Classical Music

Johann S. Bach

• Prelude in C Major from "The Well-Tempered Clavier"
  I first heard this song on a little DOS-based Jukebox program we had on our 286. It's a simple little baroque piece, but I like it. I still enjoy playing it from time to time, even after all these years. I think this was my first use of tempo changes (at the end), but I may be mistaken.

• Prelude and Fugue in C Minor (Prelude, Fugue, Both)
  The second piece from Bach's "The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1". Rich Mullins (and Amy Grant) fans will recognize the first part of the Fugue as the intro to "Sing Your Praise to the Lord". I now have the Prelude, Fugue, and a version with both the Prelude and Fugue together.

• Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring
  A great little choral piece, often played on the piano and often played at weddings (I'm not sure why that is, to be honest with you ...) I first heard it on a Christmas album. I've seen a dozen or more arrangements of this song, but I am hoping to include the original arrangement of it on this site sometime in the near future.

• Tocatta and Fugue
  My favorite organ piece of all time, and one of my mother-in-law's favorite pieces. Somewhat dark and scary. Great for Halloween! This is supposedly the original arrangement (for organ). COMING SOON!

• Für Elise
  This is a well-known piano piece by Beethoven. I am told that many people learn this when taking piano lessons (I wouldn't know -- I never took lessons.) Some of you may remember it like I do -- from a McDonald's commercial in the 1980's.
  The song was originally written for Therese Malfatti, whom Beethoven courted and wanted to marry. The title was actually "Für Therese" ("For Therese"), but the publisher couldn't read Beethoven's bad handwriting and thought it said "Elise" instead. Thus the name of the song.

• "Moonlight" Sonata (First Movement, Second Movement, Third Movement)
  Probably my favorite piano piece. It's actually called "Sonata in C-sharp Minor", but it was given the name "Moonlight" by Rellstab, comparing the first movement to a boat wandering on the water in the moonlight. The second and third movements (especially the third) don't really fit this theme, though. It was written for the Countess Giulietta Guicciardi, whom Beethoven loved deeply but never married. The first movement, which is the most well-known, is slow and majestic. Works well for a nice candle-light dinner. The Second Movement is a nice, dance-like Trio. The third is fast and harsh, probably either reflecting his anger/frustration when the countess refused his proposal for marriage or reflecting his anger at his continual loss of hearing, or both. I've finally finished all three movements (though I need to go back and touch up some -- especially the third movement -- with dynamic changes and some stylistic things.) I'll post the "touched-up" versions soon, but for now enjoy these!

• The Entertainer (Short Version or Full Version)
  "The Ice Cream Man Song", as the elementry school kids at Trinity Bapt. used to call it. I also learned this one from that nifty little Jukebox program. At the moment, it's the only Scott Joplin song I can actually play on my keyboard. It's a very fun song to play and to listen to. I hope you like it.
  I have a "short version" (the version I first learned to play) and the "full version" of the song (complete with dynamic changes and everything.)

• Magnetic Rag
  One of my new favorites from Scott Joplin. Not sure what to say about it. The last Rag-Time piece Joplin published. (He performed other pieces after this one, but they were never published and have been lost forever.) I can't play it worth a darn, but I like listening to it.

• Maple Leaf Rag (Short Version or Full Version)
  This and "The Entertainer" above are probably the two most well-known pieces by Joplin. This was one of the first Rag-Time piece Joplin ever wrote (published 1899), but it has survived the test of time. I always wanted to learn to play this, but I wasn't coordinated enough. So now, I can enter the notes into the software and "play" it that way instead. The short version stops a little over half-way through (at a point I've heard many performers stop before.) The full version is the entire piece.

• Eine kleine Nachtmusik (1st Mvt., 2nd Mvt., 3rd Mvt., 4th Mvt., or Exposition Only)
  My favorite (non-piano) classical piece, and a prime example of typical Classical music. I could go on and on about it, but I'll just explain the midis I have -- I have each of the four movements in a separate midi, and I also have a midi of the "Exposition" (the main theme(s) from the first movement), which is the part most people will recognize.

• Piano Sonata #15 in C Major (First Movement, Second Movement, Third Movement)
  A great little piano piece by Mozart. I'm not exactly sure how to describe it, except to say that I'm sure you'll recognize the first movement. (Midi coming soon!)