Composers and Authors
Square Piano - CD
By Diana Weston
Regular price
$0.00
Square Piano - Sounds of the Piano in Colonial Australia
Diana Weston
We know the sound of the modern piano so well that that of the pianoforte in its infancy will seem almost as strange as it must have to the Aboriginal people whose lands had so recently become occupied. The pianofortes that came to Australia were English-made (as would be expected from the exclusive mix of English, Irish and Scottish immigrant), and were known as ‘square’ pianos. They were destined for a domestic market. Thousands were imported into Australia in the first fifty years of the colony. Most have now disappeared or remain only as shells of their former selves – croaky-voiced and unplayable.
Wirr 120 Digital Only
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[1-2] John Christian Bach (1735- d. London 1782).Sonata in B flat Op. 5 No. 1 from ‘Six Sonatas for the Piano Forte or Harpsichord’, London
[3] Joseph Haydn (1732- d. Vienna 1809)
Twelve Variations in E flat major Hoboken XVII: 3
Sample variations
[4-6] Ignace Pleyel (1757- d. Paris 1831). A Favourite Sonata for the Piano Forte Op. 92, No. 2, London
Adagio/Allegro Molto
Adagio non troppo
Allegretto
[7-9] Johann Baptist Cramer (1771- d. London 1858)
Sonata in C major (c. 1800) from Trois Sonates pour Le Piano-Forte composées et dédiées à Joseph Haydn Oev. 23 No. 2
Tangling with the Epic CD
By Blom, Hanrahan
Regular price
$30.00
Songs by Diana Blom and Tyler Goodrich White; with
MeeAe Cecilia Nam, Kevin Hanrahan, Patrick McNally,
Robert Mills, Kwam Dawes, John Kinsella
A dialogue in voice and song
Edgar “Yip” Harburg, an American lyricists known as “Broadway’s social conscience,” said, "Words make you think a thought. Music makes you feel a feeling. A song makes you feel a thought." This project strives to do just that through the exploration of new art songs for soprano, tenor, baritone, and piano. The project originated out of a need for English language duets between tenor and baritone and grew into much more. At its very essence the project is about the joys and struggles of life. It includes songs born out of the pandemic (Modern Folksong), everyday activities (Life & Southern Songs), and special moments in life (Set Me as a Seal). Anchoring these songs is Tangling with the Epic, a song cycle for tenor, baritone, and piano.
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CD 1
[1] The Ballad of the Canterbury Pilgrims (Blom) [8:10]
[2-4] Life (Blom)
Prayer [2:30], Saturday Supermarket [2:58], The Royal Exchange [1:49]
[5] Set Me as a Seal (White) [9:47]
[6-9] Modern Folksong (Blom)
Time [1:17], Forgotten Fire [2:49], Thinking Antarctica [1:31], The Good News [1:47]
[10] The Gambler’s Son: Out of a tight spot (White) [5:59]
[11-14] Southern Songs (Blom)
Legend [6:43], New Bird [3:03], Rodin’s dancers [4:38], The Bond of Bees [1:30]
CD 2
Tangling with the Epic:
[1] There isn’t a Quid Pro Quo – Poem [0:33]
[2] There isn’t a Quid Pro Quo (Blom) [1:40]
[3] On Sunday the tepid sermon sharpened – Poem [0:46]
[4] On Sunday the tepid sermon sharpened (Blom) [2:10]
[5] Back where hills are horizons – Poem [0:27]
[6] Back where hills are horizons (Blom) [1:49]
[7] Saturn is close to the strawberry moon – Poem [0:31]
[8] Saturn is close to the strawberry moon (White) [3:21]
[9] So now in the doldrums – Poem [0:46]
[10] So now in the doldrums (White) [4:02]
[11] Regret is hillside erosion – Poem [0:29]
[12] Regret is hillside erosion (White) [4:21]
[13] The truth is, John – Poem [0:40]
[14] The truth is, John (Blom) [1:13]
[15] Don’t, Kwame (Little White Lies) – Poem [0:30]
[16] Don’t, Kwame (Blom) [1:07]
[17] I’m changing landscapes – Poem [1:05]
[18] I’m changing landscapes (Blom) [2:55]
[19] Off the coast – Poem [0:45]
[20] Off the coast (White) [3:10]
[21] I want to be trapped in twilight – Poem [0:30]
[22] I want to be trapped in twilight (White) [3:17]
[23] Bless – a double (These Days There is Sugar) – Poem [1:13]
[24] Bless – a double (White) [7:00]
Wirr122
Digital downloads of complete tracks from your preferred streaming sites available here
Tangling with the Epic I
By Diana Blom
Regular price
$30.00
Cycle of songs for tenor, baritone and piano
Tangling with the Epic (two volumes), is a cycle of twelve songs consisting of eight solo songs, four each for tenor and baritone, and four duets, composed by US composer Tyler Goodrich White and Australian composer Diana Blom.
- There isn’t a quid pro quo (John Kinsella) – tenor and piano
- On Sunday the tepid sermon sharpened (Kwame Dawes) – baritone and piano
- Back where hills are horizons (John Kinsella) – duet for tenor, baritone and piano
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ISMN 9790673142985
$20.00 for instant digital download 
Tangling with the Epic II
By Diana Blom
Regular price
$30.00
Cycle of songs for tenor, baritone and piano
Tangling with the Epic (two volumes), is a cycle of twelve songs consisting of eight solo songs, four each for tenor and baritone, and four duets, composed by US composer Tyler Goodrich White and Australian composer Diana Blom.
- The truth is, John (Kwame Dawes) – tenor and piano
- Don’t, Kwame (John Kinsella) – baritone and piano
- I’m changing landscapes (Kwame Dawes) – duet for tenor, baritone and piano
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ISMN 9790673142947
$20.00 for instant digital download
Tango (February)
By Diana Blom
Regular price
$20.00
Solo piano. c.5'15, Grade 6-8 This is one of five tangos by the composer for solo piano. Dance teacher Ian Murphy tells how the Argentinian tango began in the ghettos of Buenos Aires, with dance steps grouped in 5s and 7s which worked across the music's phrasing. However, when taken to Europe extra dance steps were invented to fit into groups of 8s. This piece explores the grouping of 5.
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- Tango (February) - sheet music
ISMN9790720106724
$15.00 for instant PDF download see:
Tango (September)
By Diana Blom
Regular price
$20.00
Solo piano, c.5'15. Grade Certificate level
This is one of five tangos by the composer for solo piano which explores groups of 5. It alternates between mysterious sections driven by the left hand with strong, majestic sections in which both hands weave inner voice leading lines.
Recorded on "Skins" by Jeanell Carrigan (Wirr038) available online
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ISMN9790720106557$15.00 for instant PDF download see:
Tango Waltz
By Diana Blom
Regular price
$20.00
Solo piano, c.5'00. Grade Certificate levelThis piece uses the heavy triple feel of some instrumental tango waltzes.
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ISMN 9790720093802
$15.00 for instant PDF download
Three Poems of Walter de la Mare
By Diana Blom
Regular price
$20.00
Medium to high voice and piano. Composed 1984Download samples
- 1. The Bees' Song - sheet music, c.1'20
- 2. The Horseman - sheet music, c.0'30
- 3. The Witch - sheet music, c.2'00
ISMN 9790702278717
$15.00 for instant PDF download
Three Water Ballads of Tim Malfroy
By Diana Blom
Regular price
$23.00
Medium voice and piano
- 1. The Fisherman's Wife, c.2'30
- 2. Trewella, c.3'20
- 3. Lorelei, c.2'00
Composed 2007
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ISMN9790720106335
$18.00 for instant PDF download
Through Shadows
By Diana Blom
Regular price
$12.00
Solo for toy piano. Advanced grade
Through Shadows traces the experience of moving swiftly through the constantly changing, often fragmented, repetition of shadows.
Piano range: C3 - E5b
Composed 2018
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ISMN 9790720227108
$8.00 for instant PDF download
Travelling Chinese Orchestra, The
By Diana Blom
Regular price
$15.00
Solo piano, c.2'20. Suggested grade 6/7When a travelling Chinese orchestra is passing through, the drums then the cymbals are heard in the distance, sounding out of the silence. Next, the high woodwind ring out. As the orchestra moves closer the melody is heard, the pitch rising gradually until the players are present, playing at full volume. The melody, using an old Chinese scale, is accompanied by the percussion..
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ISMN9790720106519
$10.00 for instant PDF download
Triptych (War Letters)
By Diana Blom
Regular price
$80.00
For soprano, mezzo-soprano and bass voices, viola, marimba/percussion and piano.
Triptych (War Letters) begins with letters written by Frank Nestor Robinson, my great uncle, to one of his sisters, Ellie, my grandmother, as he left from New Zealand to fight in Gallipoli, 1915. They tell of why he enlisted – a duty call and friends were enlisting - waiting around for action, then in Egypt, the realisation from news brought back by the wounded, that where he and his fellow soldiers are to be sent, Gallipoli, is a field of fierce fighting and death and he will either be one of the lucky or unlucky ones. He was one of the unlucky ones. The middle part of the triptych is a December 1969 excerpt from the war diary of David Wilkins who served with Australian forces in Vietnam. He and his troop are not getting a Christmas break, fed up, and about to embark on a 7 week operation. And the third part is excerpts of Andrew Hastie’s emails (modern war letters) sent home while serving for Australia in Afghanistan, 2009. They move between descriptions of events and personal thoughts. Threaded throughout the work are three musical associations – the rolling compound metre of British/Australian nursery song, a rhythmic motive from a traditional Vietnamese musical genre, and the 7 beat grouping of an Afghan festival music. (Diana Blom)
Recorded on War Letters (Wirr 074) by Halcyon is available online
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Triptych (War Letters) - sheet music and audio:
Gallipoli letter: Ellie (Frank Robinson)
Vietnam diary: Great bloody Xmas break (David Wilkins)
Afghan emails: Bread and kids (Andrew Hastie)
ISMN 9790720231471
$60.00 for instant PDF download of score and parts