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 5 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1073968 By Michael Swedberg. By Terrence Niska. 20th Century,Classical,Contemporary. Score. 4 pages. Niska Music Publishing #678234. Published by Niska Music Publishing (A0.1073968). The most Impressionistic of Opus 3, the cathedral in this instance is the forest rather than the sunken one from Debussy’s prelude. The canopy of the trees is the vaulted ceiling and the trunks serve as the columns. As one walks down the colonnade, the spaces between the trees serve as windows onto the magnificence of nature. From a musical standpoint, the thick, rich chords of the right hand create a feeling of majesty and awe broken by the melismatic figures of the wind through the boughs. Once again, it is of great importance to balance the chords to bring forth the melody.

Piano Solo - Level 4 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1357038 By Michael Swedberg. By Terrence Niska. 20th Century,Classical,Romantic Period. Score. 8 pages. Niska Music Publishing #941665. Published by Niska Music Publishing (A0.1357038). The people of the town gather at the dock to hear of the grand adventure about to take place. The trumpets play a fanfare as the brave crew board the ship and make ready for their imminent departure. The captain steps to the front, and the crowd grows silent as he tells of the glories and perils that await. The families, friends and loved ones listen intently while offering their silent prayers for the safe return of all those on board. They are sailing into uncharted waters, so there is no guarantee that they will ever again set foot upon their homeland, but they are undaunted and grow restless for they hear the call of the open sea. Soon all is ready and the captain closes his oration with a promise to return and share all the tales of their exploits. All those assembled on shore let out a final cheer as the courageous band of explorers set forth to meet whatever fate awaits them.

Piano Solo - Level 5 - Digital Download SKU: A0.950910 By Michael Swedberg. By Terrence Niska. 20th Century,Contemporary. Score. 4 pages. Niska Music Publishing #6361443. Published by Niska Music Publishing (A0.950910). Driven by an unrelenting sense of anger and urgency, this prelude shoots out of the gate and does not let up until the very end. It is essentially a study in octaves as both hands move up and down the keyboard with the melody in the right hand surrounded and supported by the constant flow of 16th notes moving ever forward.

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: A0.1378686 By Michael Swedberg. By Terrence Niska. 21st Century,Classical,Romantic Period. Score. 8 pages. Niska Music Publishing #963347. Published by Niska Music Publishing (A0.1378686).

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).

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.

Piano Solo - Level 4 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1248121 By Michael Swedberg. By Terrence Niska. 21st Century,Classical. Score. 8 pages. Niska Music Publishing #842684. Published by Niska Music Publishing (A0.1248121). This charming little prelude was not actually the first one I wrote for this collection, but rather a replacement for the original which felt out of place with the rest of the pieces. At first glance, it appears to be a study in thirds for the right hand while the left left hand keeps a steady underlying motion, but it is much more than that. There is a feeling of a journey, as though a leaf is floating down a stream. It starts out simple enough, with an air of peace and the image of sunlight on the water. There are moments when the trees block out the sun and the leaf goes in and out of the shimmering reflections, caught in the pull of the current, but nevertheless carried along without any concern as to where it is heading.The music takes on a minor feel as the leaf enters the rapids and is tossed about from whirlpool to whirlpool, nearly being submerged but always finding its way to the surface before finally breaking free and continuing it’s journey with the same sense of tranquility with which it began.

Piano Solo - Level 4 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1414480 By Michael Swedberg. By Terrence Niska. 21st Century,Classical,Contemporary. Score. 8 pages. Niska Music Publishing #996253. Published by Niska Music Publishing (A0.1414480).

Piano Solo - Level 5 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1125803 By Michael Swedberg. By Traditional French Melody. Arranged by Terrence Niska. Christmas,Contemporary,Holiday. Score. 8 pages. Niska Music Publishing #726544. Published by Niska Music Publishing (A0.1125803). I first became familiar with this tune in high school choir when we performed “Sing We Now of Christmas� for a holiday concert. I did not know that it had originated as a French carol from the late 15th/early16th century and like many of my favorite carols, it is set in a minor key. I had forgotten all about it until a friend suggested arranging it for this collection. As I began working on the piece, I was torn between staying true to the feel of the original and this growing sense I had to write something more dramatic and more inspired by one of my favorite composers, Ralph Vaughn Williams. I chose a much slower tempo than the French carol and as a result it has more depth and a sense of gravitas, reflecting the mystery of the birth of Christ. At the end of the first verse, I transition to the parallel major key and the music takes on a more lighthearted and almost dance-like character as the stable is visited by shepherds and kings alike to see for themselves the sleeping child and enjoy the sense of wonder and amazement at such a scene. The music then moves back to the opening and the original key as the kings offer their gifts to the babe and prepare to return home. Even though it is in a minor key, there is an overpowering grandeur in this prelude reflecting the events to come in His short life on this earth, but even more the importance to all that his sacrifice would bring. There is a brief coda that returns to the major key with the promise of hope offered by one so small.

Piano Solo - Level 5 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1073967 By Michael Swedberg. By Terrence Niska. 20th Century,Classical,Contemporary. Score. 4 pages. Niska Music Publishing #678231. Published by Niska Music Publishing (A0.1073967). This prelude begins and ends with a gentle breeze upon which ride the butterflies from the title. Soon the simple quarter-note melody becomes more complex with the left hand creating counterpoint to the right. With the addition of a triplet figure in the right hand against which the eighth-notes of the left hand have a separate melody, the interplay of the two hands bring a new feeling of fluttering about in the wind. The mood changes briefly from major to minor, as though a cloud has passed over the sun. Soon the clouds part and a wonderful syncopated section takes up the melody until at last the butterflies disappear from sight.

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: A0.950935 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 4 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1414486 By Michael Swedberg. By Terrence Niska. 21st Century,Classical,Romantic Period. Score. 8 pages. Niska Music Publishing #996260. Published by Niska Music Publishing (A0.1414486).