Composers and Authors
Incantations
By John Peterson
Regular price
$60.00
10 pieces for piano solo. Advanced level of difficulty
Incantations is a set of ten evocative piano pieces that are intended to be musical representations of a variety of experiences taken from everyday life. While the concept for each piece originated in experiences from my own life, I do feel the essence of these experiences is something common enough to be recognisable, and thus able to be appreciated, by almost everyone.
Why the title ‘Incantations’? An ‘incantation’ is usually understood to be a type of formula that can be either spoken, sung or chanted, and which is intended to have a magical effect on a particular person (or even on particular objects), and it can also be something that is performed during ceremonial rituals or prayers. I think that music, in general, has many of these same qualities: music of all styles and genres can affect us personally in vividly evocative, deeply emotional, and sometimes even in remarkable and unexpected ways and, as such, I feel music can have a type of ‘magical’ or transformative effect upon us as individuals. Thus, for me, these piano pieces have an evocative power much like the inherent power of an incantation. I have also chosen to interpret the word ‘incantation’ as referring to a melody, or a melodic fragment, that is repeated not only in order to enhance its effectiveness, but also to support the generative qualities that enable its mystical powers. Thus, I have grouped these ten disparate pieces under the singular title of ‘Incantations’ because they are all based, in one form or another, on quite small amounts of melodic material that is not only repeated but is also constantly varied and expanded upon within a variety of melodic, harmonic and rhythmic contexts.
- 1. Performing a Solemn Ritual, c.3'20
- 2. Falling Under a Spell (Enchantment), c.4'05
- 3. Riding the Waves, c.3'35
- 4. Entering the Great Cathedral, c.3'55
- 5. Running the Gauntlet, c.4'20
- 6. Amid the Chaos: an Invocation, c.3'30
- 7. City of Industry, c.4'40
- 8. Across the Oceans (Deep and Blue), c.5'20
- 9. In the Twilight, c.4'10
- 10. Rush Hour, c.4'30
Composed 2022
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Incantations Wirr116 CD recorded by Jeanell Carrigan in available online
ISMN 9790673141544
$50.00 for instant digital download (100 pages) 
Incantations - CD
By John Peterson
Regular price
$25.00
Jeanell Carrigan (piano)70 minutes of delightful, evocative, well crafted piano music by an internationally renowned and confident composer and responded to in sensitively to colour and mood with such musical intuition.
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Incantations (2022)
- 1. Performing a Solemn Ritual
- 2. Falling Under a Spell (Enchantment)
- 3. Riding the Waves
- 4. Entering the Great Cathedral
- 5. Running the Gauntlet
- 6. Amid the Chaos: an invocation
- 7. City of Industry
- 8. Across the Oceans (Deep and Blue)
- 9. In the Twilight
- 10. Rush Hour
Five Islands (2001)
- 11. Flinders Island
- 12. Rocky Island
- 13. Bass Island
- 14. Martin Island
- 15. Parkyns Island
Pacific Ocean Blue (2001)
Moon-Struck (2018)
- 17. New Moon
- 18. The Dark Side of the Moon
- 19. Full Moon
Sheet music and samples are available for all these works online
Digital downloads of complete tracks from your preferred streaming sites available here
Lucky 13
By John Peterson
Regular price
$10.00
Solo piano, c. 1'43. Grade 6
The piece appears more difficult then it actually is and sounds impressive at a decent tempo.
Composed 2010
Edited and recorded by Katie Zhukov as part of the Wirripang Australian Piano Anthology, Book 2 available online
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ISMN 9790720227719
$5.00 for instant PDF download
Moon-Struck
By John Peterson
Regular price
$20.00
Three Lunar preludes for solo piano, c.6'00. Grade 8- New Moon
- The Dark Side of the Moon
- Full Moon
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ISMN 9790720214016
$15.00 for instant PDF download
Of Quiet Places (voice and guitar)
By John Peterson
Regular price
$60.00
A cycle of five songs for voice and guitar, c.14'00
Poems by Michele Morgan
A series of shot evocative songs that might offer a vision of timeless beauty, and thus echo the landscapes that inspired the words. These songs are meant to be simple and beautiful miniatures, representing brief moments of repose in an otherwise hectic and often busy world. Incorporated are several thematic links between various songs in order to create a sense of unity across the cycle.
Two scores for hard copy purchase.
Composed 1998/2017
- Awinya, Fraser Island
- On the Woralie Track
- Wathumba, Fraser Island
- Rocks, Cape Leenwin
- Forest at Namadgi
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Of Quiet Places - sheet music
ISMN 9790673144293
$30.00 for instant digital download
Of Quiet Places (voice and piano)
By John Peterson
Regular price
$30.00
A cycle of five songs for voice and piano, c.14'00
Poems by Michele Morgan
A series of shot evocative songs that might offer a vision of timeless beauty, and thus echo the landscapes that inspired the words. These songs are meant to be simple and beautiful miniatures, representing brief moments of repose in an otherwise hectic and often busy world. Incorporated are several thematic links between various songs in order to create a sense of unity across the cycle.
Composed 1998/2023
- Awinya, Fraser Island
- On the Woralie Track
- Wathumba, Fraser Island
- Rocks, Cape Leenwin
- Forest at Namadgi
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Of Quiet Places - sheet music
ISMN 9790673144156
$25.00 for instant digital download
Pacific Ocean Blue
By John Peterson
Regular price
$22.00
Solo piano, c.5'10. Grade 7 to 8
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ISMN M720065885
$17.00 for instant PDF download
Race Against Time
By John Peterson
Regular price
$60.00
Cello and piano, c.10'00This is in two large-scale parts reflecting two different perspectives of the title: the first half of the piece expresses a variety of mixed emotions brought about by a stressful ‘race against time’ – nervous anticipation, sudden angry outbursts, – while the second half of the piece tries to express the ‘emotional rush’ of a more exciting experience. Composed 2010
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ISMN 9790720106403
$50.00 for instant PDF download score and part
Remembering Illawarra
By John Peterson
Regular price
$35.00
5 pieces for solo piano for younger players, c.10'30
Composed 2002
Audio samples performed by Jeanell Carrigan
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- 1. Rainforest at Minnamurra Falls - sheet music and audio, c.1'10
- 2. On Perkins' Beach - sheet music and audio, c.1'50
- 3. Ocean Waves sat Flagstaff Point - sheet music and audio, c.2'50
- 4. Climbing Mount Kembla - sheet music and audio, c.2'50
- 5. Lawrence Hargrave Drive - sheet music and audio, c.2'10
ISMN M720060965
$28.00 for instant PDF download
Rituals in Transfigured Time
By John Peterson
Regular price
$350.00
Orchestral, c.11'30An abstract work for large orchestra: there is no narrative to influence the overall structure of the work, but the exploration of melody, harmony, instrumental timbre, and rhythm, drives the music forward through its vigorous and energetic outer sections. Composed 1997
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ISMN 9790720133997
$200.00 for instant PDF download including parts (360 pages) score and parts
Satellite of Love and Fear
By John Peterson
Regular price
$65.00
A cycle of five songs for soprano and piano and two solo piano interludes.- 1. Alone and Drinking Under the Moon, c.6'45
- 2. Full Moon Rhyme, c.1'50
- Interlude 1: The Waning Moon / New Moon, c.4'00
- 3. Moonlight in the Forest, c.4'00
- 4. Prayer to the Young Moon, c.4'10
- Interlude 2: The Waxing Moon / Full Moon, c.3'45
- 5. From Behind the Moon, c.5'55
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ISMN 9790720172620
$55.00 for instant PDF download
See, the Prismatic Colors Glisten
By John Peterson
Regular price
$60.00
Soprano, mezzo-soprano, clarinet, cello and percussion, c.4'30.
Words by Walt Whitman. The musical setting explores the inherent evocative nature of words taken from a text and is dominated by Lydian modes and an almost continual use of harmonization between the two voices that add a distinctive colour to the music that reflects the image in the very first line of the text, See, the prismatic colors glistening and rolling, …. .Composed 2013
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ISMN 9790720140292
$50.00 for instant PDF download score and parts