Songs Without Words

*Eight Original Compositions* suitable for an intermediate player in Forsyth's British Heritage Series by Colin Hand. Includes brief biographical notes.

1. A Mirror Melody
2. Merry Andrew
3. The Millwheel's Song
4. Sea Shanty
5. Yodelling Song
6. Spring Song
7. Moonlight Murmurs
8. Jonah-Man Jazz

Composer Colin Hand died on 6 August 2015 at the age of 86. Though he showed an early interest in music and played the viola in his school orchestra, it was as biochemist that he initially studied. However, he was eventually drawn to music again, studied the organ with Dr Melville Cook and received a MusB from Trinity College, Dublin. He subsequently spent fifteen years as a lecturer in further education and fifteen years part-time as an examiner for Trinity College, London. His compositions include choral (a substantial amount of church music), orchestral and chamber music and songs, including some fine settings of Walter de la Mare and Thomas Hardy. He carried out substantial research for a PhD on the Tudor composer John Taverner, and his book John Taverner, his Life and Music was published by Eulenburg in 1978.  

The Fenland Suite and Hallam Suite, both for recorder quartet, are justly popular ensemble pieces, but solo works such as Sonata piccola, Petite suite champêtre and Plaint have also become established works in the recorder repertoire.   Andrew Mayes

_Score 16 pp. Part 7 pp._