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 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: A0.1077067 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: A0.1125814 By Michael Swedberg. By Felix Bartholdy Mendelssohn. Arranged by Terrence Niska. Christmas,Contemporary,Holiday. Score. 8 pages. Niska Music Publishing #726554. Published by Niska Music Publishing (A0.1125814). Once again the influence of George Winston and Mannheim Steamroller can be heard as this prelude begins with a burst of joy and energy that does not subside, but only grows with each verse. The changing meters make this piece a challenge to play and requires a strong technique to handle some of the scale passages. This arrangement is a far cry from the original music of Mendelssohn, but the lyrics inspired me to create something full of vibrancy and passion to match the glorious news that the angels came to deliver! The first verse establishes the 5/4 meter heard throughout the prelude and is filled with the pealing of church bells in the right hand as they send forth the melody in octaves! Meanwhile, the left hand continues the broken chord pattern established in the opening. In the next verse, the left hand is now rising and falling, while the right is still playing the melody in octaves. Only now it is filling the spaces with eighth notes to match the left hand…essentially combining the two hands of the previous verse. For the final verse, the left hand takes on the orchestral role of brass and percussion with thunderous chords punctuating the rhythm of the melody in the right hand. There are moments of fireworks as the hands break free of the 5/4 meter for some wonderful, albeit brief, scales which increase the growing excitement. The piece concludes with a return of the rhythmic material from the opening as the hands work their way down the piano in arpeggiated fashion only to race back up the keyboard for a final flourish before a resounding Amen: Hail the heaven-born Prince of Peace! Glory to the new-born King!

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 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: A0.1048641 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.

By Michael Swedberg. By Terrence Lee Niska. Classical, Romantic Period. Score. 4 pages. Niska Music Publishing #643480. Published by Niska Music Publishing

Piano Solo - Level 5 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1077072 By Michael Swedberg. By Terrence Niska. 20th Century,Classical,Contemporary. Score. 4 pages. Niska Music Publishing #681214. Published by Niska Music Publishing (A0.1077072). The sun is setting and the swallows are enjoying one last dance before retiring for the evening. They take to the skies and wheel about with effortless grace and an intricacy of movement that would make the most professional dancers blush with envy. It would seem that they have rehearsed for uncounted hours as they swoop and glide about on an invisible dance floor. One moment rising to great heights, the next plummeting toward the earth, all the while maintaining a strict sense of control that does not lack for beauty. Slowly they begin to depart the stage, one by one, until they have all returned to their nests for the night. The sun sets and the curtain falls.

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: A0.1125813 By Michael Swedberg. By Gustav Holst. Arranged by Terrence Niska. Christmas,Contemporary,Holiday. Score. 8 pages. Niska Music Publishing #726553. Published by Niska Music Publishing (A0.1125813). Another arrangement that had its genesis as a vocal chart for Five By Design. However, this piece went on to be performed in our holiday show, “A Winter’s Evening.� I have always loved the Gustav Holst melody to Christina Rossetti’s poem, subsequently it was that setting that I chose to arrange for our group. When I was selecting pieces for my second collection of Christmas Preludes, I knew this would be among them. The piece starts out quite gently, and in my mind’s ear I hear a cello and oboe establishing a mood of utter serenity and calm as the snow gently falls outside the frost-covered window. Soon the oboe is joined by a clarinet as they play a duet while the cello continues the gentle sway of eighth notes. For the pianist, there must be great control of the left hand to keep it as calm as possible while the melody floats above, just as the snow falls to the earth. As the second verse begins, the right hand now plays a triplet pattern beneath the melody. It is a gentle breeze, stirred by the wings of angels and cherubim, upon which the crystalline flakes swirl and dance in the cold night air. All the while the left hand continues its steady motion of eighth notes. Halfway through the triplet pattern moves to the left hand and the right hand takes up the eighth notes while still keeping the melody above all. The verse comes to a close with a slowing of the tempo to emphasize the importance of what the poet states in the last lines of the poem: “Yet what I can I give Him, — Give my heart.� It is all that any of us can do, and all that we are asked to do.

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: A0.1077071 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 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).