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.

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 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: A0.1125799

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 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 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).

Piano Solo - Level 5 - Digital Download

SKU: A0.1048636

By Michael Swedberg. By Terrence Niska. 20th Century,Classical,Contemporary. Score. 4 pages. Niska Music Publishing #653045. Published by Niska Music Publishing (A0.1048636).

There is a playful, whimsical quality to this prelude. The music goes back and forth between phrases which have a more floating quality and those that create a feeling of sudden shifts in direction, much like the dragonflies of the title. As the piece draws to a close, the sun slowly falls below the horizon and the dragonflies take shelter for the night...awaiting another day.

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 4 - Digital Download

SKU: A0.1077068

By Michael Swedberg. By Terrence Niska. 20th Century,Classical,Contemporary. Score. 4 pages. Niska Music Publishing #681210. Published by Niska Music Publishing (A0.1077068).

We begin this stroll through the forest with our hearts filled with joy and delight, enjoying the rustling of the leaves and the sunlight-dappled earth beneath our feet. There is a shift in mood as the trees become thicker and the light from above is diminished lending a more disquieting feel to the surroundings. It is not dangerous, nor evil, like the woods of some fabled land with witches and goblins, but there is a sense of unease rising within us. Our pace quickens with the beating of our hearts, but the path is clearly marked and we continue on to eventually find our way back to the sunlit world where birds can once again be heard and our momentary concerns are forgotten. We are at peace.

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: A0.1077071

By Michael Swedberg. By Terrence Niska. 20th Century,Classical,Contemporary. Score. 4 pages. Niska Music Publishing #681213. Published by Niska Music Publishing (A0.1077071).

While most of these Naturszenen present images of the waking world, this one is set in the world of dreams. From the very beginning of the intro there is a feeling of an almost trance-like state as the right hand plays a simple, yet haunting figure with very little motion under a sustained, sighing melody. When the main theme begins, the left hand takes up the pulsating figure and the right begins its melancholic rise and fall. The chromatic nature of the piece lends an aura of wandering through the world of sleep, looking with fascination at the unusual sights conjured up by the unconscious mind. Is there a hidden meaning to what we see or simply our imagination taking us on a journey to a fantastic world of untold wonders?

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: A0.1248121

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 5 - Digital Download

SKU: A0.1414503

By Michael Swedberg. By Terrence Niska. 21st Century,Classical,Contemporary. Score. 8 pages. Niska Music Publishing #996265. Published by Niska Music Publishing (A0.1414503).

Piano Solo - Level 5 - Digital Download

SKU: A0.1048638

By Michael Swedberg. By Terrence Niska. 20th Century,Classical,Contemporary,Romantic Period. Score. 4 pages. Niska Music Publishing #653047. Published by Niska Music Publishing (A0.1048638).

While this prelude bears a German title, there is the definite influence of Rachmaninoff to be found in its sweeping melody, like something to be found in a piano concerto. There is a feeling of constant motion, like the rushing of a river, created by the constant flow of sixteenth notes in the left hand. Meanwhile, the right hand melody soars majestically above. There are moments when the water is rushing along placidly in a stream and others where the triplet figures create images of water tumbling over stones in small waterfalls, creating whirlpools and eddies in the current. In the end, the winding comes to a restful close…the journey is over.