Classical

I wrote this little rondo as a simple round, in the style of Frere Jaques, not in  classical rondo form. It is a work in progress. Dedicated to Rio (not her in the track artwork).

Rondo For Rio

My galliard, dedicated to the Cape Griffon. Instruments are a Shearwater low whistle in D, a Clarke penny whistle in D, XLN Audio piano, double bass (Garritan) and drums (Addictive).

Cape Griffon Galliard

New version, with much better guitar part and change of key.  Guitar is an Ibanez AEG-6 and whistle is a Clarke Sweetone in D, though the piece is in E minor. Chord sequence is the ancient folio sequence, so it really is a sarabande.

Sunbird Sarabande, guitar & penny whistle

Latest upload dedicated to endangered birds. This one is for the Kakapo, a NZ native flightless parrot that was down to as few as 50 birds. A determined effort has seen the population heading for 200 and there is now hope of saving these lovable creatures. My song feature Native American Flute, Bamboo flute, and Farfisa electric organ, with bass and drums. The piece is actually a sort of polonaise, with two extra beats added to make it 5/4  instead of 3/4. Chopin will be turning over in his grave :-). And its ended up in a sort of Bb Dorian mode. The Native American flute is in Gm pentatonic and the bamboo flute is sort of Bb major.

Takahe Toccata

Kakapo Polonaise

A Chaconne in 3/4 time for piano quintet, piano, violin, viola, cello, double bass. The piece is dedicated to the remarkable California Condor.  By 1987 there were only 27 of these birds left. The 27 were were captured and a breeding program was instituted to save the species.

California Condor Chaconne

My tribute to the Chatham Islands Black Robin, rescued from oblivion by dedicated staff of the NZ Dept. of Conservation and the last breeding female Black Robin 'Old Blue'. The piece features a Clarke D penny whistle, an ancient Mellophone in F and a Shearwater Low-D whistle. Backing instruments are an acoustic guitar, with piano and drums by XLN audio, and an upright bass by Garritan.

Black Robin Passacaglia

Pavane for the Yellow Eyed Penguin

A classical quintet in a pastorale style.

Classiques Pour Le Monde

Prelude Number 3 in C Major

Prelude No 3 In C Major

A demo of my Skylark soprano flute in G pentatonic minor. The music is a trio for the flute, piano and cello. Apologies to Vaughan Williams for nicking his title.

Just Whistling Thanks!

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The Skylark Ascending

This gavotte was composed on traditional lines. The piece features my Tui alto-G whistle, along with alto and concert flutes, cello and piano. It ended up quite polyphonic!

Godwit Gavotte

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"Aging rock legend in my mind."
johnlaurence@drjohnlaurence.com
John Laurence is a multi-instrumentalist, composer and singer/songwriter, with a wide range of influences from Heavy Metal to Mahler, Folk to Baroque, with a healthy dose of Blues, Classical and Jazz. Instruments he plays include keyboards, acoustic and electric guitars, bass guitar, ukulele, Godin Merlin, dulcimer, recorders and whistles, and brass including cornet/trumpet, mellophone and trombone.
  
In 2011 he was diagnosed with attention deficit disorder (ADD) which had affected him undetected since childhood. Although he has a PhD and has had two successful careers, he has begun to see life with a whole new perspective. He has always been a musician at heart and is making up for lost time with a new career as a musician and composer. His music is  influenced by blues, jazz, folk, classical and rock. Given his eclectic tastes and creativity, it is not surprising that John's music has evolved in to a World Music style. A new EP has just been released, named "Last Song of the Dove".  Feedback on the album has been encouraging, especially from countries such as Canada, USA, Mexico, Japan, Israel, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. John is now producing a full length album "Takahe Toccata" building on the style of the EP and dedicated to the World's endangered birds.