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 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 5 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1378689 By Michael Swedberg. By Terrence Niska. 21st Century,Classical,Romantic Period. Score. 8 pages. Niska Music Publishing #963350. Published by Niska Music Publishing (A0.1378689).

Piano Solo - Level 5 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1371932 By Michael Swedberg. By Terrence Niska. Classical,Contemporary,Ragtime,Romantic Period. Score. 8 pages. Niska Music Publishing #956123. Published by Niska Music Publishing (A0.1371932).

Piano Solo - Level 5 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1125799 By Michael Swedberg. By Jean Baptiste Calkin. Arranged by Terrence Niska. Christmas,Contemporary,Holiday. Score. 8 pages. Niska Music Publishing #726539. Published by Niska Music Publishing (A0.1125799). I must admit that I was far more familiar with the 1956 setting of this poem as sung by Bing Crosby to music by Johnny Marks than I was to the one found in many hymnals. It was on several of the Christmas albums that would be played on the phonograph in our house during the holiday season. However, I chose to arrange the carol setting for this collection as it resonated more deeply with me and seemed to better capture the essence of the poem by Longfellow. He wrote it during the Civil War, on Christmas Day of 1863, and several of the verses make reference to the war. While I did not set any of the Civil War verses, there is an almost martial quality to the opening music and one can almost hear the brass choir ringing out in the first verse. With each subsequent verse, the rhythm of the right hand becomes quicker, moving from half notes to quarter note triplets to eighth notes and finally to eighth note triplets in the final verse. For the most part, the left hand maintains the steady beat of quarter notes, with the exception of the final verse where it begins to move in eighth notes setting up a two-against-three pattern between the hands. It is the most jubilant of the verses and feels like an explosion of sound as the bells ring out across all the land proclaiming God is not dead, nor doth He sleep; The Wrong shall fail, The Right prevail, With peace on earth, good-will to men..

Piano Solo - Level 4 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1048641 By Michael Swedberg. By Terrence Niska. 20th Century,Classical,Contemporary. Score. 4 pages. Niska Music Publishing #653050. Published by Niska Music Publishing (A0.1048641). A darkness creeps through the forest that is broken only by momentary glimpses of an ethereal light from above. There is something almost sinister to this music, yet also deeply emotional…expressing a sense of overwhelming loss. From a technique standpoint, there are very thick chords that must be balanced correctly so as to hear the melody at all times. It is one of the more Impressionistic-feeling preludes in this collection.

Piano Solo - Level 5 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1125783 By Michael Swedberg. By Traditional French Melody. Arranged by Terrence Niska. Christmas,Contemporary,Holiday. Score. 8 pages. Niska Music Publishing #726523. Published by Niska Music Publishing (A0.1125783). As much as “O Come All Ye Faithful� is a lullaby, this arrangement is brimming with a sense of hushed excitement right from the opening measures as the two young girls from the title race to tell the town of the glorious events taking place. The first statement of the melody enters in the right hand with rather simple harmony, but the left hand keeps the excitement alive via a flowing stream of sixteenth notes. There is an abbreviated return of the opening material which leads to the second verse, but this time the left hand rises up to ring out with a bell-like tolling to awaken the townspeople. Meanwhile the right hand plays the melody in octaves, ringing out above to announce the news to one and all. By the third verse, the left hand is playing chords like a brass choir underpinning the melody, which now finds itself amid a flurry of triplets as the joyous tidings news spread far and wide. There is a return to the opening section, concluding with a final cascade from the top of the keyboard to the bottom and ending with a final “Amen!�.

Piano Solo - Level 4 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1362903 By Michael Swedberg. By Terrence Niska. 21st Century,Classical. Score. 8 pages. Niska Music Publishing #947285. Published by Niska Music Publishing (A0.1362903).

Piano Solo - Level 4 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1378676 By Michael Swedberg. By Terrence Niska. 21st Century,Classical,Contemporary. Score. 8 pages. Niska Music Publishing #963337. Published by Niska Music Publishing (A0.1378676).

Piano Solo - Level 5 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1125787 By Michael Swedberg. By Louis H. Redner. Arranged by Terrence Niska. Christmas,Contemporary,Holiday. Score. 4 pages. Niska Music Publishing #726527. Published by Niska Music Publishing (A0.1125787). This is another lullaby in my favorite meter of 7/4. The melody floats along as though on a peaceful river of eighth-notes supplied by the left hand. In the first verse, the melody is played in octaves with the occasional addition of an alto voice at the ends of phrases, which seems to comment upon the music..to reinforce what was just said. In the second verse, there is the addition of harmony in the right hand in either sixths or thirds. Soon the texture grows thicker as the chords become three-part and finally arriving at five-part chords as the piece reaches its climax. There is a dream-like quality to this arrangement which is never disturbed throughout. The music feels like a gentle balm for the weary soul… a soul which is accosted by trials every day, but that can take solace in the promise of the babe born this night.

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 4 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1048631 By Michael Swedberg. By Terrence Niska. 20th Century,Classical,Contemporary. Score. 4 pages. Niska Music Publishing #653037. Published by Niska Music Publishing (A0.1048631). There is an elegant simplicity to this gentle lullaby. You can hear a variety of birds twittering, trilling, warbling and chirping as they call to one another and get ready to settle in for the night. The sun is sinking in the west and there is not much time to return to the nest and await the morning. For the pianist, there are ample opportunities to practice trills, both long and short, but always keeping in mind the direction and flow of the melody.

Piano Solo - Level 5 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1038549 By Michael Swedberg. By Terrence Lee Niska. 20th Century,Classical,Romantic Period. Score. 4 pages. Niska Music Publishing #643518. Published by Niska Music Publishing (A0.1038549). These are not the winds of a beautiful autumn day, full of sunlight and colored leaves gently wafting to the ground. These breezes have a bite as though they are a precursor to a gathering storm. There is a relentless feeling behind the music, and the player must be keenly aware of the melodic voices in both hands and bring them out amidst the swirling triplets.

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

Piano Solo - Level 4 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1357021 By Michael Swedberg. By Terrence Niska. 20th Century,Classical. Score. 8 pages. Niska Music Publishing #941648. Published by Niska Music Publishing (A0.1357021).