Additional information
by Charles McCreery (Author)
These fourteen songs set words from 'The Lord of the Rings', 'The Hobbit', and 'The Silmarillion' by J.R.R Tolkien. The vocal parts are tuneful and not technically demanding, so can be used by choirs of all ages and abilities. They provide opportunities for both solo work and duets, as well as for singing as part of a group.The piano parts are for the most part not technically demanding, so provide scope for a child learning the piano to accompany a choir.In a number of the songs the tune is incorporated into the piano accompaniment for all or part of the song, so they could also be used as solo piano pieces for those with a particular interest in Tolkien.The collection of songs is illustrated by an original watercolour and ten colour photographs.Videos relating to four of the songs ('The Fall of Gil-galad', 'Gandalf's Song of Lorien', 'Galadriel's Song of Eldamar' and 'The Old Walking Song'), can be seen on YouTube here: http: //www.youtube.com/user/stmaurmusicContents: Prologue: 'Farewell we call to hearth and hall'1.The Fall of Gil-Galad2.Beren's Song of Parting3.The Riddle Song4.Bilbo's Song5.Elven Hymn to Elbereth Gilthoniel6.Bilbo's Song in The Hobbit7.Gandalf's Song of L rien8.Sam's Song in the Orc-Tower9.The Ent and the Ent-wife10.The Ents' Marching Song11.Bregalad's Lament for the Rowans12.Galadriel's Song of EldamarEnvoi: 'The Road Goes Ever On and On
Author Biography
Charles McCreery was educated at Eton and New College, Oxford, where he read Philosophy and Psychology. While at Eton he won the Rowe Cup for junior pianists, and in his final year performed Weber's Konzertstück with a chamber orchestra. As an undergraduate he studied piano with Hilda Bor, and won a piano class, adjudicated by Herbert Howells, at the Willesden Music Festival. From 1988 to 1991 he held a Perrott Warrick Studentship from Trinity College, Cambridge, and from 1996 to 2000 he was Lecturer in Experimental Psychology at Magdalen College, Oxford. He has a doctorate from Oxford University for research on hallucinatory experiences in normal people, and is the author of a number of books, including Lucid Dreaming, the Paradox of Consciousness During Sleep (Routledge), co-authored with Celia Green. Charles McCreery is a member of the British Academy of Composers and Songwriters. In 1996 his Elegy for violin and piano was shortlisted for the Match Composition Prize.
