Category: music video

Solicitude

This is another of my arrangements of a tune from Southern Harmony, and Musical Companioncompiled by William Walker and published in 1835. It’s a compendium of marvelous, mostly anonymous hymn tunes from American folk musicians.

My original settings of these arrangements featured solo piano but with the participation of two string instruments (a high and a low) and a treble woodwind which were written in such a way that they could be performed live by separate instrumentalists or covered by a second keyboardist performing on two, stacked synthesizers.

After I’d done two albums of folk tunes like this (the second one was mainly Irish tunes), I gave up on the idea of ever doing them live and began the task–only partially complete…many more to go–of rewriting them as solo piano pieces with no orchestral accompaniment.

As sometimes happens, you go back to things. I finally decided the practicalities of sheet music publication “aren’t the boss of me,” and I’m video taping them in their original form. I’m also publishing their sheet music as “keyboard duos” in case there’s some keyboardists out there who want to do them. I love concert grand piano, but I also love a good electric keyboard and these days I’ll bet there’s a least as many of those in homes as acoustic pianos.

One last tidbit: I love the string countermelody I wrote for this arrangement. (The Southern Music tune is the right-hand of the piano, NOT the string line…that’s mine!) I’m going to steal my own countermelody (from myself) and make it the main tune in a song of my own!

Resignation (original arrangement)

Yesterday was Maundy Thursday and at the evening’s tenebrae service, I played this tune. I never posted a video of the original orchestrated version, but I did post a video of the piano solo I made of the same tune (see https://hiltonkeanjones.com/2023/05/19/resignation-2/). I really like this orchestrated version. I actually like all my orchestrated folk tune arrangements but there’s no sheet music market for that. Ah well…hope you enjoy “watching paint dry” while you listen. The second verse is my own compositional contribution (a restatement of the tune but in the the relative minor for you theory buffs).

As a Doe Longs (solo piano)

This is one of my transcriptions of one of my own choral pieces. You can hear the original choral version at https://soundcloud.com/hilton-kean-jones/as-a-doe-longs. Interesting how one’s feelings about what’s the “right” tempo change over the years. You’ll notice I currently like a MUCH more leisurely tempo. When I was a kid, I thought Albert Schweitzer’s J.S.Bach tempos were woefully far too slow. Now, at 80, I understand: as the future gets shorter and shorter, one wishes to savor each note.
#piano
#pianomusic

Have This Love (solo piano)

This is my own solo piano transcription of my choral piece, Have This Love. You can hear the original choral version at https://soundcloud.com/hilton-kean-jones/have-this-love. I’m in the process of making keyboard (either solo piano or pipe organ) transcriptions of some of my choral/vocal and solo instrumental pieces. No particular reason other than I enjoy playing them! LOL

Time Will Tell

This pice, Time Will Tell, is the first movement of a new collection of pieces, entitled Hourglass Pieces. All the movements are about time. Sheet music for this movement, “Time Will Tell,” will be available at sheetmusicdirect (https://www.sheetmusicdirect.com/Search.aspx?query=hilton%20kean%20jones) and sheetmusicplus (https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/en/category/arrangeme/479/hilton-kean-jones/)

#piano #music #pianomusic #asmr

Farewell to Old Ireland (an immigrant’s lament)

Learned a new tune, the harmonization, form, arrangement, and a drastic rewrite of the melody in the middle section of which are all mine, but it’s nevertheless a traditional Irish song about an immigrant who leaves his home for liberty in America. I tried to end the final word, “liberty,” with a musical question mark, or at least mixed emotion, or uncertainty.

This tune is sometimes titled The Green Fields of Amerikay (with that spelling). I chose to use the first phrase of the lyrics and add the explanatory subtitle.

Safe Harbor

We wrote this in January after you-know-who, you-know-what. I think Lucy’s point in her lyrics is the only answer: rest in the safe harbor of our trusted friendships. We gotta stick together! And resist!

HKJ Pipe Organ Playlist

I’m in the process of tidying up my social media. I’ve written pieces I’ve even forgotten I’ve written, let alone posted anywhere.

I’ve also done some analysis of who buys what of my sheet music. Pianists seem to mainly buy my arrangements of songs, mainly folk songs. Organists mainly buy my original stuff! I would have guessed it would have been exactly the opposite.

Trying to build on what I’ve learned from my sales stats, I’m try to assemble all the pieces of mine on YouTube that use pipe organ (solo organ pieces and pieces for solo melody instrument and organ). Another thing I would have never guessed is the (free!) promotional power videos have on sheet music sales. Far more than purely audio sites.

Here’s a link to a playlist of videos of pieces of mine that use pipe organ: Organ Playlist

I’ll continue to add to that list as I find pieces I’ve forgotten, so if you like organ music you might check back from time to time.

A Christmas Concert

On Christmas Eve at my church job, I play an extended 30+ minute prelude. These are the pieces I’ll be playing: https://soundcloud.com/hilton-kean-jones/sets/a-christmas-concert-ive-piano. This is in an “album” order (best ones first), but at church, I’ll do it in exactly reverse order (best ones last since it’s an extended prelude and folks are pretty rowdy early on). That URL will be in the Xmas Eve Bulletin so if people want to hear the pieces again later, they can. These are all self-published arrangements of mine available at sheetmusicdirect and sheetmusicplus. This album cover was done by Nathan Jones, my son, for an earlier CDR release; the recordings linked to here are all new and I think I’ve done a better job of performing them and mixing them than the old CDR album.
#piano
#music
#christmas

Curoo, Curoo (Carol of the Birds) for pipe organ

I originally arranged this for trumpet and organ, then a friend asked for a cello and piano version. But, most of my sales are for solo piano or solo pipe organ music, so finally figured out how to keep the original counterpoint and do it for one person playing a pipe organ.
#pipeorgan
#organ
#christmasmusic
#carols