Sample Scores and Recordings

It should go without saying that my original work as presented on these pages is all copyright. If you want to make use of any of it for purposes other than auditioning/playing it back on your own computer, please have the courtesy to discuss it with me first.

Sibelius Scores

These scores were all composed by me and produced using Sibelius score-writing software. You can look at them and play them back on your own computer (Windows/Mac with suitable soundcard/MIDI equipment), but you’ll need the Scorch plug-in from Sibelius first. None of the scores below is bigger than 21K, and you only need one plug-in to play them all! It might also be worth pointing out that the quality of the sounds you hear depends largely on your General MIDI equipment — it all sounds like music on my Yamaha SW1000XG, but more like a tinny, cheap radio on my other soundcard.

Cradle Song
A piece for my twin nephews Thomas and James, born August 1996. Two low whistles and piano (for an MP3 excerpt, see below). The grace notes attempt to capture the spirit, rather than the letter, of the whistle ornamentation, which is never exactly the same twice in performance.
Puss in Boots (a pantomime for Kinlochleven Primary School, Christmas 2000)

Opening Chorus (A Cat with Clout). The Miller has been scared to death by the Ogre, and his ‘catty’ legacy to his youngest son Mac looks worthless beside the valuable mill and donkey (!) left to the older boys. Things, however, are rarely what they seem, and Mac quickly discovers that there’s something special about his cat (The Coolest Cat in Town). Even the fearsome, prisoner-eating Ogre’s castle (Ogre!) holds no terrors for Puss in Boots and, to cut a long story short, Puss helps Mac to defeat the Ogre, claim his castle, impress the King and marry the lovely Princess Rose. Some light relief is provided along the way by the Dame (the late Miller’s washerwoman wife) and the Ogre’s two incompetent henchmen, who teach the audience to sing a surpassingly silly song (Notes in Boats). Everything comes up roses (?!) in a whirling waltz of a finale (Whitewash Waltz), and that’s that!

As with 1997’s ‘Snow White’, just my original songs are published here.
Animations
A steely and percussive piano piece from my student days (second year composition), structured round a fine old psalm tune from the Scottish Psalter of 1615.
Snow White and the Nine Dwarfs (a pantomime for Kinlochleven Primary School, Christmas 1997)

Opening Chorus (Just a Tall Tale). Snow White’s mother (the Queen) has died, and the new (beautiful but wicked) Queen is more interested in herself (Mirror Song 1). As Snow White grows up, she becomes even prettier than her stepmother (Mirror Song 2). The wicked Queen calls for her four Ghastly Gamekeepers (Ghastly Gamekeepers’ Song) to ‘lose’ Snow White in the woods. Alone, Snow White sings a very sad song (Lost in the Woods). After sleeping for a while, she finds the Dwarfs’ cottage (Dwarf Song, with some chorus/audience participation). Back home, the Queen learns that Snow White is still around (Mirror Song 3), and sets out to sort things herself. Twice she ‘kills’ Snow White, only for her to be resurrected by the Dwarfs (2 x Mirror Song 3) but, the third time, she appears to have succeeded (Mirror Song 1). The Ghastly Gamekeepers teach the audience a song (Purple Sponge Song) and hold a singing competition (well, this happens in pantomimes!). Finally, a handsome prince comes riding by, resurrects Snow White for good with a kiss, and everyone lives happily ever after (The Happy Ending).

Yes, there really were nine dwarfs! The singing parts (in order of appearance) were the Wicked Queen, the Mirror, Snow White, the four Ghastly Gamekeepers and the Nine Dwarfs (who all wore ‘See You Jimmy’ hats and whose names were chosen by the children). The songs are my work, but the script (not published here) was written by the primary staff.

All enquiries about these pieces or quotations for typesetting to music@petestack.com.

MP3 Files

Some MP3 files of my recordings. All compressed to 64kbps except for ‘Rowan’, which simply lost too much at such a low bit rate. (All composed and performed by me, recorded over the years by Nick Turner at Watercolour Music, and multitracked as necessary.)

Cradle Song (excerpt 0'38", stereo, 64kbps, 306K)
A piece for my twin nephews Thomas and James, born August 1996. Two low whistles and piano (for a Sibelius Score, see above).
The Boat that Sailed Backwards (excerpt 0'29", stereo, 64kbps, 234K)
A 9/8, or slip, jig commemorating an incident with my first Drascombe at Craobh Haven. Keyless wooden flute and piano.
An Tilleadh gu Colla (the Return to Coll) (excerpt 0'40", stereo, 64kbps, 320K)
A kind of reel, bubbling over with the excitement I felt on returning to our childhood paradise of Coll after an absence of ten years. Low whistle and piano.
Miss Isla Graham (excerpt 1'13", stereo, 64kbps, 579K)
A slow air for Isla (born January 1991), recorded here on guitar (which is joined by low whistle and keyboard for the second half of the tune on the complete version).
Rowan (excerpt 0'59", stereo, 96kbps, 695K)
A lively guitar solo dedicated to Nick Turner’s younger son, born November 1995. For some reason it’s suffered more than the other tracks through the conversion from .wav to .mp3, so I’ve had to compromise at 96kbps to achieve some kind of listenable quality at a palatable file size. For the guitarists out there, both ‘Rowan’ and ‘Miss Isla Graham’ make use of the open G (DGDGBD) tuning.

All enquiries about these recordings to Nick Turner at Watercolour Music.

Enquiries to music@petestack.com