intense heat. Nothing can stop the destruction until all sources of fuel have been devoured. This piece evokes a definite feeling of the late Classical/early Romantic period and the technical demands on the pianist are not insignificant. While there is a melody to be brought out in the right hand amidst the constant swirl of 16th notes, the left hand leaps about to fill in the harmonic underpinnings.

Piano Solo - Level 3 - Digital Download SKU: A0.950935 By Michael Swedberg. By Lelia N. Morris. Arranged by Terrence Niska. 20th Century,Contemporary,Sacred. Score. 8 pages. Niska Music Publishing #6615429. Published by Niska Music Publishing (A0.950935). I don’t recall when I first heard this hymn, but it has long been one of my favorites. One of my most powerful memories is singing it graveside when my Uncle John passed away from cancer at a fairly young age. My brother, Kurt, his wife, Lorie, and I sang an arrangement I had written for the service. It came as no surprise to me that it was one of the first hymns that I chose to arrange for piano solo. The melody moves from a fairly straightforward statement in the left hand for the first verse to the right hand in the second verse where it is adorned by a swirling pattern of sixteenth notes. The melody returns to the left hand for the last verse where it takes on a slightly different feel before the prelude returns to the opening material to finish with the same serenity with which it began.

Piano Solo - Level 5 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1125807 By Michael Swedberg. By John Henry Hopkins Jr. Arranged by Terrence Niska. Christmas,Contemporary,Holiday. Score. 8 pages. Niska Music Publishing #726547. Published by Niska Music Publishing (A0.1125807). The travels of the three wise men as they followed a star to see the newborn King was the inspiration for this arrangement. It starts with the right hand representing the twinkling of the stars in the vastness of the heavens, while the left hand provides the feeling of winds blowing across the desert sands as the magi set out on their journey. Soon the melody is heard in the right hand, though in a more stately rhythm than the traditional, more pastoral original. The left hand continues its sweeping motion unabated and drives the piece ever onward as the wise men draw ever nearer to their destination. The minor mood of the song is replaced in the chorus as the star of wonder shines down upon them, filling their souls with hope. Eventually they arrive at the stable and offer their gifts to the babe lying in a manger: gold, frankincense and myrrh. It is the last of these gifts which foreshadow the death of Christ and his burial in the stone-cold tomb. After they have spent some time praising their new-found king, the three wise men return to their homeland as the music follows them back across the desert sands to their homes in the East.

By Michael Swedberg. By Terrence Niska. 20th Century, Classical, Contemporary. Score. 4 pages. Niska Music Publishing #678241. Published by Niska Music Publishing